Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Ariadne

I was hoping this would give me similar feelings to Circe, as in fleshing out a character known little about. But in this case, it didn’t have the same emotional impact I was looking for and the main thesis of the story is simple and doesn’t stray from the myth.

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ourxstorybegins's review against another edition

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3.75

I have mixed feelings on this one. It took me some time to get through and was definitely pretty dense. This was a retelling of the story of the family of the Minotaur, but from the perspective of the two younger sisters, Ariadne and Phaedra. It took place over the course of about fifteen years, from the introduction of Theseus into their lives all the way to when Ariadne was turned to stone by Perseus.

My main struggle is that this book was advertised by a lot of folks as a “feminist retelling” and....I don’t really know where that comes from, other than the fact that it gives us a chance to see the perspective and motivations of these two women.

Some Highlights:

I absolutely loved Phaedra. I was hooked from the moment I started to get to read her perspective. I could empathize with her situation a lot more than Ariadne’s
I think the characterization of Dionysus as someone stuck between the feelings that come with being mortal and the expectations that come with being a god was really interesting. I liked watching Ariadne struggle with seeing him change from being basically human to being just as bad as the other gods.
I really liked the epilogue. I obviously won’t get too detailed in that, but I thought if it had to end the way it did, the epilogue was a nice touch.

The main struggle with this is that, at the end of the day, everything about these two women were done at the hands of men. Their deaths were both a result of them finally taking an active role in their stories. I think the author wanted to stay true to the mythology, and that’s great, but it just led to a painful demise for both of these women who the author had me rooting for throughout the book.

ESCAPES RATING:
Enjoyment - 6 | Start - 7 | Characters - 8 | Atmosphere - 5 | Plot - 6 | End - 6 | Style - 7

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booksandmo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-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

4.25

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elly29's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad medium-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

3.25

I might have thought this was also by Madeline Miller, who wrote Circe. Which is an impressive thing to say; this is Saint's debut novel, and already she is accomplished. I will look forward to Elektra when it comes out in April '22.

The themes were the same as Circe - the powerlessness of women in the Greek world, and how women always seem to pay for the crimes and indiscretions of men. Saint certainly emphasized that theme, through the telling of Ariadne's story (and a quarter of it was well and truly her sister Phaedra's story).

I was surprised at the portrayal of post-partum depression and depression Phaedra experienced. It seems rare in a YA/EA novel like this.

This is an interesting tale if you like Greek feminist retellings, the Minotaur stories where the Minotaur is still bad, or Dionysus. At times it comes across as misandrist, ie that all divine and mortal men will disappoint in some way (do women not disappoint?).

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sailor_rain's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

2.75

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missindyrose's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

2.75

This would be a good introduction to new fiction retellings of myths. There isn't much depth or exploration compared to the works of Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes and Pat Barker. Still a very much enjoyable story, just falls very flat of expectations.

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