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.

Greek myths were my first myths, and still remain my first preference - you say Juno, I'll say Hera. Give me Mercury, I'll give you Hermes. Cupid? Eros, thanks. Pluto? That's Hades, my friend. And then one gets their favorite of the favorites. . . I always wanted my favorite to be Hera, but her story/legend coverage is so spotty, lacking or she's the Wicked Witch of Olympus. It seems like her story was never well-lit, out from Zeus' shadow, or the shadows of the Gang of Girls - she was ever an outsider. The vicious mother, or scary stepmother. Before reading Jennifer Saint's take on Hera, for me the Goddess of Marriage (amongst other gifts and powers) hasn't had a real chance to shine.

Hera gives this goddess her backstory, makes clear the reasons and whys for some of her out of boundary behaviors and actions, not the least of which was her brother-husband, That Guy. The author shows the troublesome texture of Hera's immortality is spread with conflicted underlying motivations. . .putting her rage, imposed limitations and required subjugation in perspective. But on the other hand there are her loyalties, bonds from her origin story, and retelling of some of the few times she's allowed joy and happiness, including the depth of her connection to Mother Earth and her bounties. Honestly, as I read I was shouting Huzzah for Hera. . .and felt more than a little satisfaction as the author provided her version of the End of Days for Immortals with her reimagining of how that all went down from Hera's point of view.

This will ever be the version of Hera's story for me, going forward.

It's brilliant, and as I give all the stars, up rises a smoky reminder from my own distant past where some parent or other would whisper-hiss "I just want to have a NORMAL family!!!!!!!"

*A sincere thank you to Jennifer Saint, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

This book appealed to me because I have an interest in mythology. I had read books in this genre by other authors and really enjoyed them, but I had never read anything by Jennifer Saint. I think she is a gifted writer, but I did not enjoy the structure of this book. I understand that is a retelling and we don’t want to stray too far from the original storyline. However, because the life of a goddess is so long (being immortal and all), the story dragged on and on, but also too quickly for me to find attachment to any character. It felt more like reading a text book. The very beginning of the book was paced much slower and I enjoyed the beginning much more than the end. I wish she had told just a part of Hera's story, and gone into more emotional depth.

I thought the narration by Naomi Frederick was excellent, and the audio production was well executed.

I will still give Jennifer Saints works another try, maybe the story of Hera just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I've really enjoyed Jennifer Saint's other books, but I struggled to remain interested in this one. I'm a big "mood reader", though, so it's possible that it just didn't catch me at the right time. I like the narrator and generally I'm still interested in the premise, but maybe it just starts too slow for me and I haven't found myself reaching for it.

4.5 Stars

You know it’s an excellent book when it makes you admire and love a character/goddess you’ve been annoyed with your entire life.

This is the first of Jennifer SAint's books that I have read, despite everyone giving rave reviews to her previous works. Now, I understand what all the hype was for. This story is so compelling and gives such a unique perspective on a goddess and mythology we thought we already knew. We all know, history is written by the conquerors and more often than not, that is men. It is such a refreshing take on why a woman would be so irritable and cantankerous... her power was taken, and she just wanted to have her freedom back and her the ability to be seen as an equal.

Jennifer Saint's version of Hera is so fully formed and fleshed out, that you can't help but admire her and simultaneously want to shake her. She is relatable and honest, and one I would have loved to have learned more about in school.

I had the privilege of listening to the audio book version of this story, and the narrator's voice was so soothing while also being strong, lending so much personality to the story of Hera. If you enjoy listening to your stories, I would highly recommend the audio!

I'm a big fan of mythological retellings and Jennifer saint always does a good job. While they're not as deep as Madeline Miller's, they're entertaining and absorbing reads I always look forward to!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of Hera by Jennifer Saint.

I really enjoy retellings of Greek mythology, and have read several books by Jennifer Saint and other Greek mythology retellings. Hera, unfortunately wasn’t my favorite. I felt that the books jumped to a lot of stories, like Jason and the Argonauts, without giving detail, I also felt that the character could have been developed more. There was a lot of focus on Hera being a vengeful person due to Zeus’ infidelity. I think the character could have been shown as a stronger female character by showing good stories that she was involved in, versus her looking like a “bitter shrew”.

I did enjoy where Zeus had some karmic retribution from his never wanting to leave Olympus, and everyone abandoning him at the end.

I love Jennifer Saint's Greek retellings so I was very excited to receive Hera thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook copy.

Hera was not my favorite by Jennifer Saint even though I thought it would be. I felt that there was so much going on and Hera was not a character that is enjoyable to read for me.

Perhaps this happened because Hera is such a main character is Greek Mythology with so many stories and I am used to Jennifer Saint's novel on "lesser known" characters.

I was left wanting more from Hera but maybe that is just not the goddress she was made out to be.

Man, I love her Greek mythology books so much! I wasn't even half way through this before I went and bought the beautiful UK edition to match my others of hers

The audiobook of Hera was great... my problems lied more with the content (all of which are based in my own perceptions and anxiety levels). There is nothing wrong with the book, I was just not able to finish it because of how anxious the content made me. I love Jennifer Saint's books and I was excited to see what she would do with the Hera myth. The set up was great, but as we got more into the meat of the story, I became very anxious because of the extreme overtones of sexual violence that were included. I tried to make it through but it became very distressing. I would still recommend if you think you can handle the content... that was just not the case for me.

I’ve read a few Greek mythology retellings from Jennifer Saint in the past few years, and I was really looking forward to this book. Hera is one of my favorite characters in the Greek mythos. Regrettably, I don’t believe this book accomplished its goal of recasting Hera in a positive light. She did not appear to develop her character significantly throughout the story, and she appeared petty and vindictive towards Zeus’ targets, just as she was in the original myth. I had a hard time sympathizing with Hera. Overall, I wouldn’t discourage anyone interested in Hera from reading the book, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

Jennifer Saint is great at mythology retellings.

Hers is not a loved character in any telling though. This author tried to make her seem stronger and think for herself, but this time.....Hera felt annoying and whining. Honestly though, I think it's the character because she was never a lovable character.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Hera always gets the short end of the stick, usually stuck into the simple role of "Zeus's jealous and not very powerful wife." BUT NOT THIS TIME! This retelling puts Hera in the forefront and shows the reader her power, fury, and depth.

I loved hearing a multitude of well-known and more obscure myths from Hera's perspective, especially in such a beautiful and cohesive narrative. This feminist spin on Hera's tale was a welcome respite from all the needlessly negative portrayals of her. However, I also liked that her flaws are still apparent in the novel.

The ending was quite possibly my favorite part of the book. It felt like such a love letter to Hera and a beautiful resolution to all that she faced.

My one complaint would be the narration of the audiobook. The pronunciations of many gods and goddess's names differs from the usual, and having to stop every so often to puzzle out which god or goddess was being referred to was frustrating.

Publication date: 13 August 2024

Hera by Jennifer Saint is a retelling of the infamous Queen of God's, Hera. When I started reading Hera, I had a jolt of surprise because I've read tons of Greek mythology and mythology retellings, and I realized I've never read one about Hera specifically. She seems to be a significant presence in many of the stories, and she's always portrayed as jealous, spiteful, and power hungry. Yet we never really see her point of view. Although in this retelling she is jealous, spiteful and power hungry, we get a view into why she is the way she is, and it makes so much more sense. I walked away from this book with such a better understanding of Hera and how all the stories featuring her make so much sense. I loved the end of this story, I can't say too much without a spoiler, but I loved the growth of characters and the storyline itself as it melded Greek mythology to modern time.

Overall, I was spellbound. Hera is such a great read! Jennifer Saint is definitely towards the top of the list of authors of Greek mythology retellings.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an advanced copy of Hera in exchange for an honest review. I shamelessly squealed when I got approved, and this story did not disappoint. I'd also like to give a shout out to the narrator, Naomi Frederick. She nailed this one. Her voice is so melodic, and she has the perfect tone and accent for this audiobook.

I love Saint's books, her retelling have been some of my favorite books the last couple years. This unfortunately was not what I have come to expect of her writing. I didn't feel that there was any emotion or passion holding this book together. Hera is such a polarized character that there was a lot of potential for this to be equally as polarized as a story. For me it fell flat and the story was stagnate in a lot of places. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and so in the end I just didn't really care. I think that Hera's story was tied together at the end but like I said at that point had already disconnected from the story.

Having enjoyed other titles by Jennifer Saint, I thought this was a safe bet. But it fell flat for me. The characters felt underdeveloped, and there was a lot more recitation of facts... here is something that happened.. and here is something else that happened... and so on.. and I never felt fully immersed in Hera's struggles.

Another great retelling from Jennifer Saint. You love to see a vengeful Hera but Zeus does absolutely suck.
Fully enjoyed.

Jennifer Saint is doing phenomenal work with these feminist retellings of Ancient Greek myths. Hera is typically one of my least favorite mythical characters, but I loved her here. I like the back story, why she punished the victims, her attempts to thwart Zeus, and where she ends up. While her actions aren't admirable at all, Saint gives them an interesting perspective. I really enjoyed listening to this story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Hera was a book that made me think, "So what?" I think that I was expecting an epic and intriguing story like the Song of Achilles or Circe. This one was just a bot lackluster to me. I finished it all but was strongly considering giving it a DNF. The only truly interesting bits were about Hera's monster children and grand children, which did not get focused on. I desperately wanted a fall of Zeus, which may not be realistic since mythology didnt work out that way, but the ending was just so blah. Hera is a character that is also somewhat blah herself. I liked that she was becoming vengeful but it was all pretty pathetic how she carried her vengeance out. Solid Meh to me.

I love a good angry goddess feminist Greek mythology retelling and Jennifer Saint is one of the best at writing them! This book features Hera, Queen to Zeus, King of the Olympians. I didn't know too much about Hera before starting this so it was refreshing to read a book from her perspective.

While it was a little slow to start for me, I found it entertaining overall and quite enjoyable. Great on audio narrated by new to me narrator, Naomi Frederick and perfect for fans of authors like Natalie Hayes and Claire Heywood.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!