I love Jennifer Saint, and this book was no disappointment. I am not a huge lover of Hera, but after reading this book, I have changed my mind. This really gave you a deeper and differnt look of what we already know. Great read.

Oh. My. Gosh. There are so many Greek retellings, but this one blew me away. I have always been ambivalent towards Hera as a god because of how vengeful she is towards other women in the stories told about her, but this book flipped that feeling on it's head. Towards the book I even was like, wow Hera would be a cute name for my kid! The ending was beautiful and the narrator did an amazing job. Really loved how the relationship between Hera and Athena grew throughout the novel. The retelling was faithful to the myths, yet empowering for women and Hera's character, which isn't common in most greek myths, but we're definitely starting to see more of that in retellings (which I love)! Will absolutely be picking more of Jennifer Saint's books up, and soon!!!! 4.5 stars!!

This book\the story. Was very good. I've never read or listened to a book by this author before. I thought it would be great for a 13 hour road trip with my 16 year old.
We truly enjoyed it. The retelling was engaging. Of course it is frustrating because Zeus has never been a great guy. With that understanding and background Jennifer Saint tells us Hera's story. We truly enjoyed this book.
I almost took a star off my review because I didn't like the reader's pronunciation of some of the names but that hardly would have been fair it was still a wonderful book

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for letting us listen to this one. I was under no obligation to leave a review

I enjoyed learning about mythology in high school. I’ve been meaning to get into it again recently. This was my first post-high school mythology read. I liked that this focused on Hera throughout, giving me the opportunity to get to know her specifically. The reader is still introduced to dozens of other characters. As a beginner mythology reader it was overwhelming at times, but that’s the nature of the subject matter, not a negative of the book.

This was a bit too long for me. I started finding it was hard to stay interested around 70% mark. This covers a wide timeline. A lot happens and that’s with some parts being somewhat glossed over and time jumping. It was a good overview of Hera from her perspective.

Amazing cover art! I loved cover.

The narrator did a good job. She had a soothing, but also strong voice.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Pub Date Aug 13 2024

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
4.5 ☆
-
I'm not a huge fan of Greek Mythology and know little to nothing about the Greek God's, but from this story along I now know why Hera was the way she was, and knowing that doesn't excuse her acting toward the poor unfortunately souls (women) that Zesus attacked. I feel like she was doing that to hurt him, like he hurt her.

The audiobook is GREAT! The narrator did a great job.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬:
•incest
•sexual abuse
•Greek Mythology retelling
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 Aug.13
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Thank you, Netgalley, and MacmillanAudio for the audiobook for my honest review.

Was given this as an ARC from netgalley.

This was really good and gave a good look at Hera's backstory. We know her as a very vindictive woman. While I don't condone that, I can empathize with how and why she became that way from this story.

The narrator was amazing! She took her time and I felt that added to the gravity of how Hera was feeling in the book. I would rate this 4.5 stars. Really good for people trying to get into the Greek Gods.

First line: The earth streams with molten gold.

Summary: Hera, along with her brother Zeus, have overthrown their Titan father and now rule on Olympus with the other gods. Hera sees a future for herself filled with power but she is quickly relegated to the sidelines as a wife and mother. As the decades pass she finds that her husband is just as ruthless as her father once was. Is she willing to spend eternity as a subservient wife or take her power and create better world?

My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings on this book. In one part I enjoyed the retelling of the queen of the gods but at the same time I was frustrated with her throughout the tale. She is a strong female character but she uses so much of her power in petty revenge plots on her husband. Rather than trying to better things she is constantly attacking Zeus or trying to cause him problems. It got to be repetitive and annoying. I enjoyed the insight into the Greek myths and their characters. It was a good addition to Saint’s Greek retellings but not my favorite.

FYI: Incest, murder, violence.

Loved the Greek mythology. I had never heard of Hera before this book. Loved the narrator and story. I will definitely be reading more Jennifer Saint now!

Reading challenge category - 2024 Flourish and Blotts - History of Magic - "Hogwarts, a history": Includes a a history

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC Audiobook.

Hera, queen of the gods, is the wife (and sister) of Zeus. She is the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, and family - which is ironic because she's in a loveless marriage to Zeus (her brother; ick) who cheats on her every chance that he gets, bearing many children with many different women. This makes Hera the embodiment of jealousy and vengeance.

I love a good female rage. But even though she should be the epitome of this, Hera was so unlikeable during portions of the book and created so many of her own problems. She is a complex character so my like of her did ebb and flow, but overall I found this retelling lacking the passion that normally is associated with Greek Mythology.

I also had a VERY hard time with the fact that the narrator mispronounced so many of the Greek titans/gods and goddesses' names - Ares, Athena, Prometheus, Demeter, and even the name of the island "Delos."

2.5 stars, rounded up.

