I've thoroughly enjoyed all of Jennifer Saint's novels and was eagerly anticipating her latest work. True to her style, she skillfully reimagines mythology from a female perspective, with her latest focusing on Hera. In this book, unlike many retellings, Saint provides a nuanced context that allows readers to empathize and comprehend Hera's actions. It's a compelling narrative that delves into the struggles of females, even goddesses, as they strive to reclaim what is rightfully theirs. I eagerly await more from Jennifer Saint. She is fast becoming one of my favourites.

I loved Atalanta, so was beyond thrilled to be approved to read an advanced copy of Hera.
Hera is another captivating retelling by this talented author who has portrayed the Goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth; sister and wife of Zeus, not just as a vengeful deity but as a complex and multifaceted character with her own desires and struggles. A absolute must-read for fans of mythological and historical fiction.

Ever since I picked up the Waterstones exclusive edition of Ariadne in 2021, Jennifer Saint has quickly become one of my all-time favourite authors. Her retellings of key women in Greek Mythology - many of whom typically have their accomplishments and adventures overshadowed by the men - has made waves in the market of mythology retellings. Each novel of hers has been devoured by me cover to cover in under 48 hours, speeding through with bated breath at the adventures us readers are about to witness. Hera is no exception. Admittedly, Hera is not one of my favourite goddesses in mythology; I’ve always seen her as spiteful and distributing unfair retribution to heroes and Zeus’ victims alike purely because she could.

Jennifer Saint’s retelling expands far beyond that. In Hera’s shoes, we are reminded that the loss of power can be just as devastating as having it.

I sat and finished the entirety of Hera in one sitting, all 352 pages taking up but a few hours. And then I re-read it the evening afterwards just as quickly. Saint’s typical fast-paced writing style is also up to 11 here, the overarching tale of the Goddess of Marriage being inundated with side stories of others who poke and prod her into reminding Hera of just who she is.

You feel like the gods themselves, almost. As if time is slipping away from you, but what changes when you don’t? What can we do when pushed into a role we didn’t want but try to reclaim part of ourselves any way we can?

Most of that, in Hera’s manner, is feminine rage. She lashes out at those she dislikes and is quite often demonised for it. In the few attempts she has against the other Olympians (mainly at Zeus and Athena), they fail and have long lasting effects - so that when someone else tries attacking the gods she is immediately suspected despite having no involvement.

But it is her interactions with the other gods, those she fought beside and those she fights throughout the narrative which makes Hera’s multifaceted approach so interesting to me. Hephestus’ interactions with his mother have always interested me; the relationship between Queen mother and her son was always so complex - not only for her motivations in wanting to have a child alone (and prove Zeus wrong in the process) but also for how Hephestus ‘fell’ from Olympus. Here, she loves her son, but it is her fear of retribution from Zeus that stops her from going to visit him at his forges.

(And how can I not be in love with Artemis’ small moment in the spotlight during Part 3; her brashness and approach to womanhood is so different to Hera’s that it was almost jarring to see her standing among the Olympians. She is Hera’s worst nightmare: a powerful child of Zeus and later an Olympian, but she is also a reflection of what Hera almost could have been. A woman with power and strength who took the future for herself on her own terms before a man determines what her life should be. A weaponless warrior watching the (for lack of a better term) next generation taking up arms.)

The ending was far more maudlin than Saint’s over novels, but I think it works in Hera’s favour. What happens when people stop paying attention to the gods, to their power? When the man in charge decides that they cannot, will not, change with the times and is instead left with their empty halls with their golden thrones but no love to show for it. Compare that to the others who thrive in their new roles, the paths they found for themselves: Artemis in the wilds, Hestia with her simple yet rewarding task of making sure everyone feels welcome, Hephestus with his love of creating things.

Many thanks for NetGalley and Headline Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My favourite book by this author so far. A true story of gods and monsters but who is which?

This book sweeps through centuries of time as we learn the story of Hera from when she fought alongside her brother Zeus to bring down their father Cronus and the other Titans, through all the well known Greek myths like Herracles, Jason and the Golden Fleece and the final battle involving the actions of the Gods - Troy. There is so much more to Hera than bitter jealousy of Zeus's constant infidelities. Definitely not the Hera portrayed in the myths.

Highly recommend.

I love reading Greek mythology books and was so excited to get stuck into this latest offering from Saint. 'Hera' is a spectacular re-telling of the queen of the goddesses, it is also a more sympathetic tale than others I have read, which made for refreshing reading and helped me to connect to the story. All of the key aspects of Hera's story are present in this and I enjoyed seeing how events that happen to her lead her to behave in certain ways later on.
Saint has really brought the gods and goddesses to life throughout this. All of their individual personalities were apparent and I enjoyed seeing them pop up throughout the story and interact with others around them.
I absolutely loved reading 'Hera', Saint has evoked the atmosphere as well as the gods, goddesses and stories they have to tell. If you like mythological reads then you will love this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy.

