Ariadne was my favorite book of 2021, and this may already be my favorite book of 2022. Jennifer saint beautifully interconnects the lives of Cassandra, Clytemnestra, and Elektra. She brings the mythology into a new era with her stunning writing and weaves in the history seamlessly. I will be recommending this book to everyone!

Jennifer Saint did it again!! I love her writing and I love retellings so this was just the perfect book!

Elektra tells the story of the Trojan War and aftermath from the perspective of 3 key women: Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra, all of whom are related to the House of Atreus.

Clytemnestra– Agamemnon’s wife and Helen’s sister. Before reading Elektra I had only heard of Clytemnestra in relation to these other characters. Jennifer Saint gave Clytemnestra so much depth, that I was very invested in her development; I was heartbroken at her pain after Iphegenia’s death, and rooting for her revenge plot throughout the rest of the novel. Her chapters ended up being my favorites to read!

Cassandra—Princess of Troy and sister of Paris. Cassandra was cursed by Apollo with the ability to see the future, but no one would believe her. This curse alienates her from her family and society. She is eventually taken by Agamemnon as a war prize after the fall of Troy.

Elektra—youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. She grows up hearing about the immense violence in her family’s history, and even lives through it when her sister dies at the hands of their father. Still, her loyalty to her father never waivers, causing years of strife between the living members of her family.

Despite knowing the story already, the fresh perspective of these women made this an extremely entertaining read. The writing was both lyrical and easy to follow. Overall, this book was beautifully written and highly emotional. Notably: part 1, chapter 9 was probably one of the most powerful passages I’ve ever read. I was in tears less than 30% into this book! This was my first Jennifer Saint book and now I can’t wait to read Ariadne. I would highly recommend Elektra.

Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the ARC of Elektra in exchange for an honest review.

This multiple POV telling of Electra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra breathes new life into these classic intertwined stories

Elektra explores the familial bonds and betrayals that plague the House of Atreus through the perspectives of three women implicated in the cursed bloodline. Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, daughter, Elektra, and…I guess his war token, Cassandra, each grapple with the trickle effect of a legacy rooted in greed and bloodlust in entirely different ways based on their relation to Agamemnon.
A revenge fantasy as much as a cautionary tale, Elektra is a fierce story of motherhood, sisterhood, and loyalty gone too far.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

A story that seamlessly presents the point of view of three of Greek mythology's most captivating women. Elektra weaves the complexities of mother-daughter relationships against the backdrop of war and all that it entails. This is, in my opinion, Jennifer Saint's best work.

A reimagining of the Greek mythology about the heroine Elektra. The story follows three women: Cassandra ( Princess turned Priestess of Apollo), Clytemnestra ( sister of Helen of Troy married to Agamemnon), and Elektra (daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon). Told from three different perspectives the story covers the events of Helen’s marriage to running away with Paris as well as the war... and the infamous Trojan Horse event as well as the aftermath. The vast majority of the story is told from Cassandra and Clytemnestra’s POV while Elektra didn’t really make any impact until 70% point in the book. While i found Cassandra’s story tragic and Clytemnestra’s story interesting, I found myself flat out annoyed and uninterested in Elektra’s story, which is unfortunate since the whole book is titled after her. Cassandra is dealing with the consequences of just trying to live her life without sacrificing her body... only to be cursed by a god and trying to appease said god to avoid further punishment but her entire life is just one big tragedy. Clytemnestra’s world is turned upside down when her marriage turns for the worst and her husband does the unimaginable... leaving her with her grief, her anger, and her revenge. Elektra’s adoration and love for her father goes beyond reasoning... her entire story arc is her whining and being angry at other people despite them trying to explain to her why they did what they did. I loved reading Clytemnestra’s POV and her story arc, she was the highlight of the book for me, unfortunately Elektra was my least favorite aspect of the book. Overall it’s an interesting read if you are interested in new POVs of Greek mythology.

