Reviews with content warning for Grief - Atalanta

atalanta is my favorite greek hero, so my hopes for this book were very high. it was a solid 4 stars for me until the argonauts returned from their quest. after that, the book felt rushed and at times very predictable, while also lacking depth. it felt like the same effort wasn't given to the writing, honestly :/

Content Warnings

gracescanlon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

My favorite of her books to date. Though I didn’t love the ending, it definitely could’ve been a worse one, given the subject matter.

Content Warnings

vixenreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Despite some pacing issues, this book provides Saint’s best heroine, with amazing world-building, amazing detail to the mythology explored within the text, and a happier ending than her other novels.

Content Warnings

alexisgarcia's review

Go to review page

adventurous reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

unsurprisingly, Jennifer Saint has done it again. her writing is so immersive and lush and i enjoyed it so much! it is my least favorite of Saints books but it it was still really well done!

Content Warnings

danimacuk's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

bandysbooks's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I'm a big fan of all of the Greek mythology retellings that have been cropping up over the last decade or so and I've previously really enjoyed Jennifer Saint's writing, so I was excited to receive an advanced copy of Atalanta. I was even more excited because Atalanta is a character I have not seen previously covered by all of the many retellings (as opposed to Clytemnestra, Helen, etc.).

To start, I loved the characterization of Atalanta. She has been raised to be fierce and independent. She knows no limitations and so she is a very effective warrior. She's never been taught to think that a woman is somehow less capable, so she joins the Argonauts knowing that she will excel. The warning that Artemis gives her to take no husband seems logical, but as Atalanta explores the world, we see her struggle with her obligations to Artemis and the things she now wants as a human. I definitely think this was the strongest part of the book.

The plot was a bit of a let down for me. While there was a lot going on, it didn't feel like much of it was deeply explored. I expected the journey with the Argonauts to be more exciting, but somehow it felt like a secondary plot. There was a lot more time spent on the romance aspect and I think the action and timing suffered a bit because of it. I don't want to make this sound like it was terrible or anything. It was still an enjoyable story. It's just that comparative to Ariadne and Elektra, this one wasn't quite up to the same standard.

All in all, if you enjoy Greek mythology retellings, you'll likely find this one enjoyable as well. Atalanta is an interesting character and the story does move quickly.

As for the narration of the audiobook, I thought it was well done. It was easy to understand and I found the pacing to be typical for an audiobook. (I always speed them up.) It was easy to follow which characters were speaking and overall, I would recommend the audio option if you typically enjoy them.

3.75 Stars rounded up to 4

Content Warnings

amhud1030's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.75

Thank you to Macmillan and Libro.fm.fm for the ALC of this book.

Another Greek mythology retelling with a female perspective from Jennifer Saint who does a great job deep diving and bringing us into the story that we’ve heard before in a new light.

Atalanta’s story is very interesting and unique. I enjoyed the story starting when she was an infant and following her through her life.

The pacing seem to bounce back-and-forth between medium and slow paced.

This was a really great story with your typical vengeful, gods and goddesses involved with lots of twists some I was not expecting as I did not know about Atalanta previously.

The narrator was excellent!

If you enjoy Jennifer Saints, previous books and Greek mythology, and then you’ll love this story.

Content Warnings

velvetreads_'s review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

More...