Thank you netgally for this EARC
I listened and both read this book I really enjoyed it I find learning about the Greek gods interesting. The struggles of what Hera went through just to get back as Zeus. Jennifer’s story telling had me hooked and I wanted to know what was going to happen. Learning about what happens through Hera’s pov was interesting as it showed a new light on what happens as well as how the women were treated.

Hera was born to be great and when she has played a pivotal role in the destruction of Cronos she expects an important role amongst the gods of Olympus. Instead Zeus forces her to marry him and makes her the goddess of marriage. Her husband is not faithful and Hera finds her own children pushed aside in favour of Zeus' other children and resentment starts to grow. Despite supporting revolts and working against her fellow gods, Hera still fights for Olympus.
What a delight, a new Jennifer Saint book. I am such a fan of her writing, feminist retellings of ancient myths but in an accessible and entertaining voice. Here there is a certain degree of pathos and modern sensibility as various tales are woven together leading to the downfall of the gods but it is a wonderful journey with a strong heroine.

I have read and loved everything by Saint (except Elektra - she's still on my shelf!) so jumped at the chance to read this early.

Hera is a goddess in her own right, daughter of Rhea and Cronus, sister of Zeus, so surely she should have equal rights and power amongst the Titans? Yet she finds she is expected to follow the will of the gods amongst her and accept that she is to wed her brother and bear him children. Hera sees it all, seethes with anger and finds herself running towards peace; but she returns, there is no escape and her story is one of how she copes with that loss of power, how she claws it back for herself whenever she can.

I enjoyed this one very much. Hera is a goddess I knew little of, always in the shadow of her brother/husband Zeus but I loved how Saint brings her back into the foreground. I read Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes this month too and they are very different stories in that Hera tells a story of one woman, Stone Blind tells many. Hera feels like a feminist tale of one goddess, suffering under the restraints of the whims of the gods, whereas Stone Blind seems to ridicule those gods, who seem capricious and petty, whiny and ridiculous. I enjoyed both takes on the greek myths and feel there is a place for all kinds of writing on the mythology.

A very well written, wonderful mythological retelling of the goddess, Hera.

I have to admit that it did take me quite a while to get into, and I thought I wouldn't finish it at one point, because there was just so much information and so many names with very little storyline.

I'm glad I stuck with it though.

Hera is a very interesting take on Hera and her story but in my opinion it's not on par with Ariadne as it really struggled to hold my interest at times. I found the book to be quite slow and a little repetitive in places also.

Jennifer Saint is a very talented writer but this one missed for me but I do look forward to reading more of her work.

What do you picture when you think of Hera? Zeus’ willing and loving wife? A vengeful queen? Jennifer Saint is about to open Hera up and give you a much rounder perspective of the Queen of the Gods.

Firstly this book gives you such a great history of the gods and how they came to be.

Admittedly I actually didn’t know much about Hera at all - I think I literally just pictured the Hera from the Disney film Hercules 😂🙈and that was it.

I felt like this account really broke down the character of Hera and the motivations behind who she was and why she became the way she was. I think a lot of women can understand what motivated a lot of her decisions - right or wrong.

I thoroughly enjoyed the start to finish history of the Olympians as this is not something I had fully immersed myself in previously so to get a background in this was really helpful along with the family tree at the start. All very incestuous as you can imagine.

I would say that if you are unfamiliar with Greek Mythology that whilst this is a fantastic book to start with for the break down of the origins of each God/Goddess there is sadly a several scenes/indications that may be triggering on account of Sexual Assault and Rape.

As I said initially I read the physical book alongside the audio of this book and really enjoyed both. The narration is great and with great cadence- I read quite fast in comparison to the audiobook standard (apparently)so had it on x2 speed in order to match my reading speed and found it to still be perfect.

Definitely a book for Greek Mythology lovers.

I didn't really know what to expect when going into this book beyond the fact that it was a Greek mythology retelling. I expected it to be fairly heavy and difficult to digest. I have never been more wrong.

This is a powerful story of female rage, a complex feeling of duty and of a changing world. Hera is always depicted as rather unlikeable - jealous, spiteful and vengeful - so this retelling works wonderfully at providing context and motive for her behaviour.