Jennifer Saint brings us her version of the Queen of the Gods, Hera. We all know her as Zeus’ wife, the goddess of women and marriage, and the mythological equivalent of feminine rage but here we get an inside look into the whys behind her actions. In Saint’s story we follow Hera from the early days of Mount Olympus all the way to some version of the modern world.
I truly enjoyed this take on Hera’s story. In this story we got to see her action through her own eyes and understand the reasoning that she used to get there. I loved that we got to see her story go from the time just after the battle with the titans all the way past the fall of Mount Olympus and thus how she constantly had to grow and change to keep up with what was happening around her so that she wouldn’t get left behind. Her passionate nature was betrayed in a beautiful way so that even her nastier decisions made sense if only because we would see how she got to that end. Overall, a powerful retelling of a powerful female God.
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio galley in exchange for my honest review.

Jennifer Saint never fails to produce a sympathetic and nuanced take on the Greek goddesses and heroines.

This is a stunning retelling of the immortal lifetime of the goddess of women and marriage, Hera, the queen of the heavens.

Hera is portrayed both as heroine and antagonist. She is relentless in her pursuits, and as callus as she is in the stories you know her from. But new life is breathed into her in this novel. Her jealousy is flipped on its head. No longer is she a jealous wife, as you may have believed her to be, but a warrior goddess with equal claim to leadership as her god brother, who stole it from her and placed her under himself.

This is a story of Zeus taking. And Hera taking back.

Content warning: incest, rape, murder, torture, imprisonment

While I've enjoyed Saint's other novels about women from Greek mythology, HERA was a miss for me. I kept choosing to listen to other things so it took me longer than usual to get through this audiobook. Hera is an interesting character so it wasn't the subject matter, part of the issue was pacing, I never really found my stride while reading.

Even with Saint giving space for the women of Greek mythology's voices to be heard, I felt like so much of this plot centered around was Zeus was saying and doing making Hera a background player in her own novel. I can see others loving this novel, it just wasn't for me.

Naomi Frederick does a decent job with the audiobook narration though some of the pronunciations of well known players in Greek mythology threw me. Maybe these are the proper ways to say their names, but more than once it took me a while to figure out which God/Goddess was being referred to.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

It was so refreshing to read a hateful and angry woman who it's preoccupied with being likable! At the same time, Jennifer Saint's version of Hera isn't the jealous wife most retellings paint her as. Yes, Hera strikes down many of her husband's lovers and progeny. But there's nuance here that makes her motivations so interesting to read.

Hera is pissed. She was Zeus' co-conspirator. They both trained in secret to overthrow their father. She freed her captured siblings. She fought the titans and lead the monster armies. She inherited the same divinity as a daughter of Kronos. But when the dust settles, her brothers cast her aside and her sisters retreat for their own survival. And then Zeus rapes her to make her his trophy instead of his equal. Centuries unfold as Hera plots, strikes, suffers and rallies again.

What I enjoyed the most was Hera's individuality and how her personality is entirely separated from the role she's given as the Goddess of Marriage and Women. She rejects domesticity but then nurtures monsters in secrets. She wants the support of family but she won't give up on herself to placate them. She's all these contradictions and I found it very relatable. She's not the best mom, or god, or partner.

As an audiobook it was very easy to follow along. Naomi Fredrick narrates the entire story as Hera in third person. She captures the duality of the goddess so well. From raging frustration to total disinterest, she had the perfect regal and impatient tone. I listened to this in two days! The character reminds me of Alicent Hightower in the House of Dragons (tv) as she confronts Zeus for his disrespect over the centuries.

DNF @ 48%

Honestly at this point maybe I should finish it, but I have too many exciting books to read to waste my time on a hate read.

Saint’s writing is technically good. I have read a couple of her other books and loved them; it was more the plot and flow of the story that were my main issues with ‘Hera’.

This book starts at the fall of the Titans and follows the establishment of the gods as rulers and the creation of Mount Olympus. Though Hera and Zeus fought side by side in the uprising against the titans, Zeus in a wild act of white man audacity, assumes himself the leader of the gods after the victory. Since none of the other gods want another conflict, they all go along with this. Zeus had been lusting after Hera (HIS SISTER) for a few hundred years he asks her to marry to which she of course says ‘no thank you, I am your sister’ which he doesn’t love. So of course he assaults her. And in another act that was entirely unexplained and difficult to understand, Hera then decides to then marry Zeus but plot against him for the rest of eternity. Plots that prove to fail time and time again. ‘Hera’ is the story of her failed plots against Zeus.


For someone who repeats often that She is as powerful as Zeus she finds herself either not fighting back or creating terrible plans to fight back that are ultimately thwarted. Zeus was intolerable and monstrous and Hera saying for 75% of the book that she is as strong as him yet does nothing about his treatment is actually infuriating. Hera does not fit on Olympus; she has no real attachments and never takes action to find the place she does belong. She hates all the other gods, and they all hate her so why stay? There could have been such a magical way to spin Hera’s story of abuse, yet Saint’s retelling is ultimately a nothing-burger. Hera is too helpless to take any real action but is a victim of all actions against her. She’s a goddess for Christ’s sake but she’s written as a helpless idiot, and I’ll never forgive Saint for that.

