Unfortunately this didn't work for me. Removing the mythological aspect of the story of Perseus and Medusa is in my opinion, to remove the best bits of the story. This read, as it's probably intended, as a historical book but the story itself is very dry without the fantasy elements. And exceedingly dark. Perseus' choices make him an iredeemable character in my eyes, and I found I hated reading about him. His actions are awful, and the whole plot is just heavy - and honestly, not entirely what I was expecting. Also, while the story is suppose to take a more female centered view - told through Danae, Medusa and Andromeda's viewpoint, Perseus still manages to sit stage centered for all of the plot.

A rather dark and depressing read without any of the lighter mythologicsl aspects of this story. It's raw, gritty and not entirely what I hoped for.

Thank you NetGalley for approving me on this title. A very good book that is well worth a read. Highly recommend

This is retelling of the myth of Perseus told through the three important females in his life. Danae his mother opens the story before his birth as she is locked away to prevent the God's omen coming to be.
As perseus grows his "adopted" family believe he needs to become more mature to travel away from the bonds of his mother and we follow his life at sea through the accounts of Medusa and later, Andromeda. THe narrative is rich and powerful and drew me into the events as they unfolded. The language and writing style brings the mythological tale to life in a more contemporary way.

3 .5 (rounded up) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I really liked this new take on the Perseus myth. I also liked that this wasn’t another Troy retelling. Instead of the gods being active players this is a realist retelling.

I like the different POVs, their voices were distinct from each other and I really liked that we got Danae as a MC, someone who has been not been shown as having agency in the myth, but always a tool or object to men.

A great retelling…… As someone who absolutely adores Greek Mythology, this retelling was so interesting as it was told from the perspectives of the three women that Perseus touched in his life - his mother, Medusa and his wife. While we're told one version of events through a patriarchal lense, I loved seeing how these women felt about this man.

Perseus, son of Danae, maybe the son of Zeus. A prophecy says that Danae’s son will kill her father. He puts her to sea in a rickety boat expecting her and her son to die. They don’t. Perseus when grown, kills Gorgon. We learn of Perseus through the eyes of his mother, the Gorgon and Andromeda, his wife. Turns out, Perseus not as heroic as all those paintings in the National Gallery make out to be.

love Greek mythology and specifically this journey of Perseus.

A great way to view the tale from the perspective of the three women in Perseus’ life, Danae, Medusa and Andromeda. With some darker twists and new perspectives that I haven’t read before.

I enjoyed reading this, but did find it a very different experience when all things magical and godly are absent from the story. Being mainly a fantasy reader, this adaption very much changed my perception of the story, but removed a bit of the spark in my opinion.

Perfect for someone looking for an easy read on Greek mythology, who’s more invested in historical aspects rather than the magic and gods.

(I apologise for the lateness, some sight issues meant I was limited in my reading for a month or so)
This was a very absorbing novel, immersive and thought provoking, taking the myth of Perseus and re-working it through the eyes of the three key women in the story. Told from their POV we hear the stories of Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda, and in this retelling their experiences of Perseus are both complex and brutal. This is not a tale of heroes, more a look at a boy with a desperate desire to be a man and no idea what that means. He is venerable, desperate to be accepted and respected, loved, and yet his actions are those of a violent and petulant child. He is not a character I liked although the portrayal was well done and interesting. The women were, without doubt, the centre of this tale and they are compelling characters. Danae, the mother struggling to raise a good man, and having to confront what he has become. Medusa, who thought he was something else and ultimately falls victim to his fears of rejection. Finally Andromeda, my favourite, a strong and fascinating woman, torn from her home, and determined that he will not defeat her. Well written, and if you have enjoyed other retellings, looking more at the women in the myths then this is worth a look.

A huge fan of writers who re-ground Greek myths in realism, and Heywood takes the genre to a next level. Definitely recommend to those who love the trend of rewriting Greek myths, this is a fresh take.

I love Claire Heywood and she can do no wrong.
I read Daughters of Sparta last year and it blew me away, one of the best Greek Mythology books I have read (and I've read a lot), so I knew this would not let me down.

I loved the fact that the story wasn't based so much around mythology but grounded in reality. We Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda as they live their lives and see how Perseus impacts each one.

Easy 5 stars, I highly recommend

I've loved the Greek myths and legends since I was little and I really like this current trend for retelling the myths from new perspectives,
I wasn't overly familiar with the origins story for Perseus and this was a great read, I also very much like Heywood's style of retelling the tales without Divine intervention - it makes them feel fresh and even more vibrant and relevant.

What an interesting take of Greek myth retelling!

This book is told from the perspective of three women who affected and were affected by Perseus the most. This is not entirely unusual, however I still adore a retelling that focuses on the female experience.

The truly unique part for me was that the author purposefully excluded all magical elements, thus making the book more human-centred. I think this was done well.

I have read retellings I have preferred and I did find this book slow in parts, but overall I had a great time reading this book.

Thanks: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I totally loved this book. Was great to read a totally new spin on the story of Perseus. Will be looking out for more from this author

This book, honestly, wasn't the most exciting retelling I've read...and by this point I've read quite a few. It was okay, but it really didn't grab me as well as it could've.

This book was one I struggled with.
I am a big fan of Greek Mythology, mythological retellings not so much.
Some are superb, Pat Barker's books, Clytemnestra, Song of Achilles, all great.
A majority of others fall into the category of mediocre retellings that rely on the 'feminist retelling' tag to sell.

