The Heroines follows in a long line of Greek myth retellings and I was so worried it wouldn’t live up to expectations. It really does. Fast paced, violent, passionate, heartbreaking and above all entertaining it begins in the court of King Minos amidst the volunteers from Athens who enter the minotaur’s labyrinth. The tale is mostly told from Phaedra’s viewpoint with a few supporting voices and a chorus (I love a chorus). A worthy five star read, I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you @netgalley for the eARC of this perfectly grisly novel. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

I liked the focus on Phaedra and the inclusion of Medea in this story and how Shepperson has changed part of the myth to tell her own story and message. The use of the Night Chorus was great, however I feel it could have been used more to show the plight of the slave women. I can see why some criticisms are made about the general bad portrayal of men, but it is what it is. I think the use of the trial gave this book something different, a hint of modernity. But it wasn’t hinted at in the earlier chapters well enough for it to be intriguing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book may be enjoyed by many people, unfortunately I am not one of the many. I like Greek mythology and was interested to read the story of Phaedre.

I found the story very disjointed, in the main due to the many characters and all the differing POVs. I wasn’t able to make a connection to any of the characters and some of their POVs did not seem to be of relevance to the main plot line (or was that just my lack of understanding?).

The Heroines focuses on Phaedra, daughter of Minos and the events that happen after her marriage to Theseus.

This is billed as a feminist retelling of the Greek Myth and the author certainly ensures that we have sympathy for the female characters in the story. We can feel the fear and horror of the women who reside and work within the Athenian court. This was a fairly quick read and unfortunately, didn't meet the likes of Madeline Millar and some of the other Greek Myth retellings that are proving to be increasingly popular.
Phaedra is a rather naïve character and remains so for the majority of the novel. I didn't really warm to her at all.

The story is told through a multitude of POV's, which could have been interesting. However, they tended to have the same voice and I found the writing style to be fairly juvenile at times. I genuinely think that this book could have been great if it had gone through a few more rounds of editing as the premise and the decision to present it almost like a Greek tragic play was interesting.

I think the author has a lot of potential, but needs a better editing team.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I am a enormous fan of mythology re-tellings, especially Ancient Greek. I am also a big fan of Medea, so this ticked all of the boxes for me.

First of all, I really enjoyed the writing style, as well as the format echoing a Greek play, with the story being broken up into three acts, and the inclusion of a (night) chorus. I also disagree with the criticism that there were too many POVs, or that they weren't all necessary/add to the story. I personally really liked the changing perspectives, I think it added a good depth to the book. I especially enjoyed the perspective of one of the tributes in the labyrinth.

I also really enjoyed Medea's perspective; she's one of my favourite characters from Greek myth. I've always found her story fascinating, so I'm glad that we were able to read her perspective of the story.

Two of my favourite quotes are from Medea:

“I know that history will judge me, but history is written by men. I did not want to be at any man's mercy, not again.”

“A woman descended from a god still has to be either a good woman or a witch. What would it take to be called a heroine?”

I would definitely recommend this book to fans of mythology re-tellings, especially anyone who has already read Jennifer Saint's Ariadne. I will note that there are trigger warnings of rape and suicide.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Greek myth retellings are so phenomenally popular at the moment I thought I'd dip my toe in the water with this, however I struggled to get into it, which may be because I'm not familiar with the story. That being said, it's given a female slant in the retelling, so despite the misogyny and violence we can expect from these tales, we also see the events from the women's points of view. It's one I'll revisit but for now it's one I couldn't finish.

This book frustrated me so much. I know nothing of mythology, although I find the subject somewhat interesting, but this retelling was just not it. Why is it called the heroines when at then end we have them choosing the wrong paths?
The writing was great but the plot was lacking.
So many chapter, with so many characters that would come and go, not to talk about the characters that had their own chapters only to die after a couple of pages.
I felt so irritated and angry at how weak this author portrayed women. Feminine writing? Don’t think the author knows what that means.

The Heroines is the same book as Phaedra, confusingly titled differently across the Atlantic. I am sorry to say that The Heroines/Phaedra is the first, and hopefully the only, one-star review that I have given or will give an ARC on NetGalley. There have been many feminist re-tellings of Greek myths/epics in recent years which I have greatly enjoyed, but unfortunately this was not one of them. This one went too far in the name of "feminism", and I speak as a proud woman and staunch feminist. Feminism does not mean deliberately vilifying an innocent man just to flip the story and portray a woman as the victim, when in fact all ancient sources are clear that she was the perpetrator and he the victim. And especially when that man happens to be a rare icon of a marginalized group, e.g. of a minority sexual orientation such as asexuality or homosexuality which already suffers from enough stigmatisation. If you want a good modern re-telling of the Phaedra and Hippolytus story, I suggest checking out Jennifer Saint's Ariadne and steering clear of Laura Shepperson's The Heroines.

