Move over Hercules, Megara is the star of this book!

Our story picks up when Meg and Hercules realize that they cannot spend forever together because Hercules is a god and Meg, well, isn't. So Meg goes on a quest in an attempt to achieve immortality and become a god so that she can spend her life with Hercules.

This book brings back all of the characters you might remember from the hit movie including Hades, the Fates, and Phil (who really steals the spotlight in my opinion). This book features Meg as a strong, feminine protagonist which was nice to read. Overall each obstacle she has to overcome in order to move the quest along was interesting and the pacing was well established.

This is my fourth Twisted Tales book I've read and I'd place this one in the middle somewhere. While the story was fun and entertaining, I don't think there's enough source material to really give this book a deep involvement with its readers. However, Calonita does a great job at moving things along and not making this book overly long and complicated. At the end of the day, this is a fine entry in the Twisted Tales series and is definitely worth picking up.

The premise of this book is insanely intriguing and as someone who absolutely loves Hercules, I was ecstatic to read this story. This is first story by Calonita that I have read and so I think that might be one of the reasons why I was slightly disappointed. I have always thought that this whole Disney with a twist series is a very interesting concept, but was wary about the execution. I think that there is a really great story here, and that it would be perfect for younger readers, like middle grade readers. However, as a 22 year old, it felt just a little too young for me. The plot moved at weird paces, and I had some issues with Meg's character development, so overall it was not one of my favorites, but I know that younger readers are probably going to love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Books for an e-ARC of this book! This was definitely aimed towards younger audiences I think and it wasn’t what I was expecting. I think it definitely tries to pick up the tone of the movie as it picks up right at the end but I’m not sure it necessarily translated. I would have loved to seen a darker twist on Meg’s history and how she was coping but nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading this and loved seeing her work through some deeper trauma to fight for her own happy ending. If you’ve liked the other Twisted Tales books, you’ll like this one!

This is such a great twist on Meg being put in a position to where she could become a god if she finished a quest in time. This is the only way that she would be able to stay with Hercules and marry him. Some of the gods wonder if she will be able to fulfill the quest, but others know that she has the will and determination to complete the quest with no problem at all.

Hercules is not sure about Meg being on her own and going on the quest without him. he is not allowed to go with her though. Hercules gives Meg something that will allow her to summon him immediately if she needs him or gets into trouble. Meg is a lot stronger than most think and is determined to fulfill her quest in time. She just wanted to get to know Hercules a little better and thinks that he is the one for her because he always makes her happy.

I love how this story makes you think about all the old fairytales and stories that we have read or watched forever and wonder what would happen if there was an alternate ending. I am anxious to go back and read the rest of the books in this series. This was my first read in the series and I am hooked. Great read! Don't miss out on this what-if story! You won't be disappointed!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

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

Actual rating: 3.75 stars

This book was a pleasant surprise, which just so happened to be the case with Hercules whenever I watched it for the first time (too many years too late)! From the moment I watched the movie, I fell in love with the characters and this book really did those characters justice.

I haven’t read many of the Twisted Tales books, but the ones that I have read haven’t been my favorite retellings of the stories that I read. Go the Distance, however, is absolutely my favorite Hercules-based story. Meg was my favorite character of the movie and this book is essentially her story without anyone else’s interruptions.

And Meg was a joy to read about. Her determination throughout the story was admirable and her feelings were relatable, I often felt her anger, heartbreak and joy within myself whenever I was reading. There wasn’t a moment in this book where I wasn’t rooting for her, where I saw flaws in her and what she was doing. This is Meg’s story and she tells it well.

I loved that we got to see more of the characters that we loved from the Disney movie, as well, only more fleshed out and developed in this story. We learn a lot more about Meg specifically, but we also see a lot of character development between her and Phil—a relationship that we didn’t learn a lot about in the movie. And of course, we learned more about Hercules and his relationship with Meg in this book. All of these developments to these characters never once felt out of character or forced, which is often an issue whenever reading retellings.

Go the Distance exceeded my expectations and made me fall in love with the characters of Hercules all over again.

This book pulled on my nostalgia strings! Our story picks up almost exactly where the movie Hercules leaves off, the only difference is that Zeus says NO to Herc's request to remain mortal with Meg. The only way for them to remain together is for Meg to prove that she is also worthy of being a god and joining him on Mt Olympus.

