The Witch of Colchis is a retelling the Jason and the Golden Fleece from the point of view of Medea. Hewlett’s retelling of Medea’s life show how she has been used and manipulated for her magical abilities, when she was a young woman looking for the love and companionship denied her, her whole life. Hewlett’s Medea has all the emotions and feelings that was missing from the Classical Greek Tales.

At first glance, many would interpret this as a villain origin story...and maybe that's what it is in some aspect. So call me a medea apolgist, but I feel like this is her vindication story. Medea may have been mad and driven to do many things that were unforgiveable, but when you read about the situations she was put through, the way she was groomed and the life she was forced to live, it's almost as if she had no chlices in her actions.
Rosie Hewlett's novel shed light on the complexittiess of the story of Medea and showed that, despite her many flaws, there was a strong woman underneath that was bent, broken, and bruised at the hands of men. The story was fantastic. Highly recommend.

I was so so excited to read Medea’s story, and I wasn’t disappointed! I really enjoyed the voice in this as well, whereas books by Jennifer Saint have a more classically sterile and removed voice, this has more emotion and rage. She is one of Greek mythologies most overlooked women, while her husband Jason is one of the most famous men, despite him owing his successes to her. I’ve hated Jason for a while, seeing him obviously hide behind others’s accomplishments, and seeing Medea finally reclaim herself was satisfying. She will never be the same as she was, but she finally sees him for who he is, after 75% of this being me groaning at her blindness, but it helps you to understand how she could have become the person she does. Not all monsters are born, and not all monsters are the monsters.

I love a good Greek Mythology retelling and wow did I love this one. The imagery is painted beautifully and you can really feel the emotions of the main character. Following her journey was captivating and you really could understand why she did the things she did. I would love to read more from this author.

First and foremost, I am biased as I love any and all retellings from Greek mythology. Yes, I loved this one just as well. I haven't liked Jason and his story for awhile. And as normal on not only mythology but throughout history, we have a woman...a powerful woman who is misunderstood and cast as a villain.

I loved the depth we saw in Medea throughout these pages. It hurt seeing her fall for Jason to escape the life she lived. I was sorry she didn't listen to Atalanta who has been give her own powerful voice in another authors work. I hate that because of Jason and his manipulative and weak ways, she walked away from everything she knew and loved...Hecate, Circe, friendships that could've burned bright and fierce...and most importantly, herself. She tossed herself aside time and again and made the decisions she did because Jason offered her a piece of something she'd needed and never received...love and kindness.

While Medea may have done villainous acts...I appreciate the human side of this look into her. She Mas made into a villain...did what she thought was needed of her. A powerful woman, held under the foot of a man he thought he was worth more than he was.

While I was only vaguely familiar with Medea, mainly through Jason's story, I found this story from her POV to be quite complex. There is honestly so much complexity to her story that it feels like some parts had to be skipped over and weren't given their due. But, honestly, it would have been a very long book if the author had done that.

I love the way we learned about her childhood, the way we saw her with her children, and even the last chapter with her father and sister. I love the way that Jason wasn't the hero basically at all in this story.

Overall, a wonderful retelling from Medea's point of view.

I would like to thank Netgally and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love a myth retelling, especially when it highlights women we don’t often see in stories. I was really excited to start “The Witch of Colchis” because I didn’t know much about Medea outside of her relationship with Circe. Unfortunately, this book fell flat. The first half felt very slow as we see Medea struggle under her father, then under Jason. It seemed that the whole book was focused on who Medea was in relation to the men around her, instead of who she is on her own.

Even in the context of her marriage to Jason, Medea felt like a stupid and ignorant child which was definitely a choice by the author. I would have loved to see more through from Medea. She’s a strong character, let her be that! I loved and preferred the sections that were about Medea as a sorceress, rather than Medea as a daughter/wife/mother. Her marriage to Jason takes up over half of the book. At 90%, we skip forward 5 years with only a brief mention of her leaving Jason, marrying Aegeus, having more kids, becoming queen again, etc. I would have rather seen those 5 years than some of the boring times with Jason!

I was really hoping to see more of her magic developing and coming into her own as a witch. We see the catalyst for her use of darker magic, but her growth in it happens off page at the end of the book.

Overall, I appreciate seeing what the author did with the retelling, but it’s not as strong as other myths I’ve read.