All classical sources, such as the plays Phaedra (Seneca) and Hippolytus (Euripides), as well as Ovid's poem Heroides, agree that Hippolytus was a chaste young man who had no interest in sexual relations and was solely devoted to his horses and to Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt. In today's times, one might say that Hippolytus was asexual, part of the tiny 1% of people who experience no sexual attraction to either sex (which is perfectly normal and not a cause for concern, just as the fact that homosexuals don't experience opposite-sex attraction is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about). Unfortunately, asexuals today across the world are often pathologised and seen as anomalies who are abnormal in their lack of sexual attraction. Just like other queer people, asexuals often suffer conversion therapy to turn them into "normal sexual people", arranged/forced marriages, discrimination from medical professionals/therapists, etc. Laura Shepperson turns a well-established, completely innocent, asexual character into a rapist -- a ludicrous move which is crassly invalidating and insulting. It suggests that asexual people don't really exist, and that behind every seemingly asexual person, there must be a sex-hungry pervert who cannot control his "natural" lust. It is like saying that every seemingly homosexual man secretly lusts after women as well, and will rape a woman if only given the chance.

In the real classical accounts, chaste and lust-less Hippolytus is disgusted and horrified by his stepmother Phaedra's amorous advances and clearly rejects her. Phaedra, driven mad by the power of Aphrodite, falsely accuses Hippolytus of raping her, which his father Theseus sadly believes and thus calls upon Poseidon to punish Hippolytus. It is Poseidon who, at Theseus' behest, causes Hippolytus' undeserved death by having him thrown off his chariot and trampled by his horses. Artemis then appears (alas, too late), revealing the truth about Phaedra's nefarious machinations and rebuking Theseus for causing the death of his innocent son, leaving Theseus devastated and remorseful.

But Shepperson perverts the story, turning sweet, quiet, chaste Hippolytus into a sneering, vile man who actually does rape Phaedra, and is subsequently killed by decapitation at Phaedra's hands! Not only is Shepperson's horrific subversion grossly disrespectful to the original sources, but it also perpetuates the harmful notion that there is really no such thing as a man who doesn't desire sex with a woman -- a notion which is highly offensive to the LGBTQIA+ community. By vilifying one of the incredibly few mortal asexual male figures of Greek mythology, Shepperson does not do feminism any service. Portraying women in a sympathetic light is NOT achieved by falsely framing innocent people of marginalized identities as villains!

After this ridiculous and blatantly tone-deaf book, perhaps Shepperson should consider writing a "feminist" re-telling of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (the renowned African-American abolitionist and statesman who began his life as a slave), focusing on the "untold story" of how the harsh slave-mistress Mrs Auld was actually the victim of cruelty and rape at the hands of the seemingly innocent but actually evil Frederick Douglass! Furthermore, Shepperson's writing style is imitative, predictable, tedious and immature, biting off far more than she can chew, and in the process rendering her work the object of ridicule and contempt in the eyes of readers acquainted with the original classical legend of Hippolytus and Phaedra, or with high-quality modern re-tellings for that matter. After reading the novels of Madeline Miller, Jennifer Saint, and even an ARC of Costanza Casati's upcoming release Clytemnestra, I am forced to conclude that Shepperson's The Heroines is a blatant anomaly in the field of feminist classical re-tellings. I am sorry to have to leave such a strongly critical review, but this is my honest opinion after reluctantly plodding through this book which left a most bitter aftertaste.

In the Greek myths, any old lech or brute can be labelled a hero if he does one good deed or obeys the gods but, as Laura Shepperson asks, what would it take to be called a heroine? Here she seeks to tell the story of the most famous women from the myths but this time from their point of view, to redress some of the balance denied them over the centuries.
Phaedra has even been overlooked within her own family, scarcely able to attract her mother’s attention never mind affection. And her father Minos (yes, him) is happy enough to marry her off to Theseus (reputation: dreadful). One person’s strategic marriage alliance is another’s trafficking of a young princess, and off Phaedra goes to Athens, knowing nothing of what her life there might be like. Spoiler: worse than she could ever have imagined.
Also in Athens, although covertly, is Medea, scorned by all as a traitor who killed her children. But they never ask why. She is not a witch, not evil, not psychotic, just someone faced with an awful situation. Other than when seeking oblivion in wine, she’s a clear-headed wronged woman.
And throughout we have the night chorus of women who tell us what they have to bear at the hands of men. They have enough to say to sustain a while book by themselves such is the burden they live with.
I thought I would have had my fill by now of these female-centred versions of classical myths. But as long as there are heroines to follow and stories to be looked at anew, I’m in. Here we get a little of Medea but I’m hungry for more. Just as well, then, that Natalie Haynes is on the case.

I absolutely loved "The Heroines". I found everything (plot, characters, writing, setting) truly immersive and I didn't want the book to end. Yes, there are a few tiny problems (read other people's reviews), but they in no way spoiled my enjoyment. I would happily read book after book after book written by Laura Shepperson (please!). This just really hit the spot for me.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

I, sadly, did not get on with The Heroines and did not finish. This novel has taught me two useful lessons. First, I will not like anything that hints at being a feminist retelling. More often than not, it is simply angry women demonizing men. Second, I need to be more discriminating in the Greek mythology refresh novels I choose. There is gold dust to be had - Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes, Claire North, Charlotte Higgins and Stephen Fry (for a bit of fun), to name a few - but there are other authors that don't reach this high standard and may do a disservice to these ancient stories. I can deal with a bit of tinkering but ripping the core out of the story to suit the feminist agenda doesn't sit well with me. These were different times with different standards and it's time we learn to accept that instead of bending everything to meet today's twisted sense of propriety.

