Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Ariadne

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Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

248 reviews

jaywb's review against another edition

emotional sad tense 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

5.0

I absolutely ADORED this book.
From start to finish, this book focused on the women lost within mythology, delving into the stories of those forgotten in favour of the male heroes. I have found that with other books that explore the same themes as 'Ariadne', the female characters are still somehow lost in the man's story even though the focus is meant to be on them and their role in Greek mythos; this is not a problem in 'Ariadne'. The focus is constantly on Ariadne and the women surrounding her i.e. her mother and sister, as well as women she percieves as legends e.g. Medusa, with Thesues' part seeming very minimal in contrast to the concentration on illustrating Ariadne's role. The book asks many important questions, inspiring deep thought on women's roles throughout history and mythology.

I found the story to be extremely engaging (I read it from start to finish within a week), challenging, emotional and oftentimes quite dark. I thoroughly enjoyed Saint's writing style and will be picking up her other books ASAP!

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morbidgoogle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

One of my favourite books, reccomended to everyone I know!

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corikane's review

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adventurous sad fast-paced

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

3.75

because nothing ever changes...

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captnmorgan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a lovely book! It was a slow start but after part one it picks up and draws you in. I found a lot of similarities in the story to Circe, and without knowing much of the classical Greek mythology, I’m not sure if they just had similar stories or if it was on purpose. Either way a lovely book!

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-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

3.5

If you like Greek mythology retellings like Circe, chances are you'll probably enjoy this! Like other reviews have said, I think the overall message of the story gets lost towards the end. I'm not super familiar with the Ariadne myth, but from what I can tell, this was mostly just a retelling of that story. The overall tone of the writing does feel very Greek mythology-esque, and the style felt a lot like Circe to me.

This is billed as a feminist retelling, and while there are some elements of that, it feels like it falls flat by the end. Adding maybe a few more details or fleshing out a few more characters might have helped in making this feel more feminist than just surface level.

All in all, an enjoyable read, especially if you're a fan of Greek mythology!

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