For a story about a goddess, this book makes Hera so much more human. It beautifully depicts her struggles and why she was driven to desperate measures by the cruelty of her husband and other gods. It isn't about redemption, but it offers a lot of understanding, showing that there is always more to the stories you think you know.

The book is also beautifully written, providing great levels of information without leaving you lost. You still get the benefit of a wonderfully rich and detailed world but it is digestible, so I feel this would be a suitable book even for those who don't know much about the Greek Pantheon.

This has inspired me to read more of Jennifer Saint's work as I couldn't put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for the advance copy.

As a blended lover of Greek mythology and have great interest towards the movement to re contextualise the women of in mythology altogether . I knew I was going to dive into Jennifer Saint's Hera, having already completed Atalanta. Hera, from the get go, a truly complex figure to carve out, especially from the immediate predisposition you have about her character. Saint's flow of language is a smooth,graceful and fluid. But the voice of Hera, (got a bit winy ) but alas when was she ever going to win against her rat of a husband. . I understand we aren't connect with Hera as a figure ( she is high and might and above humans). Sometimes that characterisation was lost in the character her self , which was a bit of shame.

However, because Saint was almost restricted to re-telling stories of old in such a strict way, it felt sometimes the input into Hera's character was flat because she was being used a purposeful work around to allow the voice of the author. I don;t know if I learnt more about the character I didn't already know about. Sometimes events weren't being fleshed out in challenging ways. only worked around in ways I came to expect. I wasn't expecting adventure, however, as a goddess with a modicum of power, I was looking for maybe more cunning?

Overall rating is : 3/5

This was the first book by Jennifer Saint that I have read. I was interested in it because of the Greek mythology. It is a subject area that I want to investigate further. I thought this was an engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

3.75/5

I enjoyed this! I’ve enjoyed every Jennifer Saint book I’ve read and think she’s an auto-author for me now. I loved this retelling and the female rage vibes. The pacing was good until around the last quarter when I felt it started to feel a bit rushed unfortunately.

I received this book on netgalley by the publishers and I loved it! I’ve always loved greek mythology but I’ve never read a book that focused on Hera and this book did not disappoint. We learnt why she hated demigods as the centuries went on and why she acted the way she did! I highly recommend this book to everyone, and I definitely recommend the author’s other work!

This book starts with a gripping prologue of when the cruel rule of the Titans is over.

The new rule of the Olympians begin. With it comes the promise of the “new” and progressive times ahead.

However, as Hera soon discovers, nothing much changes under the Olympian rule.

Many years ago she was promised an equal rule by her brother Zeus, when it was just the two of them. They were plotting to overthrow their father, Titan Cronus, while they were hiding in Crete.

Now, this promise is shattered, as Zeus declares himself the god of the heavens, putting Poseidon as the god of the seas, and Hades as the god of the underworld.

And what’s in store for her? She’s to become Zeus’s wife (immediately I’m thinking of incest!) and he assigns her the role of the goddess of marriage, a task she loathes and resents.

Years pass and Hera bears Zeus children, however, he carries on having children out of wedlock, and favouring them over his own brood.

However, Hera is a powerful goddess, a strong woman, who will stand against the test of time.

I am an avid fan of Jennifer Saint’s novels and she is becoming one of my favourite writers of historical fiction.

This book didn’t disappoint!

I loved Hera’s transformation from the revengeful goddess to the petty one, where she was obsessing over Zeus’s extra marital affairs and children.

I enjoyed her link to the underground “monsters” like Typhon and Ekhidna.

Most of all, I adored how Hera came to peace with herself and wanted to change with the times, something that Zeus refused to do. This shows the real strength and determination.

Do I recommend this book? For sure!

Thanks to Wildfire books for approving my NetGalley request to read and review this title.

Hera.
Wife of Zeus.
Jealous wife of Zeus.
Jealous and vindictive wife of Zeus.

Those are the words ordinarily associated with the Queen of the Olympian Gods.

Once again, Jennifer Saint has produced a gorgeous book reimagining Hera and bringing her completely to life. As I've come to expect from JS, it's beautifully written but her characterisation of Hera in particular is outstanding - it's visceral, raw, emotive - bringing a complexity of feelings I genuinely didn't expect.

Various myths are masterfully woven into the story but naturally, from Hera's viewpoint and without overshadowing /overtaking her tale. She brings to life the other gods and heroes in a way that makes them almost tangible.

This, for me, is the best of JS books so far. The ending was unexpected and perfect, and will stay with me as I go off to offer a dedication to this greatest of Olympians.

Hera by Jennifer Saint is the latest from the best selling queen of mythology retellings and is an in depth exploration of the story of a much maligned Goddess, notorious for her jealous and vengeful nature. As with all of Saint's retellings there is a feminist slant that makes Hera a more sympathetic character, however overall she remains something of a morally grey character , sometimes compassionate but often quick to anger and determined to attain her rightful place among the pantheon of Gods. She is often not a very likeable character but still a compelling one and I was engrossed by her story from the beginning. Saint expands on her story in a way that makes her actions more understandable and helps the reader to understand her motivations. In her role as Queen of the Gods and wife of Zeus her story intersects with that of many other Gods , heroes and mythological creatures so expect to see several familiar names over the course of the book. As always with this author the writing style is smooth, allowing the story to flow naturally which is important given the large cast of characters from mythology and the vast expanse of time that the book covers as in the hands of a lesser writer it might have felt too jumpy.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Hera was always my least favourite goddess of Greek Mythlogy and I looked forward to reading this to get more insight into her character and perhaps have this retelling that would make her more 3 dimensional.

Unfortunately- she’s still my least favourite. Hera has typically been portrayed as the jealous manipulative wife who is power hungry and willing to destroy people’s lives to save face from Zeus’s adultery. There’s not much that is new here for me or that can be interpreted differently. Her acceptance of Zeus surprised me and didn’t sit well. Her interactions with her children were interesting and different from what I expected. Painting her as the mother of Typhoon was also a different slant to the mythology.

All in - it was an interesting read but not for me. I can’t tell if it was because it was written in 3rd person ? I found it hard to connect with her and found her generally unlikeable. Her pain and anger I could relate to but it never felt like she ever did anything concrete about it.

This was a great Re telling of the Greek mythological story of Hera from her point of view.
I really liked this book and like other books I’ve read recently gives a fascinating look (be it fictional of course!) at the often overlooked female character in a major story or book.
I must say there should be some TW for this book, if sexual violence or childbirth effects you in any way.

This book gave a fantastic interpretation from Hera’s point of view, she was a free goddess and roamed the world as she pleased, enjoying the peace her, Zeus and their allies achieved. But it quickly changes when Zeus creates a patriarchal rule and forces a marriage and role unto Hera which she did not want. This began her spiteful story which contains triggers for rape and sexism. She made to be the goddess of marriage, all the while her husband and king of gods is a serial adulterer and has offspring popping up like nobodies business. Hera is furious when her own children by Zeus are classed as lower than his bastards on Olympus and are given lesser roles than the big names we know like Athena, Apollo and Artemis. She is jealous of the other goddesses, nymphs, titanesses and even mortals which Zeus chooses (usually by force) and spends most of her time getting revenge on either them or their children.

I enjoyed that the book features a lot of known mythology events, but seeing them from Hera’s perspective instead of the other gods. We see what she saw in the other gods and why she hated or resented them so much and it gives Hera a sympathetic view for her experience. This story isn’t about redeeming her, but we may understand her more to know why she did the things she is know for.

This book is medium to fast paced. It does jump in time a lot and covers many other god, monster and mortal characters both well and lesser known. Because of that it could feel slightly erratic in pacing but for me I just felt that these characters are gods and therefore time moved much more quickly so it didn’t make it difficult to follow the jumping around. I rated it 4 stars as I really enjoyed the book but it just took me a little longer to get through as there are a lot of details and characters to get through.

My review has been posted to Goodreads but I can’t get the direct link to this as the app or website doesn’t allow me to access share settings (I assume a bug as I’ve previously not had an issue!).

As a fan of Greek retellings, I rather enjoyed this book. I preferred Hera to Saint's Ariadne. Our protagonist is complex and yet in some form, feels universal. I enjoyed the drama between the gods and how they were portrayed throughout the story - it was a nice change from Ariadne.
However, I think after reading Hera, this might be my last Greek retelling for a while. The stories don't capture my attention as much anymore, and especially as the market is saturated with 'feminist retellings', some of the writing can feel preachy, or a bit too on the nose. It's lacking subtlety.

Hera - Jennifer Saint

Hera, sister and wife of Zeus. Goddess of women and marriage.

Greek mythology is not my usual cup of tea and after reading Elektra by JS for a book club I was curious to see to try again and see how this book was.

While this book is a retelling with in-depth dive into the life of Hera, Jennifer Saint's writing is emotive, passionate and accessible for readers who might not delve into this topic too often.

Hera is a strong, passionate often jealous woman who does not have the most forgiving story in mythology, in this book you are shown a different side where you can empathise with her in moments of grief, however you can never erase Heras jealousy and the punishment she ordered for the women who lay with Zeus (with or without a choice) .

Hera may not be your favourite Goddess but her story is worth the read.

Thank you Random thing Tours for this Arc

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Wildfire/Headline for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: sexual assault, rape, violence, misogyny, child death, abuse, pregnancy, childbirth

Every book I’ve read by Jennifer Saint so far, “Ariadne”, “Electra” and “Atalanta”, have all been brilliant but I think “Hera” might just be her best one yet. It begins with the war led by Zeus and his siblings against their father Cronos and the early years of their roles as the Olympian gods. Hera dreams of her family ruling peacefully and fairly among themselves. However, this is not the way of things- soon enough Zeus and her other brothers Posiedon and Hades split the world into three realms they’ll rule as their own. In this world that was supposed to be different, Hera sees that it isn’t- and that Zeus in particular is just as bad as their father. Forced to become Zeus’ wife through rape, Hera rules as Queen of the Gods and is granted her own domain: to be the goddess of marriage, but that matters little to her husband as he constantly chases women and nymphs against their will. Unable to act against her husband, and burning with the same fury she once used on the battlefield, Hera doesn’t care that the world will make her into a villain. She targets her husband’s children and the women themselves, reminding everyone who she is through brutality and vengeance while hoping, despite herself, that her own children might stand by her side. In the midst of everything is incredible moments- like the battles between Titans, Giants and Olympians, the births of Zeus’ many children (my favourites were Athena and the twins, Apollo and Artemis) and her revenge on them, the war on Troy and humanity turning away from the gods- shown through the eyes of Hera, who alternates between deeply kind and deeply angry. This book makes no attempt to redeem Hera, she wouldn’t consider herself in need of any kind of redemption, but it does show her at her best and worst in a beautiful, flowing story.

I adored this book from the first page as Hera walks across the blood splattered battlefields of the war against her father. We see her as one of the original Olympians, watching curiously as humanity is created from clay by Zeus and then destroyed. She wanders through forests and befriends monsters, all while trying to make sense of this world that is everything she thought would disappear with Olympian rule. I loved how she felt about her children, how she put so much of her anger and expectation for their loyalty into them, and how their apparent inadequacies consistently let her down. In mythology Hera has always been shown as cruel, lashing out for no apparent reason but here it is obvious- she is the goddess of women but treated just as they are by the man who says he loves her. Some parts of this book are deeply uncomfortable to read but it’s supposed to be. The way that Jennifer Saint writes Hera’s anger and disappointment is so poignant, especially when she becomes wrathful against her husband and the other gods. One of my favourite parts of this book comes towards the end when Hera walks among humanity for the first time, seeing all that they’ve achieved even without the gods. We see the absolute worst of the Greek gods in this book, from assault to murder to torture and rape, but there’s also an incredible depth to the emotions that Hera experiences throughout her immortal life. To write from the perspective of one of the gods would be hard enough and I think Hera, as complicated and complex as she is, has been shown incredibly in this novel.