Reviews with content warning for Rape - Atalanta

4 1/2 stars - A strong first impression of this author. A feminist story that remembers that strong women don't need to be faultless to be charismatic.

Saint has woven a story that manages to handle many painful topics about womanhood with such grace. Some of these included, double standards and the fear (which in a Greek tale is very fair!) that marriage is the loss the self as a woman.

What I particularly enjoyed about Saint's book is that she is very realistic about the sort of power Atalanta would/did have. It would be wonderful if Atalanta was able to never stop being the tour de force she in combat, once the combat ends, but that's just not the life a woman like her would have. Instead, she responds somewhat rationally to everything. She accepts the world is not made for her, so she tries to make a life for herself that can fulfill her.

The fact she finds a way to overcome the danger of losing ones self in marriage, speaks volumes to her strength.

If I were to give a criticism, it would be that the final section of the book from

when she leaves the forest to visit her father, to the end of the book

felt quite rushed. If we spent even 20 more pages in that time space, I would have likely given this book 5 stars.

Also, the man Atalanta settles down with at the end of the book wasn't given enough time to really develop or demonstrate just why he loves Atalanta. It felt like a marriage of convenience. Perhaps this what Saint wanted, I'm not sure.

Overall , this is a great Greek retelling for anyone looking for a story about someone not quite as commonly written about.

I will likely read the rest of Saint's work in the future.

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tashtasher's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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manaledi's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

There are so many Greek myths and gods and goddesses and heroes and they all blur together. Atalanta is an interesting story for a retelling and yet it irks me the way a story about a woman who don't need no man still ends up being about the men she crosses paths with. Also, very weird pet peeve, but she left on a basically 9 month adventure on a boat with ONE outfit and no one ever discussed bathing or laundry and it's those practicalities that make it make sense even if the rest of it is magic.

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redheadorganist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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tink's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I didn't love this as much as I wanted. I enjoyed the first half of the store, the middle lost my attention and I found the characters become a bit annoying for me. I enjoyed the end. I wanted to read more about Artemis.

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