Reviews with content warning for Violence - Ariadne

I really enjoyed this book! I listened to the audiobook and I thought it was really good. This story is a simple retelling of some women of Greek mythology, and I kept having to stop myself mid book so I wouldn’t go check Wikipedia for what happened to these characters before I read it in this book. It was intriguing and had some strong themes throughout; it definitely had a moral to the story and gave me some things to think about, but it was a little shallow in its storytelling. Like others have mentioned, it didn’t show much, only told you straight out what happened. But I enjoyed listening to it and want to dive back into Greek mythologies and retellings!

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alienor_kerjan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful fast-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

5.0

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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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amsswim's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

I really did enjoy this book though. There seems to be a lot of confusion in some of the reviews that this book does not know what it is trying to accomplish, but I think the big themes are simple. 1) Men are capable of, and often commit, great terrors on the world and individuals whether they realize it or not. 2) Being near Greek Gods and their games is a dangerous idea.

I am a fan of mythological retellings, so this hit the spot for me. This did not live up to Circe in my eyes, but I cannot fault it on not being my favorite book lol. It did have a similar vibe to Circe though in my opinion. If you like mythological retellings and/or stories of women trying to survive and thrive, I recommend.

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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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cursed_sapphire's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

This book was very atmospheric and introspective, and I really appreciated it. Although I think half the reason I loved this as much as I did is because I am a HUGE Greek mythology nerd, I also think people who just want to hear more female voices will find this a good read- it definitely left me with some interesting perspectives to ponder. Overall, this really helped bring mythology alive in a way I strongly appreciate, even if the pacing is a bit slow-- there is a good portion of the book where not much happens-- and if I would have appreciated a bit more depth/time with some of the characters.

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