This was a lot of fun and just what I was in the mood for. I was able to listen to it all in one go while I worked. I love Greek mythology

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

House of Odysseus is a brilliant follow up to Ithaca. I adore Greek Mythology and I really appreciate Norths take on these ancient stories. This continuation brings in a new narrator, the one and only Aphrodite. I thought she was a brilliant choice to move the story one. She's witty and sassy and it made my experience with this book fun and enjoyable. She also brings an alternative perspective of some of the most well known characters, the three great Queens of Greece. Penelope once again uses the sharpness of her mind and her brilliance in an effort to hold onto power, there's a vulnerability in Elektra that gets shown and lastly the face that launches a thousand ships, Helen, who for me was probably the most intriguing of the three. Through the narration of Aphrodite we see just how differently the three Queens fight for their survival, all whilst the King of Sparta plots out his next steps.

North provides her readers with a feminine twist on thought provoking tales, and House of Odysseus is no exception. I look forward to the final instalment of this trilogy and I cannot wait to see who North chooses to narrate it. I am hoping it will be Athena but I guess I'll have to wait until 18 June 2024 to find out.

I was super excited to get approved for this audio, but just being honest, I couldn’t for the life of me pay attention. Totally a me thing, not anything against the audio, it just didn’t capture my attention the way most do.

House of Odysseus by Claire North is a fantasy with historical fiction elements, and the second book in The Songs of Penelope series. The audiobook is narrated by Catrin Walker-Booth.

Orestes and his sister Elektra return to the isle of Ithaca, hoping Penelope can house and hide them for a time. And then his uncle Menelaus, the war-tough king of Sparta, also arrives, salivating at the thought to steal Orestes' throne. To save her island, and to protect it for a husband who may never come home, Penelope rallies her allies (all but one of which are women).

I liked the first book in this series, Ithaca, but I LOVED this one. I read through it in just two sittings; the plot had me on the edge of my seat for most of the novel. The first book was more character-driven, but this one had a larger overarching plot.

I'm always a fan of feminist mythology retellings, especially because I minored in Classical Mythology in college. The first book in this series was narrated by Hera, queen of the gods and wife of Zeus. This installment is narrated by Aphrodite, the goddess of love. We still see other meddling goddesses, like Athena and Artemis.

I'm super excited for the final book of this trilogy.

If you were a fan of Elektra by Jennifer Saint or The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, you should definitely check out this series!

CW: mentions and descriptions of sexual assault, murder, death, violence, gaslighting, domestic abuse

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

#houseofodysseus by #clairenorth is my most recently listened to audiobook and it did NOT disappoint! First of all, I was a little wary going in because I dnf’d something by this author in the past and I thought oh maybe this author’s writing style just isn’t for me… WRONG! It was just that book, which honestly I may now revisit one day because THIS book was awesome. Told from the perspective of the goddess Aphrodite, it tells a story of Penelope the Queen of Ithaca, at a time when her husband and King, Odysseus is currently awol in the world - off to fight a war and hasn’t returned yet - is assumed alive but nowhere to be seen yet. Likewise her son is out there looking for him so she’s in this seat of power and along comes Menelaus, the hero of Sparta, King and conquerer of Helen of Troy. He comes to Ithaca and things get dicey when someone is poisoned to insanity, and a whole plot reveals itself. I absolutely LOVED the voice of the narrator as a powerful woman (both queen and for the goddess) so she is a new favorite of mine and I’d love to hear more books by her #CatrinWalkerBooth (where are you)? Now I also noticed that this says #book2 so now I have to find the first book and decide whether I want to listen to it on audio or buy these books??!! #decisionsdecisions
I’m fully immersing myself in #greekmythology retellings and totally enjoying myself. @hachetteaudio What a fantastic job you all made of this audio! Loved the narrator Catrin & thank you so much for allowing me to listen to this in return for a review! @redhookbooks what an awesome story! I’ll be looking for the first in this series and I’m expecting perhaps a third?? If you love great engaging audiobooks full of political queenly intrigue, or love a Greek myth retelling pick this up asap!

My thanks to Hatchette Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of this book.

In this second installment of the Songs of Penelope, we are shown the aftermath of Orestes having killed his mother, Clytemnestra, to avenge his father Agamemnon. In the time following Clytemnestra's murder on Ithaca, Elektra and Orestes return to Ithaca for Penelope's help in concealing that Orestes is sick (and being tormented by unseen Furies). They plan to keep this from Menelaus, who would use it as an excuse to take the throne from Orestes and rule over a larger empire. This only compounds the issues that Penelope is going through herself, as she expertly fends off suitors in an effort to keep Ithaca in her own family.

The pacing of this story is steady, told from the point of view of Aphrodite (whose narrations border on funny yet distracting with some of her word choices). The series continues its theme of the strength of women in the face of men who underestimate them, and I enjoyed it very much. The only difficulty at times is the sheer number of names to remember in this story! Some of the fringe characters can get lost in the narrative and if you asked me to name any characters apart from the main ones, I wouldn't be able to give you any with real certainty. For this reason, I largely ignored them if they were not essential to the main plot.

The narrator for this book was very good, with nothing about her voice or intonation being a distraction from what was happening (something I value a lot in an audiobook narrator). Her character switches were very good and made each character feel like a separate person rather than all one voice.

I am looking forward to the next installment, as the cliffhanger this one ended on was a very good one!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I rarely find the second book better then the first one, but Claire North proved me wrong. I finished House of Odysseus in just two days-I was entraped in this story! At first I wasn't sure if I would like Aphrodite as the main goddess/narrator (shes not one of my favourites), but her portrayal and personality in this book was delightful. In addition I quite enjoyed the more active Persephone in the sequel: she's still a master strategist and manipulator hidden behind a polite mask, but now others are starting to see her abilities. Not least the narrator did an amazing job-it was easy to follow the plot, and she really conveyed the emotions of the characters.

I can't wait for the third book!

Another exciting outing for Penelope and her court as they work to keep Ithaca in Penelope's hands while the suitors and Menelaus scheme to take it away from her. North does such a great job in drawing you in to the intrigues and bringing to life the women of Ithaca in clever, sometimes snarky, ways. This second book is narrated by Aphrodite, though the other gods appear and throw themselves into the story on occasion, perhaps because of the appearance of Helen on Ithaca. I admit that for most of the book I hated Helen and wondered how the world could burn for such a vapid twit, so I was surprised late in the book when her intentions became clearer. While it takes a minute to get back into the vast cast of characters, this book takes off about halfway through and doesn't stop. Catrin Walker-Booth is also an amazing narrator and I loved every second of listening to her. I am very much looking forward to the final book! A big thank you to Redhook Audio and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars

thank you to netgalley for the advanced listening copy of House of Odysseus. This was so good, I have been really into audiobooks lately. I think all these books about greek mythology lately have been fantastic, such a great spin on them.

House of Odysseus es la segunda entrega de la serie The Songs of Penelope y no sé si será debido a que ya conocemos el juego que propone la autora o al cambio de voz narrativa por la sensual Afrodita, pero me ha gustado bastante más que Ithaca. Además, la versión en audiolibro que yo he escuchado narrada por Catrin Walker-Booth me ha cautivado especialmente por su forma de sugerir y engalanar cada párrafo con tonos casi eróticos.


No deja de ser un juego malvado por parte de North titular el libro House of Odysseus cuando Ulises es precisamente el gran ausente de toda la serie, el héroe griego al que todos esperan pero contra el que todos conspiran. La autora nos cuenta en esta ocasión los acontecimientos tras el asesinato de Clitemnestra, y las maniobras poco sutiles de Menelao para convertirse en rey de reyes aprovechando la locura de Orestes.

En el libro disfrutaremos de una intriga y un misterio bien planteados, de unos personajes atractivamente definidos y, sobre todo, del mensaje feminista del que la autora ya hizo gala en su momento, pero con una Penélope más segura de sí misma capaz de enfrentarse de tú a tú con los héroes de la época, siempre con una gran preparación por su parte y haciendo gala de una inteligencia que pocos le hubieran reconocido.

También me parece muy interesante la representación de Elena, que parece una mosquita muerta, un guiñapo del que resulta difícil creer que fue la causa de la guerra de Troya, por más que su belleza siga siendo legendaria. Pero North, lejos de quedarse en la bidimensionalidad del mito, dota a la bella Elena de profundidad y redaños, como a todas las mujeres de la saga, mientras que a algunos de los personajes masculinos los retrata como simples peleles llevados y traídos por sus bajos instintos. Se insiste mucho en la violación como herramienta de humillación de la mujer, transformado a las personas en simples objetos sin valía, pero no es solo esta espada de Damocles la que pende sobre todas las mujeres, si no la consideración de que son menos valiosas per se, simplemente por haber nacido mujer.

No sé si la autora tiene intención de seguir con la serie, pero desde luego tiene mi interés.