Artemis is completely unforgiving. Follow her unwavering and she will protect you for life. Disobey any of her rules and encure her wrath. While I felt sorry for her that she had lost her friend, I hated her coldness.

I found it hard to keep track of all the Gods, Goddess and the other characters. As someone new to this genre, it would have been helpful to have a list of who was who and what their power was.

I felt like the story jumped a bit, there was alot of description but not much depth. However, I really liked Atalanta.

Jennifer Saint can do no wrong in my eyes.
Her lyrical writing aways pulls me in.
This book is no exception.
One of the lesser known mythological tales that Jennifer Saint has worked beautifully to bring to life.

I love Jennifer Saint her lyrical writing is so beautiful and her stories just so wonderful, rich in plot , but also being a pleasure to read and get lost in. Her characters are fully developed and fleshed out, the story is entertaining and it holds your interest all the way throughout. Another fantastic read, I look forward to many more to come

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am a huge fan of Jennifer Saint's and I was so excited to read this, and I will admit I did not know much about Atalanta. Well, I was not disappointed. Saint has yet again written another gorgeous, sweeping mythological tale. I loved how Saint weaves Atalanta's story into the Greek gods and goddesses and she does so effortlessly. Atalanta has a remarkable story and I was completely immersed in it. I also found this a really beautiful and quite emotional read. Love and family is really at the heart of this book and Saint captures the emotions spectacularly.
I just adored this book, everything was perfection, from the plot to the characters, descriptions of epic adventures and the depiction of gods and goddesses. I loved this and cannot wait for Saint's next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Wildfire for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

Atalanta is the story of the only female member of the Argonauts, a woman who upon being abandoned at birth on a mountainside was raised by a bear. When she was older, Atalanta is taken in by the goddess Artemis and so she aims to be like her in every way. Soon Atalanta is the greatest huntress who has ever lived and she wants to remain as pure as Artemis. Living among the nymphs alongside Callisto and Arethusa, Atalanta sees for herself what happens to women taken advantage of by men. When the opportunity to join the greatest quest known to humanity, the hunt for the Golden Fleece of Colchis alongside Jason and the other great heroes of Greek mythology, Atalanta jumps at the chance to be Artemis' champion, determined to go down in legend.

I adored this book from the first page and found it impossible to put down once I started. Jennifer Saint's "Elektra" is one of my favourite books so I was delighted to be approved for this. "Atalanta" is a powerful retelling of the quest of the Argonauts, focusing on Atalanta's struggle to be recognised among men. I enjoyed the relationships she developed throughout with the nymphs and how what happened to them impacted on her decision making. Seeing characters like Medea and Hypsipyle (who are both mistreated by Jason and historically written a certain way) through the eyes of Atalanta was so enjoyable and I especially loved the hunt for the Calydonian boar towards the end of the book. To see a myth like Atalanta be told in such a strong and engaging way, while also recounting the myths, was massively powerful and well written. I'm glad I read this and can't wait to read it again.

Having enjoyed Jennifer Saint’s first two novels, Ariadne and Elektra, I was looking forward to reading her third one, Atalanta. Like the others, it explores the life of a woman from Greek mythology, in this case Atalanta, famous as a hunter, a runner and the only female Argonaut.

Daughter of the King of Arcadia, the baby Atalanta is left to die on a mountain because her father had hoped for a son. Rescued by bears and raised along with their cubs, Atalanta grows up under the watchful eye of Artemis, goddess of the hunt, who later takes her to live amongst the nymphs in the forest. As she reaches adulthood, it is clear that Atalanta possesses special skills in hunting, shooting and running. Elsewhere, Jason is preparing to set out aboard the Argo on his mission to obtain the Golden Fleece from the King of Colchis. With the blessing of Artemis, Atalanta joins the quest, but it won’t be easy to persuade Jason and his men to accept her as a fellow Argonaut.

I won’t go into all the details of the myth here, but Saint incorporates most of the elements that are often associated with Atalanta: the Calydonian boar hunt, her relationship with the Argonaut Meleager, the footrace and the golden apples. I say ‘often’ because, as with many Greek myths, there are different versions of Atalanta’s story. In some, she isn’t mentioned as part of the Argonaut legend at all; in others, she is the daughter of the King of Boeotia rather than Arcadia. I have read about Atalanta before, in Emily Hauser’s For the Winner, and it’s interesting to see how different authors choose to approach the same myth, what they include and leave out and how they interpret the actions and motivations of the characters.

