Unfortunately I was unable to download this book before the archive date, so I'm not able to leave a review. I look forward to reading and reviewing books by this author in the future.

Interesting, quick and easy read. This is the story of Medea, a much maligned sorceress from Greek mythology. To my mind this is the story of a strong independent woman trying to hold her own against a cruel selfish father and later a selfish self-serving husband. She does what is takes to escape her miserable circumstances and make a better life for herself. History of course is quick to condemn such women. Of course the act of chopping one's kith and kin into pieces may be going a bit too far. I liked the author's writing style and the overall story. This one is good for fans of Greek mythology.
Thank you Net Galley and Atria books for the ARC.

This was a very interesting take on the Greek Story of Medea. Displaying her courage, her strength and her resilience but then highlighting what happens to a person who is pushed to their limits through no fault of their own, and what horrific things they are capable of because of that.

I love learning about Greek Mythology. “Medea” feeds this love. Learning about the witch, Medea, and why she was despised is enlightening. Details within this book explain Medea’s story and her perspective. The author does a great job detailing the story of Medea and all the people impacted by her. If you are interested in Greek Mythology, this is a book you will enjoy. I did!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Thanks to the publisher, Atria Books, and the author for the privilege to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was loosely familiar with Medea prior to reading this, and was a bit intimidated. Once I started, I realized I was hooked. This is one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read in a long time. It is an expertly written retelling with strong prose, and perfect voice and tone for the story. The pacing is timed perfectly. I never once felt like the story dragged on. I can’t say enough good things about this- I’ve recommended it to everyone regardless of whether or not they’re into mythology. I felt so strongly connected to Medea during parts of the story and was overwhelmed with emotion for her.

A wonderful book full of strength and adventure. I am a total sucker for anything Mythology based and I especially loved this story of Medea where we got to see from her point of view and understand her and her actions better. The imagery and descriptions in this book were so well done and the plot flowed well.

Medea by Eilish Quin is a retelling of the classic Greek myth. If you know the story of Medea, you already know it’s full of drama, betrayal, and heartbreak, but this version gives it a fresh twist that made it feel super relevant. The book dives deep into Medea’s emotions and motivations, making her more than just the villain of the myth. You really get to see why she makes the choices she does, and honestly, it’s hard not to feel for her.

What I loved about this book is how Quin brings so much depth to Medea’s character. It’s not just about the revenge or the chaos, it’s about love, loss, and the lengths she’ll go to protect the people she cares about. The writing is dark and poetic and he pacing is slow at times, but it works because it lets you really feel the tension building up.

Medea tells the story of the commonly reviled sorceress Medea from her childhood to after she takes her revenge on Jason in a new light. With new twists and interpretations present within this story, even those familiar with the story of Medea will find themselves surprised by some of the events present in this retelling.

I’ve recently read two separate retellings of Medea, both of which interpreted the character in their own unique ways, but I may be beginning to think that Greek myth retellings may not be entirely for me. While this book was written in an interesting and engaging way, I think the thing it struggled with most was in refusing to allow Medea to be any kind of villain until the story forces the author to have her be one. Instead, for most of this book, there was some kind of explanation that absolved Medea of any guilt or responsibility - either a complete changing of the myth itself, or having her be forced into those actions by the gods/Fate or Jason himself. Medea herself has very little agency within this story - not with her relationship with Jason, her decision to leave Kolchis, nor many of the deaths she causes along the way. In a way, while trying to make Medea more of a sympathetic character she has been stripped of anything interesting about her to instead become a vessel of the story to be told - rather than the architect telling her own story.

I personally think my biggest issue with this book was simply the fact that Medea was, at no point, ever allowed to embrace being any kind of villain. Instead, this book attempts to absolve her of any guilt for her actions entirely. I won’t spoil exactly how in my review, but I think the change that bothered me the most was with one of the first major things Medea is known for - with the “truth” being almost entirely the opposite of the myth. This, I felt, almost completely defanged her as a character and set the precedent that anything ‘evil’ she does from any point forward will be explained away, rather than being the truth. This, in turn, has the negative consequence that any time Medea does do something that matches the ruthlessness of the myth it feels like a different character entirely. And so, we are left with a character who doesn’t feel natural when she does those violent actions that the Medea in the myth is known for doing.

However, I do think my issues with this book stem more from wanting a retelling of Medea that allows her to embrace being the villain she is known for while telling her side - but that also doesn’t completely remove those actions from her story. As such, I would highly encourage anyone who is a fan of Greek myth retellings, as well as the story of Medea, to check out this book for themselves to see if you get something out of this book that I did not. Overall, this book is written very lyrically and I did enjoy the story told within it, I just felt it was - at times - not a story of Medea.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Atria Books for providing this e-ARC.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

A beautifully written story of Medea full of passion! I have always lived the character and really liked this new perspective . If you like retellings of Greek myth, this book should be high on list.