I was given this book as an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this opportunity!
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"Remember, you are to be his wife, not his weapon," she says, her voice firm as her grip.
"I know that."
"I know you do. But does he?"
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I am not sure I have words to describe how much I adored this book.

I have always known that Medea was a large female character in Greek Mythology, but going into this book, the only think I knew about her story was that she was a witch. Walking away from this book, I am blown away by the life and emotion that Rosie Hewlett was able to bring to Medea and her story.

When writing stories that are heavily focused on female rage, I think it is easy to go too far and get to a point where it feels like there is too much repetition in the darkness inside of the women suffering but the well seems to be bottomless when it comes to the story Rosie has told and the life and darkness she brought to Medea. I didn't have a single moment where I found the rage or the darkness or the pain repetitive. Every blow was fresh and real and new, and I could have read about it for 500 more pages if Rosie had let me. The character she created was beautiful and consistent and lost and I have never wanted to run to the side of a character to defend her more in my life. Rosie created a character that was worth fighting for, in my mind, and I will be searching for books that make me feel like this one did for the rest of my life.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the writing style. Hewlett has perfected the writing style needed to bring a Mythology retelling to life for readers. It is a style that is rooted in description and artistic details, a style that allows the readers to feel transported to the world of Greek gods and goddesses. It is impossible to avoid losing yourself in a world that is so well built and described. And when you start to lose yourself in the world, the main character comes to life even easier and that is my experience from start to finish with Medea. Her world was so easy to get lost in that I had no issues connecting to the situations she faced and the decisions that she made.
Once you get lost in a world, losing yourself in the main character is the next big adventure and Medea was easy to get lost in. Medea is a character that has perfected a calm exterior while drowning under turbulent emotions and memories and hurt inside of her. The duality of her character was addicting from the start, but to see those two sides of her grow throughout the story was beautiful. Her calm moments turned to numbness and her turbulent moments turned to chaos. Those two sides were at play throughout the whole book and watching how polarizing they were inside of once character was amazing.
Another fun aspect of this book were the time gaps. I am sure this book could have been huge if the gaps weren't incorporated, but every gap happened at the end of chapter for Medea. Each gap comes at a turning point for Medea where she is looking forward to something in the future that has the power to change her life. And with each time gap that we encounter, we are reminded of how cruel the fates can be. The life that Medea imagined for herself slowly fades from her grip as reality spirals into something unrecognizable to both her and to the reader. While the gaps can leave you wondering what really happened in the time we missed, we get pieces of the story that connect the dots enough for us to put an abstract idea together in our minds. And with those pieces we are given, the readers are overwhelmed with the cruelty of the Greek world and the fates towards a woman who just wants to be normal and happy.

Of all the things covered in this book, I think the most magical theme that you see running from front to back is the idea that women become darkness so that men around them can shine in their presence. Medea first interacts with this idea when she is young and naive, willing to become darkness for Jason to shine. But Medea revisits the dark and oppressive reality of this idea after the betrayal of Jason. This theme shows up in more than just Medea, for we see it in the moments that we get to interact with Atalanta and the Argonauts, and if you know the story of Circe, you see it in her character when you have moments with her.
Medea spends so long being darkness while Jason is able to be seen as light. And that storyline is one that women in any time and place can learn from. I think we see the beginnings of a lot of female empowerments in these myths where women are so neglected and belittled, but this book just happens to be filled with my favorite reminder of all. The idea of a woman making herself less for a man to be secure and stable is one of the main points of this book. Medea does everything that she can to shrink herself, and in doing so, it just makes Jason seem larger than life to her. But eventually, we watch Jason fall from his pedestal and Medea come to terms with the fact that she has been behind every single success Jason has ever had, but she has never had a moment of recognition from him or the world around her.
And when she realizes this, she snaps. And in the pain of those drastic changes, we see the real Medea without concerns about her image or actions or the darkness that she carries. And that is the Medea we are left with at the end of the book.

Thank you for this ARC!

This book was a great retelling of the Medea. Great book if you like Greek mythology.

This was hard for me to get into and through. I get that the women had it bad and there was a lot of violence, but my goodness it was just so down that it was a slow read.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

The story grips you from the very beginning, with a great character setup and a tale begging to be unraveled. You root for Medea, but it's lost halfway through the book - what began as a strong, independent woman turns into a young girl besotted by men and desperate for affirmations. Many mentions of handsome men and not enough depth to her own independence. She makes terrible choices, quickly chooses the "dark" side and lets the male figures in her life dictate her choices. I wanted to believe in her and held out until the last page, but it just got worse.

