A review by claudiamacpherson
Ariadne, by Jennifer Saint

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Theseus may be one of the most famous heroes of Greek mythology, but this retelling shows us Ariadne’s side of the story. 

Before reading Ariadne, I only knew of the titular character for her role in Theseus’ escape from the labyrinth. I was surprised by both the rest of Ariadne’s story and my ignorance of it; the twists and turns—especially Ariadne’s eventual marriage—make for a dramatic story.

Spoiler

The Olympians are usually so cruel and capricious, both so much more and so much less than human. So it was interesting to see Dionysus, the god of wine and madness, no less, acting so compassionately to human women. And, though I was not surprised, his betrayal and the violence he used in pursuit of more power was a disappointment.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Spoiler

Not happy at all. Even though the ending is tragic, it feels inevitable, which tempers the sadness somewhat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Self harm, Violence, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence