A very satisfying conclusion to the Songs of Penelope trilogy, and, in my opinion, by far the best of the three books - a 3.5 stars to the solid 3 I gave "House of Odysseus", though I'm still compelled to round the rating down for the purposes of the five-star rating system - I might have considered rounding up had it not been for the underwhelming, though very Greek Deus ex machina ending I could see coming from miles. As expected, Athena is the narrator of this final installment, and though I still wish Hera had remained the sole narrator, I cannot begrudge Claire North's choice here (though I still could have done without Aphrodite as a narrator).

There is a subtle improvement in North's prose here too - "The Last Song of Penelope" is still peppered with certain somewhat jarring patterns of speech, but to a much lesser degree, and it doesn't detract from the overall gravity of the novel.

Another thing I didn't necessarily appreciate is that Odysseus's character was somewhat lackluster, at times even meek - my view of him is still somewhat shaped by Atwood's "Penelopiad", and I did not expect him to yield to the feminine power of Penelope and the maids quite so easily - though I respect that this novel's focal point is markedly different, and accept his characterization insofar as it served the narrative, and highlighted Penelope's cunning, her authority. That being said, I'm still not a fan of the overarching theme in modern myth retellings of making the men lesser so the women might shine - an opportunity was lost there, I feel, of letting those two characters play off of each other, instead of one overshadowing the other so clearly.

I wasn’t sure Claire North would improve on Ithaca. House of Odysseus, book 2 in this trilogy, certainly didn’t (my review). In the first few pages of The Last Song of Penelope, I thought, “This book is going to be all about Odysseus. Lame.” But… she did it! Claire North wrote a book that is an excellent final instalment to The Songs of Penelope.

The Last Song of Penelope is NOT about Odysseus - it is about the women of Ithaca, and it is an ode to all women around the world who have stood behind men, while doing the real work. Not just the support: the actual work.

Side note: BAMF women-fighters is one of my favourite mini-tropes.

The narrator in this instalment is Athena - one I’ve never particularly liked, but who quite grew on me in this novel. I especially enjoyed her growing affection for the women of Ithaca, having started off rather obsessed with Odysseus.

I have never read the “original” mythologies, because I’ve always felt the little I'd heard to be male-dominated and full of violence. I still don’t really want to read about them, although this novel did make me want to delve into it academically, because I love the idea of a retelling/reimagining, and the techniques behind it.

But I probably won’t, because no book has the right to be that long (I jest, but only a little).

Telemachus remains wholly unlikeable, Laertes finds a tender hollow in the reader’s heart, the women become (are still) the heroes, and Penelope's and Odysseus's interactions give way to much musing on the nature of relationships - especially marriage, and especially between men and women.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for this eARC.

And so the Songs of Penelope trilogy closes with this final conclusion. I have loved this series since I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Ithaca, which entirely rocked my whole understanding of the potential of Hera as a character. In this final novel, the narrative is picked up by Athena, which makes sense as this is the book where Odysseus returns home. In this fashion, this book was a little different to the previous two as the focus is largely on Odysseus throughout but to be honest that made sense. I think North navigated the very thin line between redeeming Odysseus and condemning him well, as this is a difficult edge to master. She does not diminish the terrible things he has done, not only in Troy and his voyage home but also upon his arrival, but she also leaves the door open for a reunification between Odysseus and Penelope. At times I think she should have emphasised the wily, clever, resourceful aspects of Odysseus to make this point, but I thought it was done fine. I liked the complicated and distant relationship between Penelope and Telemachus, and I'm glad it wasn't just hurried into a neat conclusion. I also liked North's depiction of Athena, though I have to admit, I wish we had got a novel with Artemis' POV considering the impact she had on the story throughout. The pacing in places was a little slow and I think some sections dragged a little but the things that North does well were done very well here. She is the best I have read when it comes to portraying the Gods and making them not simply feel like humans with powers. She is the master of keeping them outside the narrative but informing it and characterising them in deeply meaningful ways. Athena wasn't as well done as Hera but to be fair, I don't think anything could be.

