Reviews with content warning for War - Ariadne

A commom criticism of this book relates to the story the main female characters, that those are feminist which is an unfair criticism to the author's writing. The mythological stories were never feminist in the first place and the author, Jennifer Saint, could not make the storyline more feminist while still staying true to the original. I think the feminist perspective of how women are punished for the wrongdoings of men was done very well, especially considering characters like Pasiphae, of course Ariadne but also the ending and the destructiveness of unhappy powerful men.

The only reason this isn't a complete 5 out of 5 stars is that the middle part, about her time on Naxos, reminds me so much of Circe (which is my absolutely favourite book in the world) and felt too similar, but of course not the fault of the author, because that is the nature of the story. The writing style was wonderful and also the POV of Phaedra was unteresting, since I didn't know her story

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camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

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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.

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jakeryave's review against another edition

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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

3.5

hit the spot for contemporary greek mythology retellings, but nothing compared to Circe. still a good read, ending hit HARD

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vistacanas's review against another edition

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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.

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