Reviews

Hera by Jennifer Saint

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natashaleighton_'s review

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Another masterfully written, feminist retelling from Jennifer Saint that I felt beautifully captured the frustration, rage and emotional complexity of one of the most misunderstood Goddesses in Greek mythology.

Like Madeline Miller before her (with the incredible novel Circe), Saint gives a compelling voice to the famously maligned Hera (whose portrayal as the jealous wife of Zeus has been practically set in stone for centuries), laying bare every triumph and heartbreaking tribulation, that not only got under my skin but completely changed my perspective of her. Even in her most vengeful and petty moments I couldn’t really hate her.

I loved exploring such a poignantly vulnerable side to Hera that we don’t often get to see, and felt her story was an in depth and allegorical exploration into the patriarchal distribution of power and the slow simmering rage of women forced to watch their power (and bodily autonomy) diminish before their eyes.

Given the global targeting women’s bodily autonomy and rights, as well as the rise in misogyny and violence towards women— Hera’s experiences are the incredibly relevant.

And, alongside our supporting cast of (female) characters (both mortal and immortal) who’s backstories were just as impactful; we glimpse the most in-depth and humanised portrayal of the Gods that I’ve ever encountered. I was thoroughly engaged in their antics (and furious on behalf of Hera, the other Goddesses and all the women affected by the whims of the Gods.)

It’s painstakingly detailed and well researched without diverting too much from the original stories, which was surprisingly refreshing. And if you’re a stickler for accuracy in Greek myth retellings you should definitely consider checking this out.

I can’t really say anything else without spoiling the plot but overall, this was a powerfully poignant and feminist retelling that historical fiction lovers will want to add to their TBRs ASAP! Though I do recommend checking the TWs.

Also, a huge thank you to Headline/ Wildfire for the gorgeously shiny proof.

Content Warnings

niffler_for_words's review against another edition

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challenging informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.0

“All she knows is that he leaves a trail of broken women on his wake. And she is the most broken of them all. It makes her dangerous. And he knows it”

I listened to the audio version of that book. I truly enjoyed how the narrator read the text. It felt like a monument, a long and epic poem and truly helped to get immersed in J. Saint’s prose deeper.

Even if I love deep mythology retellings, where events are often completely different from the legends we have, I liked how here the motives are more discussed than the actions. Hera is a very complex character and we go through her whole story. All her contradictions and the way she processes events are deeply human (the fact that she overanalyzes human behavior wasn’t lost on me, and is a great mirror of her own character). Through the pages, we develop empathy for Hera. Not because she’s overly sympathetic (she remains very gray, and that’s this novel’s force), but because we learn why she acts like she does. She is the first victim, the first reduced to silence. She sees her life and her hopes collapse one after the other and reacts like she believes she has to. And, like all of us, she makes mistakes.

Which makes her very human, and opens the book’s question, identity. What defines us? Our enemies? Our family? The people who watch us? Their expectations? How do they interpret our actions?

With its very beautiful prose, in addition to narrating Hera’s story to us, this book incites us to question about ourselves.

Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer Saint and Headline Audio/Wildfire for the ALC. My opinions are my own

cgra_cex's review

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5.0

her best one so far !!!!

radella_hardwick's review against another edition

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This was an ARC and I an out of time before the publication date

makingandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Thoroughly enjoyed this greek myth retelling that is focused on the gods, a refreshing change from the human focus of so many of the most popular modern retellings. I was slightly confused how Jennifer Saint was going to make Hera a compelling protagonist as so much of her behaviour in canon is awful. Her behaviour rooted in feminist rage is a great choice and makes Hera a much more sympathetic MC. It was great to visit so many of the most famous myths through this lens and I learned a lot more about some of the lesser known gods. My only gripe was the last chapter, it felt superfluous and detracted from a powerful ending at the top of Mount Olympus.

coffee_on_the_pages's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.5

Jennifer Saint is a fantastic writer of Greek mythology retellings and this does not disappoint. This book was like a Greek mythology overview starting with the fall of Cronos all the way through to the fall of the gods all from the POV of Hera, queen of the gods and wife of Zeus. Dipping in and out of so many myths from the really well known ones like Heracles, and Medusa, and into some of the lesser known ones the reader gets a bit of a Greek mythology 101. For me personally it helped me much better understand the chronological order of my favourite Greek myths.

