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patsypoo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this very much. It gripped me from the start and kept me interested until the end. I didn't know anything about Ariadne and her story so I learned a lot.
The split narrative between hers and her sister's POVs gave the book more dimension.
I felt the end was a bit rushed however, given how much time was spent on other parts.
I had a great time reading Ariadne though and I will pick up the rest of her books soon.
The split narrative between hers and her sister's POVs gave the book more dimension.
I felt the end was a bit rushed however, given how much time was spent on other parts.
I had a great time reading Ariadne though and I will pick up the rest of her books soon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Minor: Pregnancy and Alcohol
lisamsalgado's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Suicide
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Grief
agnela's review against another edition
sad
tense
medium-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? No
2.75
I wanted to dnf this so hard! There was a time in my life where I would have loved this, but now I want to read about powerful characters, about joy and life and becoming better. But this story just told you a story about wronged women and men who messed it up for them. I understand it's ancient Greek culture thing, but damn, we, now, can tell those same stories in a better way, we can imagine these characters taking different choices, even if they end up in the same places. We can give them healing and humanity. Plus we can give them a better ending, because now we know there are more endings and more tellings of their stories. It's so not feminist at all. Ariadne makes a few decisions in her whole life, and that's how the story moves. I think she has made maybe 3 or 4 choices, and the plot then just deals with it.
The book had a gorgeous cover. The translation had some wobbling with genders and adjectives, although the prose was pretty. But the characters needed so much more polishing and building.
It's not a feminist story if you tell tragic life of a woman from her own perspective. It's not a feminist story to say men use women's labour and have them to point it out themselves. It just means it's female centric, told from a females perspective.
It got better to the end, maybe last 30%, where both women have a bit more agency and clear motivations rather than being naive horny girls or trying to survive. I loved Pheadra's point of view, you can at least tell the girls had different interests and passions. I was rooting for Pheadra to get more involved with ruling the kingdom, but I guess all those lessons and experiences tought her nothing. It's funny how both sister's stories involve being horny, Ariadne starts and Pheadra ends with it. No yes I know Pheadra just wanted to run away, but I don't really believe it. She had already visited Ariadne and Naxos where women could run away, and she didn't even love her children much, which I love by the way. Being a woman and being able to have a baby doesn't mean you want to, will be a good mom, or have to. Not to mention the trauma they experienced in their own home might have heavily contributed to how Pheadra felt about motherhood.
Overall I'm really disappointed. I saw this writer had a book about my beloved Hera and i will not be reading that because I know there will be only suffering and agony for my goddess, and I do not deserve to read about it and neither she deserves it to be write about her.
The book had a gorgeous cover. The translation had some wobbling with genders and adjectives, although the prose was pretty. But the characters needed so much more polishing and building.
It's not a feminist story if you tell tragic life of a woman from her own perspective. It's not a feminist story to say men use women's labour and have them to point it out themselves. It just means it's female centric, told from a females perspective.
It got better to the end, maybe last 30%, where both women have a bit more agency and clear motivations rather than being naive horny girls or trying to survive. I loved Pheadra's point of view, you can at least tell the girls had different interests and passions. I was rooting for Pheadra to get more involved with ruling the kingdom, but I guess all those lessons and experiences tought her nothing. It's funny how both sister's stories involve being horny, Ariadne starts and Pheadra ends with it. No yes I know Pheadra just wanted to run away, but I don't really believe it. She had already visited Ariadne and Naxos where women could run away, and she didn't even love her children much, which I love by the way. Being a woman and being able to have a baby doesn't mean you want to, will be a good mom, or have to. Not to mention the trauma they experienced in their own home might have heavily contributed to how Pheadra felt about motherhood.
Overall I'm really disappointed. I saw this writer had a book about my beloved Hera and i will not be reading that because I know there will be only suffering and agony for my goddess, and I do not deserve to read about it and neither she deserves it to be write about her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Mental illness, Animal death, Violence, Sexual violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, War, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
rtorrey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Incest, Death, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
yannic_rasmus's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A beautifully tragic retelling of another woman in Greek mythology who deserved better.
Wonderful writing style, captivating characters and very true to the original source material.
Also recommended for fans of Madeline Miller's "Circe"!
Wonderful writing style, captivating characters and very true to the original source material.
Also recommended for fans of Madeline Miller's "Circe"!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicide, Animal cruelty, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest, Rape, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
franticfreya's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Blood
Moderate: Pregnancy, Body horror, Alcohol, and Death
Minor: Child death, Grief, and Rape
emilywemily6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I really enjoyed this book! I listened to the audiobook and I thought it was really good. This story is a simple retelling of some women of Greek mythology, and I kept having to stop myself mid book so I wouldn’t go check Wikipedia for what happened to these characters before I read it in this book. It was intriguing and had some strong themes throughout; it definitely had a moral to the story and gave me some things to think about, but it was a little shallow in its storytelling. Like others have mentioned, it didn’t show much, only told you straight out what happened. But I enjoyed listening to it and want to dive back into Greek mythologies and retellings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Alcohol, Gore, Suicide, Child death, Blood, Grief, Animal cruelty, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Miscarriage and Cursing
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Jennifer Saint’s “Ariadne” is a beautiful retelling of the Ariadne myth.
The pacing is slow but steady, enough to keep the reader’s engaged but calm while the tense parts of the myth are spread out.
The ending of “Ariadne” was not one that I was familiar with but suited this interpretation nicely.
The pacing is slow but steady, enough to keep the reader’s engaged but calm while the tense parts of the myth are spread out.
The ending of “Ariadne” was not one that I was familiar with but suited this interpretation nicely.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Death, Abandonment, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Vomit, War, and Animal cruelty
amsswim's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really did enjoy this book though. There seems to be a lot of confusion in some of the reviews that this book does not know what it is trying to accomplish, but I think the big themes are simple. 1) Men are capable of, and often commit, great terrors on the world and individuals whether they realize it or not. 2) Being near Greek Gods and their games is a dangerous idea.
I am a fan of mythological retellings, so this hit the spot for me. This did not live up to Circe in my eyes, but I cannot fault it on not being my favorite book lol. It did have a similar vibe to Circe though in my opinion. If you like mythological retellings and/or stories of women trying to survive and thrive, I recommend.
I am a fan of mythological retellings, so this hit the spot for me. This did not live up to Circe in my eyes, but I cannot fault it on not being my favorite book lol. It did have a similar vibe to Circe though in my opinion. If you like mythological retellings and/or stories of women trying to survive and thrive, I recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Child death, Grief, and Suicide
jedore's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"I would not let a man who knew the value of nothing make me doubt the value of myself."
In general, I'm not a huge fan of Greek mythology...mostly because of the rampant misogyny and bad behavior of men and their Gods—which is why Ariadne sat on my shelf unread until several days ago. I really, really liked it!
Written from the perspective of two strong, but very different, sisters—Ariadne and Phaedra, daughters of King Minos of Crete and sisters of the half-man/half-bull Minotaur whose diet was comprised of human sacrifices—this book kept me turning the pages quickly from start to finish. Although it was still filled with the tragic behavior of men and gods, the women were the focal point.
Although I admired and loved both of them, I related more to fiery Phaedra who went after what she wanted with passion...often without the benefit of adequate life experience or deep thought...and was justifiably pissed off at the men. Been there.
I love learning history through books like this. Whether you're a fan of Greek mythology or not, it's a worthy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Gore, and Cannibalism
Moderate: War, Abandonment, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Incest