A review by bryonyindecisivereader
Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.0

I was so excited to venture into another Jennifer Saint retelling. I continue to be amazed by her ability to find a few lines about women in male-heavy stories and how she can create whole books about them. She also always manages to find women who I’ve not really heard about, which makes the myth deep-dive you want to do afterwards near impossible. 
Although it did turn out I had a small recollection of an Atalanta poem from when I’d been at University in this instance, I didn’t put two and two together until the end which meant I was still guessing which direction her story would go. I was just really excited to read a story which featured Artemis too, who I often feel, if portrayed, is often portrayed quite passively? so it was interesting to see her take a more active, kind of aggressive role in this - kind of more like a typical goddess, I guess. 
I loved Atalanta’s character. She was brave and unapologetically powerful, and most men actually didn’t mind that. I enjoyed seeing such a strong female presence in such a typically male setting. 
I think the take on motherhood was really interesting. I also enjoyed the friendships Atalanta explores throughout the book as they create a sense of loyalty that she repeatedly shows as the story progresses. 
I flew through this book (I read it in two days) - it was so easy to read, but I also did not want to put it down. 
Once again, Jennifer Saint manages to create a story that celebrates female strength and bravery in a myth that had before forgotten its women. 
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