I liked this book more than Elektra, but not as much as Ariadne. I felt that it was a bit slow to get started – the section set in the woods with the nymphs seemed to last forever – but once Atalanta joined the Argonauts on their quest it all became much more compelling. Although romance isn’t a big part of Atalanta’s story, I also enjoyed following her relationships with first Meleager and then Hippomenes and I appreciated the way Saint found a way to retell the myth from a feminist perspective without portraying all of the men in a negative light. And it’s always good to read a book about Greek mythology that doesn’t involve the Trojan War – not that it’s not interesting, but there have been so many Troy novels in the last few years I don’t think there’s really any need for any more.

This is not my favourite Jennifer Saint book, then, but it’s still an interesting read, particularly if you know nothing about Atalanta and her story. Now I’m looking forward to seeing which Greek heroine Saint will write about next.

"I am more than myself than I ever have been
I am wild , I am free
I am Atalanta"

Saints's Atalanta is a beautifully written book about the only female Argonaut. Atalanta was a girl raised by a bear after being abandoned and was later then raised by Artemis before joining the Argonauts as they embark on a journey might not live through. Growing up in the wilderness, Atalanta grew to become a formidable warrior who rivalled the strength of the strongest warriors. The book immerses you into the life of Atalanta as she learns about the world, grapples with being the only female warrior in a place dominated by men and also her relations with those around her.

Although I'm very poorly informed on Greek mythology (much to my embarrassment, I already knew about the tale of Atalanta from Stephens Fry's book Mythos- which was what prompted me to pick up this book. Personally, Saint's Atalanta isn't much of a retelling but rather a very detailed and descriptive narrative of the original tale. The story hardly strays away from the original plot line and hence I already knew what was about to happen which did save part of my reading experience for this book would have been slightly anticlimactic without my prior knowledge.

Jennifer Saint does a great job weaving her lyrical writing and the rich plot together in a way which is both easy to understand as well as engaging. Her characters are fleshed out and especially the tension and dynamics between characters was nicely written. The book was entertaining and captured my interest until the very end. Im not very picky with ratings and It was a fulfilling reading experience and thus lead to me giving this a solid 3.5 to 4 stars!! This is my first 'completed' Jennifer Saint book and I Iook forward to reading more of her works int he future !

Thank you Netgalley and Headline for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my review!!

Thanks to Headline Publishing for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Having read and enjoyed both of Saint’s previous Greek mythology retellings, I was eager to dive into Atalanta’s story, especially since it’s one I don’t know much about. Saint didn’t fail to deliver, as usual. Atalanta was a beautiful read filled with lyrical writing and interesting characters.

This book follows the titular character, Atalanta. As a baby, Atalanta is abandoned by her parents because she is not a boy. She gets taken in by a bear and eventually by Artemis herself. When Jason and the Argonauts go on a quest to receive the Golden Fleece, Atalanta joins them as Artemis’s champion. Throughout the course of the book, Atalanta has to prove time and time again that she is not only equal to the male warriors, but better than them.

While I found the plot of this book to be interesting, I wasn’t as gripped by it as by the previous books, especially Elektra. The pacing felt a bit off at times – I wish more time had been spent on some aspects of the story and less on others. As for Atalanta as a character . . . I found her to be very interesting. She wasn’t particularly likeable, but she was fierce and determined to do whatever she had to, and I enjoyed seeing that, especially in a Greek retelling.

The writing was beautiful and painted a lovely picture while still being accessible and easy to read. The ending definitely took me by surprise, and it’s not one that I will forget anytime soon! Overall, this was a truly good book, but there was something about it that just didn’t entirely hit the mark for me, hence the three-star rating.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ariadne last year so jumped at the chance to read Atalanta this time. I have Elektra on my shelf ready for reading too. I do love a retelling of the classic Greek tales of gods and goddesses, heroes and villains. What I love the most is the women's perspectives: the unsung heroes, the thwarted females, the devilish and the suffering.

Atalanta is the only female Argonaut and the story is from her perspective, telling us of her childhood growing up with the bearcubs and the nymphs, and later being accepted as one of Jason's Argonauts on the way to take the golden fleece.