The final instalment in Claire North's trilogy about Penelope, Queen of Ithaca comes the reunion we were all waiting for. Or was it dreading? For Odysseus has finally returned to his island home after twenty years.

I appreciate how North left the ending a little messy, with not all of the problems and miscommunications resolved but with the hope of improvement and understanding one another. After twenty years people will change and I appreciate how this was not shied away from during the book itself - even when it causes uncomfortable tension and conflict, to the point of the loss of lives.

North's writing style is absolutely captivating and I finished the novel in one sitting. While not my personal favourite out of the trilogy (that goes to the second installment), this is a fantastic round up to the story and not a novel to miss.

Spellbinding retelling of the Odysseus myth from his long suffering wife's perspective.

Turns the misogynistic tale on it's head and rounds out the character of Penelope to be a 'hero' in her own right.

Fans of Natalie Haynes and Jennifer Saint will appreciate this feminist epic.

This has been a truly enjoyable series to read and this finale lived up to my expectations - that last 10% was pretty great and kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next.

The novel this time is told through Athena's point of view, and details how Penelope dealt with the return of her husband Odysseus. After lots of brutal murders and fighting, the two have to team up to ensure they continue to reign over their island. The character of their son Telemachus was extremely irritating and very well written to be like that after the last two novels. I felt very sad for Kenamon and how his story ended but I'm glad he left before the drama started.

Each novel in this trilogy was narrated by a different goddess but the authors sense of humour shined through them all and the way women were depicted was epic through them all.

Twenty years after leaving Ithaca to support the Greeks in the war against Troy, Odysseus has returned. He is disguised as a beggar and has vengeance on his mind as he sees the swarm of suitors surrounding his wife, Penelope. Penelope has changed and become a successful queen in her own right so she has conflicting feelings on seeing her husband returned. However when Odysseus kills the suitors, their families swear revenge and in order to survive Odysseus must rely on his wife and the woman of the island.
This has been a wonderful series and it's sad to know that this is the end! I've loved the modern and feminist-forward approach which blends the myths with an imagined reality. Here the frailty of male ego is exposed against the resourcefulness of Penelope, both Odysseus and especially Telemachus are portrayed as less than heroic.

Here is a story that conjures up a world in which women, abandoned by their men, must weave their own destinies.

A beautifully realised and epic tale that breathe life into ancient myth. This is the story of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. The song of Penelope is ending, and the song of Odysseus must ring through the famed halls. Penelope must use all her cunning to win a war for the fate of the island and keep her family alive.

This is an impassioned plea to tell the stories of women lost to history, a love letter the the women of myth and legends, an epic retelling of the famed clever wife who will do anything to protect the ones she loves. An epic narrative voice that breathes life into the story, bringing echoes of the path into the light as it should have always been.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡

Claire North once again does a great job and I felt much more comfortable than with the second book. I felt that it returned to the essence and the unique tone of storytelling that we were able to read in the first book. I admit that there is nothing that surpasses that impressive first book, but this end of the trilogy does it justice and I fall in love with this great story again.

Knowing Penelope and her life through Claire North is a blessing because I feel that it is a book that has arrived at the right time for humanity. It is not easy to write a book like this and I am sure that if it had been published a few years ago it would not have received as much love as it did recently.

It was time to hear the other bell, to be able to see with different eyes what we have been told for so many years, both about Penelope and so many others.

It is brave to write these books, it is to give a voice to those who did not have one for so long.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC I read via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars
I have loved this series so much and I'm so upset it's now over! Told from Athena's perspective we get to see the story of Odysseus's returned to Ithaca and how his actions affected everything Penelope had worked to build in the years he had been missing.

I have loved having the goddesses narrate Penelope's story and I do think Athena's was one of the best. We all know she favours Odysseus and so it was really nice to see how Athena became to respect Penelope and her intelligence. 