I was not familiar with Medea before this, but I do enjoy myth retellings. I thought this was a very good retelling and I liked the way it was told.

Overall, I enjoyed this take on Medea. I enjoyed the twists that were included in this retelling, so it didn't seem like the same stale old story, but instead got the reader to sympathize with such a controversial figure.

I also thought this was very well-written, and if you read the author's note, well-researched as well. If you're looking for a Greek mythology re-telling that's a complete rehash of a well-known story, but includes some twists and turns, I'd recommend this.

I cannot believe it took me this long to pick up this book. I am going out to grab the physical copy NOW. This is a brilliant reimagining and a must read for anyone enthralled by Greek myth but wanting a more feminist approach to it. Highly highly recommend.

Medea was the hot topic of Greek Mythology retellings this year, so I feel a little jaded for having read so many of them. Overall, I think this was a solid retelling, it's just going to come down to your personal preference of how you like these characters to be explored. This felt like a full defense of Medea's actions rather than a villain origin story or anti-hero arc. It was definitely and interested take on the source material and chose to bring to light a plot point I haven't seen other authors take with Medea's story.

Greek myths didn't look at Medea in a favorable light. However even when she's telling her own story she's still not a likeable character.

This book had me going through a whirlwind of emotions. Knowing Madea's story starting off this book, I was surprised with the twist and the relatability that Eilish Quin gave this story.

Readers are brought into the world of Medea, and they experience her childhood, her coming-of-age into her sorcery, her marriage to Jason, and the aftermath. This is the entire reason I read this novel. I wanted to see how the writer fleshed out this complicated character.

The best part of the book is the first half as readers experience the family dynamics in which she was raised. Her drive, her want, her fight to learn magic, to play with her power, to understand it better - this is what makes her a compelling character. At the start.

Once she is married to Jason, her character starts to fall flat for me. I was a bit surprised because I taught the play for over 20 years, and I LOVED to teach this play because of the complexity of her character, the layers, the interpretations of betrayal, grief, anguish, revenge. These are all the things I expected to be fleshed out even deeper, and they weren’t. I think this is why I loved the first half of the book but not the second half.

Another contributing factor to the second half of the book being a little flat for me is because this is the part of Medea’s story I am most familiar with, so possibly my expectation was too high. It could also be that the writer made an assumption of her reader - that they would already be familiar with this part of Medea’s story and as a result gave us less insight.

I do believe that those who maybe know her story or know of her story will come into this book with fresh eyes and will enjoy it as a whole package. They will be shocked at where Medea’s character is willing to go - but for those who know her story, the first half is where we get a fleshed out, fresh perspective of Medea.

This book is going to appeal to those who enjoy mythological retellings, especially fans of Jennifer Saint and Natalie Haynes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early read.

Honestly anything that has to do with Greek mythology I’ll pick up and read. So this was an auto grab for me. This is definitely a fantastic book for people wanting to get into Greek mythology and a nice refresher for someone who is into it.

It’s lovely having a female writer in the Greek myth world where it’s mostly written by men. Eilish does a great job in her debut.

UGH MY HEART after this one.

I only know a little about the story of Medea from other greek spin offs like Clytemnestra and Circe where we get snippets of her story. I was really excited to read this and I was not disappointed! I absolutely loved Quinn's fresh take on her story and the libererties she took to make plot points really come together.

The writing was phenomenal and I really had no qualms with anything other than that devastating ending. UGH.

Below are links to my instagram review of it where I tagged Eilish Quin and also my goodreads review.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6rMvsqA4qD/?img_index=1

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6225798485

Drawn to mythological retellings, I was absolutely intrigued to read Eilish Quin's interpretation of Medea's story. Although I was previously very familiar with the classical storylines involving Medea, Quin's novel was my first exposure to a Medea-based retelling. It did not disappoint.

Medea is a sorceress in Greek mythology. Born to King Aeëtes and the Oceanid Idyia, Medea was the granddaughter of Helios and the niece of Circe. The story begins with her life on Colchis, describing Medea's familial connections and relationships. It details Medea's experiences as she learns about pharmakon and hones her magical abilities.

Further along in the story, Medea meets Jason and the Argonauts and it is at this point that Medea's life takes a different direction.

Quin's novel offers a compelling and captivating version of Medea's story. It follows the original tale but it provides a deeper dive into a storyline filled with tragedy, loss, and heartbreak. The story is retold from Medea's point of view, exposing the reader to the character's thoughts, perspectives, and experiences as they unfold. This first-person insight is the key to Quin's profound characterization of Medea.

Highly recommend Medea to all fans of Greek mythology retellings!

Kind thanks to Atria Books, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced reading copy of Medea. The ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review