The timeline jumps made sense as it spans a decade, but the choices she makes are odd. Her indifference to her children (won't share the spoiler but this was the worst part of the book and made me really dislike her) and lack of morals stray so far from the young girl we meet in the beginning. What could have been a strong and powerful women quickly became a woman shaped by trauma and vengeance. We have this setup the entire book of a girl who will grow into a powerful witch, but there isn't much "witchiness", only drama. Where is her growth, acceptance and power? It just misses the mark.

Circe is mentioned a lot in this story, and I feel it was written to mimic the book "Circe" but is missing the impact and depth. There are moments where I feel like I am rereading "Circe" and then we switch back to the main character and she is petty, weak and indecisive. There's such a major shift, it feels like the author paints Circe in a golden light without ever giving Medea the same attention.

Would I read this again? Likely no.

The myth of Jason and Medea isn't usually one of my favorite Greek myths, but when I saw/received a copy of this book, I thought I'd give it a try. And I've got to say, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it gave a fresh new perspective to Medea's story and expanded her story to more than what has been seen in relation to Jason in the original Greek myth. Plus, the story had me hooked from the beginning and I couldn't wait to see what Medea would do next. So, overall, I really enjoyed this book and if you happen to be a fan of Greek mythology, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try.

“A Disgraced Daughter.
A Fearsome Witch.
A Woman More Myth Than Mortal.”

Medea earns many titles during her story, but the most well known one is witch...or if you prefer sorceress. Medea's life as Princess of Colchis has been a lonely one. Filled with abuse from her father, a neglectful mother, and a brother who delights in nothing more than tormenting his sister.

Medea's father plans to use his daughter's gifts of witchcraft as a weapon. So when the heroic and handsome Jason arrives to claim the fated Golden Fleece, Medea sees his ship, the Argo, as a chance to finally escape her prison.
Her path will be full of choices, each one having its own unique consequences.

Thoughts:
This retelling of Medea's tragic story was excellent. Medea's character was well written and made me feel a variety of emotions. You can't help but love, sympathize, and hate Medea's actions all at the same time. She has a tragic childhood and is so full of hope for her future. Only for her adult life to be even more complicated.

My favorite minor character in this was Atalanta. Not only was she just super cool, but she was a true friend to Medea. She desperately tried to get Medea to see what was right in front of her. She's the friend that is yelling at you that your boyfriend isn't a nice guy while you deny it, even though it's super obvious that he's just a gaslighting jerk.

The events of the story provided a sense of foreboding and tension that paved the way for an emotional ending. This was an incredibly empowering novel and I thought the author did an amazing job retelling Medea's witchy story. (I would love for a retelling of Atalanta by Hewlett as well!)

I can't recommend this enough if you are a fan of Greek Mythology like I am! Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Rosie Hewlett for this advanced digital copy!

Honestly, I'm not going to go into the premise here because Medea is pretty well known.

Unfortunately, this one was just way too predictable for me. I normally enjoy the whole "I felt sorry for this character and now I kinda hate her" story progression, but honestly, that's well exactly how I predicted the story would go. I just felt like I've read this story several times with several different mythological women in Medea's place.

I will say that Hewlett's pacing was well done. And her world building is spot on. With a well known myth like this I feel like the world building needs to be balanced to take into consideration the people who know the story and don't need a lot and for the people who do not. I think she struck that balance perfectly.

Overall, I think if you're super into Greek mythology, you'll love this, I'm just not that into it, so it really wasn't my cup of tea to begin. That being said, I did ultimately go with four stars because I did find it to be a really well written villain origins story that would be a great place for people to start that don't know much of Medea's story.


Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eArc!

I absolutely loved this book. Granted I am a sucker for Greek mythology and Greek tragedies. This was so well written and showed the journey Medea took, not just on the Argo and through life with Jason, but also within herself to come to a place where she can at least be at peace. Beautifully done and respectful of the original myth without letting the women get to easily stomped upon. I cannot wait to buy the physical copy and add it to my collection!

