Pre-Note: there is an HP reference in the acknowledgements, so I cannot recommend this book. It’s 2024, get rid of them.

I became very excited when I saw this new adult retelling of the establishing of the Amazon’s. Unfortunately, I went in thinking this would be an established story for book 1 of a series, but that was my mistake, instead, the story very much just encompasses our MC’s Otrera’s escape to freedom, and the journey until she finds an actual location she and her group can be safe. The establishment of the Amazon’s is hinted at, but we do not see it on page - I assume this will be saved for later books.

Otrera is an interesting enough protagonist to follow and I was content to follow her throughout her journey, however, I enjoyed the side characters much more - Lysandra, Theía, Demetria. All were more interesting to me than our MC. I loved the author’s interpretation of Lysandra, I would like a whole book from her perspective instead or a clear romance where she is the love interest.

Additionally, when working with the Goddess Artemis in your story, it becomes very difficult to navigate aphobic (for aros and aces) language and the author did succeed in some areas, but failed and could have handled situations much better. It’s odd because there are some moments, like the final scene before the prologue, that really showcase platonic love that I think aspecs like myself could really enjoy, but on the flip side there is the language about having sex or pressuring others into love and sex that wasn’t challenged that left me uncomfortable. I think this could ALMOST be a book for aspecs, but it’s not and that’s what disappointed me the most.

And finally, and most unfortunately, like I said in my pre-note, there is an HP reference in the acknowledgements that left a sour taste in my mouth. It’s 2024, remove it.


*I received an eARC from Musadora Publishing & NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

2.5 stars / 5 stars

The book follows the female slave Otrera who escapes her owner after murdering a man since the punishment for the crime would be death. Somehow, she earns Artemis' patronage and starts the quest to find a place of sanctuary where she can live in peace. Along the way, she picks up other women who also seek sanctuary from their lives.


The most interesting parts of the book are certainly the prologue and the epilogue as the gods and goddesses that appear feel more fleshed out than the mortal characters. I found the main character, Otrera, extremely exhausting and her behavioural change from page to page gave me a headache. On average, she's just utterly stupid and reckless as soon as men are involved while urging for caution when she is just with the other women. Her cluelessness behaviour when it comes to sex is baffling because it doesn't really fit into the time; even for someone who was sheltered, she would know something about it. The other characters are very bleak and two-dimensional except for Ares, who is portrayed in a kinder way than he normally is shown. Pamphilos is a prime example of it because I didn't see the point of him as his only character trait is "flee with me".

Overall the story is very flat and dull. Nothing was resolved in terms of the plot and the ending felt unsatisfying because it was sudden and badly rushed, which annoyed me because the rest of the plot is dragged out.

The slow burn is a real slow burn. Like an extreme version of it. There's tension between the characters but well ... aside from one sex dream and a weird version of "touch her and you will die", there's not much. I don't know how many books are supposed to be in the series but if the speed continues, they might get to the romance in book 3 or 4. (And given how involved Ares is with the Amazons, I bet there will be an actual romance at one point.)

Points for actually involving historical people instead of going the 100% fictional/fantasy route that erases all historical characters.

Unfortunately, the book still requires a few rounds of editing because there are plenty of errors. A bunch of grammar errors but also logical ones, e.g. Otrera already knows the name of one character but asks for the character's name on the next page. Also, the marketing/writing style for the book is off. It reads as YA while it gets marketed as adult because of mature themes. While there are a bunch of trigger warnings (e.g., sexual assault, attempted rape, death of children), they weren't too different from what you can read in YA as well. The most adult theme might be the sex jokes.

3 stars.

Personally, I don't think this book was for me.
The story and plot holds a lot of promise particularly of the history of Otrera, the founder of the Amazons, but I feel those who enjoy Olympian lore (scars and all) would enjoy this more than I did.

The writing is nice, the plot is nice and I truly felt for Otrera but I found myself really very uncomfortable with the story particularly with the hardship Otrera faced, to the point where I couldn't bring myself to pick up the book.

When I received this book, I couldn't find any trigger warnings about the content; (degrading women, implied r*pe, etc). Subsequently I have decided to DNF the book at 22%.

Before the men of myth and legend, there was Otrera, first Queen of the Amazons.

This is an amazing retelling of the myth of Otrera. Capturing the strength of so many types of women, using their skills and talents to support each other and find sanctuary. I was surprised by the Ares plot throughout and though I wish there wasn't a weird romantic subplot happening between Otrera and Ares, I still thoroughly enjoy their interactions. I think it's interesting to see the perspective of the Gods but I wish we had gotten a little more from Artemis through the story (which I know is kind of the point, since Otrera also wants more attention from Artemis). Overall I really enjoyed this and will absolutely continue with the series!

What an exciting story! This is a fresh topic in mythological retellings that I've not yet seen - Amazonians. My knowledge of Greek mythology is spotty, so after reading about Otrera and her interactions with Artemis, Apollo, and Ares I was curious about where she fit into things. It turns out she's the first Amazonian Queen and Maiden of Artemis tells the beginning her story.

The pacing could be improved, but overall this was a very fun read and great debut. I'm eager to get my hands on the second novel when it comes out!

The book started off great, and the first chapter really captivated me into the story. I loved the introduction to Artemis and excited about Otrera.

Throughout the first few chapters I noticed a change in the writing from the bold introduction that really made a mark on me. To me, the book read as YA and not Adult Historical Fiction, which I think was the issue with myself and the book.

I found it hard to keep interested with the book and at around 40% I decided the book wasn’t for me - which is ok! I think this would be suited for a YA audience who have a deep love for mythology. The character development so far was great and the main character seemed to have potential development.

It is clear the author has done their research on Greek Mythology and really shows throughout the book.

Unfortunately, I could not get on with the writing and it’s ultimately why I decided not to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley, Musadora Publishing and Eloise Bahr for the ARC! This book was a very quick read, with very simple, accessible language. Although I prefer prose that is a little more lyrical, and slow-paced, I read it all in two days. I liked the slower beginning because it allowed me to connect with Otrera, a mythological character I knew very little about before reading this book. I really liked the premise of the book and the development of the main character throughout the search for the sanctuary, although I missed some more backstory of the characters that joined her. As the book progressed it became more fast paced and some parts of the story I found even a little rushed for my taste, especially the final part which ended too abruptly although it left me curious for the next book in the series.

Maiden of Artemis follows Otrera, a young slave, who kills a prince who tries to assault her and has to flee to try to save her life. As she runs away from her master’s house she encounters Artemis and asks for her help. The goddess accept, gifting her a magical bow and giving her a mission : find a sanctuary.

This book was a fabulous read about faith, sisterhood, and the desire to find a place safe from the threat of men. I had difficulties reading the first chapter as some sentences were almost identical and that would distract me from my reading. However, after those very few chapters, I got very captivated by Otrera and her sister’s story and could no longer put the book down. I will most definitely recommend this one to a few friends !

*I was lucky enough to receive an arc from Netgalley and Victory Editing in exchange for an honest review.*

The Amazons are such a unique and fascinating group of women in Greek mythology. Their stories are so rarely told and even though I thought I knew a lot about their mythology I never never about how they came to be. I loved seeing Otrera's journey transforming from a slave to a warrior.

This was a brilliant adventure story with a great found family trope that I absolutely loved. Each character was so wonderful and unique.

Maiden of Artemis comes out 6th February 2024

I absolutely love mythology. I love reading the stories, I love playing what I read in my head.
I’m sad to admit, I know very little about the Amazons.
I fell in love with all the characters in this book. Eloise Bahr brought them to life.
Ares,Otrera, Artemis each have a voice, a face, a real personality., not necessarily one I’ve previously imagined. I love this book. Love the story, the characters, the development. It’s not all happiness, a few very sad events occurred. Still, I’m anxiously awaiting the next installment of this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This book had some good parts and I was excited to read an Otrera retelling because I didn't know much about her story. But, the book felt mainly "eh" to me. My main two complaints were in how it was marketed and in the length/pacing. This book read very YA for being marketed as an "adult series intended for mature audiences". Both the dialogue and the characters felt very immature. It also felt like the characters weren't given enough time for their relationships to develop (I think this would have been better as a longer standalone than a series). For example, Theia finds her long lost daughter and they sort of hug and act like everything is normal now. It was so anticlimactic. There is one part where Otrera says something along the lines of "hm might be jealous that she has her other daughter back" and then it just isn't really central to the story at all. I think it was an opportunity to develop some more depth in the character's relationships and it just didn't happen.

I did like the themes of feminism, found family, and women helping women. I liked the idea of Otrera developing her independence and finding a sanctuary for her friends. But it really just fell flat. There were a lot of points where I thought I was supposed to be feeling tension between characters and just couldn't connect at all. Both interests (Pamphilos and Ares) felt pointless. Pamphilos was honestly annoying and kind of random whenever he showed up. Also, the whole point of the book was the women running away from this king and then Ares just told him to leave once he captured her and he did?? Like, the whole story led up to that point and then it didn't matter at all. Maybe the next book will be more interesting as Otrera follows her quests given by the Gods. But, I don't think I'm going to read it...

Overall, 3 stars. I think it would be better for younger readers or people just getting into greek mythology.

3.75 rounded up

I love Greek mythology and had high hopes for this story. Some parts hit well, but some parts fell flat. At times dull and boring but when the action picked up it was done well.

✨"Enough of these negative words. The price a man puts on you is not your worth,"✨

The feminine rage could be felt throughout the book and honestly was what kept me turning the page. We love women supporting women and trying to leave the patriarchy behind.

Overall it was a bit of a slow burn but left me wanting more.

Thank you for the copy of this arc! I really enjoyed the overall story. And the characters were great. Pacing was just a smidge off in some places for me. But overall a wonderful book and I will be awaiting book 2!

thank you to netgalley & the publisher for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. this in no way affected my rating or review.

how does one become a patron of the goddess artemis? in otrera’s case, be wanted for the murder of a prince.
when slave girl otrera flees her life after being caught in the prince’s blood, she is offered a chance to atone by artemis. eloise bahr beautifully writes otrera’s journey to sanctuary, allowing us the chance to witness her first chance at life without fear as she develops into the fiercely loyal and loving queen of the amazons.

it’s been many years since i consumed anything with greek mythology so i was nervous to delve into a book entirely based on it — but i have to say that eloise bahr did a great job of making it equally simply enough that i could follow along without having to double check names every few pages and equally complex enough that it didn’t feel middle-grade/ya at all

i do however recommend having a basic understanding of the greek gods before reading this! i would’ve been very confused if i had no background knowledge on the connections between the various gods or what they specialise in. this should not be your introduction to greek mythology but it’s a brilliant gateway into mythology-based writing

overall, i gave this 3.5 stars ★ ★ ★
there were so many enjoyable moments. i would say say the main aspect i didn’t enjoy was the pacing - i loved the beginning and the ending, it felt incredibly action packed and captivating. however, as the journey went on i was bored at moments. it never lasted too long but i would have loved a slightly quicker pace at certain points of the book, mostly in the middle of the story when i think it’s quite common for the action to slow down in a lot of books. that said, the characters and their development (both within relationships and individually) were wonderful to read. i thought each of them were very well fleshed out and i think it’s clear that the author put an incredible amount of thought and love into all of them. i’m definitely looking forward to the sequel!

content & trigger warnings include: attempted sa, violence, profanity, death, sexuality

This book could have been so good, but unfortunately it just fell flat. I love Greek mythology so much, and the goddess Artemis is close to my heart, but this book left me wanting in quite a few ways.

The plot and the story were good, great even. The real issue here was that it was just too rushed. Instead of being able to explore Otrera and her feelings, we got her going from one place to the next, without ever having an understanding of how she truly felt and we got no exploration of her character in an in depth perspective.

The sanctuary portion of the story was SO good. The admittance and collection of women needing sanctuary as they went was such an incredible part of the story, but again, it fell flat because it was rushed. It went like this “Ope, you need sanctuary, I’m blessed by Artemis, cool you’re coming with us”. That was all we got time and time again.

