“Pray to me, I murmur to brave Amphinomous and foolish Leiodes, for I am the one who gave fair Helen to Paris; it was I, not Zeus, who brought about the end of the age of heroes. Ajax, Penthesilea, Priam, Patroclus, Achilles and Hector – they died for me, so pray. Pray to love.”

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K. Orbit for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘House of Odysseus’ by Claire North.

This is the second in North’s The Songs of Penelope series that retells the story of Penelope of Ithaca, wife of Odysseus. I was so pleased to see that the original plans for a two-book series has now been expanded to a trilogy.

The first book had been narrated by Hera, Queen of the Gods. Here the Goddess Aphrodite takes over the role of narrator to continue Penelope’s story. I enjoyed her cheeky observations.

On the isle of Ithaca, Queen Penelope continues to maintain a delicate balance of power. It has been many years since her husband, Odysseus, sailed to war with Troy and never came home. The fragile situation with the many suitors is shattered with the arrival of Orestes, king of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.


It is not long since Orestes had taken the life of his mother, Queen Clytemnestra, on Ithaca's sands. Now wracked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind. While not visible to human eyes, Aphrodite can see that the Furies are harrowing him. To add to Penelope’s problems, Menelaus, the king of Sparta, arrives in Ithaca in search of his nephew, Orestes. What is his agenda?

Penelope hopes to keep war at bay. In this venture her only allies are Elektra and her cousin, Helen, now restored to Menelaus following the Fall of Troy. Watching over them all is the Goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.

Claire North had already proved herself to me in ‘Ithaca’ in her robust portrayal of the gods and goddesses and integration of Greek mythology. This continues as various deities take an interest in the events.

Aphrodite has such a delightful way of recounting the various exploits of her fellow Olympians. I smiled at her observation of Athena’s owl at a feast: “I think it is really rather lovely, a great big fluffball with wonderful blinking eyes and a chin that was meant for scritching, yes it is, yes you are. It perches high in the rafters and watches all below, a sign of her presence that no mortal notes.”

While I very much enjoyed the portrayal of Penelope, I still struggled to feel much of a connection with Elektra. The real surprise was Helen, who emerged as a very complex character.

Overall, I was swept up by North’s storytelling in the ‘House of Odysseus’. It was beautifully written and an immersive read. I will continue to recommend this series to friends who are drawn to literary mythological retellings.

I am looking forward to the final book, ‘The Last Song of Penelope’, due to be published in June 2024. I expect that as Athena is Odysseus’ patron goddess that she will be the third novel’s narrator. In addition, as Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite were participants in the Judgement of Paris, that had set in motion the Trojan War, her taking over the role of narrator makes for a nice symmetry.

Highly recommended.

In this second book of the Songs of Penelope, we return to the rocky island of Ithaca, home to Odysseus, who has been absent nearly twenty years, and to his wife, Penelope, who was left behind to wait, and keep things going as best she can.
Time is moving on though. Troy is defeated. Helen is back in Sparta with her husband Menelaus. Soldiers and sailors are now returned - all except Odysseus. On Ithaca, Penelope's position has become more precarious than ever after her son left in search of his father. With only a council of elderly men to support her, she needs to maintain peace and independence.
Enter Orestes and Elektra, children of Agamemnon, caught up in their own Greek tragedy - their sister killed by their father, their father killed by their mother, Clytemnestra, who was in turn slain by Orestes in the name of justice. Remorse now seems to have driven Orestes to madness, and Elektra fears what will happen to both of them when word gets out. Their uncle, Menelaus, flush with his victory in Troy, seeks to take over Orestes' throne and make himself king of all the Greeks.

Book One, Ithaca, was told from the omniscient viewpoint of the goddess Hera. Now her role is taken over by Aphrodite, goddess of love with an eye for warriors' rippling muscles or women's softly turned limbs. She's sly and playful, but a fierce advocate of love in all its forms - romantic, familial, or just between friends.



Penelope is a lonely figure, in need of compassion and love. Her maids try their best but Penelope is still queen with the isolation and responsibility that position brings. She has though found a better path through the rules and restrictions laid down by the patriarchal society in which she lives than her fellow queens. As the story evolves Penelope is proving to be just as wily and cunning as her renowned husband. While she manoeuvres men, playing them like chess pieces, and hiding her own involvement, Helen employs a different sort of subterfuge. Subjected to her husband's beatings and repeated rapes, she hides her thoughts and feelings behind the cover of childishness and drunkenness, while biding her time for opportunities for revenge. Clytemnestra, throwing off any subterfuge, and openly taking a lover while her husband is absent was never going to succeed and live happily ever after; the rules of her world would never allow it.



