Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Ariadne

Jennifer Saint has such an amazing writing style. Though some parts of the book could be seen as boring or mundane weren't. Every plot point and character is interconnected and the pacing of the story is great. The characters were well thought out and written and the dialogue was great. I love hearing greek mythology stories being told through the lens of the women that were in these stories.

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jessisafrog's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

2.0

A frustrating read.

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readingtothesea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Very thought provoking. The book deals with the pov of women in Greek mythology. Especially them having to suffer under men‘s actions. It tells Ariadnes myth, but from her perspective since usually she is only mentioned briefly for helping Theseus.

But tbh, you probably have to like and know something about Greek mythology to enjoy the book, since there are some „side quests“ of different myths, that are mentioned. For example, Ariadne mentions Medusa‘s tale, but to understand the impact that it has (especially for the feminist tone), you should have heard of her story before.
The feminist tone is rather subtle, not as prominent as it could be, if you ask me. It either works via the stories of women in Greek mythology that she mentions, as prior mentioned, or via thoughts that Ariadne has or unfair things that happen to her or other women in the story.

Although, I found both Ariadne’s and Phaedra‘s deaths rather random. They should have been more impactful. The strong and stubborn Phaedra suddenly taking her life, just because she had been rejected? She has gotten over more in her life. I do understand, that it wasn’t only the one sided love but more things that add up to that, but still, it doesn’t match her character, if you ask me. Ariadne‘a death had the potential to have an impact, if it would have been described and interpreted more. For example it being an image: Her dying, to safe the other women (Maenaden), to prevent the consequences of men’s emotional and egoistic actions. Especially since she had criticized prior, that women are the ones that have to suffer. But this chance wasn’t used, instead the ending was rather abrupt. Also, the way of her death, wasn’t logical, rather dumb. She knew about Medusa‘s head on the shield, she spoke about it multiple times, but still, she looked at it? Instead of just looking away or closing her eyes? I‘m just saying, it could have been a chance to give her death an impact, if the reader would have been given time to think about it, but the book ended immediately.
The ending just doesn’t match the rest of the story.

I still enjoyed reading it, since I‘m a sucker for feminist greek mythology retellings. It is a good read, but there are a few things that could be better.
Also, I loved the writing style.

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gillian_aftanas's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-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

3.5

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allapaz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

solid story and characterization, Ariadne’s life lent itself well to a feminist retelling, though incredibly heavy at times, even for myth

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persefona002's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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phantomgecko's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.25

Circe is my touchstone for mythological retellings, so I couldn't help but compare this novel to it. I was shocked to find this book was longer than Circe because it felt like less happened. One possible explanation is the splitting of the narrative between Ariadne and Phaedra. I just wasn't able to get to know either of them as well as I came to know Circe.

I enjoyed the feminist angle here, the emphasis on woman's suffering at the hands of the gods. Like, true. Men suffered too, but mostly it was their own fault?

This retelling felt softer. The buck wildness of Greek mythology was present but not as nitty gritty as in Circe. Importantly, I cried at the end because the theme of motherhood was strong, and I am but an emotional mother.

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michaela_s's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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