I love this concept of taking some of the stories I grew up with and twisting them into something just a little new and I did enjoy this one for the most part. My biggest issues were that it read more like a middle grade novel, which is normally fine by me, but I was expecting it to be more YA. My other problem, might have been something that is simply unavoidable when someone different is writing a character, but at times, Meg just didn't seem like the Meg I fell in love with in the movie. I know that sounds trivial, but it was hard for me to separate the book from the movie in this scenario.

Overall, this was not bad at all and I'm curios to read the other twisted tales. I would recommend this for young readers, more of the middle grade age than the YA age.

I want to preface this by saying I am a diehard fan of Hercules.

Meg is probably my favorite character in the series, so when I saw this was being published I HAD to get my hands on a copy.

Although I enjoyed this, I did find Meg to be... not as unique or well-voices as she was in the musical. I thought the events in this narrative were enjoyable, but something deep inside my soul is telling me that I didn't LOVE this. I liked it, but Meg feeling not like "Meg" really took away from my enjoyment of this story.

Overall, given everything I stated above, this was still a fun read that anyone who is a fan of the Twisted Tales series or a fan of Hercules or strong female characters or gender-swapped versions of Greek myths, pick this up.

Thank you to Disney and NetGalley for the e-arc.

This was kind of the best thing I've ever read. Meg has always been one of my favorite Disney characters. I was always fascinated by her strength and compassion, how she grows and learns to love again after being hurt. And this book just... did such a great job of characterizing her and delving into her heart and the things that motivate her. I really loved watching her face the things in her past that had shaped her into the person she became and how she got to reconcile with her previous love. I loved how the female goddesses were there for her along the journey. I loved how she proved herself and aaaahh, I just loved Meg getting to take center stage and face her past so she can accept her future. This was amazing <3

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I have enjoyed the other books in the Twisted Tales series and fairytale retellings in general and this one was cute but I just couldn’t get into it in the same way. I DNFed this at about 25 percent. It just felt like it was written for an audience so much younger than the other books in the series. I love Hercules but this just felt forced.

I love retellings of Disney movies and this one didn’t disappoint! I haven’t heard of many Hercules retellings and I was so excited for this one!

I was so excited to have all the characters from the movie in this book and it stayed true to their characters! I could see them doing everything that the story had them doing. We got to see a new side to some characters and was introduced to some new characters as well!

This book is definitely in my top for this series! It scratched my itch that I’ve been having for wanting a Hercules story after reading many other retellings.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! Can’t wait til it comes out and I can add it my shelf!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited to receive this book because I loved the Hercules movie as a child. I definitely had some hopes going in and this book definitely met them. This book feels like a part 2 that Disney could have released.

I felt that Calonita did a great job at capturing Meg’s personality. While we don’t see quite as much of her sassiness because she is dealing with her inner feelings, they certainly are still there. I really liked how Meg still couldn’t hold her tongue around the gods which may have been careless but I thought it seemed right considering she had spent all that time with Hades. As I mentioned she spent a lot of time dealing with her own thoughts, questioning what she was doing and her future with Hercules. Again, I think this fits with her character well, she’s been burned so many times before (and with the added bonus of a backstory) it would make sense that she’s having all these thoughts.

Speaking of the backstory I thought it was great! I really loved how at the beginning we were given a look into her childhood and first run-in with disappointment, I think it helps us get into the mindset of the character. I also liked how we kept getting flashbacks that ranged from Hercules, her mother, Hades, and her former flame. I think it added a lot to the story and helped us understand why she was experiencing such turmoil regarding her thoughts throughout the quest.

At times Meg was a bit reckless but to be fair she was on a time-sensitive quest and had the odds against her so I can’t really fault her for taking risks.

I really liked how the gods were tied into this story. It was cool to see other parts of Greek stories pulled into this one. Although I will say the help Meg received along the way from certain gods felt very uncharacteristic of them but I suppose if you’re looking at it through the happy Disney lens it fits pretty well.

This book is considered a young adult; however, it did feel like it was written more for middle grade. This really didn’t bother me as I felt like the story was super easy to read and I really enjoyed it. Just be wary if you think this is going to be a dark book. While this is a twisted tale, this is about Meg’s journey and bettering herself and while she comes across monsters along the way, this story is definitely all about her growth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am super glad I got the chance to read it. I definitely recommend it to those who are fans of the Twisted Tales series. I would also recommend it to those who were fans of Hercules and of Meg, I think this is a great addition to their story.

To start, I have to say that I do love these books. I often read them with my kids actually!

I have to say that this book, though written very similarly to all of the others in the series, read a little bit more. .childish to me. Not to say it was bad, just. . younger.

The book itself had a LOT of Meg in it though and as she is my favorite Herc. Character, I liked the book overall. While focusing a lot on her, they also changed her quite a bit in my opinion. She was even more hot headed and stubborn than in the movie. She also was a lot more. .reckless. She didnt sit back and think through a lot that was thrown at her but rather just went in with no plan. I do LOVE that it was her story to become a god though. I love that twist.

Overall, I liked the story, I liked the ending and I liked the overall theme. The writing style was a bit more childish than several of the others in the series and at times was a little annoying. I did enjoy the book and will be adding it to my kids shelf for them to read as well.

I am constantly amazed at the twisted tales series and how the stories constantly give us a "what if" scenario and Go the Distance was by far my favorite. Megara is one of my favorite characters from the Disney Films because she's strong and independent but also lets Hercules love her. her backstory was by far the most interesting of any that i have ever read and you really end up understanding her better by the end of it. I can't wait for my finished copy to come!

Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for sending me an ARC via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4/5 stars
This was one of my most anticipated reads because Hercules is my absolute favourite Disney movie ever. I was so excited to see how they would twist it, and I was not disappointed!
The book picks up with Meg and Hercules being whisked away on a cloud to Mount Olympus after Hercules has returned from the Underworld and saved Meg’s life. When Hercules asks to stay on Earth with Meg, his father says “No.” Meg and Hercules are about to be separated, but Hera offers Meg a quest to complete in order to become a god.
I really enjoyed seeing so much more of Meg’s story. Meg has to come to terms with things in her past that hurt her, and they are important to her quest. She wants to be independent and trust no one, and I was glad to see her character growth throughout the book. I also liked that Meg showed her fears about becoming a god and being with Hercules for eternity. She was wary about love and her relationship with Wonder Boy because they’d only known each other a few months. I thought Meg’s recklessness and her impulsiveness fit with her character, and they made sense because they came about in moments where was stressed, desperate, and felt like she was failing. The quest pushed her to her limits in some regards, and she had to learn to take a leap of faith and trust in others.
I also loved seeing Pegasus and Phil! Their own relationships with Meg aren’t the best in the movie, so getting to see them learn more about each other and work together was really nice. Phil helped Meg begin to trust others, and he believed in her.
One thing that seemed a bit odd was the inclusion of the Hades and Persephone myth. It made sense, and it fit the story and the lessons Meg learned, but Hades didn’t feel like a character that I really recognized. I know this is a twisted tale, but I didn’t feel like Hades was very fleshed out.
I really enjoyed seeing lines from the movie pop up in the book. One of my favourites that ended up being important for Meg is “I’m a big tough girl. I tie my own sandals and everything.” I love this quote in the movie, but getting a background to where it came from made it more powerful and also helped to give more insight into Meg’s character.
Overall, I thought this was a really fun book to read. I loved learning about Meg’s past and seeing her grow. I liked seeing more of the other gods, as well as more Phil, Pegasus, and Hercules. I thought the lessons Meg learned made sense for her character, and while it was a bit of a cliche story it still worked well and was enjoyable.

I loved the Disney Hercules movie growing up and so I instantly was drawn to this book. I liked the continued story from where we left off in the movie. It's a fast passed book. Meg has the chance to become a god so she can stay with Hercules. Meg has to go on these quests and she wants to do it alone. However, she learns that sometimes doing things on your own isn't best. We see a lot of returning characters and some new ones as well. There's even part of another greek mythology story in the mix. I wasn't too keen on how the author made Meg seem risky at times, thus making her do dumb things. It made me start to not like her. I guess you needed that so when it came to the end the meaning/lesson is seen. The lesson you learn from this book is something that can be applied to everyone. Over all I enjoyed the book and feel like this could almost be closer to a middle grade book and early teens.