I loved Ithaca with its story of the resilient, resourceful women of Ithaca, left behind to cope without their menfolk, and was just that little worried that House of Odysseus might not live up to it - but it did, possibly even surpassing it.

The plot of this book was really good, but I had quite a lot of trouble getting into it. I felt it was longer than it needed to be, and that we didn't get to know the characters enough to really care all that much about what happened to them. I never really got the feeling of "I can't put it down" at the end of a chapter. The plot was fantastic though and quite a different take on the Greek mythology retellings I have read previously.

𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ★★★★☆
𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚎: ☆☆☆☆☆

Favourite quote: “We women of sky and fire, we goddesses, we are so mighty, and yet if we learn anything from old mother Hera, it is that the brighter we blaze, the more the men line up to make us fall.”

House of Odysseus is a retelling of the stories of Penelope, left to rule Ithaca for 20 years in her husbands absence, Elektra and Helen of Troy. A book that is fuelled by the intelligence, compassion and unyielding strength of the women of history in the face of political and male brutality.

The story is narrated by Aphrodite, Goddess of love, accompanied by her sisters Athena and Artemis, which truly breathes life into this story. The raw power and emotion that radiates through Claire North’s writing is captivating, providing heart wrenching insight into a life of power and having to love their mortals from afar. With moments of humour, sensuality and companionship, it is a beautiful narration.

A real contrast to usual retellings full of fast paced wars and never ending blazing rage, this is a slow burning battle of wits and strength. Celebrating the women previously diminished by the spotlight on man’s conquests and aggression.

A truly beautiful read. Not shying away from female desire, wit, and strength of character. 

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for sending me this book for review!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing an ARC to read and review.

The House of Odysseus is the second book in The Songs of Penelope series by Claire North. It picks up where the first book, Ithaca left off but with a new goddess narrator. Ithaca was told from the POV of Hera but now we hear Aphrodite's sassy narration.

Elecktra and Orestes arrive on Ithaca and Orestes appears to be unwell or a bit mad after killing his mother Clytemnestra. Then Meneluas turns up looking for Orestes as he wants the throne of Mycenae for himself. Standing between these two kings is the very clever Penelope who must plot with her trusted ladies to keep war away from her Island.

I never tire of reading Myth retellings, especially from the female POV as their voices aren't often heard. I enjoy reading Claire North's exploration of what happen on Ithaca during the absence of Odysseus. And having a Goddess narrator is truly inspired. I did feel the pace of this one a little slower than the previous novel, however I still found it a compelling read. I'm looking forward to the next instalment and hoping the Goddess narrator will be Athena.

I always have high expectations of a Claire North book. House of Odysseus met them, and then went to much further, I'm actually rather stunned - and left floundering a bit, as anything I can say about this book seems superfluous. You should just go and read it.

Trying to put together some cogent thoughts, though, House of Odysseus is North's followup to her Ithaca. Both books are set in the misty time between heroic myth (the siege of Troy is recently finished) and and history and they focus on Penelope, wife of Odysseus, one of the (Greek) heroes of the Trojan war. Odysseus set out for home after the destruction of Troy, but has not yet arrived, leaving Penelope with all kinds of problems. As was established in Ithaca, these include suitors - men who, presuming Odysseus dead, want to marry Penelope and take the kingdom.

I remember first hearing about Homer's Odyssey, the tales about Odysseus making his way home, in primary school when I was 8 or 9. Of course they would have been carefully filtered, but the encounters with magic, monsters and gods still survived as interesting and fantastic stories. I recall though even then being frustrated that it took him so long - ten years! - to actually get home, and also being rather cross that Penelope had to fend off all those annoying suitors. Why didn't someone just tell them to get lost, I wondered. The intrusion of these unwanted guests into the royal palace, pressing their claims and demanding to be fed and accommodated, seemed dangerous and troubling, out of kilter with a setting which presumed an adorned, functional society, as did Odysseus's protracted journey. It didn't take him ten years to get to Troy, after all.