*Thanks Netgalley and Flatiron Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this book Jennifer Saints writing drew me right in.A retelling of Greek mythology all its drama the characters the conflicts told to perfection.Will be buying for myself as soon as it’s published.#netgalley #flatiron

Jennifer Saint never disappoints, and this book was no exception. I'm a sucker for any type of mythology retelling, especially a feminist retelling, and this book was everything I had hoped it to be! The book is the tale of three different women, Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra. The book is so gorgeously written, and so many emotions are packed into it, yet it works so well for this book. My favorite part of Saint's writing is that she chooses to create stories for the women who are so overshadowed by the men in the original. The women in this book are faced with revenge and tragedy, and it's a powerful story I will recommend to everyone. I can't wait for the story to be published so more people can get their hands on it!

Jennifer Saint knocks her sophomore release out of the park. Elektra is a fantastic foray back into retellings of Ancient Greek Mythology. It follows three female figures who have thus far remained silent in the backdrop of the Trojan War. We meet Clytemnestra (Helen of Troy's sister and King Agamemnon's wife), Elektra (daughter of Queen Clytemnestra and King Agamemnon of Mycenae), and Cassandra (daughter of King Priam of Troy). All three women tell the story of the Trojan War from their viewpoint.
This book is truly special because the reader learns about the aftermath of Agamemnon's terrible departure from Greece, and the happenings in Mycenae during the ten years he is gone through the lens of his wife and daughter. The reader gets to know both Clytemnestra and Elektra more intimately which adds more depth to their characters and doesn't solely rely on the narrative being focused on Helen alone.
Troy isn't entirely left out of the story, and for once a book isn't all about Helen. It's exciting to learn more about Cassandra from the time of her childhood until the fall of Troy. Cassandra is often written off as a crazed side character, but this book brings more depth to her, and also allows the reader to feel a great deal of sympathy for her mistreatment and ostracism.
I can't praise this book enough because it finally makes Helen of Troy a side character and lets other women from Greek Mythology have their moment in the sun. I was extremely excited to receive an ARC copy of this book after reading Jennifer Saint's debut novel Ariadne. This is a must-read for lovers of Greek Mythology, Mythology with a modern retelling, and Strong female characters.

I always thought Clytemnestra was one of the most sympathetic characters in Greek mythology, and she's brought to life in this new retelling of the Oresteia by Jennifer Saint. There's a richness to the imagery in this story that I appreciated, and a lyrical quality to the prose that immerses you in the lives of its three narrators: Clytemnestra, her daughter Elektra, and the doomed prophet Cassandra whose life becomes tragically interwoven with theirs as a result of the Trojan War.

What fell slightly short for me was the character development. Cassandra is burdened with her horrific foreknowledge, and death is the only thing that can bring her respite. Clytemnestra is a grieving mother whose rage and need for revenge defines her, and she doesn't change. Elektra is a misguided and neglected girl who worships her father, and she never changes either. Although these women each experience immeasurable loss and suffering, there's no journey and therefore no ultimate sense of resolution for any of them, even in death.

I was excited to read this book as I really enjoyed Ariadne from Jennifer Saint last year. This one has 3 POVs of the Greek legends: Cassandra (priestess), Clytemnestra (princess of Troy) and Elektra (Clytemnestra’s daughter with Agamemnon) all around the time of the Trojan War.

Overall this book was just lacking. I already knew quite a bit around these stories. I wished for a while book of her, her life, her thoughts and actions. There were two problems for me and the first is Cassandra’s story. While her story is incredibly moving and unfair it just didn’t fit in with the rest beyond that she knew about the Trojan Horse but no one would believe her and Agamemnon brings her home with him. The second is Elektra’s. She is the main character in the book and yet we only get 1/3 of the book from her POV. She’s also not a very likeable character making dumb decisions, being whiny and believing in people after they’ve done horrific things to those she loves.

This would have been a more successful book if Clytemnestra was the focus. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this book

This book left me a good kind of frustrated. I’m not happy with the ending because the characters didn’t have any true happy ending, yet as in many Greek myths, that’s not the goal of the story. I enjoyed Elektra quite a lot! Cassandra’s POV stuck me as a bit unnecessary as by definition she could not affect the plot in any way. I would have preferred a POV from Helen instead.

