Audiobook provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Saint can pen brilliant prose, the flow of the narrative is beautiful. If you enjoyed Madeline Miller's CIRCE, you'll definitely like ARIADNE. For too long many of the women of Greek mythology have taken a backseat and I am totally here for their voices finally being heard.

I also appreciate that Saint allowed space within the stories of Ariadne and Phaedra to talk about how women were used and abused within mythology.... and how too many women were punished by the Gods for the actions of other Gods.

It's not a happy tale, though there aren't many of those in mythology, especially for mortal women, but this was a really good read. Barrie Kreinik does a wonderful job with the audiobook as well.

Ok first of all the narrator for this audio was FABULOUS! I cannot get enough of her, she had the drama in the right places, the soft spoken tones done perfectly. Wow, seriously amazing.

This book is the one you want to read when you dive into Greek mythology (fantasy style). Ariadne, the princess of Crete has grown up in the shadows of the palace. Her father is a blood thirsty tyrant who uses her brother the Minotaur to torture surrounding cities into compliance. During the annual sacrifice, King Minos is surprised to find that a prince accompanies his people to be sacrificed along side of them. Ariadne is immediately taken with him and plots with him to take down the Minotaur and flea to Athens with him. A dreamy prince and a new life promised, what could be more appealing to a young princess?

This story moves at a great pace, the characters in it are well developed and you are given the opportunity to move through their emotions with them. I had a bit of trouble following the character of Dionysus at times. Thank you to Jennifer Saint, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Link to blog featuring book: https://www.instagram.com/p/COk2K1Xr57E/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I enjoyed this so much! It reminded me a lot of circe and the witch’s heart. It took a while to get into, however the narrator’s voice was very elegant and nice to listen to so that helped out a bit with my enjoyment. I loved how much Ariadne grew in this and I loved the way the author portrayed her silent rage and helplessness.

Ariadne, the unsung hero of the labyrinth. In this telling, Jennifer Saint offers the famed myth of Theseus and the Minotaur from the perspective of Ariadne, a princess of Crete and sister of the creature. We learn about her conflicting feelings about her half-brother and watching him grow into the ferocious man-eater he is known as. But what happens after the slaying of the Minotaur and Theseus spiriting Ariadne away to Athens? Legend has it that the god Dionysus had his eye on Ariadne, and forced Theseus to abandon her on Naxos so Dionysus could claim her. Or is that just what Theseus would have us believe? Also featured is Phaedra, Ariadne's younger sister who is forced to marry Theseus to secure peace between Crete and Athens. This story picks up from where the myth usually ends and follows the rest of the lives of Ariadne and Phaedra after the Minotaur.

I love this book. I love everything Greek mythology, so that wasn't really a surprise. Overall, there were things I thought worked and things that didn't. I preferred Madeline Miller's depiction of Pasiphaë, who kinda sucked but was also an unapologetic witch who owned being the daughter of a god. In this story she's much more traumatized by being used by Poseidon to punish Minos, which makes sense, but still didn't like the portrayal as much. I'm enjoying the trend of the Greek retellings, especially the ones that speak to the woman's experience. Keep it up!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for the eARC of the audio of Ariadne.

"Ariadne," Jennifer Saint's debut novel, is an enjoyable retelling with a feminist approach of the Greek myth of the eponymous character and her sister Phaedra, focusing on the events following Ariadne and Phaedra's involvement with the fall of Crete's minotaur.

As a fan of retellings in general, I was pretty excited when NetGalley approved my request to listen to an advanced copy of "Ariadne."I really just want to read all the Greek myth retellings at this point! Like Madeline Miller's "Circe," "Ariadne" is much more character driven than plot driven. However, we are told the story from two different POVs: Ariadne's and Phaedra. In terms of the audiobook, I think the narrator did a great job differentiating between the two perspectives.

I found myself caring for both of the main characters and invested in their storylines. I quite enjoyed reading the intersections between this and other myths, and how some epic tales were told differently depending on the character. I also enjoyed the author's depiction of Dionysus, specifically, since the only other time I think I have read about this god as a character has been in the Percy Jackson series.

