This is a retelling of the mythology of Phaedra. I was not familiar with the story yet which was why I picked this out. It was often hard to follow because there were too many point of views who all sounded the same. It was confusing.

Book Name: Phaedra

Author: ****Laura Shepperson****

ARC

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC of Phaedra

Stars: 3

Spice : 0

- Standalone
- Multi POV
- Mythological Retelling
- Feminist
- Similar to Genevieve Gornichec and Madeline Miller
- Fast Paced
- Exploring the “Heroines” of Greek Myths
- Loved the entirety of Phaedra’s myths are told together as one compelling story
- Enjoyed the Cameo of Medea
- addition of a night chorus was a great homage to Greek Tragedy
- Love the juxtaposition in the final chapter of the lives of two women (Full circle moment)
- Not an easy read
- very dark and tragic subject matter
- violent
- major Pacing issues

I ended up dnfing this at 64% I was very confused on who was who. I didn't care about the characters either. I found this to be a bad read.

This wasn’t the book for me, but I’m glad that the story of Phaedra is being told.

“Phaedra has been cast to the side all her life: daughter of an adulteress, sister of a monster, and now unwilling bride to the much-older, power-hungry Theseus. Young, naïve, and idealistic, she has accepted her lot in life, resigned to existing under the sinister weight of Theseus’s control and the constant watchful eye of her handsome stepson Hippolytus.

When supposedly pious Hippolytus assaults her, Phaedra’s world is darkened in the face of untouchable, prideful power. In the face of injustice, Phaedra refuses to remain quiet any longer: such an awful truth demands to be brought to light. When Phaedra publicly accuses Hippolytus of rape, she sparks an overdue reckoning.

The men of Athens gather to determine the truth. Meanwhile, the women of the city, who have no vote, are gathering in the shadows. The women know truth is a slippery thing in the hands of men. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard. Until now.”

This was .. fine. I’m not the biggest fan of Greek myth retellings (not sure why I keep picking them up 😅), and this one had a lot of opportunities while not being totally horrible. The tone overall was surprisingly juvenile, bordering on YA/baby NA status, and also fell into some modern language which was distracting. I didn’t mind the multiple POVs, but Phaedra herself could have benefited from more time to be well fleshed-out, though her love for her siblings came through and was an emotional strong point of the story for me. The story itself could have been longer and a few parts felt particularly rushed, like the trial. I mostly disagree with the criticisms on setting and world building (is ~*world building*~ super necessary in a Greek myth where so many are so familiar? 🤔) — I felt the settings were adequately described, like I didn’t feel like I was reading a story taking place in a cardboard box. A bumpy-ish debut for me, but there was some potential. An easy enough read, and the Medea bomb broke my heart — curious to see what this author does in the future.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC of this book!</i>

Retellings of Greek mythology are on the rise, and such a great way to get into these classic stories. This retelling was good, but I would have liked to see a little bit more from Phaedra's point of view. The other POV's did not add enough to justify their voices as often as they were heard.

I haven't read much mythological retellings, so I initially was excited to read this book. But unfortunately, it just did not captivate me as much as I thought it would.

I liked is book well enough. The writing style was enjoyable, and the plot moved at a decent pace. It is an interesting take on the story of Phaedra, but something was missing for me. I


Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

As somebody interested in Greek mythology and specifically feminist retellings, this intrigued me and I was looking forward to the author's take on Phaedra. It threw light on how women were treated and it felt really sad. But Phaedra was always an interesting and polarizing character and it felt like more of her story but from female perspective. I felt multiple POVs made it more disjoint and also the charcater remains unlikeable which made the book lacking pace. A bit trimming of the length would have made it more interesting!

This felt very YA in a bad way. The writing was very simple, not poetic or lyrical in any way, which in my opinion does not suit a greek myth retelling. The beginning was just a literal repeating of the original Greek myth, maybe it improved a bit as it went on, but I had to DNF because I can't read a literal retelling with no reimagining. I'd prefer to just read the original.

Phaedra by Laura Shepperson

2.5 rounded to 3 stars.

A quick thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the trend and theme of reviving Greek mythology and creating feminist retellings, I have been thriving. It has been such a fun time in the literature world with all these new views of old stories. But unfortunately Phaedra fell very short to what it was advertised to be and what I expected of it.

Most of the story was very poorly paced, it was so slow in the beginning, half of the book taking a long time to get through and dwelling on things that didn’t seem relevant to the overall outlook on Phaedra that the author was intending, whereas the last quarter where everything interesting and devastating was happening…was barely touched upon and was so rushed that there was no effect of the original tragedy.

This book could have been so much more, and I think that it needed a few more revisions to be ready to come into the world, especially with the competition that is out on the market with Greek retellings at the moment. Or, the book could have had better justice being written by someone else.

Phaedra felt like someone using high middle grade language to try to make a serious adult or later YA novel and nothing hit the way it was supposed to, especially with the topics touched on in the story. I wish I liked it more, but all the characters were very two dimensional with very little progression.