This is a really interesting take on Medea. I think this book is good, but I also have very strong opinions on the characterization of some of the mythological figures. Personally, I don't like making Aeetes a powerless figure, it's his magic that makes him so fearsome as the king of Colchis, and I think Circe could have been utilized in a more effective way. What I do like is seeing how Medea is manipulated by the men around her to do their bidding, without tarnishing their reputations. The relationship between Medea and Atalanta is one that I really like, echoing the relationship that the Colchian princess had with her younger sister. I'm definitely going to recommend this book to others, I just wouldn't rely quite so much on the comparison to Madeline Miller's 'Circe'. I want more stories from the perspective of the women in ancient myths and this is definitely a great addition to that roster. That being said, I did enjoy the ending from her sister's POV. It made the fearsomeness of what Medea became feel more real, as opposed to Medea describing how those around her are reacting. We can see what her sister is thinking when she visits. I can't wait to see if there are going to be any special editions of this book.

The Witch of Colchis is a gorgeous, emotionally charged retelling of the story of Medea and Jason. Rosie Hewlett does an excellent job bringing the characters of the myth to life and creating a tale of love, anger, and magic. Medea was such a complex character - she has such a huge capacity for love and affection, yet she ultimately leans into her darker impulses for the sake of her loved ones. While Medea is not absolved for her choices, readers are able to travel with her from Colchis to Iolcos to Corinth - from childhood to womanhood to motherhood - and sympathize with her as she struggles to remain true to her love for Jason and her family. Each step of the way we are able to see the circumstances that shape our characters and bring them closer to their tragic ends.
The writing in this book was excellent. While certain parts of the writing (specifically the language) were too modern to have a place in ancient Greece, Rosie Hewlett did a beautiful job creating an emotionally charged story about Medea and her struggles as a woman with power in a world where she is supposed to have none. I cannot wait to read more of Rosie Hewlett's work.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the eARC!

The Witch of Colchis is, of course, one of many, many Greek mythology retellings these days, but I devour them every time so who cares.

This book tells the story of Jason (plus Argonauts) from the perspective of Medea, who is really far too young to be painted as the wicked seductress we're familiar with. We're shown her unhappy childhood, which renders her more vulnerable to Jason's manipulation, then taken along as she, tragically, spends years with him thereafter. Hewlett flips the classic story on its head, changing barely anything plot-wise but reminding us of Medea's age (she's literally 18) and showing us how she, along with other women in the story, are wronged again and again. I had a great time reading this, though something that disoriented me and took me out of the story from time to time was the language. At times, the dialogue seemed to have more of an archaic style, trying to take us back into the time period, but sometimes, we'd run into an "OK" or something like that. I know this is nitpicky but it threw me off haha. Regardless, though, I was with Medea the whole way (especially in the kinda-epilogue at the end!), and Hewlett's retelling was sharp. I'm excited to read more from her!

This was just a villain origin story, and I ate it up. I am all about female rage and I feel like Medea needed her story to be told like this for so long now. I have NEVER liked Jason and I'm glad this showcased him in his dickish ways.

The book is focused on the mythological figure of Medea, a woman of extraordinary power who is trapped by the constraints of men. This retelling is the journey of a powerless princess from Colchis who changes her fate to be a powerful witch whose choices shape the world.

Medea, from birth, has a gift of witchcraft, which is manipulated by her father for his grasp of power. This skill alienates her mother and other members of her family. Her father's cruelty and dominance make her live a life of isolation and fear. One day, Jason and his Argonauts show up for the legendary golden fleece, which is said to make the owner invincible in battle. Jason is drawn to Medea and tells her that she is beautiful and that he will rescue her to give her the freedom she desires. Jason's actions are the catalyst that spur all of Medea's future choices and sets off a chain of events that can not be undone.

I loved the book, but it makes you think about how two people can be the undoing of each other and be devastating for everyone around them. This story is a very dark retelling of how Medea is warned over and over again about Jason and his ambitions, yet she continues on this path of destruction. At one point, Circe tells her that she is broken, and instead of reflecting, she reacts by unleashing immense suffering and violence.

This book focuses on transforming one's self-narrative, which is the justification of evil deeds and the cost of ambition. You want to believe that Medea's childhood trauma causes her vulnerabilities to be influenced by the beautiful hero who promises her the world, and that desire humanizes her character. This story exposes the manipulation of a woman and the profound consequences of revenge. I felt devastated after reading this story. It was like the perfect storm and showed how long-term abuse can alter someone's reality. To me it is a call to action for mental health awareness.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark.