This review is based on an uncorrected e-galley of this novel. Portions of this novel are subject to change.

This was a nice quick read, well not exactly nice because people were horrible to Medusa, but anyway. Fans of Circe and Jezebel will definitely enjoy this novel. I thought it was well written and well thought out overall. At less than 300 pages, it was an easy binge read as well.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC of this novel.

This retelling of the story of Medusa and Perseus is... ok. It is a fairly basic retelling, there is nothing to make it stand out in either a bad way or a good way. It was quick and easy to read and would be a great introduction to someone that is more of a reluctant reader when it comes to mythology stories. I would not recommend for someone already familiar with the myth that is looking for a retelling that has either a different point of view for the myth or someone looking for a more in depth interpretation of the characters in the myth. It will be great for some, and others will not be as impressed. There were two things that stood out to me (and bothered me) while reading it. First... Medusa is the younger Gorgon sister, not the eldest. That part of the retelling threw me and made me question what was going on. Second, there are large chunks of time missing in the book with pretty much no transitions. As in... baby Perseus and Danaë are getting out of the box after being rescued and *poof*, now he's an 18 year old man. No transition... not even a brief paragraph to fill that gap.

So overall not a bad read, but not among my favorites either. I'm pretty neutral about this one.

3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed the first half of this book - which focused on Medusa and how she ends up as a Gorgon . There was a lot of depth and feeling to the story of the young girl who was disgraced by one god and punished for it by another

The second half was much slower and a bit more disconnected - we heard mostly Perseus’ story, I would have preferred more of Medusa and her sisters

This is another retelling of the story of Medusa, and at first I had hopes for a strong Medusa-centered book. The beginning centers on Medusa, on her being a priestess of Athena, the women she tries to help, and how she tries to understand why women are so often secondary figures in society- often at the expense of their lives. Then she unknowingly meets Poisidon and is blamed for him raping her in Athena's temple and Athena curses her. Rather like Medusa's life, the story goes downhill after that. Medusa's sisters are similarly cursed for learning the truth and sympathizing with her, and they escape to a deserted island. Then we get Perseus' story and his quest to bring back Medusa's head in order to save his mother- and we all know how that ends.

My main issue with this book was that between the major time jumps, the spare and almost emotionless writing style, and the distance we as readers are kept from the characters, we don't really get the chance to know any of them. I rarely felt like I was in Medusa's head, or feeling what she was feeling. Her sisters felt like they were there more because they had to be (because of the myth) than to help enhance the story the author was trying to tell.

This is really a 2.5 star review and the extra half a star is for Persues' story. Hannah Lynn does an interesting job making him a mix of the hero mimicking the toxic masculinity he's seeing around him and the young, more compassionate, man his mother raised him to be. There's also the ending- which I won't spoil here- but I was very conflicted about. I can't decide whether it was an abrupt ending and hugely disappointing because it shows the triumph of toxic masculinity, or a new and brilliant take on the myth as a whole with compassion from both heroes and gods and just what should really have happened. Either way, I know it is an ending I'll be thinking about and debating with others for a long time.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I guess this is already published by the author herself back in 2020 but now it’s being republished by Sourcebooks Landmark!

I’m curious what the differences are between the self published and now traditionally published versions especially because the TRAD book is 192 pages while Lynn’s self published work is 252.

Anyways, on to my review of Athena’s Child-Immediately pulled in! That prologue, chills!! I was so excited to finally read a Medusa retelling and that we are finally getting a story where Medusa is not a monster born but a “monster” who was made, victimized by the actions of others.

We get POVs from Medusa and Perseus. The first half is mainly Medusa, focusing on her early life and how she became a Gorgon. Then in the second half we get Perseus’ back story and his “heroic” journey. I wish we would’ve gotten more from Medusa though, this novel certainly is quick, to the point, and interesting but it doesn’t add anything new to the Medusa story which I found disappointing.

I enjoyed the first half much more than the second half because I didn’t care about Perseus and wanted to get back to Medusa. The writing style is okay, it’s simple and makes for a quick read but does more telling than showing. I do wonder if the novel is better in the self published version as it’s about 50ish pages more than this version.

Some time jumps could be jarring at times with no warning, the book is split into two parts but the time jump occurs 2-3 chapters into part 2. Seemed like it could’ve been organized a bit smoother. I thought this would be 4.5-5 stars easily but towards the end I just got disappointed in how the story ended up.

Overall not a bad read and one I’d still recommend for Greek mythology lovers, for a quick and easy read! I’m interested to check out the other 2 books in Lynn’s series and hope I’ll enjoy them more.

Any book about madusa I will automatically love. The writing was lovely I wish I was longer so many one liners that are soo well written. If you love mythology i recommend this book.

It was a decent enough adaptation of medusa's story. I really liked the ending making it sound as a mercy killing

I was excited to read a retelling of Medusa's story. The basic myth is well-known but we only really see what happens to her. Getting Medusa's POV let's the reader decide whether or not she was the monster we were all taught about in classic literature. Hannah Lynn does a masterful job taking the reader into the setting of Ancient Greece. The temple of Athena, the island where the Gorgons live, Perseus' voyage, the cave home of the Graeae are all detailed where I was swept into the story. Ultimately we're reminded that the Pantheon was mostly a group of conniving jerks who preyed on & messed with mortals for fun. Medusa's story is heartwarming & heartbreaking by turns and well worth the read.

3.5

Most Medusa stories always portray her as this monster but very few really touch on her backstory, this book did and I loved it for that. You get to know Medusa the girl and woman, before all the stories of her being a monster were started. She has been so villainized like most women in history that having a story like this about her is a breath of fresh air and is correcting some of the wrongs done to women historical figures in stories. The one draw back for me is that I do wish it was longer. Felt a bit more like a novella.

Really torn about this one.

This is the story of Medusa (and Perseus) and that’s pretty much it. Most of the first part covers her life, almost every chapter a time jump to the next major scene. There’s not a lot of meandering, it’s to the point and the writing style is good, but just when I thought we were getting to the part that’s going to offer a new take, some deeper characterization, we go to Perseus. After time jumping through months, years, decades and ultimately millenia with Medusa, Perseus gets the narrative advantage of having a mortal life span that allows his story to be delivered in a way that doesn’t feel choppy. I actually wouldn’t have minded this, had it not been for his detour, a scene that I couldn’t wait to be done so we can get back to the meat of it.

This was a tragic, heartbreaking telling that really succinctly delivered the Medusa myth, but I’m afraid it didn’t blow me away as someone who’s familiar with this version of it. I can see people liking it a lot more than I did however and I recommend it.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A really good take on the Medusa story - this has been compared to Circe, and I can definitely see the similarities in style. I really liked how every character was rounded out, particularly Perseus’ inner dialogue. I’m so glad the author didn’t go down the route that some others have, making her story some kind of star crossed romance - as if seeing her through the eyes of a man in love is the only way to humanise the monster. We therefore get to see her as a woman in her own right, and Athena’s Child is a far more satisfying read because of this. I’m looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

I'd largely forgotten the story of Medusa-thinking of her only as her image. This is an interesting retelling with Lynn delving into her life before she was cursed, Medusa was once a great beauty, so much so that her father sought to protect her by sending her to Athena. Unfortunately, no one counted on Perseus the villain in this story, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, I enjoyed this quick read,

I absolutely love Greek mythology and was pleasantly surprised by this new take on Medusa’s story. I’ve read a number of Medusa inspired books this year and appreciated that this gave her more background and humanity than any of the others. I also really liked that Perseus was given a voice and a more interesting story of his quest. It was a very enjoyable book and the narration was fantastic.

Thank you sourcebook Landmark for the alc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Athena’s Child! I’m always a bit hesitant when it comes to Medusa’s story because I do think her story is misunderstood and misrepresented most of the time, but I really appreciated how it was portrayed in this book. The thought the characters were unique and well portrayed and worked well with the story.

🐍The book - 1st in The Grecian Women trilogy - is a Greek mythological retelling of Medusa and her nemesis Perseus. Narrated from the POVs of Medusa, Dane, and Perseus, the book is divided into 2 parts. Part 1 explores Medusa's backstory and how she turned from a priestess into a Gorgon and Part 2 shows us Perseus's origin story and his own quest of becoming a hero.

🐍Hannah's writing is lyrical and elegant. Within just a few pages she has cleverly done for Medusa what Miller has done for Circe which makes you think about the way the stories are told, but her writing certainly lacked Miller's richness and depth. Further, the fast-paced narratives and sudden jump in the timeline, and change in POVs, make it difficult to cope up with the story.

🐍The characters are beautifully envisioned and articulately flesh out. By the end of the book, you are definitely gonna feel for Medusa's plights and sufferings and your perspective towards the Olympian Gods will change -as if nothing change over the centuries, it was always women who are blamed for men's cruelties, not the other way around. Other supporting characters are barely touched.

🐍The ending felt abrupt and unfulfilling, as many points were left open for readers' own imagination. Nevertheless, it liked it - it gives you a different outlook on Medusa's fate and forced you to accept that it was not she who loses her humanity, but people do.

Overall, Athena's Child was an enjoyable lite read for me. If you are into Greek myth, then you should definitely check out this refreshing retelling of Medusa. Highly recommendable.

✨Book Review!✨
“Athena’s Child”
Netgalley ARC
Written By:
Published by:
•••
Athena’s Child is a story about Medusa, her sisters Euryale and Stheno, princess Danae and her son Perseus, son of Zeus.
•••
The book takes you through how Medusa came to know Athena, how and why Medusa was cursed after being taken advantage of by Poseidon and her life after she became the “monster” with hair made of snakes.
•••
Medusa’s story then become entwined with Perseus, son of Zeus. When Perseus’ mother, Princess Danae, is betrothed to a vile king, he is set on a mission by the king to collect Medusa’s head as a wedding gift. Knowing how many men over a millennium have died trying to do just that, Perseus isn’t sure it can be done. He realizes if he wants to save his mother, he will need to make an attempt to do what no one has done before and slay the “monster”.
•••
I have always been a bit fascinated by Medusa. A woman with a head full of snakes?! WUT. So when I saw this ARC on Netgalley, I HAD to read it. Although I felt like it could have gone more in depth, I did enjoy how short and quick it was! If you’re into Greek mythology… don’t miss out on this book!

1- Characters: 9
2- Atmosphere/Setting: 9
3- Writing Style: 8
4- Plot: 8
5- Intrigue: 8
6- Logic/Relationships: 7
7- Enjoyment: 8

Total Score: 57
57/7= 8.142
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am not much of a Greek mythology fan but this book kept me interested enough to finish. A quick, short read that I enjoyed.

This is the first book that i have read about Medusa. I never realized her connection and her story of her being wronged by Athena. I always knew of her being wronged by Poseidon. So this book did a great job of grabbing my interest and keeping my attention throughout Medusa’s story. This is a retelling as the author gives their own twist that i that was wonderful. My heart really broke for Medusa. She was made into this monster by men and Athena. But when reading this book, you see that she really wasn’t a monster. This was very well done and i really enjoyed it.

*Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

This was a nice, quick read and overall pretty enjoyable! I’ve always been fascinated by Medusa’s story and so I was really excited to dive into this book. That being said, the author’s very straightforward style of writing wasn’t my favorite. Personally, I prefer more lyrical prose. I also think going into this after having recently read Madeline Miller’s books made it hard for me not to compare the two.

That being said, I still think this is a great book to read if you’re looking for a good retelling of Medusa’s story!

This book felt a little all over the place. I also feel like, because I read Medusa's Sisters earlier this year, there was a bit of comparison going on for me.

This is a quick read and it gets into the origin of the Medusa myth fairly quickly, which I still feel like I grew up with a VERY different interpretation of why Athena cursed Medusa, but then it leans more heavily into Perseus, which... I do not feel is necessary. This book was strongest when focused on Medusa and the switch away from focusing on her felt very abrupt.

Lynn has an interesting interpretation of how Perseus was able to slay Medusa, but getting there felt like a bit of a slog.