5/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This story was captivating, thrilling, cinematic, and leant beautiful color to the story of Jean de Clisson. The performance by Imani Jade Powers for this audiobook added such depth to all of the characters, but particularly enhanced the magnitude of Jean and her passion, rage, love, and ruthlessness. Centering this historical story around the women of the time and highlighting their stories made for a unique experience and gave voice to the typically bypassed, overlooked, and forgotten.

I can’t recommend this story enough for adult readers!

The Lioness AUDIO by Gigi Griffiths is a compelling historical fiction featuring a plethora of characters but primarily Jeanne de Clisson. Jeanne’s husband, Olivier, was a warrior who had been captured and released by Edward, King of England in 1343. At a tournament in his and the other releasees’ honor, King Phillip abruptly announced that all of them were traitors and they were to be executed, right then. So, in front of Jeanne’s eyes, the love of her life was beheaded, an act for which she would never forgive Phillip. She spends the next fifteen years doing everything she could to get to Phillip and kill him: became a pirate and a warrior, as well as an assassin. Phillip died before she could kill him and she realized that she had wasted her life on this endeavor and settled in with the man she now loved.

What a great listen. I did not read the book but I believe the audio was probably better. It was exciting, energetic, and realistic. She is one of a group of women warriors who have never received the space in history they deserved. This book is based on a real woman and on real deeds. King Phillip is never portrayed as a good guy and this is as accurate a portrayal as any. She was so full of hatred for this man that it blinded her to anything else. She lived through betrayals, and injuries, not to mention injustice. She was taken in by Edward’s court, who for a while supplied her with the money to continue her fight. I loved it!

The narrator was Imani Jade Powers who did an amazing job portraying Jeanne as she aged, as she fought, and as she loved. Five stars to her for this project.

I was invited to listen to The Lioness by Dreamscape Media. All thoughts and opinions are m ine. #Netgalley #DreamscapeMedia #GigiGriffiths #ImaniJadePowers #TheLioness

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gigi Griffis for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for The Lioness coming out February 18, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really loved the Empress by this author, so I was excited to receive this book. I’m obsessed with historical fiction mixed with true stories. I love revenge stories and all the complexities of the past. I think I was expecting something a little more epic like the Empress. It had all the makings of a really amazing story. The execution wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for. I think Jeanne’s love for her children was more told than shown. There weren’t that many interactions. I was just hoping for a little more action. I would definitely check out more books by this author!

This book is perfect for feminine rage, maternal rage. It feels very empowering despite the tragic story.

I loved the FMCs resilience when the flicker of hope and will was almost gone. I love that she stood for what was right and wanting justice against a government that when against it's own laws.

I connected with the story as I'm a mom myself and it made me reflect at what lengths would I go for my family to avenge them and the wrongs committed.

The story is passionate and the writing is wonderful. The narrator does a great job of bringing the characters to life.

Highly recommend to anyone.

Jeanne is THE lioness and I loved every word of this title. It was a delight to read yet another story about strong women who defied gender norms and expectations to live a life they desired, even if revenge sparked it. A delightful read that was hard to stop listening to. The narrator was delightful and I look forward to more great historical fictton by this author.

The Lioness is a fictional retelling of the very-true story of Jeanne de Clisson after her husband is executed by the king of France without a trial in the year 1343. What follows is the tale of a noblewoman-turned-pirate as Jeanne seeks to exact her revenge upon the king who betrayed her family.

The audiobook narrator, Imani Jade Powers, does a wonderful job of capturing Jeanne's voice throughout this story.

Griffis has a strong grasp of character, presenting interesting and well-rounded main and side characters. Jeanne herself is presented as someone who is very emotionally reactive (that is, rage and anger), quick to draw her sword (of which she is well-versed with), and unforgiving yet also incredibly loyal to her loved ones - characteristics not typical of female characters in fiction. The side characters that accompany her on her journey provide a nice balance and opportunities for emotional growth. I have a particular weak spot for the damned devil cat, Monster, that accompanied Jeanne through much of her journey.

