Phaedra
By Laura Shepperson

CW: sexual assault, domestic abuse, suicide, and murder

This book was interesting. I am both an avid reader of Greek mythology and the popular genre of re-envisionings, whether feminist rewritings or otherwise.

My rating for this book is to give it 4-stars [⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️]. However, I offer this with some caveats.

My initial impression was to give it a 3-star rating as almost every character in this book is unlikable.
- There are no happy endings.
- Death and murder and sexual violence are endemic.
- Every single male character that is developed to any extent is not only untrustworthy, but is also a violent thug and out to protect only his own interests.
- The only outcome is the perpetuation of patriarchal power.

But then, this is hardly the author’s fault. The Greek myths themselves are steeped in & glorify these types of toxic masculine behaviours and traits.

Assessing the book more closely, there are several aspects which led me to rate it more highly:

1. Book layout – the narrative structure is presented to resemble that of the tragedies of classical Greek theatre. Hence the action of the book begins with the Prologue, followed by the Parados or Chorus, and then there are 3 Episodes or Acts that are interspersed with the Stasima (comments/interjections of the chorus presented in song). Ultimately, the narrative ends with the Exodos/Exodus where the chorus recounts the moral of the tragedy. The author also follows the traditional format of Greek tragedy in print, by including a dramatis personae to introduce the cast of characters.

2. The Night Chorus – the Chorus in this book are played by the combined voices of women that cry out in the night. They call out to one another, offer warnings and advice, reveal truths and foretell what is to come; they commiserate and console, rejoice and lament. They are Furies and Muses. They are the whisper network of women which has existed and operated throughout time.

“I lay listening to the voices until sunrise, when they faded away. And as my hand brushed my cheek, just before I fell asleep, I realized that my face was wet with tears. I didn’t know these women, but I felt that we were sisters. I had shared their darkest nights and would wake a wiser woman.”

3. The Trial – the narrative is structured around the event of a trial. Phaedra (Princess of Crete and wife of Theseus) has brought charges of rape and serious infringements of Xenia against Hippolytus (the son of Theseus). The trial’s events and final outcome reflects and echoes numerous aspects of the proceedings, perspectives, and reactions to and against contemporary trials of men for sexual assault and sexual violence. I thought the author was especially deft at representing this.

4. Aside from Phaedra, the author rewrites and offers some extremely engaging depth to the tales of the Minotaur and to Medea (as an aside, Euripedes’ Medea has always been my favourite of the Greek tragedies!).

In the end, I’d caution anyone who has difficulty reading the topics I warned of above. This book does not soften the tragic tale of Phaedra, nor does it offer any hope for change. It presents everything in stark, brutal language. But that is the way of Greek tragedy. However, if you’re prepared to accept that, then you’ll enjoy this book.

For myself, I will certainly be purchasing a hardcopy to add to my collection of Greek myth retellings and I’ll be watching for further offerings from this author.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for allowing me access to an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Phaedra, princess in Crete is sent to Athens to be married to Theseus, the song of King Ageus. Once arriving in Athens, Theseus becomes King after his father jumped to his death. Phaedra, having been given more freedoms in Crete, is not adjusting well nor receiving respect as Queen in Athens. As maids and men in the court begin to whisper, the story unfolds.

This was my first book about Greek mythology and I think this book was well written, though may have been better written from one POV vs the many characters in the story. There is no distinct tone or "voice" change in any chapter so you really need to read the chapter titles to know who is speaking.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

CONTENT WARNING: blood, gore, murder, suicide, rape

In the last few years, I have read some incredible mythology retellings, and they’ve become kind of irresistible to me. I’m not very well versed in Greek mythology, but I’m always intrigued in learning more about them, and seeing differing views on stories that have been accepted for many years, usually placing the males in the story in the forefront and in the best possible light. However, in recent years, retellings have changed the focus of the stories to place the women in the center and tell their stories, rather than that of the men.

While I’m not familiar with Phaedra’s story, I did check it out quickly before starting the story. All versions seem to paint her as a seductress, and fault her for the events of the story. However, this book flips the script and makes her an innocent victim, not at fault for the events, other than pushing for justice for herself and the other innocent victims in the castle.

We get a lot of different POVs—various women throughout the story, and at least one male character. They definitely provided a good perspective to the story, but all of the viewpoints had a major failing. Mainly, that they all sounded the same. It was impossible to differentiate who was speaking, because all of the different characters had the same voice, same speech patterns, same patterns of thought, despite the differences in class, place of upbringing, gender, etc. Without the name at the beginning of the chapter, I couldn’t figure out who was narrating.

It brings out a lot of the discussion surrounding consent, women’s rights, and a rape trial, as well as the politics involved in changing a monarchy to a democracy and the pushback involved, but there was a lot going on in the story. There were family dynamics discussed on both sides—for Theseus and Phaedra, and the massive dysfunction that is rife in Greek mythology families.

However, we never really get to know the characters in depth. Phaedra is never really portrayed as anything more than naïve. We barely get to know Theseus at all, and the most we learn about Hippolytus is that he’s devoted to horses and Artemis. As for the rest of the characters, we learn even less about them. I found it endlessly frustrating, and while the story was intriguing, I would have liked to get to know the characters in greater depth. Overall, this was an interesting read, but it didn’t quite meet the high bar that was set for mythology retellings that I’ve come to expect.

This book is so so good. I loved this telling of the well known tale of Theseus from the eyes of Phaedra.
There is a trigger warning which may be well known but for those who don't know she is raped.
Phaedra is unwilling to remain quiet about the assult. She speaks up and the story navigates how truth, her truth is seen by the men of the city who gather to determine the truth while the women who have no vote are in the shadows but we hear they voices.
This is a powerful book. Such a great read

I just reviewed Phaedra by Laura Shepperson. #Phaedra #NetGalley

After reading a few Greek mythologies this year (plus a reread of my absolute favorites by Madeline Miller) I was interested in reading Laura Sheeperson’s reimagining of the story of Phaedra.

Even though Sheeperson creates a story that gives voice to the women of Greece who’ve never been acknowledged in the epic stories, having too many cast members, lost the focus of the main story. Having recently read Ithaca where we focus on Penelope and the goddess Hera, we as readers delved into these characters who felt like women with flesh, bone, and an awareness of 21st century thinking.

I feel Sheeperson’s story lacks that full depth, world building, and focus of the female experience in its totality. There are moments, small passages and glimpses hidden in her novel, but it’s not all encompassing. The story, though well written, didn’t sweep me under into a barreling current that takes me under and leaves me breathless.

Again, I think the story did give a new perspective of Ancient Greece, ruled by and for men: a patriarchy with its cyclical abuse of women and a young woman who has very little options in safety, protection, or resources.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC! I really enjoyed this read, especially as I've been reading several historical fictions with a focus on the perspectives of the women involved. Phaedra tells the story of the daughter of King Minos who was given to Theseus as a bride and taken from her family to the developing democracy of Athens. The focus on Phaedra's experience is expanded by the voices and experiences of the other women around her with their roles, understanding on how society works and the horrors they experience. The night chorus and the perspective of the Furies will stick with me for a while as I reconsider some of the old stories I've read and how ingrained they are in the male perspective.

Phaedra is a very dry retelling of the myth that reads like a lengthy Wikipedia retelling. It has some very creative language that is beautiful. It has a chorus that I truly appreciate, however, this is someone's homework and I feel like I wasted my time. If you know the story of Phaedra it's wasted on you. You're going to gain nothing from reading this. Believe women. That's all I can say. Even if the myth was a bit more on the get the boy killed side of things and "oh isn't it the consequences of my own actions", the book has turned it into a tragedy instead and that's a noble thing. I recommend it for Jennifer Saint fans.

I read Ariadne earlier this year and LOVED it, so I was very excited for this one which is the story of Ariadne’s sister, Phaedra. Obviously they are by different authors, so I expected differences, but this one didn’t live up to my expectations, unfortunately.
 
To start, there were too many POVs and a lot of them didn’t actually add anything to the story. Phaedra’s POV was probably only about 30-40% of the story which felt odd.
 
The story was really slow-moving which was surprising considering the heartbreaking/emotional content. I did, however, like that the author gave representation to the females and their stories (something that was overlooked a lot in mythology). I just wish there was more depth to this representation.
 
And I didn’t love the ending. Everything felt rushed and I was underwhelmed and disheartened by the conclusion. I didn’t hate this book by any means, but I think it could have used a bit more fleshing out and editing before going out to readers.

Rating 3.5

One of my favorite genres/subjects to read are Greek Myths and retelling of the myths. This story of Phaedra is kinder to Pasiphae and the Minotaur while still tragic to him and of course the women of the kingdom of Crete. I did enjoy the addition with the night chorus which provided commentary on the social just or lack thereof for women. Phaedra and Ariadne however did seem more naïve and meek considering the story Minos had the princesses schooled in many ways women were not. They were provided and cultivated tools, education, and wits, but when Theseus comes to town they abandon all of their inherent powers. Do wish Phaedra got the ending Trypho planned for her and the bards could still have their blasphemous songs. Worth a read, sadly still a tragic story of Phaedra of Crete.

I liked this book well enough to read it from start to finish, but it certainly lacks the magic and strong writing of Madeline Miller in Circe and Song of Achilles.

Phaedra is a young princess with an altogether frustrating and shelter point of view on life. Her own lack of understanding of the world around her contributes to the makings of her troubles in Athens.

I appreciated the new feminist twist on mythology that showed how women are but playthings for men to be used and tossed to the side, but at the same time the overall idea seemed to be poorly developed. The various narrators are difficult to distinguish from each other because they didn’t have their unique voices.

As I said, I liked it well enough but it’s not a memorable entry into the new trend of retelling Greek mythology.

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

Overall Rating - ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice - 🫑🌶️
World Building - ⭐⭐⭐
Character Development - ⭐⭐⭐
Trigger/Content Warnings - Rape, murder, suicide, disturbing descriptions of bodies

Plot; I like that there are multiple major plot points, kind of like tales of Greek men like Theseus and Odysseus. I think the pulling original mythological stories together into one was done well, and it moved fairly smoothly.

Characters; The men are typical Greek mythology men, self centered and self driven. They were protested that way quite well. Typical Greek women and docile and submissive, also very well depicted in this. I don't think there was much in the way of development, at least not until the end, but the lack of development did kind of push the plot along, so I'm not that mad about it.

Romance; This isn't romance, but it is about why I put it as 🫑 and 🌶️. There are not sex scenes, thank the gods for that. I think this would have been WAY too graphic if there had been. However, they are described. Not detailed, but I put the one there so people know that this is a topic addressed multiple times. There is 0 romance anywhere in this book, as was intended. I appreciate not forcing a romance for the sake of it.

Writing; This is where this kind of falls for me. 1 I normally am very into multiple POV stories. This one, not so much. I didn't like it being in first person, it made it a little difficult for me to keep track of who the narrator was, but moreso I found it more difficult to connect to the cheaters. There were major plot points for Phaedra that I would have rather seen from her view, that we didn't. It made me feel more apathetic to her situations than if it had been just her view, I think. The writing itself was fine, but yeah I felt very much like someone very outside the situation with really not stake or need to be involved in it.

Overall Thoughts; I think the most important part of this book to remember is that it is based on MYTHOLOGY. As the author says at the end, Greek mythology isn't concrete, it's myth. People change the stories all the time, as they likely did in the past as well. As a general statement, this gave me Penelopiad vibes, and I am here for that. As also stated by the author, so few things in Greek mythology are based around women. I think this is actually a good depiction of how things might have been or felt for women in these settings, and for that, it is good. My other points also stand, but I don't think that making Greek mythology women centered makes it bad. Generally, I did like this, it's not my favourite, but it was good enough.

Phaedra by Laura Shepperson is a wonderfully written dive into the life of a woman often simply dismissed as the tragic wife of a Greek hero.

What I loved
-Greek Retelling
-female centered
-keeps the tragedy intact

What Didn't work as well for me
-Perspective shifts were jarring
-pacing was inconsistent

Who I would recommend the book to

Phaedra is a good reading choice for those who have enjoyed stories such as Circe by Madaline Miller and are looking to read in a similar vein.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I've always had an interest in learning about the Greek gods and goddesses but this brought them all to life. Phaedra is the mostly unheard of youngest daughter of King Minos of Crete. Her brother is the more popular Minotaur. This book follows Princess Phaedra as she travels to a very young Athens and becomes a wife to Theseus and Queen of Athens. The descriptive details in the book are fantastic! You feel as if you're there with Phaedra in each of the historical locations and you have a view into the minds of the characters who created the world. The treachery, the deceit, the behind-the-throne deals, are so juicy that you can't put this book down!. This is the part of the history lesson that they never teach you. I was given this book by Netgalley in return for my honest opinion.

I had high expectations going in to this novel. With the recent rise of mythology retellings, I quickly gravitated first towards the cover, immediately followed by the synopsis. Phaedra tells the classic myth of Theseus killing the Minotaur, the fate Phaedra, and ultimately the tragedy of Hippolytus. Right from the beginning, the lack of depth, irrelevant perspectives, and choppy writing had me struggling to finish this book. No character is given the opportunity for development, leaving each one flat and similar to the next. Knowing how myths are often complex, there was an abundance of opportunities to provide depth and rounded out character , but in the end, if it weren’t for the the characters’ names at the beginning of each chapter, I would not have been able to tell the difference.
Another aspect of this novel that made it difficult for complete fluidity was the ever-changing perspectives. With multiple instances where a character’s perspective is used once, the chapters seem like fillers and unnecessary to the story as a whole. This made me feel like the entire novel was individual stories lumped together rather than one cohesive one. 
The most redeeming part was when Phaedra stood up to Theseus at the end of the trial. To me, this is the only instance where either character is given the chance to develop and create a connection with the audience.
Overall, I was disappointed with the writing. While this may be another’s cup of tea, it was not mine.

