I was really excited to receive this ARC as I am a huge fan of Greek Mythology retellings, and expected to be enthralled.

Unfortunately, I found it challenging to really connect with the characters and get lost within it, which led to a slightly more laborious reading experience than I was expecting.

Thank you A S Webb, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

As an avid reader of historical fantasy that interweaves Greek mythology, I was really excited to start this one. The protagonist, Danae, is ‘the chosen one’ destined to destroy the connection between humans and the twelve gods, to set free all of mankind from slaving under their rule. Simply from reading the blurb, I was very interested in the premise of this book and the adventure it promised to deliver.

Before following Danae on her journey, the story starts in her hometown of Naxos where she lives with her family. This was by far the best part of the story, if I was rating solely on this part I would be rating this five stars. The writing was intriguing and the imagery was vivid and beautifully written, it was incredibly easy to visualise the setting. Experiencing the viewpoint of a protagonist who was poor in ancient Greece was new to me and provided a new perspective compared to other books also set in this timeline.

After Danae leaves Naxos, the story fell short for me. All the characters lacked depth and emotional connection to one another. It felt like reading shells of characters with no understanding of who they were. I felt that even Danae's character was underdeveloped and deprived of personality. I couldn’t name a favourite character or even one I hated, they all just appeared empty. The adventure the characters pursued had no reason. Danae and the Argonauts all had an end goal but there were way too many ‘missions’ along the way that felt out of place, causing me to completely forget their goal and lose any interest I had left in this book.

The romance was incredibly confusing to me, it was almost impossible to figure out if Danae had feelings for anyone or if she was just admiring their looks. She had three love interests throughout the book, but all were completely underdeveloped and out of nowhere, especially when she sleeps with one of them when they had no prior emotional involvement with each other.

The premise was intriguing but there were many elements that could have been written better. If I wasn’t against DNFing books, I probably would have around the 50% mark. I was mainly put off by the emptiness of the characters and that the main mission which seemed to be going nowhere. I won’t be reading the sequel, however I would be interested in reading future books written by Webb since I really loved how the beginning was written.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for providing me with this eArc in return for an honest review. ♡

I really enjoyed this unique take on a Greek mythology retelling, which blended mythical heroes and quests with an epic adventure of its own.

Missing family members, corrupt gods and a prophecy that could bring them down for good. Daughter of Chaos was filled with clever twists and non-stop action as it followed Danae on her quest to rid herself of a curse that has seen her exiled from her home on Naxos. Featuring recognisable characters such as Heracles, Atalanta and Jason grounded this novel in familiar myth while offering a story that was completely new.

I'm really intrigued to discover where this story goes next.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because as you all know I really have come to love Greek mythology retellings. I'm not gonna lie friends, I went into this not knowing much about this part of Greek mythology so there wasn't anything I was necessarily expecting. However, even though my expectations weren't high this book was phenomenal. Every single part of this book had me wanting more. The character development throughout this book was incredible and the found family aspect was both beautiful and heart breaking. The amount of times this book genuinely had me gasp with shock at the twists and turns was truly astounding. I did not think there was any more secrets to be uncovered and then we just kept getting new ones. I actually ended up whisper screaming at the ending because I did not want the book to be over, but also because it left me readily excited and wanting more from the next book in the series. I loved every minute I spent with this book and I will 100% be picking up a physical copy of this as well as the next book in the series when it comes out.

Rating: 3.5

This book had a lot of potential, with the plot as well as the portrayal of a few of the characters, however the execution of it kind of got lost along the way. While there were some clear attempts to explain and dive deeper, a lot of things were flat out told instead of explored. There wasn't enough building around the little bits and pieces we were given, which kind of left the writing a bit basic. Because of the above point, I found it a little difficult to really get into the story and journey that Danae was going through. A lot of it was held together by the other characters. There was no satisfaction going through what our MC does.

I should have loved this because I'm an enormous fan of Greek mythology and while aspects of this book were really good, I had little connection to Danae after she leaves her home. DNF @ 38%

This book was brilliant! I met the author at YALC last year in November and she was lovely!!

There is so much going on in this book in the best way!! Not only is there an island full of dangerous women and burning cities there are pirates and demi gods!! Just wonderful I won’t say anymore as not to spoil it but you should read this! The only thing I don’t love is the cover 😂😂

Greek mythology inspired fantasy but really more fantasy than a re-telling with lots of name dropping.
I didn't really connect with Danae the mfc, and found most of the characters expected to survive on their name alone. Slow start with some nice world building which felt more in the style of a re-telling then a jarring jump to the action and pace for the rest of the book.
I enjoyed the slow beginning and I did get caught up in the action of the rest of the story, it was reasonably fun and entertaining if you just go with it.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read the arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

Daughter of Chaos is a book I have heard a lot about and was really excited to delve into, especially when I saw it was connected to Greek mythology. That said, I really struggled connecting and being absorbed with it, which made it a longer and more laborious reading experience than I expected.

This is a very ambitious book, when it comes to Greek mythos there is a LOT of content and names, creatures and Gods, and I have read many retellings and adaptations, however it did feel like the author wanted to cram as much in as possible, whether it added to the story or not. The end result was a very disjointed, busy experience which felt jarring at times, name drop after name drop, with Gods and islands thrown even if it didn’t ask for it (or it were correct). I can only imagine the names that will be included in the next instalment but I would recommend making a checklist of a bingo card.
The problem with adding so much to a story is that it’s an issue of quantity over quality. I don’t mean that to be rude, it’s just you can’t possibly develop every character, provide adequate context, meaning or purpose to everyone, you also can’t provide much needed character development – Mantos is a perfect example of this, a non binary character who barely exists on the page but who apparently leaves a great impression on Danae. Hylos is another example. You are shown people and places but you don’t feel like you know them or are there. It’s more of a Greek mythos tour with no stops, you’re just whizzing by with a sometimes questionable tourguide.

The other issue with this is that it’s really distracting. I was halfway through the book almost forgetting the plot and Danae’s reason for even joining the Argonauts; her sister’s death and her missing nephew, because the beginning of the book felt so distant and like a different book with different people. The beginning of the book starts slow but intrigued me, however the moment Danae meets Jason and Heracles, the pace picks up too much while ironically feeling like it takes you nowhere, leaving with a confusing ending to take you into the next instalment.
In terms of the characters, some are historically known to be insufferable (Jason, I’m looking glaringly at you), Danae herself I struggled with, at times I liked her, at times how she got caught up in the moment was frustrating and testament to the younger age she was supposed to be. Heracles should have been a more interesting character however, like his name suggests, he was there as the big name and nothing really more. The best characters do not get nearly enough attention unfortunately, namely Mantos and Atalanta, however every character who isn’t Danae is merely a pawn, a piece of scenery, which is why you only get glimpses and wasted potential. Talking of wasted potential, you then have the romance, although I will admit that love is only ever uttered in the sense that Danae realises Hylos loves her, you don’t really get her feelings back, although from her rebound with Heracles, I would say it wasn’t particularly meaningful! The Danae/Heracles scene feels like it needs to be there for the sake of a book having a love scene but there is just no chermistry or real build up for these two – in fact Danae very much feels like an inexperienced girl and Heracles is towering, tortured man, they just don’t fit. Now Atalanta and Danae actually had the potential of something, there were moments of chemistry and intimacy there I would have liked to have seen more of, however while Danae is represented as bi, she merely admires women but wants men it seems.

I can definitely see how some people would enjoy this, it does take you to a lot of places and if you don’t look too closely into Greek mythology and look at this at surface level, you might enjoy the name drops of people you’re casually familiar with. For personally, it just felt a little dissatisfying, having a lot of potential but just not the depth or development to explore what it wishes to put on the page.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House for this ARC. There are very few things that get me going like Greek mythology-influenced fantasy and so I was delighted to get my hands on Daughter of Chaos. It centres around Danae, an ordinary young woman living simple life on the island of Naxos whose life is turned upside down when her sister is raped by a god. Confronted with the careless cruelty of the immortal beings who rule her life and plagued by strange visions, Danae is driven from her home to seek answers from the Oracle of Delphi. There she learns that there is one who is destined to end the tyranny of the Olympians and set mankind free from their endless demands for sacrifice but she’s as shocked as the rest of us to find out that it’s her. Accompanied by some of my favourite ancient heroes (and also least favourite, fuck you Jason), Danae sets out on a quest for the truth that lies at the heart of her world. This take on Greek mythology is very original and I really enjoyed the first third or so of the book. Webb has a real talent for driving forward the story in a compelling way and introducing creative but consistent twists to the original stories. However, my brain is a little bit broken by four years of studying Classics at university so once Heracles, Atalanta and Hylas were introduced I found it a bit easier to see those twists coming which I think ruined a little bit of the magic for me. However, I’m excited to see where this trilogy goes, especially given the ending – after all, what is a hero’s journey without a good old fashioned katabasis? Perfect for Greek mythology nerds, fantasy nerds and absolutely ideal for those who are lucky enough to be both.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! Rating- 3.5

This book had a great premise and I was excited to get into it, but something about it (I think the main character, Danae) was hard for me to grip onto- I enjoyed reading the story and seeing what happened, but never felt truly invested in her growth and trials. This book was good and fast-paced however, just not the one for me.

I had mixed feelings about this book, hence why it's taken me so long to review it. I think you can definitively tell it's a debut as it's sort of a mixed bag. I love Greek Mythology retellings / Inspired stories but this one took far to many liberties, like it was quite separate from it's source material and that to me was off putting.

Thank you Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and A S Webb for the eARC in exchange for the honest review.

Absolutely stunning book the story is so creative and I just couldn’t put it down! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book

Sad to say I did not like this book.

The way the author bends Greek mythology to better fit the story honestly just frustrated me. I don't mind things being changed in retelling to make them more original to an extent but this felt like it lacked sense and was disrespectful to the original myths.

The queer rep also fell flat for me. Manto, a non-binary character, was given next to no personality and was only there for a handful of chapters. They felt like nothing more than a token queer character. Danae, the main character, is also apparently bisexual, this really isn't shown at all other than occasionally sharing some longing looks withs Atalanta. Danae spends the entire book ogling male side characters and eventually sleeps with one. I wouldn't be so mad about Danae eventually ending up with a man if her attraction to women was better developed. Alas she felt like another token queer.

The first 40% of the book was so slow paced it was honestly painful to get through And if you do manage to make it through that the next 60% jumps from event to event at a rapid pace but still somehow leaves you feeling like nothing is actually happening. Once you finally make it to the end, it is rushed, anti-climactic, and just generally boring.

It is safe to say I will not be picking up book 2 when it comes out.

I gave this a second chance. I wish I hadn’t. This had so much potential but … I guess it wasn’t for me because I hated this so much.

I’m a big fan of Greek mythology and retelling of the various myths, so was keen to read this one.

The premise really pulled me in - the gods of Ancient Greece are alive and well (and known as ‘the Twelve’) and they rule with an iron fist. Life is hard for the mortals in their kingdom - with backbreaking labour to survive, corruption of those in power (including the Twelve), and of course frequent sacrifices to maintain the gods’ favour.

This one was very slow to get started and for my interest to get piqued whilst Danae was with her family. But the story picked up as she started on her quest and encounters all the famous stories from Greek mythology and their associated heroes and villains. And these I enjoyed.

I enjoyed the commentary on the role of women in society and how they are ostracised when they do something that’s not ‘proper’ - even being raped by one of the Twelve. But overall I struggled to engage with Danae, her journey and the pacing with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at Penguin/Michael Joseph, and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

I have mixed feeling about this book. I loved the premise and I'm a big fan of greek mythology in general, but I felt the delivery fell short. The pacing was off, and while I agree the need for a back story, the start of the book on Naxos dragged, but also felt rushed. I enjoyed Danae's journey with Jason, and Heracles and the rest of the Argonauts, as well as the ending, although that felt rushed as well.
However, the book did a good job of laying down the foundations for future books, and I am excited to see where the author takes the series.

I am a big nerd when it comes to Greek mythology. Therefore, Daughter of Chaos by A. S. Webb seemed like a safe and interesting choice. Unfortunately, this attempt to reimagine Greek mythology as an epic fantasy fell short. The book revolves around Danae, a fisherman's daughter, and her quest to "cure a curse" after she had eaten a golden apple (a clear link to Aphrodite). The narrative starts strongly with a chilling glimpse into her future, effectively setting the stage for the story.

Shortly after the first chapter, Webb rewinds and describes Danae's close bond with her sister and her parents' life on the island of Naxos. Shortly after, Danae has to escape from her hometown and goes to the oracle of Delphi where she finds a mysterious group – trigger warning if you like Greek mythos. Much happens, but somehow the narrative feels stilled and gets lost in the mundane details of daily life and unnecessary/shallow dialogues. There are important themes imbued in this "adaptation"(?) such as sexual assault, the role of religion, feminism, and the exploration of sexuality. However, the themes are quietly mentioned, which lacks the punch it needs to make the story thought-provoking.

With that said, I suspect Webb wrote this book with the themes in mind and pushed it to Greek mythology due to the recent trend in "feminist retellings." This book didn't feel Greek at all. There are many basic mistakes, such as calling Athene patron of Athens and Apollo as the God of the sun. Nothing felt Greek – not the society, not the gods, not the story itself. The character development is superficial and inconsistent. I found Danae's relationship with her mother rather annoying, and at 16 years old, Danae is very childish and innocent. There are too many name-drops of mythological figures that do not add to the story. Here, Ariadne is a Maenad… please, don't. The most mythos disinformation was the banalisation of human sacrifices. Demeter is not happy? Ruin all their crops and demand a human sacrifice. What?

Overall, this book contains too many flaws to recommend, and I cannot say to whom this is aimed at. Greek mythology fans will not enjoy this book, and it has too many historical mistakes to be based on Greek mythology.

Set in Ancient Greece, where humans are at the mercy of demanding gods, our main gal, Danae, discovers she is fated to end the gods. Driven from her home, she sets out on an epic journey which brings her into contact with heroes such as Heracles and Jason, sees her fighting monsters and discovering powers she didn't know she had as she endeavours to fulfil her fate. I really liked this story for the adventure, the rapid pace and the strong heroine. It flows easily from one adventure to the next with never a dull moment, and was a fun and engaging read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance!

The book is set in ancient Greece, and features mythological characters. It started off well and I enjoyed following the main character's adventures, but I found myself losing the thread of why she was going on her quest. The main goal is obvious but I didn't necessarily root for her to get there, the book didn't manage to keep me engaged the whole way. It also felt a little disjointed at times. This book is not my favourite, sadly.