Unfortunately this is what I felt with Shadow of Perseus.
The premise was great, I will give the author that. Re-examining the story of Perseus from the POV of his mother Danae, Medusa and his wife Andromeda was an interesting idea. And her choice to write the whole story without any gods or mythological aspects to it, showing how the myths of Perseus could realistically arisen was excellent.
However, aside from this premise the book fell flat.
The 3 women were very similar in nature, and you would struggle to tell their POV apart with the passive voice they had.
As well as this the character of Perseus, indeed of pretty much all the men in this book, was very 1 dimensional and not engaging at all.

While the book started off really well, very beautifully written with great worldbuilding of the ancient Greek lifestyle, from about 20% in onwards is just never really picked up. Even the dramatic ending scenes felt quite slow and stale after the slog it took to get to them.
I came close to DNF-ing this book, and I think if I hadn't been trying to get through an ARC I probably would have.

Overall I would give it maybe 2.5* and not be inclined to recommend it.

Was OK but not my favorite ever retelling.
Shame most of the myth was removed. This should be advertised as historical retelling more than fantasy

Danae was banished by her father, the king of Argos, after a prophecy said that her son would be the death of him. Finding herself in a small fishing village, Danae is desperate to raise her son Perseus to be a good, kind-hearted soul. Medusa is part of a group of women called the Gorgons, who live away from society until an injured Perseus turns up and Medusa decides to nurse him back to health. Andromeda’s people are threatened by a sandstorm and she is prepared to sacrifice herself to appease the gods that sent it -until Perseus shows up and takes her away from the life that she has always known. This thoughtful and well-researched interpretation of the myth of Perseus was so captivating. It’s a celebration of the power of women, a commentary on the brutality of men and the definite ‘shadow’ that Perseus threw over the lives of every woman he encountered. It’s very immersive and unbelievably tragic in places but it ends on a note of hope that I didn’t think it would.

Heywood is back with another fresh and imaginative retelling of a mythological story, this time focusing on the story of Perseus and particularly on the three women who weren’t given a voice in the original story- Danae, Medusa and Andromeda. When they are given a chance to speak, they reveal that the fabled heroic Perseus, the monster killer blessed by the gods, is no hero at all…

Like Daughters of Sparta, Heywood’s debut published in 2021, the author focuses on the mythological women of Ancient Greece, giving them the opportunity to reveal their side of the stories. I have always been fascinated with the world of Ancient Greece and I devoured this book in a matter of days. The fantastical elements have been consciously removed by the author to present a more realistic and flawed Perseus whose obsession with his destiny overwhelms him completely. Constantly looking for praise and recognition as strong heroic figure, Perseus is truly a boy who fears rejection, trying to escape the title of being a fatherless child. Perseus continually tries to silence the women in his life, but their reclaiming of their voices in order to survive, in order to have some hope for their future, silences the monster that he has become.

Beautifully written, Heywood propels you into the world of Perseus and the three female protagonists in a refreshingly unique way that will make you question who the true monster is in this tale. There are truly heartbreaking moments in this story (trigger warning: rape, violence towards women) but there are glimmers of hope also; the hope of a better world for some of the women. I was particularly drawn to the stories of Danae and Andromeda; their emotions, worries and anxieties are beautifully captured by the author.

If you like the work of Jennifer Saint, Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes and Pat Barker, go check this book out! The Shadow of Perseus is out now. Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Claire Heywood's second novel is a retelling of the myth of Perseus through the eyes of the three most important women in his life: his mother, Danae; his enemy, Medusa; and his wife, Andromeda.

Having enjoyed Heywood's debut, I was looking forward to reading this, and I ended up enjoying it even more than I thought. As the author explains in the note at the end, her intention was to reimagine the myth within a historically authentic setting, giving a realistic spin to the story. The result was great. The myths surrounding Perseus and the three women were presented in original and unexpected ways. The story felt very fresh and every difference to the original made perfect sense to me.

The characters were very successful as well. As Heywood explains in the author's note, she wanted to show how the truth of what happened can be altered, and how the narrative is controlled by the victors, who reshape the events. This is a very interesting concept and it's really well rendered by the three women's voices. I loved all of them, but my favourite was probably Andromeda. I really felt for her and I admired how she managed to stay strong despite what happened to her, and how she found what strenght she could in her situation. Danae and Medusa were very well drawn as well, and I'm just sad that the part narrated by Medusa was quite short. However, there are many novels, recently released, which cover her story, so I didn't mind too much.
As for Perseus himself, Heywood managed to make him come alive through the women's eyes, and I appreciated how, despite the fact he was far from being a hero and he did terrible things, he wasn't a one-dimensional monster. I understood his actions and I really liked how the women managed to shape him.

The ending was very satisfying. The relationship which formed between Danae and Andromeda was very sweet and I liked how everything wrapped up perfectly.

An original and intelligent retelling, and a fantastic story overall. Very much recommended.

3.5****

While I did like the perspective of 3 points of view from the women of this story, I do feel that now there are many Greek Myth retellings being published it is hard to pick up something new and exciting.

While this was a good retelling, it was not something new to me. As someone who grew up with Greek myth and have read the classics, it might be more for people new to the genre who would love to learn these stories from a different perspective..