I love greek mythology and history, none more so than the Trojan War! While this is of course a retelling of The Aeneid and I would say Lavinia is the main character and POV, it does also flash back to young Aeneas in Troy and the war, told through his first wife, Creusa's, POV. We also get Dido's, the founder and queen of Carthage, tragic side as well, whom he came across on his way from the ruins of Troy to found the New Troy! I did not find the POVs confusing and each had a distinct voice, Lavinia's were my favorite and I just found I related to her best and loved her journey of growth.

After really enjoying Shepperson's previous novel, I was interested to see what she would do with the theme of the Aeneid. I haven't seen many authors tackle this story, and I've read a lot of mythological retellings, so I was also interested to see how Shepperson would handle the epic. Overall, I did enjoy this book. I thought the framing of Aeneas's story through the women's lives who he's touched and often unmoored was compelling. I also thought it interesting how, towards the end, we learn more about Aeneas in ways that complicate his characterization, making him less of a true villain and more of a man just trying to survive in a time of strife. There were areas I found a bit challenging to follow, and if I hadn't read the Aeneid, I think it would have been even more of a hurdle. While ambitious, I think Shepperson always has something to say in her work and I appreciate her perspective.

If you enjoy Roman and Greek mythology, do yourself a favor and pick this book up ! It was easy to get into this book and follow along with all the characters. It was beautifully written and really pulls you into the story of Lavinia and Aneneas. I loved how this book was from the perspectives of the women instead of the men, which was common during that time period in history. I look forward to reading more books from Laura Shepperson in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for my digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Finally, FINALLY a retelling shining a light on characters that are extremely under represented in greek and roman mythology. The Heir of Venus features three women the demigod Aeneas crossed path with in his life.

The first one, Creusa, is a trojan princess. Between them bloomed a real love, something strong and powerful that ended tragically. The Creusa chapters are written with a fresh eye on Troy and its war, with a point of view you might not know. It was very interesting to discover this character, often forgotten, as she tries to make sense of what exactly is her goal in History, but also in Aeneas' life. When she finds it, it makes for a touching and heart-breaking reveal - but also opens to the founding of one of the strongest empires in history.

The second woman we follow is Dido, and let me tell you how much I gasped when her name appeared. I love Dido. I love her story - a woman who ruled with no man over a city she built from the ground up (Carthages). But I was unfortunately a bit disappointed with her development. One thing I love most about Greek and Roman myths retellings focusing on women is the liberties often taken in the narration and storyline of the characters (after all, we know so little of them that it is necessary). But here, I felt like Dido story wasn't different from Timaeus' work, or Virgil's The Aeneid. It gave me the impression that, even thought her presence in this book made sense (after all, she is a woman who crossed path with Aeneas), she could have been more developed and thought of.

The third woman we follow is Lavinia, the sole heir to King Latinus in Latium. She is of great importance in the Aeneid, but doesn't take much space there, so I am very happy to have found a more developed side of her story in the Heir of Venus. Lavinia is such an interesting character - especially if you look at other roman myths - because she is very independent, challenge the men around her and isn't scared to question to status quo. I feel like, out of the three women we followed there, she was the best written and developed. It was a true delight to discover her point of you of the end of Aeneas' adventures.

While I loved the concept of this book, I felt a pang of frustration at the end because to me, it didn't challenge the character of Aeneas enough. Sure, we follow the stories of three different women who's lives have been impacted by the man, but it still felt like the whole thing was about him instead. I was expecting something that would put back in question his behaviour, his actions and the decisions he made in life. It was, to a certain extend, but not enough.

The description of this book starts with a pang:
"To the world he's a legend. To her he's a liar."

And that got me so excited, because I've read the Aeneid, and to me that's what Aeneas is. A liar. But it felt like this whole book was about proving why he isn't. Making apologies for him and shining a better light on his character. And this frustrated me greatly, because I feel like a promise here wasn't kept. Sure, some things are put back in question, but I was left with a bitter sweet feeling when reaching the end. Still a super interesting read with lots of qualities (especially if you don't know much of Aeneas story as it rounds a lot of things up), but it unfortunately didn't raise to my expectations.

I have been obsessed with Greek retellings for about 3 years now, especially the Trojan cycle, but I had never explored any retellings of the Aeneid. This was an amazing book to start my Aeneid journey with though! I loved the three intermingling storylines, especially Creusa's. Laura Shepperson had already knocked my socks off with Phaedra and now she's done it again. I will definitely be recommending this book to anyone I see.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for granting me this ARC!

This book was a clever re-telling of the events that take place after Troy, all told from the perspective of different women. The different points of view are from Lavinia, Dido, and Creusa. It was difficult to follow at first, since the story does bounce back and forth from present to past, but after I knew the characters better, I was able to follow the story more.
I know nothing about the stories that these characters originated from and I was able to enjoy the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced copy.

