4.5 Rounded up. Another excellent feminist reimagining from Saint. If you want to feel some feminine rage, go for this one. I think it's my new favorite of hers right along with Ariadne. Hera is such a complicated goddess and I loved seeing the multifaceted developments unfold. I really will devour any and all feminist retellings Saint writes and I am hoping for a Hestia or a Hecate one from her, that would be fantastic.

Non-Spoiler Review of HERA ( audio book format ).

This is an amazing listen for those who are new to Greek mythology retellings or those of us (like myself) who have been loving the genre for sometime now.
Hera is the sister of Zues. As they battle and defeat their father, Hera believes she will rule along side Zues. When the dust settles and Zues and Hera start to establish their rule and power on Mount Olympus, Hera sees that her brother is ruthless and cruel. Hera does not see eye to eye with her brother, she has plans for a better world.
The point of view we get from the writer really shows Hera in a light that we often don’t see. The story makes her relatable and humanizes her in a sense. Women of today can relate to how she is treated by her brother. Even though she is a goddess in her own right, full of both power and intelligence, she faces the misogyny from her brother and others around them.
Hera has often been told in a different light and seeing her in this point of view is refreshing and enlightening.
The narrator does a great job at being both soothing and captivating.

Thank you Net Galley and McMillan Audio for this copy to listen to and give my honest review.

3.5 stars

If you like greek mythology, this was a great read to give more background on Hera. This book humanized her and made her feel like a character of depth. I really felt for her and saw her as someone with really no "right" choices to make in her life, she just choose what she thought was best and could give her justice in the end. I was hoping that the author would deviate a little more from the standard myths about Hera, but she definitely made me think more deeply about what Hera's motivations were. Most of what I took stars off for was the ending, it just didn't feel satisfying to me or like the story came full circle, it just kind of reached an end point.

DNF @ 10%

I couldn’t get into this audiobook between the writing, and narrator, and the production.

This might just be my favorite Jennifer Saint book so far! I think I am now up to date with Saint's works and I'm excited to say that this one is my favorite. Her take on Hera was so refreshing, and made her feel so much more in-depth. I really enjoy the characters she chooses for her retellings! They feel so fresh and unique every time.

Even goddesses face misogyny.

I always saw Hera as the jealous, vengeful wife of Zeus. Mostly because that was how she was presented to me. Reading about it from her fictional point of view was at times inspiring and at other times infuriating. And I have a lot more respect for her now than I did previously. I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of a Greek goddess who does not get enough credit.

What really stands out is how the reader navigates the emotional depth of the material. Whether it's a tense moment, a tender scene, or a burst of humor, the narrator strikes the right balance with their vocal inflections and pacing. They excel at creating distinct voices for each character without ever sounding forced or exaggerated, allowing the listener to easily follow the dialogue and connect with the personalities.

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