However, as a reader, I am much more interested in plot-driven stories, and I thought this novel would focus much more on the minotaur part of Ariadne's and Phaedra's stories than it actually did. Moreover, while I loved reading about the intersections between myths, much of these tales were told rather than shown in expository dialogue.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good debut, and I would pick up another book by this author.

4.5 Stars

Ariadne is perfect for fans of The Silence of the Girls! Ariadne explores the sad fates that befall mortal women time and time again when they have the misfortune of catching the eye of a God. I enjoyed the addition of Phaedra's point-of-view as I knew little of the mythology surrounding her. If Ariadne is the cautionary tale for what happens when gods get involved, Phaedra is the sadder story of what it meant to be a woman who was forever subjected to the whims of men.

Like Circe and other mythology retellings I have read, it is a slower read and takes time to become invested but the story was no less enjoyable for the slower pacing.

Barrie Kreinik is a wonderful narrator for this book!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the audio-arc!

First things first: it took me a second to appreciate the narrator’s voice in this audiobook. She has a very slow, old-timey sounding voice that I thought would get boring. But if anything, this added to the tales us Greek mythology fans have all heard a hundred times before.
Second: I loved that we get to hear these stories from the women’s point of view. Those who are always the ones to receive punishment for things their husbands/lovers did to offend the gods. However, hearing about Ariadne and Phaedra’s tales from their points of view also added to the feeling of sadness and tragedy.
Greek mythology retellings can be very hit or miss for me, so I’m glad that this was enjoyable to listen to.
Cons: It felt as though some parts could have been removed that didn’t really add to the story, but overall almost everything had purpose in this book and I am glad for it.

You want my attention? Talk mythologies. Thats how obsessed I am with them. In most mythologies, the stories and celebrations were mostly oriented around men; though they played an important part, women were rarely appreciated. A good coherent example is the Queen Pasiphae in The Minotaur Myth and Ariadne, her sister Phaedra in Theseus myth. They are just a fraction of women whose stories and feelings were neglected to frame the centre around men. I’m so glad Jennifer Saint decided to write this story in a feminist perspective.

This story is purely only about Ariadne and Phaedra, their sisterhood bond and their continuous wonderment of why women pay the price for misdoings of men. The Minotaur is their brother (in some form) but still Ariadne wants it (him) dead because it would protect the people. That right there is a good heart, but of-course the King and others despise this choice because making decisions is not a woman’s place!! And Theseus OMG what a jerk. He slays The Minotaur with the help of Ariadne, but leaves her in an island alone?! This is the perfect epitome of why mythologies shouldn’t be written only focusing on the “good” deeds done by men. But again, this story is more than men.

Several stories are intertwined with the plot that alters between Ariadne & Phaedra. So if you know a lot about Greek Mythology, you might feel less intrigued because one would know how exactly the story would end. But that didn’t reduce my excitement of reading through this book. IMO the author has given so much heart and voice to both the female characters than I expected. The character development of Ariadne in particular is brilliant. We as readers see how she evolves from a hurt girl who has built walls around her to forming trust for a better future and manipulating men (in a good way). I altered between physical arc and audio alc which made the reading more interesting.

Just loved every bit of this feminist reimagined mythology about the forgotten Queens. 4.25/5 👸🏻

Thank you Macmillan audio & Flatiron books for the alc & arc ♥️

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Ariadne is a great retelling the story of Ariadne, Princess of Crete and sister to the Minotaur. Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur thinking she will then marry Theseus and leave her cruel father. Fate has a very different life planned out for her.

This is a well written and engrossing story, especially for fans of Madeline Miller's Circe and Songs of Achilles. You do have to love that Greek Mythology that if anyone does does bad things (adultery, murder, etc), you can just say a god tricked you and it wasn't really your fault.

Narration was excellent and easy to listen to.

Ariadne is a long, sprawling epic centered around the complete life of Ariadne of Crete- told in a distant and lyrical first-person perspective.

Its deeper themes focus on the silent suffering of women, and the deep and sometimes quiet wounds of patriarchal society. It particularly focuses on women's pain inflicted indirectly by the arrogance of men. It is very beautiful, short, and painful. It's challenging to really explain the plot, because it covers so much Greek mythology in a short >400 page book, but I like to think of it as a series of related short stories.

One of my favorite aspects of Ariadne is it's an examination of the flaws of heroes and great men. The male characters in Ariadne are characters generally considered heroes AND villains in Greek mythology, but they all receive the same examination of their deeds and exploits.

This book is really interesting. The cadence, personality, writing style, etc is a direct copy of Madeline Miller's Circe. There are a million ways to tell a greek meth story, so I do think it's a little strange/jarring that Jennifer Saint chose to completely duplicate this style. If you liked Circe, you will undoubtedly like this book as well.

Ariadne will be enjoyed people who are interested in Greek (or Roman) mythology. Saint retells the story of Theseus and many other interlocking myths, all told from the points of view of two sisters from Crete, Ariadne and Phaedra. They are the daughters of King Minos, he who sends Athenian hostages to be devoured by the beast, The Minotaur, in a labyrinth below the palace. I’m not sure why the book is just called “Ariadne” because a lot of the story is about Phaedra. In addition to being sisters, they have Theseus in common. Theseus here is portrayed as a self-absorbed man, someone always in search of adventure, not caring about the women he leaves in his wake. The book brings to the fore the lives of women in ancient times, and their powerlessness in a world dominated by men (mortal and immortal). Among the other mythic beings that appear or are referenced in the book are Poseidon, Dionysus, Zeus, Hera, Perseus, Amazons, and Artemis.

Warning: references to post-natal depression, rape, suicide

The narration by Barrie Kreinik was very good, differentiating between the voices of the two women, Ariadne and Phaedra.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen a copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I could not put this book down. What little I knew of Ariadne, I learned from a middle school mythology unit and the novel Circe by Madeline Miller. I knew next to nothing of Circe’s sister Phaedra. From a quick google search, it seems like Jennifer Saint stayed fairly true to the understood paths. If you’re like me and you enjoy a retelling from a women’s perspective, you’ll love this. As much as I love when authors subvert the original story more, Saint’s version of the myths still felt complex and novel. The narration was also excellent and compelling.

I am a huge fan of Greek myth retellings so I was really excited to get the chance to read this story. I have seen it around and the first thing that drew me to it was the beautiful cover art, but what kept me hooked was the story. Jennifer Saint weaves a wonderful tale full of of heroes and monsters, and brings a new twist to a classic myth. If you thought you knew the whole story, think again. Beautifully written and utterly captivating, Jennifer Saint's builds a magical world for sisters Ariadne and Phaedra to grow and discover themselves.

“To me, running through the maze of my home, it looked like a butterfly. And it was a butterfly I would imagine as I emerged from the dim cocoon of the palace interior to the glorious expanse of the sun-drenched courtyard.”

Retellings of the Greek myths and legends are really popular right now, and Ariadne is a great read for fans of Madeline Miller and Scarlett St. Claire. Most modern myths have many versions and variations, and will pull from various sources like Ovid, Homer, Hesiod, Sophocles. As a lover of Greek mythology, I was interested to see which myths Jennifer Saint would include in the world she created for Ariadne. I was excited to find the author took inspiration from various sources and included many gods and goddesses into the story, all while giving them a modern twist.

“What I did not know was that I had hit upon a truth of womanhood; however blameless a life we led, the passions and greed of men could bring us to ruin, and there was nothing we could do.”

The world of Ariadne is steeped in tradition and history, and gives the reader a unique insight into how women must overcome and survive in a world ruled by men. This story was especially focused on the women of Greek mythology, which is interesting considering that all of the OG myth-tellers were male (Homer, Hesoid, Ovid, Virgil, Herodotus…) and helped this book to bring a fresh female perspective to the story. Without spoiling too much, I will say that I loved how the author spent so much time reimagining female characters, who seem to get less focus in the original myths of antiquity. In this story, they are given a voice, which was not always a reality for women in the past.

“But I was well practiced in hiding what I felt.”

I especially connected with Phadraes PPD, I felt that was a great detail to include and it gave depth to her character. A woman trapped in marriage and motherhood, phaedra is the great embodiment of women who must play the background character, showing how women can gain influence with gentle words and sly suggestions, even when they are overshadowed.

The writing is beautiful and Saint creates a world rich with magic, history and lore. This is an amazing read, and one that is well worth your time. If you are a fan of Greek myths, this is a perfect book for you!