Hera isn't exactly a likeable character, she is, what she always has been, vindictive, jealous, and petty but this book gives a better understanding of why she is this way and although I definitely did not agree with her actions I could at least emphasise with her. I did find it a little repetitive, Zeus does something bad, Hera lashes out at some poor victim of her husband.

While I enjoyed the story and the narrator her pronunciations of some names and places really took me out of the story at times and it took me a little minute to figure out who was who. I am not sure if she was perhaps pronouncing them the correct Greek way and my knowledge of the pronunciations is just wrong in which case I retract this statement.

Overall a really good retelling, it isn't my favourite by Jennifer Saint but it certainly wasn't a bad read and I would recommend to anyone who loves a good retelling.
Thank you Netgalley and Headline Audio for an arc copy of this audiobook.

Content Warnings

imogen_reads_books's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

traceyroberts's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

charlottereadshistory's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this raw retelling of Hera’s story. Queen of the gods, vengeful stepmother and spiteful wife - but also so much more. This is very much an ‘origin story’ as we learn more about Hera’s ‘childhood’ as much as any god has one, but also those defining moments in her life that seek to explain (rather than condone) her behaviour.

In Greek mythology Hera is often vilified due to her jealousy and vindictiveness towards Zeus’s mistresses/victims and their children, who bear the brunt of her anger rather than Zeus himself.

Hera’s tale seems to be a reaction to injustice after injustice piled upon her – as the daughter of Cronus and Zeus’s sister she is a hugely powerful goddess, but when the Olympian gods defeat the Titans and set up their home on Olympus, Zeus claims primacy and Hera is passed over when the other gods and goddesses are given their thrones and their realms of influence.

Note before we continue: This book and therefore the review contains trigger warnings of rape & sexism/misogyny.

On top of Hera’s ill treatment as a member of Olympus, Zeus forces Hera to become his wife and rapes her. Her inner pain at being betrayed and violated in this way is then compounded with the humiliation of being made goddess of marriage by Zeus whilst he constantly undermines her by forsaking his vows and creating a myriad of offspring (usually by force).

I thought this story was a thoughtful retelling of Hera’s life, as well as being a scathing look at the patriarchy and the different ways that anger and grief can show themselves. I must also mention the hot of side characters which could have gotten confusing, but Saint’s careful character and world building meant even myself as someone fairly new to Greek mythology was fine, and learnt so much context that will bring new insights to new stories I read in the future.

Thank you to Headline for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Content Warnings

mhmrose's review

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

From my first read of Atalanta, I knew Jennifer Saint was going to be one of my new favourite authors and Hera has cemented that. Another amazing mythological retelling seen through the eyes of one of Greek mythology's most prosecuted Goddesses and giving her back her voice to tell her tale of trials and dangers. Saint gives us the tale of the Goddess Queen, Hera, as she hopes to be a part of the changing Olympus alongside her family, but things are not always that easy, especially for women in mythology.

I absolutely adored Hera from the beginning with the battles against physical foes and mental forces set to make her fail. But Hera proves herself as a Goddess and warrior. That isn't to say she is full of virtues, especially after what she's been through; she is compassionate, angry, irrational, and diplomatic; Hera is a character full of complexities that make her feel human even for a mythological being. Just as the trials her mythological counterpart puts heroes and heroines through, Hera fights through her own and comes out a true queen.

Written with her unapologetic, lyrical style, Saint had me hooked from cover to cover with the compassionate, and beautiful tale. I devoured the book within a few days because the story was so engrossing with the worldbuilding adding depth to the tale. I also love how Saint does not shy away from showing her characters' faults and virtues equally, creating believable and relatable characters even if they are seen as non-human.

I thoroughly recommend Hera to anyone who adores Greek mythology retellings and fantasy lovers who adore a strong female lead who prevails against the worst of adversaries.

Thank you, NetGalley and Headline for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings

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