I wish I had asked my teacher to explain all this. Fifty years on I can see of course that the answer to Penelope's treatment comes in one word - patriarchy - and perhaps that the second - Odysseus travails - might be about the tension in the text between history and myth - but I doubt that a primary school teacher in the mid 70s would have put it that. I'd love to know what the answer would have been though. (Probably "don't be awkward, David"). North is blunt about, especially, the first question. In House of Odysseus, she introduces us to King Menelaus of Sparta, a splendidly drawn monster. Unlike Odysseus, Menelaus went straight home, taking his recaptured wife, Helen, with him. Now, though, he's abroad again, involved in a complex power play for the throne of Mycenae which would make him high king of Greece, so also threatening Penelope's, and Odysseus's, Islands of the West. All of this is cloaked in good intentions - helping Penelope with her problems, sticking up for Menelaus's (alas!) missing brother-in-arms Odysseus, and so forth, and so on, but the threat is clear.

It's given added menace by the plight of Helen herself.

What exactly happened to Helen after Troy? As one might expect, it's not nice. We see here here a Helen who is cowed, tamed and, in Penelope's appalled eyes, just less. We're let in on a few secrets courtesy of Aphrodite, goddess of love and sex, who's the narrator of this book, so we know that Helen has been - is being - beaten and raped by her loving husband. There is still an enigma to her though, and Penelope recognises a survivor when she sees one. The two had been close, but grew apart - 'No one told Helen that she would grow up to be royal, regal, wise, learned or revered, so it didn't really occur to her childlike mind that these might be aspirations to seek'.

Penelope's own role here is, as in Ithaca, constrained. Regarded by the men around her as other, lesser, a mere piece of property or perhaps (by the suitors, by Menelaus) a piece on the board, nevertheless she's the one with the practical nous and the sense of responsibility to keep things going. Think of a woman who makes sure there's food on the table and that the kids have clothes to wear - even if that means getting beaten for finagling the wages out of her man's pocket before he can spend them at the pub on drink. The tired one. The woman with no time for herself, who gets little sleep, who is invisible yet indispensable. The one who's going to sort out the various messes here, including talking down Orestes, killer of his own mother, who has returned to Ithaca haunted by the Furies. Orestes, and his sister Elektra, are Menelaus's quarry, his excuse to assume supreme kingship.

The one who, if she has to step out of the shadows, may be accepted in a crisis, but who will be punished later for overstepping.

Before we get to that point, though, there's a murder to solve and delightfully the story turns a shade of Whodunnit with clues, suspects and a tight timescale (Penelope has just three days to produce a suitable culprit). I could North having fun importing the conventions of detective fiction here ('Now she is done - now she will depart. She gives a little nod of her head while turning away, but still Penelope has one last enquiry...') while keeping the story true to its mythic nature. (I can imagine a whole spinoff line of Penelope murder mysteries which would be glorious). The character, as North depicts her, is just so compelling, whether sleuthing, sparring verbally with Menelaus (who recognises her as an enemy - though be warned he plots how he will 'take' her once she is defeated), holding together a delicate alliance of women (and even the odd man) necessary to keep the island safe, just keeping up appearances - or managing the complexities of the situation that faces her in this book (as challenging an imbroglio as Jeeves ever confronts in PG Wodehouse (another echo of which: look out for old King Laertes and his love of pigs and his desire to be back at his farm tending them).

Penelope is supremely skilful at this sort of generalship, an accomplished strategios. Here is how North has Aphrodite describes that: 'It is only on those rare occasions when she perhaps plays a skilled opponent at tavli and sees a cunning trap, a clever little move, and cannot stop herself, cannot suppress the beating of her heart and the twitch of the smile on her lips, that she shimmers. She glows with excitement, and take it from me, excitement and arousal are often of the same fluttering breath, the same licked lips, the same wide eyes, the same hot flushed cheeks. Odysseus saw this in his wife, before he sailed to Troy, only once. But there was never enough time in the day for games, and then he was gone. This then is the light that now shines upon Penelope's face...' (Trust the goddess of love to spot that glint of beauty that comes from confidence and mastery of the task).

None of this is without cost to Penelope, of course. Part of her mastery is her busyness, her willingness to put in - her knowledge of the necessity of putting in - the effort. Suitors can while away their time drinking or sleeping, they can go back to their homes to be pampered, to be the centre of things. ('There is no feast served in the palace, no formal gathering of men, but there are still suitors, guards, soldiers, kings and maids to be fed') Penelope is always, as I have said, so very tired.