I really wanted this to be good, but unfortunately it in my opinion it just needed more pages, and more time to develop.

Sadly, this book wasn't for me. I jump on anything with mythological themes because Greek mythology is my Roman empire theme. I was intrigued in the beginning of the story, but then I feel like it just fell flat. The prologue seemingly had nothing to do with the book until the very end. It was awesome that the FMC was christened a maiden of Artemis but then she doesn't really do anything with that newfound title. The story wasn't gripping and I feel like nothing really significant happened.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book

3.5 stars

Maiden of Artemis follows slave Otrera escape her owner after murdering a man with some unsavoury intentions towards her. Having earned the Goddess Artemis' patronage, we follow her journey to find a place of sanctuary away from the fear of retribution, slavery and the whims of men.
Along the way she picks up other women, seeking the same kind of sanctuary, from prostitutes to widows.

The best part of this story was the character development. Not only did we get to see the main character develop into a fierce and loyal protector but each of her companions had strong, well developed characters and it was nice to see the interactions between the different personalities.

The story was pretty interesting and moved consistently but I did find it a bit boring in some places. My biggest issue with this book as that the ending was so abrupt and inconclusive. It was so obviously written to lead into the next book that it felt very rushed and incomplete, particularly as the last part of the book was starting to ramp up.

Maiden of Artemis is a historical fantasy that centres around Otrera, first Queen of the Amazons. Full disclosure, I know basically nothing about Greek mythology. The author did a great job at setting the scene and explaining the context and the characters, however I think to fully immerse yourself in this story it would be helpful to have some background knowledge.

The language used by the author was rich and descriptive especially when depicting landscapes and architecture. I liked the cast of characters for the most part, however I didn’t connect with Otrera as much as I would have liked to given that she was the main character. The pacing was slow to start but definitely picked up towards the end, which was tense and exciting and definitely laid a good foundation for a sequel while still wrapping the story up in a relatively satisfying way.

I'm a fan of Greek Mythology, so I enjoyed reading about Otrera and her journey and how she became a priestess of Artemis. Unfortunately, I felt it was a little slow-paced at times and rushed at others. I hated Ariston at the beginning, but he grew on me when more was learned about his background. Otrera didn't really leave a huge impact on me, she just seemed to be there and didn't give me main character vibes.

I loved Chloe and Lysandra, Demetria too. I'd love to read stories about the three of them, and Pamphilos was disappointing. I understood why he did the things he did, but he only ever did things for his own benefit and no one else.

A coming-of-age and adventure tale following Otrera, a young slave girl who seeks out a new life free from men under the guidance of Artemis, goddess of hunting and chastity.

I enjoyed following Otrera’s journey from a sheltered slave to a leader of (mostly) like-minded women who, for their varied reasons, also sought freedom from the oppressive patriarchal structures of Ancient Greece. Through her story, Bahr gives these women a voice shines a light on one of the lesser-known Greek goddesses in an accessible and engaging way as they travel between cities, hiding from potential threats while desperately seeking refuge…while tensions between the divine also become increasingly tense.

While I found the plot really engaging, I found it difficult to relate to some of the more central characters - including Otrera herself - who felt too archetypal. Otrera’s overall development in relation to the other women is interesting, but she didn’t seem to develop much at all in relation to men. Her internal conflicts started to get very predictable and while the changes in Ares’ role were (too) sudden, his role ended up morphing into an almost identical pattern/storyline to what we’d already read. Pamphilos threatened to play some kind of impactful role, but he ended up being more of an interruption and I had to stop myself skipping over sections where he appeared.

The ending was also a sore point for me. I assume there will be a sequel to this so I understand the need for suspense, but it felt very abrupt - especially as the last 1/3 gets very exciting!

In conclusion, this is a fun, easy and refreshing read for someone who wants to merge their interest in Greek mythology with a more YA-style of writing. While the characters and their dialogue fell short for me, the plot is interesting and Bahr is able bring the more action-packed parts of the book to life.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!