I feel like I picked up Circe and that sent me on a Greek Mythology craze. After reading Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, I knew Elektra was next on my list from her. In fact, when I got my advanced copy, I nearly shouted out loud I was so happy.

At this point, I have read enough to be familiar with names appearing in this novel. That said, there was enough here to provide me with other viewpoints, with its focus on Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra.

This is not a happy, feel-good book. My heart broke repeatedly with the terror that was inflicted on women in these stories. I feel like this book would be paired really well with The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Reading both together would provide so much background information and action surrounding the Trojan war.

If you are on the fence about picking up this book, I strongly encourage you to pick it up. Even with having read several books about Greek women, I still felt like I was reading fresh material.

I really liked Ariadne and wanted to give this novel a try, too. Overall, I think I liked this one better, but I do think that the novel could have benefited from focusing on Elektra and Clytemnestra rather than also including Cassandra's story. I felt like there was untapped potential and themes to explore with Elektra and Clytemnestra that felt short changed by the Cassandra narrative. Still, fans of Greek mythology will find a lot to love in this novel, and I certainly did enjoy my time with it, too.

For many, it was Percy Jackson. For me, it was Elektra that made me fall in love with Greek mythology. I'm a little late to the obsessing-over-Greek-myths club, but better late than never!

Following the story of three different but interconnected women, Elektra takes an insightful look at the complex, rich, albeit sometimes tragic relationships between mother and daughter, as well as the devastation of war on both sides of the battle. While I didn't know much of the stories of Elektra, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra before reading, I was able to catch on easily to their roles.

Each character was written with the utmost care, particularly the three main woman, in such a way that I was able to discern one's emotions and actions from one another early on in the story. This is something I find particularly important in books including multiple viewpoints; I could tell one woman from another, and I wanted to hear every perspective in turn. None of the women's stories were a disappointment, and therefore, none of the chapters became boring. Admittedly, I didn't particularly like Elektra, as a person, but her story was just as interesting to me as the others'.

Next comes the writing: beautiful and poetic, yet not forced. The creative language used in Elektra only made the story richer, and didn't feel like a tool to fluff up an otherwise disappointing author's writing.

I was also impressed that Saint was able to include such a long span of time in just one book, and then make it flow naturally. But that's just what she did.

I don't say it often, but this is an easy five-star book for me. Jennifer Saint is truly a talented writer, and I will definitely be picking up more of her stories in the future.

THIS BOOK BROKE ME!!!! When I tell you the emotional turmoil I went through after part 1....I had to walk away and finish it later I was so upset. Now obviously I knew what was going to happen based on history but Jennifer does such a wonderful job bringing those emotions on paper.

Absolutely stunning perspective of women during this period of time, would highly recommend to anyone!

I really enjoyed Jennifer Saint's wonderful Ariadne, and her newest foray into Greek mythology doesn't disappoint! Elektra contains three POV characters: Clytemnestra, sister to the infamous Helen of Troy (formerly Sparta); her daughter, Elektra; and Cassandra, the ill-fated prophetess and daughter of the Trojan king. These three women are thrust into the heart of the Trojan War, facing conflict both within their families and across the Aegean.

4/5: Well-written and engaging, Elektra is another great women-centered mythological retelling. (I would've enjoyed it more personally had I more sympathy for the titular character, but not even Jennifer Saint could make me like, let alone root for, such a horrible woman.) Fans of Circe, The Witch's Heart, The Silent Girls, and of course, Ariadne, will want to get their hands on this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is another impressive retelling of Greek myths by Jennifer Saint, highlighting the female characters in these dark stories. Though titled Elektra, the book is just as much Clytemnestra's story while Cassandra's plot line offers insights into the experience of the Trojan War from her unique vantage point. Recommended for fans of retellings of Greek mythology.

Beautifully written. I love Greek mythology, but so often you see the same five stories revisited, so it was really refreshing to read an oft ignored one. And then to have it written by Jennifer Saint was of course a treat.