Laura Shepperson's PHAEDRA is a book in the popular subset of historical fiction which, like CIRCE, takes a character from classical mythology and reframes the story from a feminist lens. I wasn't as familiar with Phaedra's story as I had been with many others, and it rings especially resonantly in this #metoo era. The rotating perspectives (of the chorus of women in the house, of Medea, of a bull fighter) were at times distracting and at times transcendent, but the essential story was gripping. I hope this book finds a large audience.

I absolutely love Greek stories and retellings, and this book was no different. It follows Phaedra, the youngest daughter of King Minos as she learns about her family and the Minotaur

It was incredibly interesting to go deeper into Phaedra’s story, being that she’s usually more dismissed than Ariadne. She had a strong voice and I loved reading from her POV. another book to add to my Greek mythos shelf!

I enjoyed my time reading this albeit slow. I think this novel will appeal to new readers wanting to explore Greek Mythology. A retelling of a woman not as explored compared to its counterparts.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Phaedra attempts to tell the tale of the sister of Ariadne and wife of Theseus, the killer of the Minotaur, and her terrible fate from her perspective as well as several others who play (or logically would have played) a part in her story. In Shepperson's author's note, she discusses her reasoning for changing some of the core details of the story that initially aggravated me as I read through it. The story of Phaedra and Hippolytus is a tragedy, but Shepperson sought to write it even more tragic, and for me, it just missed the mark.

Phaedra seemed like an attempt to radically feminize a Greek myth that often centralizes around a culture of men and masculine heroes. We have the heroine who takes fate into her own hands, comes out of the gate after a rape feisty and ready to control her own narrative. I do think Phaedra could sort of be looked at as the beginning of the "unhinged woman" narrative. However, the whole delivery of this novel fell really flat for me. Firstly, because all the characters (particularly our main two) felt flat on the page and they all sounded pretty similar. There was no depth or nuance, no complexity. They came across as apathetic, and the text just seemed to lack real passion for most of the story. This led to a general overall feeling of me not really caring about the outcome for any of the characters, and the times they acted awful just made me dislike them instead of seeing potential motivations for the ways they acted.

There is also a whole legal drama aspect to this story in the last half that I was not interested in. It made the story feel like it had been very obviously and purposefully twisted to give this story a "relevant now" agenda, which I didn't like.

Overall, I'm really disappointed with this. It had the potential to hang up there with the works of Natalie Haynes, Jennifer Saint, and Madeline Miller, but the writing just didn't deliver on its deeper development of its characters and the overall complexities of the storylines.

This book is a retelling of Phaedra and her story, as well as an examination of the roles and expectations of men and women in Greek society. This book has a lot of discussions around the difference expectations and at some points, hypocritical differences between the sexes.

This book changes POV through multiple characters, and while I usually don't have an issue with this, I wish there was something that made the different voices more unique in their own right. Currently, there was really nothing telling me that this was a new character aside from the header at the top of the chapter.

I will admit, I struggled with the writing. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but just felt the characters needed more development to become their own person, and sometimes felt that the alternating view points muddied together.

I loved the goal and overall story, just felt that the execution could have used more work. I am a big supporter of all the retellings, and love that new perspectives they offer. I hope this book is polished a bit more so it can be the excellent story it is meant to be.

Big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I normally wouldn’t read this genre, but I was intrigued by the blurb and cover. I immensely enjoyed reading this book and might have to now pick up others likes this!

Trigger warning: assault

In this book, Phaedra, who is from Crete, ends up having to marry Theseus, Prince of Athens. Theseus was first supposed to marry her sister, Ariadne, but told Phaedra’s family Ariadne ran off with the god Dionysus, so he ended up having to marry Phaedra. This was after he killed her brother, The Minotaur. So she goes to Crete with Theseus, hoping the gods will right all the wrongs that have happened to her family.

Once she is there, she meets Theseus’ son Hippolytus, who is very adamant that he is loyal to the goddess Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and chastity, but assaults Phaedra while her husband (his father) is away. Phaedra gets pregnant with his child and will not back down in fighting the wrong against her and demands a trial for Hippolytus. The men get to vote, but the women, who are assaulted, daily do not. Every night they sing of all the horrors that happen to them. For once, will fate be on their side?

This book was very interesting and well-written. I also loved the descriptions the author had of Crete and Athens. I felt like I was transported to Greek times. I couldn’t put this book down and am really looking forward to reading the author’s next book!