2/5 stars! I really enjoyed Elektra and Adriadne by this author, but this was a miss for me. It felt more like a non-fictional series of events than a fictional rendering. It was rather exhausting.

Than you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this title.

I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology and retellings, especially when they come from a female POV. It was so interesting to finally see Hera take centre stage. I wouldn't say it gripped me as much as some other retellings have but it was refreshing to see Zeus taken down a peg or two.

This book explores Hera and her surrounding mythology in a fun and enjoyable way! It was so great to read Hera at the centre of the narrative and emphasise with her without being overshadowed by the male gods or hero's of Greek mythological retelling.

The story is narrated in third person present tense. I found this interesting as it gives voice to Hera but not fully, which in a way sort of made it objective.

If you like Greek myth retelling and feminine rage please read this!

I have read other Jennifer saint books in the past and struggled to get into this compared to the others- I would definitely try to reread in future as I think the author is incredibly talented and I believe I was in a slump at the time of reading

Hera by Jennifer Saint is a refreshing take on the Queen of the Gods, giving her far more depth than the usual portrayals of jealousy and spite. The book explores her struggles—not just with Zeus’s endless betrayals but with her own need for power and respect in a world ruled by men. From helping overthrow Cronus to navigating the treacherous politics of Olympus, Hera’s journey is one of resilience and frustration.

Saint’s writing brings the world of the gods to life, with vivid descriptions and a strong sense of atmosphere. The feminist undertones make Hera’s story feel modern and relevant, adding weight to her battle for autonomy. That said, the book does get a bit repetitive at times and some of the side characters could have been more developed.

Still, Hera is an engaging and thought-provoking read that reclaims one of mythology’s most misunderstood figures. A great choice for fans of mythological retellings.

This was my first book by this author and it wont be the last! I really enjoyed the greek mythology retelling. I had too many emotions while reding it!!

Whilst I’ve loved Jennifer Saints other books this was a miss for me. I feel telling the entire story of Hera was a little ambitious and so the story ended up feeling more non-fiction than a fictional retelling. However Jennifer’s writing is engaging as ever which made me continue to the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Hera's life and story. While some aspects were familiar, Jennifer Saint masterfully weaves the tales of the Gods into a believable narrative. Insightful and thought-provoking, this is a truly wonderful read.

A brilliant read from a wonderful writer.

Brings the tale of Hera vividly to life. An engaging and captivating read.

Jennifer Saint never fails to give and immersing and gripping retelling of the Greek goddesses with each book I’ve read, her writing style has captivated me and I can say the same for Hera.

In this book Hera isn’t just the jealous queen she’s depicted to be, she’s so much more complex and I couldn’t help but sympathise with her.

I've read books from this author before. And ultimately, a lot of them end up reading like a textbook. I didn't enjoy the writing style and way the story was being told.
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Thank you to author Jennifer Saint and NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

Jennifer Saint does retellings very well and this one was no different. I really enjoyed reading her reimagining of Hera and how the characters were brought to life. Well paced and intriguing, I’d read more by her.

Thankyou Netgalley for this eARC.

I am new to Greek Mythology and after reading a few other books in this Genre I have picked up Hera to give me a more insightful look at the Gods than the usual fantasy books I read this in.

I really enjoyed this book, I found myself angry at the Gods a lot of the time. Zeus is just awful, and I knew that going into this but I think this book really showed me how selfish the Gods can be. Hera goes THROUGH it in this book, and while she isn't always the nicest God around she definitely gets the short end of the stick.

This was a really good way to introduce myself more into the Greek Mythology and I will be picking up more books to take my interest further.

Sadly ,I've had to do a soft dnf for now and come back to the book in the future. I think the writing was very good. Based on what I've read so far I would still recommend this to people I know would love this type of story.

I absolutely love this book. It is so well written. Typically at first glance Hera is not a very likeable character, but Jennifer's writing of her in this story helps you to understand why the Goddess of Marriage, Women and Childbirth became so vengeful.

We read about how she spent most of her time before shape-shifting, hanging out with river gods, and battling the titans - just a typical day in Ancient Greece!

Jennifer does not hold back when describing just how manipulative and horrid Zeus (and some of the other gods let's be honest) treated women. Hera cannot be absolved of her crimes but after reading this you will understand why.

Highly recommend this regardless of how much you know about greek mythology. It's just a brilliant read though there are definitely some trigger warnings that may be too much for some.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Hera’s story. She wasn’t a woman to be messed with - and Zeus pushed her to her limits on many occasions. While she couldn’t punish the King of the Gods, she could certainly punish the women that he cheated on her with.

In the original stories, Hera is vilified, portrayed as unreasonably vengeful, spiteful even. In this version, we can see her motivations. She can’t possibly direct her revenge on her monarch - that would endanger her position and Zeus would deal with her like all those who acted against him.

Hera is complicated woman, and she acts in the only way she knows how to. Her anger has centuries to mature and grow, and there’s a real sense of the passage of time. It’s just that that passage is pretty meaningless to a God!

This novel doesn’t excuse Hera’s behaviour, but it certainly gives the reasons for it. I love Greek mythology, and Jennifer Saints retellings have been excellent. This is another great addition to the series.

I love mythology and was excited to read Hera's story. Sadly, this didn't work for me. Instead of the vengeful, powerful Hera having her plots work and Zeus being punished, I had whining.

