Genre: Fantasy/Mythology
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Pages: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
My Rating: ⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“From an award winning author comes a story of feminist revenge perfect for readers of Madeleine Miller and Natalie Haynes All murders must be avenged. While the rest of Greece mourns for the war that has taken their husbands away, Clytemnestra fears the day it will bring Agamemnon back. When he husband willingly sacrifices their eldest daughter to appease the gods, Clytemnestra vows to do whatever it takes to protect her remaining children. But history turns strong women into monsters, and in saving her family she risks losing them altogether and becoming the most hated woman in Greece…”
My Review:
I love mythology and retellings. It’s one of my favorite types of sub-genres. Earlier this year, I read another book that centered around Clytemnestra, and I think that contributed to my lack of enjoyment with this one. I’m not that knowledgeable when it comes to these tales, but because I had already read another book about this character, I already knew much about her life and the big events. So there wasn’t really anything new or fresh about the story. I didn’t find this one to be quite as emotional or full of depth. We didn’t really get to see all the events of her childhood that led to her development into the character she is as an adult. So there wasn’t really any backstory to justify her beliefs and actions. I also didn’t particularly like the way that Clytemnestra was portrayed in this book. I felt like she was unnecessarily cruel to her children and others. Especially in the scene where she is whipping her horse while throwing a tantrum because a guy didn’t like her. It just didn’t make me feel any sense of empathy towards her character. It didn’t make me see her in any other light than the shadowy dark one that previous versions of this tale always portrayed her to be. This just really wasn’t the most enjoyable Clytemnestra retelling for me personally, but I am still interested in reading this author’s other retellings with characters I’m not quite as familiar with.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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