Not only did this book take quite a while for me to get through, but the thought of trying to seriously recommend it to someone who is used to the content we get from other authors just doesn't seem appealing. In the end, the book didn't make me feel anything but slight annoyance that I sat through it and didn't have an outcome that made me want to read it again.

I am always a fan of Greek mythology books. They are my jam. Especially when it's on lessen known stories.

This was.... not great. Bad, even.

The multiple POVs were confusing as everyone one of their voices sounded the same, to the point that if you missed the POV marker in the beginning (or forgot), you could honestly be completely lost. The writing was quite flat. Honestly, maybe it gets better but I got about 70% in and just gave up.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited for this book as a Classics major. The story of Phaedra is one that I am fascinated with and I was excited to see Laura Shepperson's take on it. Ultimately though I was left underwhelmed and disappointed by the story.
I can see the direction that Sherpperson wanted to take this story and I can applaud her for that, but otherwise, the retelling fell flat and did not mesh with the original story in any way that I thought was meaningful.
The 'feminist' take on the novel felt cheap and rushed and the arcs and personalities of the other characters in the story suffered for it.
Overall, I was left unsatisfied and disappointed by Phaedra.

I’m going to round up to 3 stars for this one. The description says this is a feminist retelling and I don’t think I would call it that. I would say it’s a retelling from a female perspective and shows the female experience. The author’s note at the end talks about her interpretation of the story and what sources she based her retelling on, which I was interested in.

This multiple POVs made the story feel a little disjointed to me. There were a couple of characters that I felt reiterated what was already being conveyed without added anything new.

The way female characters were treated throughout felt honest. It was difficult to read at times but I think it should be.

I did find myself looking up the stories surrounding the characters while reading this. It’s definitely reawakened my interest in Greek Mythology.

love a new greek mythology story. I'm always excited for new literature that highlights such a rich culture of storytelling and folklore.

I generally like Greek Mythology retellings and love the currrent crop of feminist slants given voice to all the frankly mariginalised female characters. I loved Madeline Miller’s Circe and Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne so I was keen to read this.

Phaedra is a polarizing character - depending on whether you see her as the lusty middle aged woman who tried to seduce her stepson and when scorned proceeded to accuse him of rape or perhaps as a woman who was manipulated and subjected to the whims of the gods. In this version, she’s a teenage girl taken to a new lane and forced to navigate a new court without support, friends or family. She’s also frighteningly naive and battling a lot of internal anger and grief.

I feel like the writer changed a lot of things to make her more likeable and make you feel her plight. Unfortunately the writing and the plot didn’t work for me. I couldn’t relate or connect with her. It felt a bit much especially when you add in all the other voices and POVs of the other women in the background. I can kind of see what she was trying to do but it didn’t connect with me personally. Phaedra still ends up unlikeable and makes a series of decisions that make no sense to me. The ending is also quite improbable. Sigh. Chalking this up to a not for me but other people might enjoy it.

It’s the classic tale of Greek woe, boy meets girl & whisks her away from her home in a marriage for political gain. But for Phaedra, the youngest daughter of King Minos of the island of Crete, it marks the beginning of a unique & particularly tragic tale in this debut novel by Laura Shepperson.

After Theseus slays her Minotaur brother, he takes Phaedra to Athens to be his queen, but seemingly only in name. When she is assaulted by her husband’s son, Hippolytus, she is determined to prove him guilty among his peers in a newly formed system of trial. In this new form of democracy, the men still reign supreme & the women remain in the shadows, silently hoping to be unseen & unheard in order to protect themselves. Phaedra refuses to be silent.

I absolutely adore Greek Mythology, so I jumped at the opportunity to read an early release of Phaedra. The cover is absolutely stunning. I quickly became immersed in this tale Shepperson adapted—she creates tension that kept me turning pages and explores ideas of bravery, perseverance, and motherhood. This intricately woven tale is told from multiple perspectives—Phaedra, Madea, and the Night Chorus. A unique chorus can be one of my favorite attributes to mythology stories.

It’s a dark, haunting tale, so make sure to check out trigger warnings if you need to. I also wanted to note that some early reviews & ratings are suggestive of the poor quality of the e-arc offered to early readers.

Phaedra’s tragic tale is not one that I will soon forget. If you’re a fan of Greek Mythology be sure to add this to your TBR. It’s beautifully written & incredibly heartbreaking.

Thank you to @alcovepress for the opportunity to read and review this book. Available now wherever books are sold.

A fantastic win of a novel for anyone who is a fan of mythology; the writing was captivating and well done, and is undoubtedly a great selection for anyone who is a fan of similar titles.

This book was filled with intense drama, the love of power, connection, and structure within an organization. I was fortunate enough to receive an arc of this book. The complexity of the characters kept me on the edge of my seat with this story. #phaedra #netgalley

I generally love mythology retellings/imaginings, particularly those that focus on the often lost voices of women. So of course I was excited to jump into this one. Unfortunately, this fell short of my expectations. DNF at 30%