Another retelling of Greek myth by Jennifer Saint (Adriadne, Elektra) this tale follows Hera, wife of Zeus, who was historically written about with single monochromatic sentences and dismissed as nothing more than a spiteful stepmother and jealous wife, but has now – deservedly – been transformed by Saint into complex colour.
We’ve known how Hera’s life pans out for thousands of years, but in this version we get to understand more about her motives and interior decision making, guided by past events. We see her blissful life as a young god and triumphant takeover of Mt Olympus, working alongside her brother Zeus to overthrow their tyrannical father Cronos and establishing a new regime. She assumes she’ll be invited to rule at Zeus’s side, but then shadowy conversations take place without her and before she can realise what’s happening, she’s been cast aside. An offer of marriage comes from Zeus (the Greek gods famously being quite relaxed about siblings getting married) and she eventually accepts, realising it’ll be easier to help steer the gods from Zeus’s side rather than from outside the inner circle. Slowly she realises Zeus is becoming just as cruel as the regime they overthrew together: she wrestles with her husband’s numerous infidelities and infamously rapacious nature, trying to balance out his harmful actions while secretly plotting against him – all the while having her heart broken again and again and again by her friendships, her hopes, her crushed dreams for society.
Saint is a hugely accomplished writer and her flowing, lyrical descriptions, particularly of the lush Greek forests and hillsides which Hera traverses, will make you long for a trip to the Mediterranean islands. The dream would be to enjoy reading Saint’s newest on an Athenian beach, but even if you’re simply spending your summer sprawled by the Lido, make sure you get your hands on a copy.

I am a sucker for feminist greek mythology retellings and therefore I needed to read this asap. I like the style of writing JS adopts and have read and enjoyed other books she has written like elektra. The covers never fail to induce you, they are beautiful, powerful and stand out.
Hera's motivations for revenge are interesting to read, as I love female rage. I liked how she relayed the double standard between Hera and the other gods, in Zeuzs eyes she will never be as appreciated as her male counterparts.
I like how approachable JS makes greek mythology, and as someone who didn't know much about hera beforehand, I have a newfound love and appreciation for her story.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this ARC! 3.5 stars

Even just a few pages in, it was clear that this book was going to be filled with beautiful prose. I loved the way feminine rage was portrayed, and that Hera didn't give in/up despite her circumstances.

Towards the end, I did feel that the plot of Hera taking revenge on Zeus was lost. I wish that she could've had more of an impact on him in this retelling. Every time she tried to stop Zeus she was constantly battered back down, and I felt sorry for her. Hera wasn't perfect and misdirected her anger often, but seeing it from her perspective and understanding her was really interesting.

Zeus becoming a marble statue felt like poetic justice, especially when he realised he was at the mercy of Hera, just as she had been their entire marriage.

Hera finding solace in mortals and roaming freely felt a fitting end for her.

I was waiting for this book for ages and I was not disappointed. This book follows the story of Hera, and the horrible choices she has to face. In many adaptations of the myths, Hera is painted as a villain of sorts. In the original myths, she isn’t but instead is a survivor.

Zeus did all these terrible things to her and put her in a bad position. Hera helped to defeat Kronos and yet got nothing, whilst her brothers got everything. All she wants is to be free.

Saint writes in such an emotional way which adds so depth to the story and her characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Wildfire (Headline) for an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

Another Saint book that I have fallen in love with. Hera is such an interesting goddess to follow, my greek mythology knowledge is little and I loved this book. There is so much speculation on Hera and Saint puts her spin on it beautifully.

This book is absolutely incredible! I have always loved greek mythology and seeing Hera through this lens was so beautiful and so well written - I will forever be recommending this book to everyone and honestly can't wait to read it again.

I enjoyed this female centred retelling of the myths of the Greek gods and their lives on Olympus. It can be a bit tricky to keep track of the numerous goddesses, children, nymphs, giants and monsters in this pantheonbut Jennifer Saint has done a great job of simplifying these relationships by centring the book on Hera, sister/wife to Zeus. We see how the gods defeat the titans and gain Olympus, and how Zeus comes to power although Hera begins as his equal. The limitations placed on her while Zeus is free to rape and impregnate (and she is held up as an example to faithful wives) explian her jealous and vengeful nature, and mirror the patriarchal society of Ancient Greece and indeed the double standards of today. I learned so much about the main characters of the Greek myths, and have a much deeper understanding of so many of them!

I love Greek retelling and when I start to think the authors will run out of stories to reinvent along comes another one - normally with a beautiful cover for me to get just as excited about. That was no different when I heard about Hera. And in many ways this book did not disappoint.
There is no doubt that Jennifer Saint's writing is gorgeous and her take on the powerful goddess,who is never going to be loved by readers no matter how far you spin the retelling, is thought provoking. It is great that someone who is so often merely referred to as Zeus' wife actually gets a life and a voice of her own.
Do you need to be a Greek mythology expert to enjoy this book? I don't think so, although I would say that it does reference a lot of characters and stories so you would probably get more out of it with some previous knowledge. And I think that is what stops it getting 5 stars - because Hera is involved in so many stories and Saint seemed to want to cover them all, they can often feel like a blink and you miss it reference.
Overall. Saint does a good job of showing a complicated figure, someone who doesn't always make choices we would agree with but I think a lot of women will be able to identify with the feelings of resentment and anger which Hera feels towards Zeus. If even a goddess is defined by husband, what hope is their for us mortal females?

Thanks @Netgalley for the review copy.

From the age of titans and the birth of the Olympians to the slow fading of belief, this is the one-stop connected book of all Greek Mythology.

Told through the eyes of Hera, queen of the gods and reluctant wife to Zeus the Thunderer, Jennifer Saint manages to weave most of the major myths into a single epic as if she'd been taught to weave by Athena herself.

I think Hera is quite overlooked when people think of the Greek Pantheon. Athena has war and wisdom, Aphrodite the goddess of love, and then there's Hera the goddess of marriage. Her tales of vengeance against Zeus' victims are well-known but you often forget that she's a daughter of Kronos and fought against the Titans! You get a real feel of her strength and simmering determination here and it's so refreshing to see that side of her.

Then we get the labours of Heracles, Jason and the Argonauts, and the Trojan War, Typhon and Echidna and many more all against the backdrop of the feuding gods.

I think the way this is achieved as a single story rather than the usual short story collection of myths and legends is a gripping take on things and frames each myth perfectly. I felt a real sense of sadness when the gods began to leave mount Olympus and fade away.

If you read any Greek Mythology book, make it this one!

I was so excited to be approached by the publisher to review this one as I've really enjoyed all of Saint's previous work. She has such a way of distilling myths in an accessible and enjoyable way.

I knew quite a lot about Greek gods but having learnt new aspects of the myths in all of the previous books I was intrigued to see what insights Saint would provide this time around! I really enjoyed the bits about the monsters, Typhon, Ekhidna, their children and their fight against Zeus was especially interesting.

It was great to see Hera's internal musings as well, especially when we saw her smiting mortals and Zeus' lovers. In these moments I was really drawn to her as a character but in the rest of the novel she was just too unlikeable for me! I was hoping we would see aspects of softness, perhaps in motherhood or in her duties as Goddess of marriage but she remained prickly throughout which just irritated me. I think for me this meant she felt a little one dimensional...

Overall I found myself struggling a bit to get through this, whilst I mostly enjoyed myself whilst reading, I wasn't particularly motivated to keep picking it up perhaps because of my familiarity with most of the mythology already.

I do think this book would be great for people who are less familiar with Hera and her mythology or those who like an unlikeable character.

I will definitely read more of Saint's work but I hope we will get more of the mortals stories!

3.5 stars

Thank you so much to Wildfire and Netgalley for my e-ARC of this book! My review will be up on Instagram soon xx

Hera is another gripping novel by Jennifer Saint exploring another central female figure in Greek mythology. Hera follows the wife of Zeus as she overcomes the limitations to her power enforced on her by her marriage as well as the shame inflicted by Zeus' numerous affairs. Filled with captivating imagery that brings to life the ancient Gods and titans, and foretelling their ultimate downfall as mortals begin to alter their allegiances.

If you have enjoyed similar books then you will once again revel in this female centric read, with small victories won and battles launched.

3.5 stars.

I feel like this book should have come with a trigger warning for all the rapes and violence against women! I know that’s pretty much the basis for all Greek myths, but each one is no less shocking than the last. And they’re incessant.

I didn’t enjoy this novel as much as I thought I would (I love myth retellings!) as this felt a little flat. 400 pages and nothing really happened after the prologue’s opening battle, and even that was the immediate aftermath of the battle and not the battle itself.

This won’t stop me reading the rest of the author’s work - I’ve read these completely out of order - as the descriptions are beautifully vivid and cohesive. The main gods were crafted well (some of the others were introduced too quickly that I kept getting confused by them all). Saint is clearly a skilled writer; this sadly didn’t hit the mark for me personally.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was sent a copy of Hera by Jennifer Saint to read and review by NetGalley. I’m afraid I have to say that I was rather underwhelmed by this book. I found it quite a struggle to keep motivated and nearly gave up a couple of times. I don’t know if it was just the wrong time for me to read it or not but I found the writing to be quite flat and repetitious. There were some passages that were quite exciting and it was interesting to read who was who and where they originated from, as well as which aspect of life they were given to rule, as I don’t know that much about the Greek gods. However this wasn’t enough to elevate my rating above 3 stars, sorry!

I don’t know a lot about Greek mythology so unsure how this is different to the original story of Hera but I really enjoyed it.

It did take me a while to get in to it but I’m glad I persevered with it.

Hera is a complicated character who I pitied and disliked at the same time. She is selfish and mean to people who don’t deserve it but at the same time she has suffered betrayal by the majority of people who are close to her.

"Zeus thinks he has the upper hand. He's made her the goddess of marriage, thinking she's nothing more than a dutiful wife.
But he never imagines the mistake he's made in making her his enemy and inviting her so close."

Jennifer Saint’s latest novel sees her tackle the myth of Hera, Queen of Heaven and the Goddess of Marriage. Beautifully written and evocative, I was immediately drawn into the world of this complex immortal goddess.

Hera. Daughter of the tyrannical Titan ruler, Cronus, she helps her brother, Zeus, overthrow their father and establish a new reign on Mount Olympus ruling by his side. But Zeus quickly betrays her, offering thrones to their brothers. She faces further humiliation when he forces her to become his bride and makes her the patron of women, marriage and childbirth. Hera swears vengeance, plotting quietly while playing the dutiful wife and queen. But she can’t stay quiet for long, and soon she and Zeus are caught in a perpetual cycle of violence, betrayal and revenge that has far-reaching repercussions.

Hera is a complicated goddess who isn’t easy to like. She’s beautiful, regal, formidable and fierce, but also vengeful, scheming, vindictive, vicious and cruel. But interwoven with all of that is a traumatised, broken woman who is deeply unhappy. There is a caring side of her, and I liked seeing those glimmers of compassion that she had at times. But I could understand that it was hard for her to be that way as a woman who had never been shown how to be caring, maternal or loving; someone trapped in a toxic marriage; and someone who has faced a battle for survival and power from the day she was conceived.

One of the things I liked about this book is that Ms. Saint never shied away from Hera’s flaws, excuse her abhorrent behaviour, or tried to make her likeable and sympathetic. She faces her faults head-on, instead giving us an anti-hero who we can understand on a deeper level by the end of the book, even if we don’t like her. I’ll admit, I struggled with the idea that Hera’s actions had a feminist motivation as I found her to be self-focused and motivated by power, wrath and revenge. And she often took out her rage at Zeus’ behaviour out on the women he often forced himself on. But I could understand that Hera is a product of trauma who has never developed a sisterhood with other women or been taught how to be caring and maternal. This is a woman who has known only fighting to survive from the time she was born and is trapped in a toxic marriage that she can’t find her way out of. I had sympathy for that even if I didn’t like her actions.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is how Ms. Saint humanised the monsters of Greek mythology. I found myself grieving alongside Hera as Typhon and his children were slain and saw so-called heroes such as Hercules in a different light. The monsters were simply existing and yet they were hunted down and brutally killed in the name of glory. I shared Hera’s revulsion at this, and will definitely see those usually demonised in these myths through another lens from now on.

A feisty and glorious novel, this is a must-read for fans of Greek mythology.

This was good but I really wish Saint had gone deeper into emotions of Hera. It read almost factual; it’s fiction, give me fiction! That last chapter was touching and the first time I felt actual emotion written in the book - had it been fully like that, I think this would have been incredible.

Hera might very well be my favourite Jennifer Saint mythology book to date. Though I don't give Hera the goddess much thought, favouring other gods above her, I really took a shine to her in this iteration.

Hera tends to get a bad wrap as a nagging, vengeful wife but if you look at her story dispassionately, is this novel does, you can appreciate the position the queen of the gods faced and, better still, why she did what she did. Her story is one that would be too easy to feminise, making Hera a victim of the patriarchy (which, to be fair, she is) but I applaud taking her tale in a different direction and making her creatively crafty instead of whiny.

If we are honest, Zeus was a horrific husband and Hera had more to contend with than most. Pointing out the injustice of all he put her through with his proclivity to rape innocent women/nymphs/etc would be a full time job. Though Hera's intention of redressing each situation may seem unfair to Zeus's victims, the overall view of vengeance against Zeus as a baseline could be commended. This position sheds new, and interesting, light on her actions making them sensible and even just.

There is much to appreciate in this novel. It covers a great deal of ground in quick succession making lengthy occurrences (Trojan War I'm talking to you) speed by in the blink of a god's eye. The end of the novel, especially, seemed fitting and fully satisfying. Hera, as a novel, hit the correct tone for me and gave great polish to Hera's often tarnished crown. Also, a big shout out to Hestia who features largely in this story. The much needed voice of reason on Mount Olympus. An enjoyable read, two thumbs up.

What a beautiful retelling of Greek mythology from the eyes of Hera. Normally seen as the cruel, vengeful Goddess, this book shows her softer side, gives more insight into how she was betrayed by Zeus and why she did what she did.

I've enjoyed Saint's other books but this one fell flat for me. I wanted an unapologetic, vengeful Hera but in an effort to make her a sympathetic character, she's had her agency removed and been made weak. Just not what I was looking for unfortunately.

Review not posted anywhere else.

Very strong book, empowering female character I’ve recently taken a bigger interest in Greek mythology retelling and especially our strong females and this was great to be able to experience Heras story straight from the beginning.