Her childhood sweetheart threatens to burn the world down, but she is promised to another. This story follows the mythology of Aeneas the rumors son of Venus, and Lavinia.

I was drawn in by the description of this book and my love for mythology. That being said this was not what I was expecting. I like that it was a story I wasn’t familiar with and that it was told from the female perspective in the aftermath of the Trojan War.

It did come across bland and it felt chaotic with as many point of views as we see. Sometimes it was hard to keep track. The plot was there it just needs some work.

Thank you NetGalley Alcove Press and Laura Shepperson for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a really fascinating way of looking at a well-known story (or stories) from the new perspective of different women. I thought all three of the narratives were strong and worked well together, each one helping to bring out the revelations and emotions of the other. It was, as Greek mythology based stories often are, quite heavy but it was still a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to Alcove Press and Laura Shepperson for this ARC.

Everyone knows the basic story of the Trojan War (hint: it’s where they used the horse to sneak into the city). But I am guessing that most people do not know the story of Aeneas unless you have read Virgil’s “The Aeneid.” I am always intrigued when I see retellings of lesser-known ancient Greek and Roman stories, and I was super excited to dive into “The Heir of Venus.”

I am a sucker for retellings that only focus on the women’s POV. I think in Ancient Greek and Roman stories, the women are often portrayed as deliciously evil or as stupid side characters in their own lives. In one book, Shepperson weaved together the stories of Lavinia, Dido, and Creusa as they encountered the same man at different times: Aeneas. Each woman was morally grey and to see the demigod, Aeneas, through their eyes was refreshing and tragic.

This book had a lot of narrative, and the relationships were not always fully fleshed out. There were times when I was a bit bored with the slower pace, especially as we watched Lavinia’s storyline stall in the middle of a stalemate war. The one thing that kept this pace moving along was the different POVs and timelines, ensuring that the reader wasn’t kept in one place for too long.

If you like mythology retellings, you will like "The Heir of Venus." Be forewarned, that this is a tragedy and there are no true happy endings for anyone involved, including Aeneas. However, it is an engaging read that explores this world and period through a woman’s eyes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for the arc! I love mythology and the cover is absolutely stunning, spoiler alert: I loved this book.

I think this is a fantastic book for anyone who loves Greek and/or Roman mythology. It reads beautifully, a historical retelling of mythology we know but from the perspective of women. If there is anything I have learnt from history, it is that the genuine perspective of the women involved are often not at the forefront of these ancient myths. But this book provides us with the perspective of multiple women who are all linked together. I loved the way these stories linked the past and present through different women and their experiences with the same person. The characters all felt unique, the author did a great job at ensuring each main character had their own voice- which I tend to find authors can have difficulty with.

I think that this is the perfect book for anyone in the mood for a mythology retelling: I feel like it is important to be in the mind frame of that as it reads like a piece of history. A beautiful retelling of the lives of the women within The Aeneid.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This story is a Greek myth retelling, told through multiple POVs that alternate between present and past.

Lavinia was originally promised to marry Lausus, her childhood friend but when Aeneas arrives on their shore years after the Trojan war, the king decides that she is instead to marry Aeneas. Lavinia had hopes of becoming heir and has no interest in marriage. One day she encounters a storyteller who knows Aeneas and we learn that he has many secrets.

This story was well written and great for anyone who enjoys Greek myth retellings.

I really enjoyed this and am glad this was the first Roman mythology retelling I’ve read. I love how the story was told from a woman’s perspective and felt it was conveyed beautifully. There were some slower parts but for the most of the book I was easily able to stay engaged.

The AP Latin version of me came roaring back to read this, and it was awesome. It follows the Aeneid closely, but with the focus on three female characters: Lavinia, Dido, and Creusa. Shepperson is able to give these characters depth while still keeping most personalities accurate to the original (with the exception of Dido imo). This is especially important for Aeneas himself - Latin students will be familiar with the common essay topics that debate his piety, leadership skills, and decision making, and I could write very similar essays for this version (I am a forever Aeneas apologist). I think this book works best if you know the Aeneid already, though, because a lot of the impact comes from knowing what's in the future.

Mythology based, multiple pov, Trojan war and aftermath told by women, timeline jumping

Listen, I am a huge fan of retellings. But this book was a bit bland. I love dialogue, with the character interaction driving the story. This books heavily relies on the characters inner thoughts and what’s happening around them to drive the story. I feel like a big thing that kept me going is I’m not that familiar with Anneas story so I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

My favorite thing about this book is that it is told by the perspective of the women that were in his life. Often the retellings and historical records are in a man’s view, so getting to see what his wives, mother, lovers, and women he betrayed was so interesting. I love that trying to find the women’s perspective of history is becoming so popular. I need more!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove for an early read of this book. All thoughts are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.

I love a female retelling of any Greek myth and having enjoyed Phaedra, I was very excited to see this one! I was not disappointed- following the Aeneid, Shepperson weaved the stories of Lavinia, Dido and Creusa specifically in context to their interactions with Aeneas. Of course we got more from their backstories as is common in feminist retellings, which always makes the stories so much more engaging in my opinion. I have studied Greek mythology for years and there is something foreign yet familiar in this genre. The narratives are true to the myths, but the stories of the women thrust into a world of warring men and Gods has always enhanced the primary sources for me. I wasn't as familiar with The Aeneid as I am with other sources, but it was refreshing to see Aeneas in this lens. So often the demi-gods or men from Greek myths were brutes and the women were of no consequence, so I really appreciated Shepperson's take on him- it felt different.
Overall it was tragic, but it has always been a tragedy and the ending did give me some closure. I think anyone who is interested in Greek myth would enjoy this retelling

3.5 stars rounded up, based on the epilogue.

I enjoyed this tale of Lavinia and Aeneas and the Trojans and Latins. It was interesting to see a different perspective that wasn't necessarily about the fall of Troy, although this did play a role.

The story is told through Lavinia's PoV, with sections from Dido and Creusa, as well. The non-linear narrative was a bit strange, at times, and could be kind of jarring as it brought you out of the immediate story.

Dido's sections were told through the lens of her sister, Anna, which made sense. However, Creusa's sections seemed to just be crowbarred in. It was never made clear how Lavinia learned about Creusa and Aeneas. I feel like this should have been made clearer.

At times, the pacing was quite slow, and I struggled to continue.

The epilogue, however, was a masterpiece and really brought everything together. For that alone, I have rounded this book up.

The Heir of Venus is a retelling of Lavina from Roman Mythology and the Aeneid by Virgil that captures the female characters' perspectives.

Lavina's father promises her hand in marriage to Aeneas, which angers her childhood sweatheart, Turnus. Turnus, determined to marry Lavina, wages war on Aeneas and the Trojans. Aeneas, rumored to be the son of Venus, has a slippery past and is known for his bravery and cunning.

Lavina soon realizes that to save everything she holds dear, she must take her future into her own hands.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Alcove Press for early access to read The Heir of Venus in exchange for an honest review. It was refreshing to have a Roman mythology retelling thrown in amongst all the Greek ones.

The Heir of Venus is a retelling of the Aeneid (specifically the war between Turnus and Aeneas) from the perspective of the women in Aeneas's life. The overall story was really interesting - I am less familiar with the Aeneid than I am with the Iliad or the Odyssey, so I am really interested in reading the original work.
I think the characters were a little too flat - they didn't exhibit a lot of emotion and didn't have a lot of personality, which made it difficult to empathize with all the different characters. That being said, Creusa's perspective really stood out to me and had the most draw, and I enjoyed seeing events of the Trojan War through her eyes like the duel between Hector and Achilles. It would have been interesting to see the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters.
The plot was really engaging - I have been interested in the classics lately, specifically the Aeneid and the Oresteia, so the book was a good introduction to the story of Aeneas as a hero following the Trojan War. There were times where switches in perspective made it hard to understand what was happening, and the first part of the book was very slow compared to the last 30 0r 40 percent.
The main issue with this book was the writing style - it was very choppy at times, and the formatting was riddled with random spaces or paragraph shifts. There were a lot of punctuation errors as well, mostly with quotation marks, and there were random numbers at the beginning of sentences throughout the entire book. I understand the author's desire to address the differences between Greek and Roman gods (despite their similarities), but the interchangeable use of names for gods (ie. Venus and Aphrodite) came off as inconsistent. Similarly, the names of characters were spelled differently at different points - for example, Hecuba was also spelled Hekuba in some parts. I think the writing would have been better if there had been more consistency with the characters and background.
Overall, the Heir of Venus was an interesting look at Aeneas and his adventure after the Trojan War. I really enjoyed the plot and story, I just think the execution fell short at times. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the digital ARC!

“The Heir of Venus,” by Laura Shepperson

Lavinia’s childhood crush is waging war that puts her entire way of life in danger because her father has arranged her marriage to Aeneas. Aeneas is the son of Venus and is mysterious and brave. When a stranger tells her stories about Aeneas that are different than the ones she has heard before she takes her life in her own hands.

Female forward Greek mythology retelling. It had a good story plot, and the characters were interesting. I did think there were too many POV’s, and it got confusing more than once about what is happening and when. 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. I did not know the story of Aeneas. I loved the POVs of the women in his life. I also appreciated how the author portrayed the Greek and Roman gods differently. I thought the story was well-written. The characters felt real, not dramatic or dull. If you like Greek mythology, I recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC.