Man, every time I read one of these Greek mythology retelling books, I want to go back to college and pay better attention in my classes. I know I'd heard of Clytemnestra before, but was it only as Helen's sister? Agamemnon's wife? I say I will go back and re-read the classics, but then I read this and it is so brilliant I don't need or want to!! I just need one of these for every character in Greek mythology.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I am a huge fan of Greek mythology and have enjoyed the resurgence of these retellings with a feminist bent. We are all aware that history is written by the victors and most of the victors have been men. I enjoyed seeing more of the Queen of Mycenae beyond her marriage to Agamemnon and the sacrifice of her daughter. Her upbringing in Sparta is usually ignored and this was intriguing to know more about all of her siblings, including Helen. I was actually surprised that the novel finished before her children exact their revenge for the murder of Agamemnon even just to see her life once he is eliminated. This book is a time commitment but the details were fascinating. If you like feminist retellings of myths that are better written than what I have seen with Jennifer Saint, check this out.

(4/5 stars) Here I am, back to my predictable "requests every Greek Myth retelling" book behavior. I've read Clytemnestra's story a few times as part of other's stories (think: Elektra) but I loved the way Casati characterized Clytemnestra and didn't take away from her strength despite the trauma she experienced. Spartan women were raised warriors, and I am glad that Clytemnestra never lost her warrior spirit. This book is giving "we support women's rights, but also women's wrongs" in the best way.

This was such a GREAT book. I love Greek Mythology based stories, and this was one of the best I’ve read in a long time. If you know the mythos of Clytemnestra, you know her story of loss and motherhood is gut wrenching, and this book really made me feel a wide range of emotions. I felt connected to Clytemnestra and cannot say enough good things about this.

An amazing story about Clytemnestra. I ADORE Fiction about Ancient Greek life. The writing is so easy to follow, the details so easy to imagine. Clytemnestra’s story is one of love, immense heartbreak and sorrow, and ultimately, resilience. I don’t want to give too much of her story away. Even if you think you know it from Greek mythology, trust me. You know nothing! Beautiful and epic, this book pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages. Definitely five stars!

This is probably my third(?) book I've read on Clytemnestra and I think it's by far my favorite. I really love this modern trend of focusing on the women in Greek mythology and telling their stories in a new way. Clytemnestra is the protagonist we all need in this story. She's strong, she's nuanced, and she's gonna get her revenge. I loved the deep dives on the characters/parties involved—everything and everyone felt so well developed and complex which I find is often not the case when we read Greek mythology. They're often painted as these one dimensional characters with one strong characteristic only and that is NOT the case here. I will be forever recommending this book to those who like Greek mythology and those who just need a badass lady to root for.

Her sister was the face that launched a thousand ships. Her husband was that warmongering dick, Agamemnon. Regardless of how familiar you are with Clytemnestra's story, if you enjoy reading about fierce women who remain strong through numerous obstacles and tragedy, all the while, earnestly plotting their revenge, you will enjoy this book.

The retelling of Greek myths is one book trend that I will never get tired of seeing. I will read them all. Especially if they center around a sometimes overlooked female character being cast in a new light. The gods don't make actual appearances in this one, but they are used to justify many of the atrocities committed by the characters, and this is an interesting theme throughout the book.

Costanza Casati's riveting story of family, power, and vengeance is one of my favorite Greek mythology retellings, and I didn't want it to end.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the copy to read and review.

Wow what a great book. I’m obsessed with writers who take a story we think we know and tell it from a different perspective. It makes you reevaluate what you know, what you think you know, and what you never thought was possible.

This novel takes a look at the life of Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae and wife of Agamemnon through her own eyes. Instead of being portrayed as a villain we see how the events previously told through a third party really affected this character and in essence framed the decisions and actions she takes throughout her life.

Looking forward to reading more by this author.

4.5/5'

The stories are always about Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships, but what about her sister? I have always only known a small segment of Clytemnestra's life, and she was not always the most likable as presented in other Greek myths or plays. But this woman in powerful, strong, and resilient! Casati's book was so immersive; you felt like you were side by side with Clytemnestra as she maneuvers through court life.

Growing in Sparta is hard in itself, but as a woman, it's even harder. Clytemnestra has to be strong and ruthless when everyone is working against her. When her father welcomes the Atreidi's into their home, Clytemnestra's life is immediately changed. How can she protect her family from this new threat? Clytemnestra reminds me quite a bit of Cersei from Game of Thrones. A woman in a man's world who is able to take power and keep it. She fights fearlessly for her family and has no problems seeking vengeance when needed. This book was a great exploration into Clytemnestra's character and gave a strong background into the events that helped form this courageous woman. Great mythological read!

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Clytemnestra is jumping into this trend of retelling Greek myths and stories but usually from the woman's point of view and, for the most part, I'm here for it. I will fully admit to having not remembered Clytemnestra from my unit on Greek mythology or the Odyssey etc and that's unfortunate. She seems to have been betrayed through history as a cruel and unfaithful woman, and really, aren't they often misunderstood? So is Clytemnestra as well.

Casati does a great job of setting up Clytemnestra's life and weaving the pain and betrayal that seeps in early on into a larger narrative around the way Greek society discarded women and how powerful many of them were because of the absence of their husbands and brothers during the Trojan Wars. The characters felt well-rounded and I got a much better sense of 4D level chess game going on at that time.

If retellings are your thing, I highly recommend this. If they aren't, this is a good story of a woman wronged, biding her time for revenge.

This retelling of the story of Clytemnestra was captivating, compelling, and more than I expected, quite frankly. While I know the main story of the character of Clytemnestra, I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of her upbringing in Sparta, her training as a Spartan warrior, despite being a woman, and her relationship with her sister Helen. This stands out among the Greek mythology retellings as a well-crafted, thoughtful consideration of one of the most feared, patient, and possibly maligned women characters in literature.