The writing in House of Odysseus is, as ever from North, glorious - she can simply make words dance on the page - whether it's particular passing remarks ('the kind of blade a process should never carry, and which all princesses should') or the way she charms her characters to life. I'd especially note the vivid way she gives voice to Aphrodite. North excels at portraying her, almost entirely through voice and side comments rather than actions because she (and the other gods) are unable to intervene much in events (she does on a few key occasions). This Aphrodite comes across very much as a shrewd, experienced woman, one with an eye for a warrior's nicely toned body ('The next door is answered by Iason, he of the lovely neck and really rather dishy arms'), interested in either sex and in most forms of erotic activity (so long as everyone is willing - 'I do not ask people who are not interested...') It feels in some ways like a very modern sensibility, but North makes it seem utterly consistent with the mythological Aphrodite, a fusion that you'd think was nigh on impossible but, read this, see how North pulls it off!

Just a pure brilliant wonderful gorgeous book, a stunning read, my favourite of the year so far (and anything that's better than this will take some doing).

House of Odysseus by Claire North picks up where Ithaca leaves off, Penelope, still waiting for the return of her husband from Troy, once more finds herself embroiled in the cursed House of Atreus.  Orestes, newly crowned King of Mycenae, is tormented by The Furies and quickly descending into madness. He arrives on Ithaca seeking sanctuary and a forgiveness that cannot be given for the killing of his mother Clytemnestra.  Menelaus, King of Sparta, pursues Orestes to Ithaca hoping to prove him unstable, deranged, and unfit to be the King of Kings.
 
Cue a huge rally cry for the banding together of dangerously unassuming female ingenuity.  Welcome, to ghastly toxic masculinity, oof what a venomous character Menelaus is, appalling, but so enjoyable to read.   And my favourite of all, enjoy a tantalising glance into the abstruse relationships between the divine powers of Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis. House of Odysseus is an exciting and vivid reimagining of myth with wonderful writing, a nail-biting plot, and a saucy narration full of satire.
 
Initially feeling a little concerned about the change in narrator after enjoying Hera’s fierce storytelling in Ithaca I needn’t have worried. Aphrodite’s narration was without doubt drier and more playful, but it was also beautifully poignant as she strived to highlight how often we deny ourselves love and not just of the sexual kind.  Like Ithaca, House of Odysseus has powerful themes of sisterhood and bravery that arise naturally throughout the narrative and never feel contrived or cheesy.  I really connected with the story emotionally, tearing up several times at the reinforcing sentiment that it takes strength to accept our destiny.
 
I really look forward to reading the next instalment.

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

As always, North’s writing is incredible. The characters have so much emotional depth to them, and it is so easy to read. Aphrodite narrates what happens on Ithaca, when Elektra, daughter of Clytemnestra, appears on the island to Queen Penelope’s surprise, with her brother Orestes (the new King of Mycenae) who is apparently ‘mad’ and she needs help. Trying to be discreet, so that both Ithaca and Mycenae don’t catch on to what is going on, nor the nearby King of Sparta, Menelaus, who wants the Mycenaean throne for himself, Penelope vows to help and get to the bottom of it.

I was really excited by this, however, I found this slightly boring compared to the first book. For me personally, there was a lot less going on and would’ve liked slightly more to the plot. Whilst others may prefer this, it just wasn’t as exciting for me as I’d hoped. Ithaca, the first instalment of this series, told the tales of many women in such a compelling and empowering way; this second book didn’t come up to that for me, unfortunately.

Will I be reading the next book of this series? - yes of course, I am obsessed with mythology and love Claire North’s writing style.

Wasn't a big fan of it. The writing bored me to death, and the characters were rather stuck-up and just plain annoying.

Following on from Ithaca, House of Odysseus tells the story of Penelope who has now been waiting for the return of her husband for 20 years. Aphrodite does the narrative this time, just as well as Hera did in Ithaca. A slow start but I couldn’t put it down in the end. Looking forward to part 3.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC

Beautiful book and writing style, "House of Odysseus" was a great follow on from "Ithaca", but didn’t leave me as wowed - that doesn’t mean that it’s not a great sequel, because it absolutely is. "Ithaca" blew me away. For me, “Ithaca” was the first introduction to the characters and the wonderful story and whilst I wasn’t as fully absorbed in the story as I was Ithaca, this book still needs to be read because it’s a fabulous follow on. Written sublimely with wonderful characters, an exciting and mesmerising plot and executed exceptionally. This is a review based solely upon my personal opinion of the book itself and was written as honestly and accurately as possible. Thank you Claire North and to your publisher for allowing me the chance to read this e-copy early, in exchange for an honest review and I will continue to read your beautiful work in the future.