I really enjoyed this book A LOT! This book made me smile from ear to ear the entire time, because the whole entire time I kept picturing these characters that I have loved since I was a kid. It was great to see a twist on some of my favorite Disney characters, because I feel like with this mythology story either these characters are written really dark or extremely sexual. This was just what I needed and felt refreshing. I love Hades from the Disney movie and to see this comic Hades back, but with his own twist was nice. Must I saw Persephone was a GREAT addition to this series and to see how Hades reacts with her made me go 'AWWWWW", because as most of us know Hades is a total hot head, but when he is with Persephone he is a different person and it was so cute to see. I will say I do wish we got to see their love story or their side of things a lot more then what we did. I know that this was about Megera, but I love their story, so I would have loved to see more of them.

Moving forward from my favorite villain, goes to my favorite girl Megera. This story makes me see my girl Megera in a different light and the author does an amazing job of adding to her story. We always hear about this man she sold her soul to, but to hear about what actually happened made me understand her a lot more. Not only do we get her backstory on how she sold her soul to Hades, but we also get to see her life as a child and how she didn't have the best parental figures, which explains a lot. This book made me fall in love with Megera all over again and I must say Hercules and Megera are so adorable in this book that it made me cry, because it reminded me of watching this movie with my grandma and all the mermories attached to these character. I just love how Hercules treats Megera in this twist and in the movie and the love they have for another makes me want to find something just like that. Overall, this book is one of my favorites, but I must say it maybe because I am a tad bias, because of the memories attached. If you are a huge fan of the Disney's Hercules film and want more to the story then this book is made for you.

I throughly enjoyed this book. Without posting spoilers, my feelings for this story were up and down. There were a few slower parts but otherwise it was a great read and I can’t wait for publication day!

I went into this story really wanting to love it. Having read several other Twisted Tale books (The Mulan and Cinderella being two of my favorites) I went in with high hopes. Unfortunately, I was almost immediately disappointed. I personally couldn't move past the inattention to detail with what life would have looked like for a woman in Ancient Greece or the complete lack of research in regards to Greek mythology. Obviously, Disney took liberties with the original source material, but after seeing the amount of work that went into the Mulan retelling this was disappointing, to say the least. If you are the type of person who can push aside these things you'll probably enjoy the story and feel happy with the ending.

I thought this was such a great retelling of Hercules. This was my first Twisted Tale book and loved it. I loved how Meg was going to go on her own quest to become a God so she can be with Hercules forever. On this journey Meg needs to trust herself, others, and learn to love not only herself but learn to love others as well. Highly recommend if you are a fan of Disney's Hercules.

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

This dad read “Go the Distance: A Twisted Tale” by Jen Calonita releasing on April 6, 2021 by Disney-Hyperion. This twisted tale asks what would happen if the only way Meg and Hercules can stay together is if she completes an epic quest to become a Greek god?

Megara Egan (great nod to original voice actress Susan Egan) is front and center as this story picks up right where we last saw her in 1997’s “Hercules”. The twist though is that Zeus isn’t too keen on Hercules staying on Earth to be with Meg. Instead, Hera challenges Meg to bring g someone back from the Underworld in ten days; if she fails, she and Herc are doomed to remain apart forever but if she succeeds she’ll become a god and can stay on Mount Olympus for all eternity. Along the way, Meg encounters familiar friends, meets some new ones and must face difficult truths from her past in order to go the distance and achieve her goal.

Jen Calonita’s writing is easy to read and fits nicely into the YA style but can definitely be enjoyed by anyone, especially us adults who were the OG target demo back in the 90’s. Meg’s backstory of how she originally came to work with Hades is explained and I enjoyed how much is fits nicely with the original film. Something I particularly enjoyed was how emotionally resonant this portion of the story is; Calonita gives real depth to Meg’s painful childhood while showing how powerful the act of forgiveness can be with those who have hurt us.

There was potential for this story to seem like a Megara version of Hercules’ original arc but the combination of the new with the nostalgic makes this book stand on its own. As a lead character, Meg has more than enough personality, grit and determination to stand on her own. To me this read as what a “Hercules” sequel could look like, delving deeper into what motivates Meg and showing her mature as her quest progresses.

From start to finish, “Go the Distance” is a heavenly adventure with plenty of action and emotion that Disney fans of all ages will enjoy – I give it 🧢 🧢 🧢 🧢 /5.