I enjoyed this story. As always Saint paints (I'm a poet and I know it!) a beautiful picture of a life and the setting is always exquisite. Atalanta is thriving in a man's world and she has to constantly battle to be accepted but she is aware of their feelings and does care what they think, though it doesn't stop her. She wasn't as fierce as I hoped she would be, and having recently read Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati, I was a little disappointed. Clytemnestra suffers a lot and is never one to settle or accept her fate; she fights back, plans her revenge. Atalanta is a bit tame in comparison.

This was a beautiful retelling though and I loved reading about the journey the Argonauts made to get the golden fleece.

“The explanation for her strength and abilities was that she had been raised far away from human eyes, under the cover of the forest, with the goddess Artemis as her teacher.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I was super excited to get my hands on this book after reading Ariadne in January. I know that Ariadne is going to be in my top 5 books of the year, so I was itching for more Jennifer Saint.

This was not a bad book at all, don’t get me wrong, but unfortunately Atalanta just didn’t hit me as hard as Ariadne did. Jennifer Saint’s writing will always be 5 stars, but the story felt very slow in the middle and I just didn’t connect to parts of it. I adored the beginning and the end, and adored Atalanta as a character, I related to her closeted life more than I would like to admit, but I was expecting more punch and action in the middle, which is why it felt flat for me… I think my expectations were just set too high, which is a me problem ☹️

I have Elektra on my physical TBR though, and I am still so excited to get to that one, the way that Jennifer Saint makes women the main focus of her stories is something that I absolutely adore.

(Thank you to Headline and Netgalley for the EARC! 💙)

Despite a love of Greek mythology, especially in my youth, I am ashamed to say that I have never really registered Atalanta as a character worth of the spotlight. I suspect this says more about the invisibilization of women in history and myth than it does about my own (admitted) shortcomings!

How is it that it has taken THIS long for the single female Argonaut to be given the attention and treatment that her story so richly deserves? And how fortunate that it is Jennifer Saint who took it upon herself to educate us about this lost heroine of myth.

I cannot think of anyone capable of doing more justice to Atalanta's story than Saint, with this unashamedly feminist and way overdue re-telling.

For the crime of being born a girl - rather than the male heir that her Royal parents were waiting for - newborn Atalanta is cast out and left to die on an isolated hillside. Fortunately for her, she is quickly rescued and raised by a mother bear, alongside her own cubs.

Unsurprisingly, Atalanta grows up to be wild, free and very, very strong. But she does long to experience life beyond the confines of the forest. So - when favoured by the Goddess Artemis - she is offered a chance to take part in the voyage to seek out the legendary Golden Fleece, Atalanta jumps at the opportunity to become an Argonaut.

The story of how she holds her own with her male peers, some of whom are noticeably hostile, is a fascinating one, if not in principle entirely unfamiliar. And despite the Goddess Artemis's warning that the one thing that will take away Atlanta's power is marriage, she does give in to her passionate attraction to Meleaguer, one of her fellow Argonauts.

If you want to find out what happens after that, you must read the book.

And if you have any interest in Greek mythology, strong women, adventure and excitement (and really, who doesn't?!), then you absolutely must read this book.

I loved it, and recommend it, as Jennifer Saint's telling of Atalanta story makes compelling reading. Five stars for this one.

I love Greek mythology so always enjoy reading retellings and how these characters are brought to life. This was particularly good because I didn’t know much about Atalanta before hand except for the bit about the golden apples.

I love Jennifer Saint’s style of writing and how she develops her characters. Atalanta is fierce and determined. She’s a warrior who knows what she wants and goes for it. She doesn’t allow herself to be put down or disregarded by anybody. She even sees past Artemis who is her hero and guiding light.


I like how Jennifer Saint stuck to the source material but really brought Atalanta to life with all the nuances to her character and they way she would have reacted to the various situations she had to face. Very enjoyable read.

Atalanta
The heroic story of the only female Argonaut
by Jennifer Saint

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


I find this book very descriptive. The way each of the different gods is inducing well done, and it is done well, and the story within this significant flaws exceptionally well. Her narrative voice is sharp and expressive, giving readers a distinct perspective on the female hero's difficulties and achievements. She has this unique ability to show a well-known story in a way you would never have thought of, giving solid backgrounds and clear, human feelings to famous timeless characters. These feelings are entirely plausible and natural and very much in line with the current situation and those characters' lives.
It was also exciting to read a retelling of a heroine as intriguing as Atalanta, sometimes overlooked when discussing Greek mythology, including female characters.