The book has been on my ongoing reads list for months but despite being quite a way through it, I just don't want to finish it. I'm not enjoying how whiney Hera sounds, the third person POV isn't working for me and I don't like how Hera feels like a victim rather than the powerful, smiting goddess I expected to get.

I would've liked more world building rather than long descriptions of scenery. I wouldn't liked more in depth story details instead this felt like a speedy, factual overview of her sad life. Mainly I wanted Hera to be the strong, fierce woman that I imagined.

I think it also suffered from me knowing the Greek myths so well, I didn't feel at though I was reading something new. I do feel that this will be enjoyed by may readers, just not me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline books for an arc, all opinions are my own.

I struggled a lot with Hera. I loved Saint’s books about Ariadne and Elektra, but I just couldn’t get through Hera. It started out fine, but most of the middle was just a lot of nothing happening. I think if the book was half its length, it would’ve been so much better.

I received an ARC for this book back in April, yet never got the chance to read it at the time. I ended up reading it on a trip to Istanbul early this September, which seemed like the perfect time and place to read a book like this. Despite that, I didn't enjoy the book- not like I expected to anyway- and it's taken me a few weeks to finish my review, but here it is:

My favourite genre (or sub-genre?) of literature used to be mythological retellings. However, recently, I've grown increasingly tired of 'feminist' retellings that end up only reducing their protagonists. More and more, I feel like modern retellings, while setting out to give their character agency and voice, take away whatever they had to begin with. These characters were compelling *and* women, not compelling *despite* being women. Still, most recent retellings seem to take the latter attitude when writing their stories.

Anyone who knows anything about Greek mythology knows how complicated a figure Hera is. I was excited to read a portrayal of such a character from her own perspective- to see what nuance and internal conflict a figure such as that must contain. Jennifer Saint definitely made me sympathise with her version of Hera and feel all she felt. However, such an interesting life was taken and made into a simple response: a one-note caricature of a scorned woman even. Her version of Hera was not one I had expected- or wanted- to encounter.

Zeus, from the beginning, is allowed to be a morally questionable character. He does not need to explain away and justify his choice to be such. Why, then, must female characters have to go through sexual violence to achieve the same moral questionability? Women are not allowed to be morally questionable in the same way- they are sweet and innocent until ‘corrupted’ by the actions of a man. In attempting to give Hera agency, all that was done was give Zeus more power- to make her entire life a reaction, a response, to something he had likely already forgotten, or at least definitely moved on from. Her figure in the original myths was unpredictable- one to be feared, never to be trifled with. In this novel, we see the once near-infallible Queen of Gods become a joke in the eyes of even her own worshippers.

Is this story (and others like it) not reductionist? Are we not removing from these characters what makes them them? To take all their nuance, the internal strife they must face, and to throw it all away with the explanation that they were once harmed by a man and now everything they do, every choice made in a millennia-spanning existence, was simply in response to an act of violence perpetrated against them. I thought this story was meant to step out of that mould, to tell the side we didn't (perhaps wrongly?) infer from our childhood books of summarised Mythology. We could have explored the complex morality behind Hera's questionable decisions through the various myths and the justifications she may have given herself, if any. Instead, we only see her trying to get back at Zeus through (by her own admission) petty games.

It could be argued that that is the point of the novel. We get to see a once-warrior goddess become someone who cannot see past her game of tug-of-war with her abusive and narcissistic husband. Still, this is not the new take on the story we were promised, so at the very least, it is a disappointing case of false advertising.

"Even when they no longer worship at her alters, she won't disappear. The mortals can determine their own lives, and she will carry on. Immortal and ageless, reinvented a thousand times, remade for a thousand narratives, throneless and wandering, but forever the ruler of her own destiny."

The quote above is the finishing paragraph of the book, and it stuck out to me when I read it (and still does now) because, fundamentally, I agree. It's an idea I've been wrestling with since shortly before I read this book, and still something I think about now. Ultimately, I feel that through retellings, we join conversation with the writers and thinkers of the past. It was their own habit to tell and retell the same stories, and we can see that through the many different versions of myths that were passed down to us. They used their current ideas and context to impact and inform the stories they told, so in this regard, why are we any different to them? Still, I agree that myth retelling can be overdone and oversaturated, especially when looking through the same lens (and ignoring the bits that don't fit) each time, and I think that holds true for this novel. This was a story worth telling, but not in this way.

Ultimately, Saint set out to make Hera a sympathetic character, and she succeeded. But at what cost?

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

The main narrative starts with the Olympians having just taken power and continues through the famed myths of heroes to a scene in Athens that feels firmly grounded in the realm of recorded history. In less practised hands this might lead to an unfocused story, for the classic narrative structure of a life is not really applicable when dealing with immortals. However, Saint is able to both humanise Hera’s development, and so provide an understandable series of character changes that feel deeply grounded in human experience, and use that development to chart the story of all the gods, and so the wider world.

In doing this, threads from many sources are woven into a smooth textual fabric, stitching together stories of Gaia and so the world’s creation, aetiological stories that explain volcanoes and echoes, and the more tangible historical stories of Troy. I would almost go as far as to say this is done with a keener hand than by classical authors themselves, for Saint understands how to obliquely tack in the outline of a story, without distracting the reader from the overall narrative pattern, but truly it is a matter of genre, for this is most assuredly a novel with an undeniably skilfully paced plot, not a meandering pseudo-epic.