Another winner from Claire North. We continue off almost immediately from where Ithaca ended, but now events are old to us from the point of view of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. She has a very different opinion to Hera, which is quite refreshing and allows North to explore the same characters in the same place without it feeling like the same book. Aphrodite is less bitter than Hera and, much like her favourite Helen, can sometimes appear a little ditzy whilst being nothing of the sort. One of my favourite things about this series is the way it explores different aspects of womanhood, and how we all find different ways to cope and survive. The trial of Orestes was also a thoughtful look at how toxic masculinity can make us our own worst enemies, and the climax of his story felt very poignant - I definitely had a soft spot for him by the end. Would highly recommend and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Off the western coast of this land of Greece there is an island dribbled into the sea like the last liquids of an unsatisfactory encounter with a premature lover"

"House of Odysseus", even more so than "Ithaca", is a book of stark tonal dissonance. The experience is not unlike being tied to the end of a pendulum, swinging between the very serious political intrigue at hand (the Orestes-Menelaus conflict) and our narrator, Aphrodite's comedic quips not unlike what you'd expect to find in a Percy Jackson novel, which, while quite well written, ultimately felt like they belonged in a different narrative altogether. In some parts of the novel Aphrodite's colloquial speech was directly preceded or followed by tonally much more serious paragraphs that you would expect from a novel about Ancient Greece, and that created a kind of unpleasant whiplash effect that, I feel, could have been avoided by either not having that many interjections by Aphrodite, or, keeping Hera as the narrator. It was also curious to me that in both books in the series so far, the narrating goddesses seemed to favor auxiliary characters - Hera with Clytemnestra in the first book, Aphrodite with Hellen in this. It would have been nicer to see a goddess whose favorite is Penelope, but I have my hopes for the next book, if there is one.

Of the new characters whose stories we follow here, one stood out to me as particularly well done, and one as not being handled all too well, the first being Orestes and his arc with the Furies, and the second - the characterization of Hellen. The way Orestes' grief and guilt were developed was original yet authentic, and while the final resolution was a bit abrupt, it was nonetheless satisfying. Helen's character, however, was much too infantile to be enjoyable - at any rate, it felt incongruous that a woman that lived through ten years of war would act the way that she was written here.

Ultimately, "House of Odysseus" is a tough novel to rate - I felt that the highs were really high and the lows were really low. Though if you don't mind a bit of contemporary speech in your Greek retelling, a "daddy" here and a "kiddos" there, you'll probably be fine.

Oh, how excited I was for this sequel to North's 2022 book Ithaca, telling the story of Penelope during the many years of her husband's absence. I wasn't blown away by it, but it was a solid retelling and I enjoyed my time with it. Also, I just cannot get enough of mythological retellings. So basically, I was very happy to get the chance to read the arc of "House of Odysseus" - but sadly, that happiness didn't survive my reading the actual book.

After the events of the last book, this sequel changes its narrator from Hera to Aphrodite and lets her tell us of Penelope's hard work trying to keep the peace on an island full of suitors wanting her hand in marriage. It gets even more complicated because of Elektra and Orestes hiding on Ithaka, asking for Penelope's help. Now, I'm not sure why they would be in this story (I don't remember them ever setting foot on Ithaka in any of the myths I know), but this is not supposed to be an exact retelling. I could get behind this, these are all very intriguing characters - but I barely got though the book at all. The pacing is incredibly slow and nothing really happens, and even when things do happen (with the arrival of Menelaus, mostly), they are told in such a long-winded, deflating way that I simply could not manage to care. I also didn't enjoy Aphrodite's voice as our narrator.

I almost dnf'ed several times, and I probably should. I don't think this is necessarily a bad book, and as you can see there are many very positive reviews, but it clearly wasn't for me. I was bored, I didn't care about any of the characters, and I don't think I will remember a single thing in a month or so. I don't want to give this one star, because the writing isn't bad, but it's probably a 1,5 for me, rounding up.