The plot is basically Hera complaining about Zeus with small moments of action which makes the book drag out. This already doesn’t need to be 400 pages, 75% of it has been Hera lamenting about the injustice and very little about her actually doing something. Call me crazy but I don’t think of a goddess being this passive. Even more internal dialogue about her feelings would have at least help to characterize Hera. I didn’t feel any attachment to her because she just spent all her time complaining and failing but still saying she was just as strong as Zeus. Ok, but then why are you failing every coup attempt?

As per usual, Jennifer Saint never fails to impress me. I loved how she weaved together this story of a goddess without diminishing her power. I was worried at first because of how villainized Hera has been made out to be throughout time, but I should have trusted Saint to work her magic on the story. While the tale was meandering a bit, I couldn't imagine any other way the story would have worked simply due to the fact that time moves differently for the gods. Hera still sometimes comes across as a bit misogynistic, but Saint really tries to stress that all of Hera's actions are more to work against Zeus rather than those he abuses. I really liked the ending and the little twist in the story that Saint added, it shows how Hera has been reclaimed by victims, survivors, and maligned women across time where as Zeus's legacy has been less accepted by modern audience.

I thought Zeus and Hera were happily married. But also I was wondering what type of arrangement they had knowing Zeus had a baby with every breathing female on earth. I didn't know Hera would be this hateful, this vengeful, and this resentful and I'm here for it.

In the past couple of years, we read many retellings of princesses' and goddesses' stories, but no one really paid attention to the queen of all gods and goddesses, and another sibling who stood against his/her Titan parent to create new world order. Hera was forgotten as Zeus forgot about her. Why would someone like her be settled with goddess of marriage for the love of God?!

I appreciated Jennifer Saint's retellings a lot. She brings out the unknown sides of the stories of each of these women. They were always depicted as wives of some well known men, but there was always more to them than that. Hera was a good addition to this list.

This was such a great Read -

Living in Greece i have grown up with all the stories of the Gods and studies in Athens History of Art, this book had so much depth in terms of the Gods History, some parts of the story depend on where in Greece you live to what you are told but it was so interesting all the same.

Hera Has always been the Vengeful, Mistreated Wife - and takes her Anger out on not her philandering Husband but on those that dare to get involved with him and any children they may bear.....

But this Novel highlights Hera's softer side that isn't as renowned as her Anger..... Her relationship with her sister Hestia, Her monsters even her handmaiden - nothing can excuse her Behavior but this is Hera's POV and not everything is emphasized in the Myths we are surrounded with.

The Book would have been a 5 star - but i am reviewing the Audiobook - i found alot of the Greek places and Names were mispronounced - i would understand if it was highlighting the Greek pronunciation but speaking both Greek, Some ancient Greek and English, it sounded like nothing i have ever heard of, i think the Narrator should have researched a little more

For the most part, Jennifer Saint is always a hit with me. I was slightly disappointed by Atalanta, but the other books I've read by her were really great. This one is no exception.

Saint takes the story of one of Greek mythology's most unjustly hated goddesses and tells it in a way that may FINALLY get people to sympathize with Hera's seemingly unjustifiable actions. And all I can say is... It's about damned time.

It's time that people stopped automatically despising Hera and seeing the other side of that particular coin.

And as usual, Saint has done a phenomenal job of sticking to the basic myths while adding an entirely new viewpoint. She stays true to them without sacrificing her vision for the character. Of all the writers out there today doing retellings of ancient myths, she's one of the best when it comes to balancing on that fine line between telling a new story and not destroying the old.

If you love retellings of Greek myths, powerful women, and/or just want to see a different side of Hera's motivations, this is the book for you.

It’s like Greek Mythology and Feminine Rage had a baby.

This book made me ponder a great number of things. I was always one of those kids that was obsessed with Greek Mythology mostly due to Percy Jackson, but because of that, I am always down to read anything involving those absolutely unhinged Gods & Goddesses!

This book follows Hera Goddess of a great many things, though her journey of finding herself and most importantly finding out what is most important to her, Power? Or Happiness? How much can a woman take regardless of godly powers, before she finally breaks?

I loved how we got to see a large cast of all of the Gods and Goddesses you know and love, and because of the Narrators wonderful accent, I got to hear new pronunciations of the main Gods which almost made it seem like a whole new story.

I haven’t seen anything from this Author before but I really enjoyed this retelling of Hera’s story and I thought everything was tastefully done even regarding some of the harder topics, but I would check out some of the TW before you read though, just to make sure! 4.5 ⭐️’s

Thank you to the Author Jennifer Saint and the Narrator Naomi Fredrick for sharing their work with us!

Big thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my free audiobook copy of “Hera”.

I received this advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.