@headlinebooks #AtalantaBook #NetGalley #bookstagram #bookreview#goodreads #booktok#fyp #justforfun #generalfiction #historicalfiction #greekgods #greekmythologyretellings #womensfiction

Atalanta by Jennifer Saint is an extraordinary retelling of the classic Greek myth of the courageous and resourceful female Argonaut. Told from the perspective of Atalanta, the story is full of vivid imagery that brings this hero's journey to life. Saint does not shy away from exploring the challenges faced by a female in a world dominated by men, creating a book that is both beautiful and absorbing.

The story of Atalanta is an inspiring and empowering one, and Saint's reimagining is both relevant and revelatory. Her narrative voice is crisp and expressive, giving readers a unique insight into the struggles and triumphs of the female hero. This is an illuminating read that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Can something be well written without getting its point across?

That was my main question after reading Atalanta. I liked it, but I don't get what it's trying to do, why it was written exactly.

I have read Elektra, by the same author, but I haven't yet read Ariadne. I much preferred Atalanta to Elektra, mainly because I actually felt like Atalanta had the potential to be a real heroine. None of the characters in Elektra gained any kind of respect from other characters, or influence over main events...beyond resorting to murder of course.

I enjoyed reading this as a Greek legend from a, traditionally, side character's point of view, and, as a story that was unfamiliar to me, I felt absorbed by the quest, the writing, and the potential - but I didn't get much more from this beyond that. I was engaged in the series of events, but the main events didn't hit as hard as I expected them to. For the main part of the book, Atalanta was largely untouched by events, so as a reader, I felt quite disconnected from them too. While written as though Atalanta is independent and strong, which she is in some ways, mostly she just drifts with the tide, accepting decisions made on her behalf, right up to the end. Speaking of which, and without spoilers, the end is kind of written as a happy(?) ending for her, maybe, but I'm not so sure about those around her. It happened extremely quickly and without much outside reaction, so it felt abrupt and unjust as an ending, so I ended up closing the book with an 'Oh, I guess that's it then', I hadn't known Atalanta's story going into it, so didn't expect the end, but to me, it just kind of reinforced that feeling that Atalanta was disconnected from the characters and world around her, so as a feminist retelling it didn't really work if she didn't belong in the world from beginning to end.

Having said that, my favourite part of the book was the race with Hippomenes, I really liked the glimmer of hope that it gave that Atalanta could make a real choice for herself and base it on what she knew of herself and of Hippomenes, and Hippomenes' motives and the understanding and respect for each other that they both came to felt more substantial than anything I'd read from Jennifer Saint before, and like it gave a different interpretation of events from the established narrative.

Plot-wise, considering how epic the main quest has been portrayed elsewhere, it felt anything but in this book, and, again, Atalanta is pretty much just an observer most of the time, with the odd fight or race to prove herself every now and then, and, while she is mortal, her skills seem more tied to her relationship with Artemis and her formative years in the wild, than through being earnt or available to any woman; she is very much seen as an exception of her gender, rather than representative of it, so any respect she earns is not a win for feminism, but just a way of Atalanta alone being accepted for her usefulness in her specific circumstances.

On that note, I keep seeing these Greek myth retellings described as feminist retellings, and I don't really get that description. I know not everyone thinks of feminism in the same way, but for me, it is about promoting equal rights for all genders, particularly for those that have been, and still are, discriminated against or given less rights. I'm not sure that Elektra or Atalanta do that. While both give the background female characters from Greek myth and legend a voice, and attempt to give them the foreground, it doesn't do much more than that. Also, in both of these novels, what that means is having the main events as background action, but kind of ignored by the main characters, so that Atalanta, and the main characters in Elektra, feel strangely disconnected from the momentus events around them - in Elektra, this is because the female characters are still carrying out the traditional role of women in those stories and are either just waiting for the men, or being assaulted by them and, in Atalanta, where she is a part of the action, she doesn't seem particularly interested in it, or is more of an observer than an active or willing participant. I don't really read agency in any of the female characters, as I guess fits with the time and the original story, but which means that I don't personally connect with this as a feminist retelling, just a version of the events as described by the original male authors, but from a female character's point of view.

What I'd find more interesting is re-imagining the events completely as if women had been the original writers and protagonists, what if the original myths weren't quite correct?
For example, [and this next part is spoiler-ish] in a version of the Iphigenia story, she is not sacrificed by Agamemnon but is switched with a deer and escapes, but Jennifer Saint rejected that as a version of events created to paint Agamemnon in a better light, and this is mentioned in the book itself, which I found interesting.