House of Odysseus by Claire North
Publication: 24 August 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
~~~~~
On the island of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never returned. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace - but this is shattered with the arrival of Orestes, King of Mycenae.
~~~~~
I was SO excited to be approved for this ARC; I absolutely loved Ithaca and its sequel did not disappoint.
Our narrator is once again a goddess - Aphrodite, on this occasion, who brings a certain gentleness and a good dose of sass to the narration (although I did miss Hera's foul-mouthed irreverence.)
Penelope's evolution as a character is so satisfying: there was no doubt she's an intelligent and dedicated queen, but in this sequel, she proves herself to be quite ruthless and unafraid of making tough and morally dubious decisions if it means keeping her kingdom and people safe. We are also introduced to Menelaus and Helen (she of the face that launched a thousand ships.) They are both such compelling characters; Menelaus is an odious man but his interactions with Penelope are fascinating and disturbing, in equal measures. I loved the political machinations and plotting, the secondary characters are first-class (shout out to the best father-in-law, Laertes!) and I simply cannot wait for the next installment (Author, please hurry!)
~~~~~

It’s not been very long since I read Ithaca and I was very excited to be returning to Penelope’s story. House of Odysseus follows on seamlessly, although a few months have passed. Odysseus is still on his return journey from Troy and Penelope’s troubles only seem to have just begun with the events of Ithaca. This time, the odds are bigger and more is at stake.

I found that House of Odysseus didn’t hit quite the same as Ithaca. I’m not entirely sure why, but I want to blame having Aphrodite as the narrator. Whilst changing the narrator did make a lot of sense when Helen of Troy comes into play (Aphrodite’s favourite), I much preferred the parallels between Hera and Penelope.

I did really enjoy that Penelope was allowed to be much more overt in her manipulations this time around and how that changed the game. The characters of Menelaus and Helen were well-written and it was great to have Elektra and Orestes back.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, just not as much as the first book in the series.

We return to Ithaca, but this time in the welcoming arms of Aphrodite. As well as dealing with her undesirable suitors, Penelope and her ladies of Ithaca have become piggies in the middle in the game of thrones for the title of King of Kings of Greece between ailing Orestes, King of Mycenae and his evil uncle Menelaus, King of Sparta. To Aphrodite’s delight, her beloved beautiful Helen is also a guest in the palace of Ithaca.
The future of the Island and ultimately the kingdom of Greece is reliant upon Penelope’s cleverness, the fighting skills of the Ithacan women and the support and, some might say, interference of the wonderful Goddesses.
I absolutely love Claire North’s writing style; the language and humour injected into it resulting in a joy to read. Plus it has an added bonus of learning a bit of Greek mythology too.
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley

I'm an avid reader of anything to do with Greek mythology. But I did wonder when I put my hand up for a copy of House of Odysseus via NetGalley, just how many times can the ancient tales be rewritten and given a modern take? And, having once dipped my toes into academia, is it actually okay to tinker with the beauty of Homer or mix up classic myths just to see ‘what if?’? Those in the know can be very sniffy about such treatments. And then I thought, myths have been elaborated on and retold for thousands of years. And they’re myths. So who’s to say what’s right or what’s wrong? And who needs the old patriarchal heroes who treat women little better than the soles on their shoes when we can have matriarchal heroines to turn things on their heads?
This is a sequel to Ithaca, which I didn’t realise and haven’t read. But it didn’t matter. Having Aphrodite as a narrator was initially a shock for me, but her observations and modern phraseology brought this story to life. I loved the whole premise of the little-heard of (in this context at least) goddess telling us what was happening and giving personal insights into the characters.
Patient Penelope, my personal heroine, does not disappoint and neither do the women around her.
Well written, plotted and great fun. I'm going to read Ithaca now and look forward to the next in the Songs of Penelope series.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this novel.

“I am Penelope, wife of Odysseus, queen of Ithaca."

This was a great read. House of Odysseus is told through the eyes of the goddess Aphrodite and boy does she make it entertaining. Greek mythology is becoming my second favorite genre. This book started out strong and I loved Penelope from her brief introduction in Circe so to have her as the centre of attraction here was perfect for me and I was not disappointed with the way this author told her story. How she plotted, planned, schemed and outsmarted the men who thought her to be nothing other than a pitiful, pious, aging queen was so satisfying to read. There was a section of this book that I found to be a little boring...just a little though and not enough for me to want to put it down. However, things really started to pick back up at 60% mark. Overall, this was a great read and I love the female empowerment trope. I will for sure be checking out more work from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for my Advanced eReaders Copy of this book.

If you already know the stories from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, you will no doubt be familiar with the stories told here, albeit from the perspective of the women left at home while the men go off to fight. Odysseus, the husband of Penelope, is still missing and his son Telemachus has left to find him, leaving his mother to fight off potential suitors who believe Odysseus to be dead.
Women tend to be an afterthought (or not thought about at all) in ancient history and classical literature, so it was interesting to read about the exploits of the female characters mentioned in Homer’s works, and how they might have been feeling or thinking.
I haven’t read Ithaca, the first book in the Songs of Penelope series, but I felt that it wasn’t necessary to have done so to read and understand House of Odysseus. It was a brilliant story and well written.


Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of #HouseofOdysseus.