There were so many heartbreaking moments in this story and it brought me to tears on numerous occasions. North is an amazing author who has created these amazing retellings that are impossible to put down. I honestly recommend picking this series up if you love Greek myths and retellings!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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

TW: murder, death, implied sexual assault and rape, misogyny, violence, hangings

Following the ending of the second book “House of Odysseus”, the story of Penelope on Ithaca leads to an incredible conclusion, this time narrated by the goddess Athena. Penelope has spent the past two decades fighting off pirates, family, rival kings and a household of suitors to keep her independence in a world that wants her to remarry and submit to the whims of men using only her wits. Odysseus has returned home after twenty years away- ten years at war with Troy and ten more attempting to get home- to a land that is nothing like he remembers. He disguises himself as a beggar with the aid of his son Telemachus, seeking to test whether his wife has remained faithful and a way to regain his kingdom. However, Penelope recognises him, but he isn’t the husband she barely knew- he wants violent revenge on the suitors who have taken up residence in his house, even if it leads to a civil war between the most powerful families in Ithaca. Athena is determined to weave Odysseus into legend as a hero and herself as his faithful patron, but the impulsive actions he takes- and the things Penelope does in secret with her army of women- can never be sung about. As Penelope and Odysseus are forced to work together, they realise that they don’t truly know each other and are surprised by what they see in the other. The return of Odysseus means the song of Penelope is ending because only one version of the story can be told, but neither of them is prepared for the war on Ithaca’s shores.

The “Ithaca” series is one of my all-time favourite Greek mythology retellings and this last part is utterly perfect, weaving together the same humour and drama found in the first two books but at a new level. I loved Athena’s narration almost as much as I did Hera’s and Aphrodite’s because she’s such a huge contradiction- she adores Odysseus to the point of love but she also struggles with the concept because of the wider implications of being recognised as a woman in a man’s world. She is the goddess of war and wisdom and such makes complicated decisions that often seem heartless. I’ve already spoken before about my love for the way that Claire North has written Penelope but here it reaches a new level, she is shown as conflicted about the return of her husband, glad he’s alive but also deeply reluctant to give up what she’s gained through her wits and cunning over twenty years. One of the absolute highlights is Odysseus’ perspective as he comes to realise who Penelope truly is, that she is just as clever and wise as he is but that she’s always had to do it in silence and the gradual rebuilding of a relationship that never really got to start. Even Athena, who has long preferred the husband, is forced to admit just how worthy and intelligent Penelope has been. The writing of these books is lyrical and descriptive, combining aspects of Homer’s original epics with ideas such as Penelope’s group of warrior women in the shadows. One thing that this series has done so well is reflecting on how gender roles in Ancient Greece apply to all, whether they’re human or gods; the experiences of Penelope and her maids are so similar to those of Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis and Athena. This was an epic undertaking and it all paid off, these are some of my favourite books.

I have loved reading this series as I love anything related to Greek mythology, in some ways this was a great read but in others I found it hard to follow. North narrates this through the eyes of Athena which offers a different perspective on events surrounding Penelope and Odysseus. Initially it did take me a while to get used to the writing style and I was unsure if I could persevere but I did and once I got used to it, I found myself quite taken with the style and the prose like text.
North has captured the events and characters well. Having said this, I did also find the book confusing and I was not always sure what was happening. I also felt the middle section lost momentum and perhaps the book was a little bit too long.
This is a great read for anyone who likes reading about Greek mythology.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley, Claire North, and Little Brown Book Group UK for sending me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The final instalment in the trilogy, The Last Song of Penelope is an excellent conclusion to the series. The book was written very poetically from the perspective of Athena, and handled the elements of power, heartbreak, grief, and love perfectly.

The previous books touched upon the perspectives of Hera and Aphrodite, and this one kept the pace of showing how the goddesses have weaved the story that the poets will sing about Ithaca.

This is a series I will re-read, and I cannot wait to see what else North writes in this genre.

"I am Athena, and my love is marble within my chest."

Three queens there were in Greece:

One beloved of Hera, who killed her husband and died (Ithaca),

One who belongs to the goddess of love and her name will live for as long as there is love (House of Odysseus),

And here it is at last, The Last Song of Penelope, One who wed to the beloved of Athena...

"Let his name be remembered for ever, let his story outlast the high temple upon the mountain peak, let all who hear it speak of Odysseus. And when you tell his story, remember: though he was lost, he was not alone. I was always by his side. Sing, poets, of Athena."