I want to thank the publisher for granting me access to the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am very much here for the trend of retelling ancient mythology and Casati takes her education to spin a wonderful tale around one of the most notorious women in history. Male storytellers have been less than kind to this strong Spartan princess, but Casti brings Clytemnestra to full life, reading between the lines of what had been written to do this warrior queen justice.

I couldn’t stop talking to my husband about what I read each night, as if these were our neighbors, people we knew, because Casati did such a fine job of making them real.

I did not enjoy this writing style. It felt juvenile. Additionally, I think the story would have been more successful from first person point of view.

This book is richly detailed. In a very short amount of time you feel like you really know the characters and understand the world that they live in. For some reason, I didn't often feel like picking it up, but whenever I did I couldn't put it down. There are many interesting, unique female characters in this novel. Their interactions and relationships are complex and feel very real, despite the legendary setting and plot.

The stunning cover drew me to this book but can you judge a book by it's cover? In this retelling of this fascinating Queen, Clytemnestra it's a resounding yes! This tale is full of betrayal, revenge and evil as the reader is transported to ancient Greece to follow Clytemnestra's life as a young Spartan girl to her her rise as a feared, "evil" Queen. I admit I was not as familiar with her story as the other characters she is associated with (Helen, Penelope). I found the relationships in this novel to be interesting, especially the mother/daughter, sister/sister bonds taking on a unique perspective. I appreciated the cast of characters section and enjoyed a book group guide for better understanding. I recommend this tale to lovers of ancient history. Thank you #NetGalley and Sourcebooks for giving me an ARC copy to read and review. All opinions are my own . #Clytemnestra

This retelling of Clytemnestra follows the titular character from her time as a Spartan princess to becoming the unlikely Queen of Mycenae during the Trojan War. It's a story of heartbreak, death, and vengeance.

Though the beginning of the book was quite slow, that's also generally my experience with Greek Mythology retellings so I somewhat expected it. I actually really liked Clytemnestra's character in this - I actually thought she could be even more calculated and revenge seeking. I really wanted the people who harmed her and her loved ones to SUFFER. This is definitely a case of me supporting women's "wrongs" and honestly I was here for it.

Casati's writing here is really beautiful and captivating. Once I got into the book, I genuinely did not want to put it down.

I think sometimes the feminist myth retellings get a bad rep for not being historically accurate - while I can't really speak to that aspect of this book, I loved how we got to see such a complex character. Clytemnestra is a wife, a mother, a murderer, and a powerful woman who is ready to murder those who hurt her and her loved ones. History often describes these women as "bad", "evil", or "calculating" but then praises men for the exact same things. That's what I truly appreciate about these feminist retellings - it gives us a new perspective on an old story with a lens that aims to understand the motivations and emotions more.

I also liked that this story ended on her strength and not her death. It's a deeply upsetting story in a lot of ways but I liked that it ended on a somewhat hopeful note.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was honestly surprised by this book. I already knew I was going to love it as a teacher of Ancient Civilizations and a lover of the story of the Trojan War, I already had a soft spot for Clytemnestra's plight. She is fierce. I didn't mind that the story started out a little slow, I felt it needed a dramatic build up to strengthen her revenge plot and for readers to feel her pain and vengeance. I loved how all the characters had dimensions instead of the flat versions we get with most retellings. It was an empowering feminist retelling and the world needs to read it.

this novel is described as “circe meets cersei lannister” and it is exactly that in all the most brilliant and brutal ways. a triumphant retelling of the life of one of the most notorious women in greek mythology, clytemnestra follows its titular character from her girlhood as a spartan princess to her reign as queen of mycenae.

casati’s writing is lyrical and captivating, her characters and their relationships complex and flawed. in her hands, clytemnestra is a loving mother and sister; a fierce, clever, and capable queen; a murderer. she is a wronged woman seeking revenge in a patriarchal society that has little space for her rage and grief. she may not be a good person, but she is the best option—and here, she is exquisitely human and sympathetic. i loved the decision to end on her victory rather than her death.

if i had one complaint, it would be the pacing—the beginning is quite slow.

perfect for anyone who enjoys their greek mythology with a side of “i support women’s rights, but more importantly, i support women’s wrongs.”

Authors like Jennifer Saint (Elektra) and Natalie Haynes (A Thousand Ships) have included her as a perspective character in their recent novels, but Costanza Casti’s Clytemnestra is the first to put the Spartan princess (and future Mycenaen queen) and her story front and center. But the trick of this novel, and what ultimately makes it such a compelling read, is its determination to depict its titular character as a complete and fully realized woman, a figure who is more than her worst deeds and whose story is worth telling in its own right.

Casati’s debut spends less than a quarter of its length on the events that most people associate with the name “Clytemnestra”—the sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia in the name of a fair wind for Greece’s soldiers, her violent plot to take revenge against her husband for his involvement in her child’s murder, and her lengthy rule over the kingdom of Mycenae while Agamemnon is at war in Troy. The reason we are all fairly familiar with that part of her story is, of course, that it’s a bloody tale of a bad woman who kills a supposedly heroic man, and which casts a mother’s rage and grief over the death of her child as somehow less than a king’s right to glory and conquest. But, intriguingly, that’s not the part of her story that Casati’s terribly interested in exploring. We’ve seen it before, after all.

This retelling encapsulates the life of Clytemnestra, in all its tragedy and grief. I loved the rage and revenge that are softened by joy and liveliness, it felt like the story was well balanced on a knives edge. The author covers a lot of mythic ground well and quickly. If you’re interested in myth retellings and anyone interested in a complex story with strong female characters this is for you. 4.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and Sourebook landmarks for sending the book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!