A story that encompasses the legends of the Olympians with a story of a battle against patriarchy and dictatorship

This is my first read of Greek mythology fiction and having limited previous knowledge of the gods and goddesses I thought I may be at a loss, but Jennifer Saint guides us through this world step by step. The story follows Hera and her journey through time as an Olympian Goddess. With divine power she should live beyond the control of everything and everyone, but Zeus rules with his thunderbolt and Hera’s power becomes restrained and tainted by the oppression and indiscretions of Zeus.

The book follows themes of women’s oppression by men under a patriarchal rule, Zeus as a dictator and the emergence of the mortal race. We learn about many of the gods and goddesses which was enthralling and educational

Many of the mythological stories are interwoven into the plot tying the whole story into a large lavish masterpiece. The insertion of countless Greek Mythology stories centres the book aswell and I enjoyed the retelling of them from Hera’s perspective.

The book has depth, feeling and heart. Hera is truly a multi-faceted character. She brings inspiration with her passion, stoicism, and fire for her revolts against patriarchy and the right for the Goddesses to equal the Gods. Yet she is also massively jealous, egoistical, vengeful and heartlessness with her disregard to anyone she deems of no use to her.

The plot works well, and at a fast pace, it often appears that events happen in very quick succession, almost like a constant hit of drama, but as we learn, mortal time is a blink of an eye for the Gods. All the characters serve a purpose and are well written and the language used sets scenes and atmospheres for the story to play out to. This is clearly a well-researched novel, and one that has piqued my interest in reading more in this area of fiction in the future. My one takeaway would be that for those of us with less knowledge on Greek Mythology, an index of characters and a form of family tree would have helped me remember who was who throughout the book as the sheer volume of gods, goddesses, demi-gods and nymphs was at time overwhelming.

Jennifer Saint’s fourth novel is told from the perspective of Hera. Hera helps her brother Zeus to overthrow their tyrannical father, the Titan Cronus and she wants to rule by Zeus’ side. Hera starts to suspect Zeus is more like their father as they start to rule. Hera is often portrayed as a jealous wife or wicked stepmother but this retelling shows Hera and her many sides as she tries to forge a better world.

The writing of this was good as is expected when reading a novel by this author. Saint clearly knows her Greek mythology and it was easy to follow who was who. I can see people enjoying this and it was good to follow someone like Hera who we rarely see as a main character.

I am giving this 4 stars and to be completely honest I didn’t have the best time with it. I was expecting it to be 5 stars after loving all 3 of Saint’s previous novels especially Atalanta. This is definitely a personal issue but I was a bit bored with this and I think it’s because I read Mythos by Stephen Fry last year. Mythos covered the majority of the ‘characters’ in this novel and that meant I was bored with a lot of the events in here. It was just hard for me to sympathise with Hera because her story such as being subjugated by a man is very derivative of other things and it just doesn’t interest me. Also, I do think following a Goddess is tough because it’s hard to care when they are immortal and it all feels a bit pointless/empty. However, this is a personal thing and I don’t think other people will have this issue, it just wasn’t a favourite for me unfortunately. I loved Atalanta because things were happening, the reader followed the Argonauts but here things just happened to Hera and it was dull. There wasn’t really anyone to root for. I do think Greek Mythology retellings are just a bit overdone now and I personally won’t be reading many any more. You can only read so much of the same thing until you get bored and that’s me with Greek myth.

I love mythology and retellings so I was so happy to receive this arc from NetGalley
The author is one I’ve enjoyed in the past and this was just as beautifully written
The story was engrossing and absorbing from start to finish. The author brought the characters and settings to life while giving us Heras story and this is a must for all mythology fans
I loved this one and it is up there with the best retellings that are out there

Jennifer Saint you brilliant author!! I absolutely LOVED this book. In most retellings Hera never comes across very well at all and I am guilty of judging without actually knowing all of her story. Hera tells us of the struggles that females, even goddesses, face when trying to claim what is rightfully theirs. Does Hera misdirect her anger at Zeus and deflect it on his victims? Yes. Is she also just misunderstood and hurting? Yes.
An absolutely beautiful retelling that will make your heart hurt.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴- 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬-𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. - Hera from The Iliad, Book 4, lines 68-70.

Thank you Headline books and Netgalley for the arc!

Pub date- 23rd May 2024.

Hera by Jennifer Saint is a dazzling retelling of the immortal goddess Hera, daughter of the ancient Titan Cronus and wife and sibling of the sky and thunder God Zeus.

This was a devastatingly beautiful and emotive read. I was filled with feminine rage throughout. There's no denying that Hera is a difficult character to capture. She is vulnerable, repressed and tortured one moment, but also vicious and malevolent in another. I fell in love with her wicked edges as well as her compassionate side. I found myself justifying her acts of wickedness with concerning ease throughout.

This book is simply captivating. I was swept into a world I knew little about; however, I didn't feel overly bombarded or overwhelmed with the mythology. The book had a pleasant, lyrical flow which made the content very accessible and incredibly enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline books for the early access to Hera.

What I love most about Jennifer Saint’s writing was abundant in her latest work. The way she manages to make Greek mythology accessible is astounding.

Jennifer Saint has yet again shown the struggle of females, even gods, in the fight to get what is theirs. The ultimate fight to get what she wants. “She can be anyone.” And that she does.

A beautiful retelling, not to be missed.