Reviews with content warning for Rape - Ariadne: Princesa. Irmã de um monstro. Amante de deuses e heróis.

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Ariadne: Princesa. Irmã de um monstro. Amante de deuses e heróis. by Jennifer Saint

384 reviews

rae03's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Theseus may be one of the most famous heroes of Greek mythology, but this retelling shows us Ariadne’s side of the story.

Before reading Ariadne, I only knew of the titular character for her role in Theseus’ escape from the labyrinth. I was surprised by both the rest of Ariadne’s story and my ignorance of it; the twists and turns—especially Ariadne’s eventual marriage—make for a dramatic story.

The Olympians are usually so cruel and capricious, both so much more and so much less than human. So it was interesting to see Dionysus, the god of wine and madness, no less, acting so compassionately to human women. And, though I was not surprised, his betrayal and the violence he used in pursuit of more power was a disappointment.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Not happy at all. Even though the ending is tragic, it feels inevitable, which tempers the sadness somewhat.

Content Warnings

jennikreads's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark fast-paced

Content Warnings

hmatt's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I purposefully went into this read without refreshing my memory on any Greek mythology, and I'm glad I did. The writing does such an incredible job of drawing you in to the characters' emotions in each moment that I was just as surprised and affected by the plot twists as they often were. There are a lot of allusions to secondary myths, though, and I'm sure I didn't fully appreciate these in the moment (Most are explained, later, so I didn't feel like it was a loss, but I would probably get more from these references in a second read).

I've never read anything with this narrator before, but they are amazing and I'd definitely recommend this audiobook.

I don't disagree with the choice to switch between Ariadne and Phaedra's perspective, I think it was very effective, but I do now feel that summaries of the book don't accurately capture how much it is about both sisters. The singular title almost feels wrong

, and it was strange to lose Phaedra's "voice" in the later chapters

.

I grappled a little bit with the pace of the novel, which is why it's not a 5-star read for me. It's quite slow to start - Part 1 felt like a different story. I don't know that there are enough references back in time later on in the book to merit that much of an "establishing" scene, I guess. In contrast, the ending felt quite abrupt. I wouldn't make the novel any longer, but I wish these sections had been more evenly balanced.

Content Warnings

jackiepreston's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bryelle's review against another edition

4.5

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

keeganrb's review against another edition

4.0

emotional tense fast-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

Content Warnings

ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Ariadne is definitely worth a read if you’re into Greek mythology retellings. It’s a great story that I didn’t know much about beforehand and I was thoroughly invested…

…but Jennifer Saint is not Madeleine Miller. This doesn’t have the gorgeous prose or heartrending agony of Song of Achilles or Circe. She tells (oh does she tell) when she should show, and while I loved the characters, I’m still not sure I really know them.

However, the story is good and the theme (that women are often punished for the sins of men) is solid and well done. I enjoyed it.

Content Warnings