Thank you for this ARC.

If you like greek gods or women or you are a woman or a greek god...this one's for you 😁 Jennifer Saint once again producing a beautifully written tale that I couldn't put down.

I have linked my review on Booktok.

Hera by Jennifer Saint is a glorious retelling of the myth of Hera, immortal goddess and daughter of the ancient Titan Cronos. Often recounted as a spiteful, vengeful wife, this retelling is completely different and I was all in!

Jennifer Saint has a unique way of re-imagining the characters of Mount Olympus, reframing Hera to a woman of strangth and tenacity, fighting for what is right against the odds

Absolutely outstanding

Thank you to Netgalley, Headline | Wildfire and the author Jennifer Saint for this fantastic ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

One of my most anticipated reads of the year, and unfortunately one of my most disappointing.

I had high expectations, having read and loved the author's previous works. For me, this book fell flat. It didn't do anything different with the character of Hera.

I also found the pacing of the book very rushed as the book tries to take us from the Titanomachy to the fall of the Olympians in a short book for this feat.

I like Hera for the very reason that she is a hard character to love. She's very emotional and vengeful and this is captured here. But this book just didn't add to any of my prior knowledge of the mythological figure.

Thanks: Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am starting to get a little bit of Greek-myth-retelling-fatigue at present but this is my fault as I love the 'original' stories so much I am always going to be drawn to these!

While Saint does a good job of explaining why Hera is such a vengeful deity I never developed any sympathy with her and while it was refreshing to read a female character who really didn't care about what people thought of her it made for a tougher read.
My favourite bit about the book was how Saint/Hera depicted the end of the Olympian Gods, I'd never really thought about how their influence ended and what that would have been like.

I am a big fan of Greek Myth retellings and Jennifer Saint is one of my favourite authors in this genre. I was thrilled to see her new novel focuses on Hera, Queen of the Gods.

Hera is probably not everyone's cup of tea. She has a reputation of being a vengeful and jealous Goddess, directing her rage at the victims of her philandering husband/brother, Zeus, instead of the God himself. In this book Jennifer Saint tells the famous myths from Hera's perspective and shows us that while Hera is a Goddess she is also a woman who is complicated, feels emotions and has flaws.

I feel much more connected to Hera after reading this book and I think this may just be one of my favourite myth retellings to date.

📚 Thank you to Headline for providing me with an ARC to read and review 📚

“They call out to Hera the bride, Hera the wife, Hera the mother, with every gift and sadness the hold. Each of them is a stream flowing into an ocean of disparity, deeper and vaster than she could imagine, and she follows them one after the other, each women’s suffering so familiar she can barely tell one anguish from the next. “

I never thought that I would I feel very much positive emotion at all towards Hera based on EVERY other retelling of various Greek myths and stories. It was refreshing to think about hera in a totally new light - of, at times, infuriating by her lack of action where she could have really made a difference vs where she chose to use her power.

I really enjoyed thinking about the truth of her perceptions vs what I’ve always assumed/ the image I have of Hera. The writing style didn’t quite capture me like Ariadne. I would have preferred a first person narrative to tell Hera’s story - for me it felt a bit jumpy at times and I struggled to feel really at one with the narrative until the last third of the book. However, chunks of the writing really enamoured me. I particularly loved the descriptions of the lands/the earth, in addition to the depiction of Gaia. I could really feel the presence of Gaia through the writing.

Also Hera’s relation to Typhon and therefore the chimera, hydra etc was something that I was totally unaware of? Always nice to learn something new. Plus I enjoyed the little easter eggs from Jennifer Saint’s other books.

When Hera helps her siblings to overthrow the Titan Cronos, she imagines them ruling the Heavens and Earth together. But it soon becomes clear the Zeus has his own ideas, and she finds herself relegated to a mere wife. Queen of the Gods, but forced to rule over the domain of marriage, which her own husband makes a mockery of, Hera is determined to take back the power that is rightfully hers to wield.

I love Greek mythology, and it was fun to read a story that focusses so completely on the gods themselves, rather than demi-gods and heroes. I really enjoyed seeing the personalities and powers of each different god as they came into being, from the ancient titans, to the children of Cronos, all the way to Zeus’ many children with gods, titans and mortals.

My favourite representations had to be Athena and Hestia, both very different but compelling characters. Hera, on the other hand, was thoroughly dislikeable. In the beginning, I understood her frustrations and how she found herself in such a weak position compared to her sister goddesses, but as the story progressed I found her more and more spiteful and self-centred. As goddess of marriage, she did nothing whatsoever to aid the mortals praying to her and, unlike the other goddesses who took their duties seriously and made a significant impact on the lives of the gods and mortals alike, Hera’s own existence felt pretty pointless. All she did was seethe over Zeus’ betrayals and punish his victims. This was a disappointing representation of the queen of the gods from a so-called feminist re-telling.

I enjoyed the writing style and overall feel of this book, but I’ve read much better Greek re-tellings recently, and am now unsure if I will bother reading Jennifer Saint’s other novels. Who knows, they might be better with a focus on a different character. I did enjoy the way she represented the decline of the gods and the transition to more modern times.

I love love love Jennifer Saints books and honestly, I think this is her best yet!!
Hera feels like such a pinnacle addition to Saint’s list, encompassing the greatness of a Goddess so huge that it wove into her other retellings.

As usual, Saint’s intention is to make a woman of Greek myth who is usually just known as someones husband a powerful thing in her own right, and she does this wonderfully with Hera’s story. It shows how she was equal and just as powerful as Zeus, but does not forget to show how she suffers misogyny.

While it’s never been my personal favourite pasts of her novels, Jennifer Saint’s ability for writing her Goddesses relationships is exceptional and Hera is no different. She also portrayed the greatness of Gods and their relationship with humans perfectly, without ignoring the glaringly obvious power issues and misogyny.

I know a lot about Hera already, and she is so often characterised as the vengeful wife and I love that Saint did not intent to redeem her, but instead humanise her and show her reasoning.

Thank you so much to Wildfire/Headline and Netgalley for the ARC!!

This is her best one yet (and that's saying something because I'm a huge fan of her other books)!

Hera is a very rich book and I felt like it made Jennifer Saint’s books come full circle for me because, in illustrating the vastness of Hera’s life - and that of any god - it touched on some of the narratives explored in the author’s other rewritings.

Hera is known in current times usually as Zeus’s wife, the goddess of marriage, but this book intends to show just how much more Hera has to show for herself. The book starts right after Hera and Zeus take down Cronus and the Titans, starting the age of the Olympians. It shows how Hera was in equal measure responsible for this take-down of the old regime and is just as powerful as Zeus, but suffers at the hand of misogyny.

Reading this book was really infuriating because of all of the situations Hera goes through, especially when it comes to her relationship (in the wide sense) with Zeus, and it intended for us readers to feel that way. Jennifer Saint’s writing is at its best here; she was really able to portray the vastness of the life of a god, compared to the fleetness of a human's - the changes and the frustrating many cases of sexism/misogyny.

The book doesn’t seek to redeem Hera against characterisations of her as the jealous and vengeful wife, but humanizes her and gives an overview of her life and all of the many things that happened in the life of a goddess that is one of the most ancient and powerful among the Olympians.

Thank you very much to Wildfire/Headline for my stunning proof! I also listened to this one as an audiobook, narrated by Naomi Frederick, and it was incredible. Thank you so much to Headline audio!

With thanks to Netgalley and the author Jennifer Saint.

Having read Jennifer's other Greek Mythology books, I thought I would enjoy Hera, but I felt myself plodding through Hera and I didn't care at all about Hera. Three stars for this book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital ARC. I love mythology retellings and have been wanting to get into Jennifer Saint's work, so this was a great opportunity.

First of all, I thought this book was beautifully written and I really enjoyed the writing style. It's clearly well researched and I felt I learned a lot about greek mythology that I could connect with other retellings I've read, but there are a couple of things that prevented me from rating this 5 stars.

I would have loved to spend more time getting to know Hera at the start of the book, before Zeus's 'betrayal', as I didn't feel like I really knew who she was to connect with her and this was a common issue throughout the book. The book hurtles through so many events, spanning a huge amount of time so each event feels rushed through rather than really getting to the heart of it and how it affects Hera.

If Hera's anger and rage at Zeus's unacceptable actions were delved more deeply into, I think some of her resulting actions would have made more sense, but instead it felt more like a meandering of events. We should have felt Hera's anger and rage building throughout the book but unfortunately this didn't happen and I wasn't really rooting for her as a character. I felt the same about the rest of the characters, they felt one-dimensional due to the focus on the events rather than the characters experiencing them.

I absolutely loved the ending, but I feel if the above issues were resolved I would have been more emotionally affected. I think this could have massively benefitted from being a duology so that we could have spent more time getting to know Hera and dissecting the events further.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC

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A stunning blend of feminism and Greek mythology retelling.

I absolutely devoured this book and loved learning more about Hera and the other Greek gods and goddesses portrayed in their true light.

With that said, I do feel like the book jumped between events often and so I found myself consistently backtracking to try and understand what I missed which just led to me becoming confused.


This review has been posted on my Goodreads and on Waterstones.

I will be posting on TikTok within the next week

J Saint does a great job of showing us the beauty and the ugliness of the Greek gods in this retelling of Hera.

We see the powerful goddess and warrior Hera is, before Zeus; and then the petty, vengeful, power-hungry wife she is reduced to. This retelling does not try to redeem Hera but allows the reader to understand her.

I loved that J Saint included the interactions some of the gods had with mortals and also some Greek characters that aren't too often featured in mainstream media.

I felt that the pacing was a bit off at times. It seemed that in including numerous tales of Hera's vengeance or attempts at retribution, some accounts lacked enough depth to have much impact.
I felt that it ended up being more of a collection of historical accounts of Hera plotting and losing to Zeus.

The story overall, is thought-provoking and compelling.

oh i absolutely adored this! i’ve loved every book i’ve read by jennifer saint and this was no different.

i was very much a greek mythology kid growing up, and i’ve always found hera to be such an interesting goddess. while i know a lot of people dislike her, i’ve found myself feeling drawn to her. this book was the validation i needed - reading about the myths i know from hera’s perspective made me appreciate her and feel for her. i think hera is a very complex goddess, and this book brought out a side to her i have been dying for someone to explore.

the book is so emotional and written so beautifully, i thoroughly enjoyed it. i cannot wait to read more from this author.

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

Greek retellings are something I enjoy, and this one didn't disappoint. Hera is usually a character I dislike but that has now changed. Seeing a different perspective of her can really put into perspective all the things she's been through, which helps understand her choices. The story was amazing and the writing was beautiful.

As a reader who finds herself gravitated words Greek Mythology retellings, I have observed that we are in the time of feminine rage and taking back the power from the men of history and mythos that rightfully belongs to women, who for the most part have been unjustly portrayed.

Hera, is a retelling where she takes back her power and conveys the full extent of feminine power - while also showing a typically overlooked and disregarded softness to her persona.

Despite the faults of her character - because there are many, I found myself drawn to her. She is utterly confounding and vindictive in the best way.

Jennifer Saint is a wordsmith of the highest calibre and brings myths back to life. I find myself picking up every book she writes without hesitation and this one was no different. Despite receiving an ARC, I immediately added the physical copy to my collection.

Absolutely fabulous!
I've always disliked the goddess Hera as she seemed cruel, capricious and spiteful. She appeared to have done foul deeds for the sake of it- out of malice and envy.
The book has completely transformed my opinion of her and turned my opinion on it's head!
I can't believe that the author has actually managed to make me feel empathy for this Goddess.
It details her existence from a young carefree Goddess at the start of her powers, to a woman who has been captured in a loveless marriage and the reasons why she comes to loathe her brother/husband and the bonds he has enforced on her.
It gives background story to the children she's had by Zeus and insight into her relationships with them.
A very complex and interesting book that really made me contemplate exactly what Hera went through and made her feel more real.
I've read other books by this author and I can safely say I want to read everything she has to write! I love mythical tales and the feminist empowerment in these books is epic.
I highly recommend this book.

This was my first Greek retelling, but it now won't be my last. I really enjoyed this one! We follow the story of Hera, who becomes wife to Zeus, and goddess of marriage and women. In Greek myths, we hear a lot about Hera'a jealousy of Zeus, but this book told it from Hera's side. We got a real insight into not only Hera and Zeus's relationship but their children's and a lot of the other Greek gods and goddesses.

I loved seeing where Hera's anger came from, and we got to see why she was so competitive and full of spite against Zeus. This book was written beautifully and so full of emotion, I actually felt deeply sorry for Hera on many occasions whilst reading, which I never expected to feel. Although this does not excuse her actions towards many icconent people, such as Zeus's children, we did get an insight into the background of these actions, and why her emotions were the way they were.

I enjoyed seeing her relationship develop with other characters, in particular Athena. Hera had very fragile relationships with a lot of people and it was nice to see a lot of those develop, both for the better and the worse throughout the story.

📚 review 📚
hera - jennifer saint

this is my first experience of a jennifer saint book and my first experience reading about hera - ive never particularly cared for her before believing she was just some vengeance god who took out her anger at her husbands infidelity on the poor women he assaulted and the children he produced.
turns out that was a pretty accurate understanding but there is so much more to hera than i had previously thought - jennifer saint some how managed to make her almost relatable.

though the pacing wasn’t quite as exciting as other greek mythology retellings i’ve read, this was a fascinating story about one of the most interesting greek goddesses.

hera is out now - thank you to @netgalley for the early copy and i am very excited to be catching jennifer saint on her book tour next month!


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I loved this raw retelling of Hera’s story. Queen of the gods, vengeful stepmother and spiteful wife - but also so much more. This is very much an ‘origin story’ as we learn more about Hera’s ‘childhood’ as much as any god has one, but also those defining moments in her life that seek to explain (rather than condone) her behaviour.
In Greek mythology Hera is often vilified due to her jealousy and vindictiveness towards Zeus’s mistresses/victims and their children, who bear the brunt of her anger rather than Zeus himself.
Hera’s tale seems to be a reaction to injustice after injustice piled upon her – as the daughter of Cronus and Zeus’s sister she is a hugely powerful goddess, but when the Olympian gods defeat the Titans and set up their home on Olympus, Zeus claims primacy and Hera is passed over when the other gods and goddesses are given their thrones and their realms of influence.
Note before we continue: This book and therefore the review contains trigger warnings of rape & sexism/misogyny.
On top of Hera’s ill treatment as a member of Olympus, Zeus forces Hera to become his wife and rapes her. Her inner pain at being betrayed and violated in this way is then compounded with the humiliation of being made goddess of marriage by Zeus whilst he constantly undermines her by forsaking his vows and creating a myriad of offspring (usually by force).
I thought this story was a thoughtful retelling of Hera’s life, as well as being a scathing look at the patriarchy and the different ways that anger and grief can show themselves. I must also mention the hot of side characters which could have gotten confusing, but Saint’s careful character and world building meant even myself as someone fairly new to Greek mythology was fine, and learnt so much context that will bring new insights to new stories I read in the future.
Thank you to Headline for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

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