I've said it countless times before and I know I'll say it forever more, but I love love love mythology retellings. Especially when told through the eyes of the females who surrounded the heros of these Myths. This one is no different and is told from the Roman side. That's a wonderful change so hopefully everyone is caught up on the Roman names.
I found it fascinating to hear Aeneas' side as told through POVs by different women in different time periods.
I think Lavinia and her logic, especially with Ann was desperately needed and it's a shame there couldn't have been more of an open dialogue between her and Aeneas with Lavinia as a mediator. Maybe things could've been different. Maybe not.

I did move the ending told from Creusa in Hades. My favorite part of the Myths have always been the gods part. How they're behind it over trivial things but creates huge issues in the mortal world. With them intervening throughout the Trojan war, it's nice to see them making appearances here. Venus whisking Aeneas away. Venus was the one who held Aeneas' future and he walked his life through his mother's wishes. Here for it

Shepperson does a great job showing the unreliable narrator part of the Greek myths. Often, people make claims that "retellings aren't canon" but it's hard to show canon in greek myths when by nature the teller is unreliable. In this story, each characters biases show and their unreliable nature. It also does a great job portraying the idea that women are not spared the pain of their mothers just because they think they are different. The leopards will eat your face, even if you vote in their favor.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media for an audiobook ARC of this novel!

“The Heir of Venus” follows the final books of the “Aeneid” through the perspective of Lavinia, with a few flashback perspectives from the past women of Aeneas’s life.
I found the narrative structure hard to follow, and left me disengaged with several perspectives. I found the prologue and epilogue the most developed and intriguing elements of this novel. I wish the entire book was written in the same circumstances of either the prologue or the epilogue.
A really disappointing element in this book was the handling of Dido’s story line. There was a lot of opportunity to give the character a compelling and nuanced voice, when she just came off as a weak and power hungry character.

Creusa’s POV was definitely the best. She was presented as a nuanced and motivated character. In my opinion, she was one of the only characters who demonstrated actual character growth and development.

Finally we have Lavinia, who was the primary POV of the book. I found her voice very forgettable, and par for the course when it comes to myth retellings.

I think my biggest problem with this book was the writing style. Many of the choices felt very flat. There were countless opportunities to explore setting, and there were many times where the author could have had the characters question their own perspective to demonstrate character growth.

Overall this was a good listening experience, but I feel that the book lacks nuance to bump it up to a higher star rating.

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 believe Shepperson always has something to say in her work, and I appreciate her perspective.
I found the narrator challenging to listen to, so this might have also affected my rating.

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. Additionally, narrator Frances Butt did a wonderful job. Her voice is melodic and was perfect for the story.

I will start by saying that The Heir of Venus is a beautifully written work!! The words matched the setting and characters perfectly. The narrator did a fantastic job driving the story and bringing the characters to life. This book was a Greek mythology retelling told from the perspective of the women who were in Aneneas's life. Often the retellings and historical records are in a man’s view, so seeing what his wives, mother, lovers, and women he betrayed was so interesting. I don't know much about the story of Aeneas. All my Greek/Roman knowledge stems from a mixture of Percy Jackson/Song of Achilles, but The Heir of Venus had me hooked the entire time on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. What interested me the most was the dialogue of this story, as women were not in the front line of the action it was their inner thoughts and feelings that drove this story which I found compelling. Women's perspective of history is making its turn in the world! This is a story you don't want to miss out on.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Alcove Press for early access to read The Heir of Venus and for allowing me to dive into the adventure early!

3.25 stars

This is a completely serviceable retelling of the Aeneid. Based on the summary I was expecting more of a focus on Lavinia’s story, but we also get Dido and Creusa’s POVs (and Creusa even gets the epilogue). I was also expecting this to have a feminist take on the story, but I really can’t say that’s what we got. Especially by the end, the narrative seems to forgive his treatment of Dido.

From a writing perspective, I didn’t see a lot of difference between the three women’s voices. And the story was very straight forward. There was nothing to really stand out or distinguish any sections.
I did like the narrator for the audio though.

If you’re not super familiar with the story already and you haven’t experienced LeGuin’s Lavinia, I think you might enjoy this. (Also I really did like Shepperson’s first novel on audio, so check that one out!)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Heir of Venus is a beautifully written Greek mythology retelling that powerfully presents a voice for the many women who were initially ignored.

THoV’s beautiful, compelling prose captivated me from the start, but as I continued reading, I realized that this story felt like all of the other retellings I’ve read before (for example, A Thousand Ships or The Song of Achilles). That’s fine, but I was hoping for something other in this story that made it more original and unlike the retellings I’ve heard before. As always, however, I appreciated the author taking on the story to shine a light on the women whose voices have been quieted. Fans of Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller may rejoice in finding another read similar to their favorite authors’ works, or they may be disappointed in the similarities. Again, the writing and character development were beautiful, but the story was so familiar that it didn’t captivate me as much as I’d hoped.

The audiobook narrator for THoV did a lovely job. Her voice was soothing and fit the story well, though I had been hoping for more varied accents for the different characters. The narrator also did a wonderful job narrating the women’s voices and presented the story in an apt tone.

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

I had high hopes for this book and for the most part, it did not disappoint. When Lavinia’s father announces that she is to marry Aeneas, Turnus, her childhood friend, threatens war believing that he would marry her (a fact that neither Lavinia nor her father were not aware of). As the war rages on, Lavinia has to deal with the guilt of being the cause, even involuntarily of the conflict. She also slowly learns about her betrothed’s secret past further complicated her path forward.

What I liked about this book was Lavinia. As her parent’s only child, she expected to be queen - now she’s being fought over by two men neither of which she particularly cares for at the start. This indifference towards her suitors contrasts with her care for her people. Being a woman however, her power is limited so we wait to see what/if any change she could actually bring.

Another thing I liked about the book is that the mystery of Aeneas’s past is told through other women. These perspectives further the story while also bringing other women into the light, women who might have also been relegated to the footnote of history.

It was a bit tricky with the audiobook to keep track of all the names at the start, but as I made my way through the book, that became less of a problem.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Laura Shepperson for the advanced copy of the audiobook!