Admittedly, my Ancient Greek mythology is rusty at best.... but I loved hearing Ariadne’s story. Her sister Phaedra played a huge role and I also heard about how the Minotaur was defeated. Theseus is a worm and men ruined so many women in this book. Thanks @netgalley for the great read!

I love learning about the Greek gods and myths through stories like this one, it makes you think about things in a different way. This is the story of Ariadne, daughter of Minos and sister of Asterion, the Minotaur, as well as the diverging story of her sister Phaedra. Through the voices of both sisters we hear the stories of their own family as well as Theseus, Dionysus, Medusa, Perseus, and others, told from the unique point of view of the women and what they thought and did to influence the fate of all that surround them. Jennifer Saint has a beautiful, hypnotic writing style, and Barrie Kreinik does such a great job as the voice of both sisters in the audiobook, I actually thought there were 2 separate narrators at one point in the book. If you enjoy this story, Circe, A Song of Achilles, and A Thousand Ships are a few other retellings of Greek myths that I think you will enjoy.

It's really hard not to compare this book to Madeline Miller's masterpieces, most especially Circe. Part of this is because of the general subject matter and ethos of the text and part of this is because a whole section of Circe overlaps with the beginning of this story. However, I'm trying to be fair to the author and judge this book on its own merits and not on my presumptions of it based on subject, marketing, and cover/title (which, by the way, the cover is exquisite).

My biggest issue with the text is actually Ariadne herself. I found her to be a very passive heroine who puts other women down all throughout the story and is not only defined but defines herself by the men in her life. It was discomforting to read a story billed as a tale about the heroine of the story of the Minotaur, "the forgotten wom[a]n...at the heart of the story," and have her be so dismissive of the other women in the story and so constantly defined by the men around her. I didn't feel like I was reading an epic story about a strong woman. Nothing about Ariadne and her story felt powerful or complicated. A quote from the end of the book evidences this nicely: “We will be women and children. We will be no threat to anyone.”

In fact, the whole tone of the story is deeply tragic, dreadful in a way that didn't feel productive. I couldn't discern a lesson here aside from the fact that "women suffer and have always suffered," which we knew, and is honestly a really rough read.

Overall, I found myself far more compelled by Phaedra's story than by Ariadne's, and I'm left questioning why the book is titled Ariadne when so much of it is also told in Phaedra's POV.

Barrie Kreinik's narration is powerful and epic, and so distinct between the Ariadne and Phaedra portions.

If you do venture to try this book, be aware that it has none of the hopeful overtones and all of the tragedy of Miller's work.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

CW: Postpartum depression, mentions of rape, suicide

In the end I really enjoyed this book. I do wish that there had been two different narrators for the audiobook, though. I don't really ever read books on Greek mythology but I did enjoy this one. The narrator did an excellent job, but I wish there had been two. I liked hearing the two different paths that the sisters took.

I had heard to many good things about this book I had to check it out for myself. I love Greek myths and re-telling's so this was right up my alley. Once I started listening to I I couldn't stop. Not only is the narrator amazing, the story pulls the readier into the world and allows you to experience it in almost first person. The way the author weaves this story is almost hypnotic and I found myself lost in this amazing world. If you knw the myths this story follows you will be pleasantly surprised at the new directions, the feelings and emotions involved and the detail to history. I truly loved everything about this story, the telling the narration and I am getting the physical book to enjoy again in another form. I received an audio ARC via NetGelley and Macmillian Audio and I am leaving my honest review.

This book was amazing for a retelling. It added insightful background information for a story that is so widely known. I feel the author stood out among other retellings due to the realistic approach to the humanity of each character.

I love Green mythology retellings. So when I saw the audiobook for this one on Netgalley I jumped on it!

This is the story of Theseus and the minotaur but it's told through Ariadne and her sister, Phaedra, perspective. I will be honest and say I know zero about Theseus. So I really knew nothing going into this one. I think that kind of worked in my favor here. I was so completely engrossed in the story because I wanted to know every detail.

As with most of the greek retellings, this book is heartbreaking... like completely devastating... and I liked it! If you enjoy Greek mythology retellings, you will want to read this one. I can NOT believe this is a debut book for this author. Their writing was beautiful and I can't wait to see more from them!