So, couldn't Atalanta have had a more cunning ending that allowed her to live the life she wanted, while still being an active participant in the human world? <spoiler> It feels like part of the male narrative to have her sexual independence/choice of partner mean that she was basically a beast, the literal transformation is so strange in a retelling aimed at humanising the traditionally thinly-drawn female character,</spoiler>so it would have been more interesting (to me) to explore what lay behind that part of the myth, but with a human interpretation, or alternative.

Phew, that was a lot! Still despite my over-analysis, it was a good read, I listened to the audiobook first, and liked the narrator, and each new retelling makes me go and do a bit more research into the original stories, which can only be a positive. I'd still recommend it for people interested in reading Greek mythology and legend from a different perspective and in a modern and accessible style.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was incredible. I loved the depth of the protagonist and the beautiful story of the only woman aboard the Argo. Artemis was brought up by Artemis and her nymphs, becoming a strong, powerful woman. She represents Artemis on the famous quest, and faces sexism (it’s a Greek myth so of course). Vowing to never get married so she can become an official Maiden of Artemis, she is rightfully disgusted by the ship of egotistical men who are also in search of the Golden Fleece. Atalanta is a witty, very talently Greek Myth retelling by the genius that is Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne and Elektra. Was my highly anticipated novel of 2023, and boy did it live up to and exceed my expectations.

Jennifer Saint did it again
I read the first two books of this same author and every time I got taken away by the flawlessness of her writing. I had the possibility of seeing it improve going from Ariadne to Elektra and now I can say I saw it become basically perfect with Atalanta
She has this great capacity of showing a story already known but in a way that you probably wouldn't ever had thought about, giving solid backgrounds and clear, human, feelings to well-known timeless characters, feelings that are completely plausible and real and much in line with the current situation and the life those characters have lived
Also it was cool to finally read a retelling about a character as interesting as Atalanta that seldom gets left out when talking about Greek myths involving female characters

I had the possibility to both read the book and listen to the audiobook and, despite being a huge lover of reading, I must say listening to it was a good experience just as much, the narrator did a very good job

I highly recommend this book!

"The oracle warned that I would lose myself, but the opposite
is true. I am more myself than I have ever been. I am wild, I
am free.
I am Atalanta"

My knowledge in Greek mythology is not vast and I admit I didn't know who Atalanta was before I read this one. But as a lover of both retellings and mythology, this book was a delightful read. Atalanta is a strong woman who doesn't understand nor follow patriarchal notions of womanhood. She is strong, audacious and a force as strong as the forest she made her home.

Atalanta's journey on Argo is eye opening for her. She comes to understand how women are subjugated all around the world, how men generally see women and what love and lust is. She is the only woman in the crew, but she fights as their equal, even if the other men don't like it. On various occasions they tried to belittle her, but her wild spirit remained untamed, even in the end.

If you love retellings from a female POV in mythology, this one is for you!

Following Atalanta from her miraculous upbringing to her epic quests, this novel offers a detailed insight into one of Greek mythology's few heroines.

Atalanta was an interesting exploration of gender and myth - most of the 'heroes' believe Atalanta will be nothing but trouble and continue to belittle her impact after the quest is complete. She is chastised for the same things her male counterparts are praised for and, despite her immense victories, her only value to her father is as a potential bride. However, perhaps in contrast to her quests and heroics, Atalanta is still drawn into feminine roles of motherhood and marriage, and Saint explores how these conflict with her longing for adventure.

My favourite moments were with the nymphs in Artemis's wood as Atalanta grew and trained, but I also enjoyed how Jason and Medea were portrayed. There was plenty of foreshadowing and Medea could definitely carry her own novel.

I found it interesting reading this so soon after Herc (which also featured Atalanta as a character) and I loved how different it was, with the same myths told in such contrasting ways.

I must admit I didn’t know Atalanta’s story that well and it’s been a delight to know about her better. The thing that impressed me the most is her tenacity, I really admire how she can take care of herself even when everything seems to discard her. In particular I love how she puts herself and her desires before the ones of other men, because she knows she counts too, even in a world where men rule. I found her life with Artemis and the Argonauts quest as the most interesting parts of the book, towards the end the story Atalanta becomes less free and more confined in society rules. Of course she will always be a free spirit but I wouldn’t have minded a twist of the real myth to gave her a different finale.