Now, on to The Heroine. A good effort but may have reached too far? This novel is told from quite a few points of view. More than was necessary, I would suggest, but all had the same voice/tone/flatness. There was no character development to speak of. All were one dimensional and rather unpleasant. There wasn't a single character that was likeable or someone worth investing in.

A Greek myth retelling suffers badly when there are no gods present. That is the fascinating aspect of these tales as it is the misguided gods fuelling the action with their intervention. This story, most especially, as Phaedra falls in love with the unattainable Hippolytus because of Aphrodite's meddling. She charges him with rape though he has not committed the crime. In The Heroine there were no gods (or weren't at the point I stopped) and ALL the males are guilty of, well, being men and the Phaedra/Hippolytus story is twisted out of all recognition.

As much as I believe refreshing these stories to make them accessible to a younger audience is a good thing, changing the story to make greater victims out of women serves no one.

This story explored different female characters from Greek mythology, giving voices to several of them throughout - from maids to queens. It was a different approach and I enjoyed learning more about several women in one book and having voices given to those with untold stories. Phaedra’s the main focus of the narrative, and her story isn’t a happy one, so it’s easy to feel empathy for her but also to be inspired by her bravery and determination in the face of trauma, scrutiny and humiliation. It’s a powerful story and one that deserved to be heard but I didn’t find it as compelling as I hoped. That being said, there are some interesting dynamics between characters and exploration of motivations but I do think it could have delved a bit deeper into some of the female character narratives so that we had a better idea of who they were as a lot of them were very short narratives.

A fresh retelling of mythological stories that we all know so well. Some captivating elements and a very enjoyable read.

This was so compelling. I have always loved the Greek myths but this retelling was just so fresh and exciting. I read through it in a couple of days and although there were some graphic scenes I did enjoy it.

Unfortunately a DNF for me, I was just not hooked. I didn't feel drawn into the story, instead of being engaging I felt the story was just a narrative.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Heroines
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Laura Shepperson
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mythology
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 9th February 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3/5

TW: this is a Greek retelling so expect a lot of physical and sexual violence

”It was not until ten summers later, when Theseus was to come to Crete seeking power beyond what we could give him, that I was to learn the truth: that any man can throw words up into the air, and it is women who must pay when those words land.”

I appreciate the author giving the female victims of Greek tragedies a voice although I did expect the feminism to be a more prevalent theme. I guess when I read a book that is supposed to speak to females, I want to finish reading that book feeling empowered, rather than browbeaten and full of sorrow. Phaedra’s character is so tragic, she inspired my sympathy but nothing else. I couldn’t help but feel that if you’re going to change the narrative of a greek myth, then you should make the characters worthy of it too.

Compared to the other mythology books I have read, this was easily the quickest one I have finished, which I appreciate. But also I’m wondering if maybe the writing should be more developed, as though I was happy to sit and read Phaedra’s story and found it in engaging, there was something lacking.

I enjoyed the multiple POVs although I did wonder why Trypho was given a voice in a book called The Heroines. I was surprised at Medea’s point of view. For one of the more prominent Greek heroines, I expected more than her simply lurking everywhere. At least a singular dastardly plot, or five.

The part that stood out to me was the establishment of the court of law Theseus wanted. I was really gripped reading that part of the story, and I wish more emphasis was placed on Phaedra making it a success.

Overall, this is a tragic and loose retelling of the Greek heroines that have been ignored. I needed a little more heroine injected into the female characters however as they felt insipid and lukewarm.

🧚🏻‍♀️

Phaedra is forced to marry Theseus and taken from Crete to Athens. He is much older than her and she is neglected from the day she arrives.Theseus leaves Athens for a while and on return finds his son accused of raping his wife.

A trial is to be held where the people will decide not the King. What will happen, who will win and what will the consequences be?

A well paced novel in which we see the tale from a woman’s point of view. Great characters for us to enjoy.

This is my first foray into the world of Greek myth retellings and I am hooked! I devoured this book in a day, and was gripped both by the storytelling, and the almost wholly female perspective - particularly that of Phaedra, and the Night Chorus. - brilliant debut

Greek retellings are really having a moment. And long may it continue! Laura Shepperton has brought to life a story that will delight lovers of the genre as well as newcomers to it.
An excellent read full of substance and skill.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel. With Greek myths expertly researched and cleverly interwoven with careful twists, this story is a compelling one. Shepperson crafts a tale told through several points of view to bring the reader the Greek tragic tale of Phaedra.

The night chorus and the young bull leaper are particularly poignant points of view, bringing emotional depth to this brilliant debut.

In a patriarchal world, we learn that even in a Greek tragedy, a woman’s body is a war ground, drawing parallels with society as we find it today.

A highly recommended read.