This trilogy was indeed worth reading, I am not saying it is perfect... Still, I enjoyed it. It was so smart, each book narrated by a goddess...

In this last conclusion, the story of Odysseus and Penelope after 20 years, after bloodshed, her beloved husband came back, was he beloved at all, loveable now?!

I always wonder in Penelope's story if she is so much in love with her husband and waiting for him so long, or is it just for the sake of her son?! Or only it was Homer building 3 women and each one chose a different path!

And now this book, The Last Song of Penelope:

"Listen closely, for this is the only time I will tell it. A whispered secret, a hidden tale – this is the story of what actually happened when Odysseus returned to Ithaca."

I always said Athena is the tricky one, do I in love or hate her?! Claire North did a smart thing, actually she did in all three books...we all choose between bad and worse, choose for the greater good, and sometimes mistaken

"Wisdom is not loud, is often unseen, unpraised, unremarked. Perhaps, if I were not also the lady of war, I would be wise enough to be content."

I said before for the last book that I also was among others who didn't enjoy the first book, as much as it deserved, but the story improved in the next two, and with some leniency, this deserves 5 stars!

Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK (Orbit) via NetGalley for giving me a chance to read The Last Song of Penelope (The Songs of Penelope #3) by Claire North, I have given my honest review.

Loved this final installment of Claire Norths 'Songs of Penelope' trilogy! The first two being narrated by Hera and Aphrodite both had strong and distinct narrative voices and this one, narrated by Athena, was no different. Though all narrated by a different Goddess, each book contains Claire North's style, her dry sense of humour and beautiful writing. The Last Song of Penelope was heartbreaking, infuriating, liberating and satisfying. The story of Penelope and Ithaca has been my favourite mythological tale since reading Margaret Atwoods 'The Penelopiad' and Claire North's trilogy only fed my love and interest in this story, offering a new perspective and some great details in this new retellings of Penelope of Ithaca. If you're keen to try a mythology retellings this would be a great place to start and if you're a well seasoned reader of the sub-genre then you will not be disappointed with The Songs of Penelope.

Claire North's artful retelling of the Greek legend of Penelope and Odysseus reaches its conclusion with The Last Song of Penelope and, as expected, we have another change of narrator. Our narrative voice this time is, quite fittingly, Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Two characteristics that will be much in evidence this time round.

Odysseus has finally returned to Ithaca, but not as the conquering hero. Nope, he's returned disguised as a beggar, intent on finding out if his wife has betrayed his trust during his long absence with any of her many suitors. Before he's done blood will be spilt and Penelope's hard won peace will face its greatest threat.

Will the wisdom of Ithaca's womenfolk prevail? Will Penelope and Odysseus be reconciled? Sorry, but I'm not spoiling anything. If you've read the previous books,. you know what to expect. If not, where have you been? Go and get them read before you start on this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group and the author for an advanced copy.

‘The Odyssey’ is so easy to mindlessly think of as “an entertaining heroic epic adventure”. It is only when you step back and re-examine the actions of certain so-called “heroes” from Greek mythology that you come to realise how extremely awful some of their actions were. I feel like this is a point that many authors whose books are marketed as “feminist mythology retellings” try to express, but not always with subtlety or success. Indeed, until now, no-one (in my opinion) has done so as effectively as Claire North does in this book.

I have read many Greek mythology retellings over the years and I have never been so utterly heart-wrenchingly traumatised by a scene as I was in this book. (And I mean that as a sincere compliment to the author!) North did such an incredible job of breathing fresh life into the characters of Homer’s epic that certain inevitable events of this narrative (inevitable to those of us already familiar with the legend) were utterly heartbreaking to read.

What North does that few other retellings have attempted, however, was to successfully redeem the hero for their unheroic deeds. After the scene with the suitors, I wondered how the novel could possibly continue for another 200 pages. I thought that Odysseus would surely be a character that we would subsequently struggle to engage with. Indeed, a lesser author would have left Odysseus in the ditch of our modern day disapproval. And yet… North creates such an incredibly complex version of this character - wise but troubled, caring but terrible, a hero and a villain, but ultimately human, and thus redeemable. Not even that long after the traumatising scene to which I previously alluded, I was fully rooting for his redemption and begging Penelope to forgive him. North does a tremendous job of embracing the horrible things that Odysseus does in mythology and yet forcing us to look at both the bad and the good, creating a truly conflicted character whose conflict is fascinating to witness. That the story had to end, leaving the conclusion of his and Penelope's story in a future that we will never see, was simply torturous!

And while the narrative does focus more on Odysseus in this book, as perhaps inevitable with his patron deity Athena narrating this final volume in the trilogy, this is still Penelope's story. This version of Penelope is my favourite version of the character that I have ever read. Cunning and wise, she is the intelligent, strategist Queen of Ithaca that the original mythology should have given us.

In short, ‘The Songs of Penelope’ trilogy is absolutely one of my favourite mythology retellings to date! Despite retelling an often retold legend, North’s version of the story feels entirely unique, somehow making her characters seem completely original. From the main characters of Homer's epic, to the goddesses who narrated the novels, to the invented side characters of North’s imagination, every single character was brilliant! To say goodbye to them all at the end of the trilogy was extremely hard…

I will continue doing everything that I can to get people to read these books! I appreciate that the writing - a somewhat chaotic pinball of a narrative, emulating the omnipresent everywhere-all-at-once perspective of a deity in constantly jumping between characters, time and continents, sometimes in a single sentence let alone a paragraph or chapter - was not for everyone, but I personally loved it. Ultimately, in the end, I really cannot recommend these books enough.

Thank-you sincerely to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a digital proof of this book!

The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
Publication date: 20 June 2024
Thank you to Little Brown Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Many years ago, Odysseus sailed to war and never returned. For twenty years his wife Penelope and the women of Ithaca have guarded the isle against suitors and rival kings. But peace cannot be kept forever, and the balance of power is about to break . . .

What a brilliant ending to this trilogy! I was so looking forward to reading this ARC and it did not disappoint.
Our third and last godly narrator is Athena, the Goddess of War and Wisdom, and it was a more subdued narration compared to its predecessors, but it had amazing moments of rage and passion (Priene's charge had me holding my breath.)
I have loved Penelope throughout those books, and she really solidified herself as one of my favourite characters ever. She is charismatic, intelligent, strong, resilient and caring, and her dynamics with the returning-after-20-years-and-f***ing-things-up Odysseus are tense and complex.
Just like the previous two books, the secondary characters are excellent and so vivid (Penelope's warriors, her father in law, Laertes, and Kenamon amongst many others, as well as Elektra making a powerful cameo.)
I appreciated the overall theme about women's place in history, about who gets to tell those stories and who gets to be celebrated. I have loved Claire North's writing and I'm going to seek everything she's written before, and everything she's going to write from now on.

I could not wait to get my hands on the final book in The Songs of Penelope series. My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group for approving my request for an ARC.

The Last Song of Penelope picks up where The House of Odysseus left off, however this time we hear the story through the voice of the Goddess Athena. Odysseus is one of Athena's favourite humans, drawn to him because of his guile and cunning. I did enjoy reading her take on things and I felt for her as she believed she would only be remembered through the tales of Odysseus.

I love how Claire North has tackled writing this series and having the Goddesses narrating the events. This gave the story an omniscient viewpoint, allowing us to see everything that was happening. The relationships between the Greek Deities was interesting and witty at times too. But most of all I loved Penelope and the women of Ithaca. Penelope's character is full of strength. She is wise, brave and complex.

This was a solid conclusion to this epic series and I would definitely recommend to all Greek Myth fans.

A perfect conclusion to the Songs of Penelope trilogy. Having read lots of Greek mythology retellings, I found this series to be so unique through its use of Hera, Aphrodite and Athena as the narrators. The prose is so poetic and for a story with a well known ending, Claire North did an excellent job at keeping us guessing as to what was coming next - The Last Song of Penelope certainly wasn't a predictable ending to the myth of Penelope!