The story itself is well-executed and there were parts where I was very much on the edge of my seat. I struggled a bit with the ending, on one hand, I do believe Griffis concluded strongly, but, on the other hand, I kind of wish the payoff/conclusion wasn't so internal (I think I feel this way in part because Jeanne and the narrative were so obsessed with killing the men that wronged her). There were a couple concepts that were also a little bit too repetitive, but that's a minor thing.

Overall, I absolutely do recommend this novel. It's a crime that women like Jeanne are treated as no more than footnotes in history. Please be aware that this story does contain some heavy/dark content at times that some readers may find difficult.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for making the AudioARC available to me. All opinions are my own.

In the period when all revolved around white men, we have a story about women and narrated by women. And that's amazing. I give this book 3,5 stars because sometimes I was bored and confused, but I'll round it up to 4, because there were moments I'd enjoyed.

Jeanne was a great centre character, though I found some other characters more interesting. I feel like there weren't enough of her soft motherly side. A lot of emotion related to her children were either pain or rage or fear. The loving Jeanne wasn't portrayed enough here.

Amee and Pieter are amazing friends. I wish I had them as mine.

Thank NetGalley, publisher, author and narrator for my audiobook arc

Gosh am I a sucker for a historical fiction book with a kick butt FMC. And boy does this book deliver. I binged the whole audios book in 1 day.
I found myself rooting for Jeanne and her crew. This is not pick me girl energy….this is you came for me and my family so now I will kill everybody to get to you. To imagine that this is based on the life of a real woman (obviously not historically accurate), just makes it even more compelling.
When the world is as crazy as it atm ……we could all use a little Jeanne in our life!
5/5 stars for me.
I received and ALC of this title, all opinions are my own.

The Lioness by Gigi Griffis
Narrated by Imani Jade Powers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

As a wife and mother, I empathized with the pain and grief Jeanne felt after her husband was taken so brutally from her.
This story of Jeanne de Clisson's single-minded goal of revenge was influenced by the true events of The Count of Monte Cristo in 1343, which made it all the more painful, as the forty-three year old loses her entire world when Phillip VI, the King of France, arrests and beheads her husband for treachery, with no trial or evidence.

I did get upset at Jeanne's blind rage and her focus on revenge, despite the fact that her children, both grown and young, were caught constantly in the cross-hairs. I don't hold this against the author though, as Jeanne was a real person and made real mistakes (in my opinion).
Her tale was epic and exciting, and a wonderful read for any Historical FIction fan, or anyone wanting to read more about women warriors of the past.

Imani Jade Powers' delivery of in the narration of the audiobook was also superb. She brought so much life, excitement, and pain to the story which made it all the more engaging.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Gigi Griffis for the ALC.
All opinions expressed in this review are mine and have not been influenced by anyone or anything.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of The Lioness audiobook. I loved this one. I would do 4.5 stars if it would let me. I have often been interested in the untold stories of fierce women throughout history, and although some of this is dramatized or made up because many real-life details are unknown, much of this is true. I could tell the Author did a ton of research, even more, evidenced by her added details post-story. I appreciated that throughout Jeanne’s story, she also mentions other famous women who had inspired her, and the authors note about whom those characters were in real life.

Jeanne represents the woman I sometimes wish I could be. Not so much the killing, as the fact that she is unapologetically herself. I love that this woman didn’t let society beat the wild out of her. I also love that this is not some polished version in which you don’t see the mess, the mistakes, the stubbornness that is sometimes to her detriment. This is a revenge tale, and at times she took it too far. Yet, this is also a tale of her growth as a person

I knew from the beginning that her husband was set to die. It was still hard to listen to her be so excited and happy for him, knowing what was to come. This book takes you through the entire gamut of emotions. There are wins and there are some very hard losses.

One thing I didn’t expect in this story was the found family element. I adored the side characters in this book. Her relationships are sometimes complicated, yet full of so much love. I felt connected to each of them (especially Monster 😉). I also loved that there was occasionally an outside perspective of other women relevant to the events occurring.

4 ⭐
Thank you NetGalley for letting me listen to this audio ARC.

This book helped solidify that I need to read more historical fiction. We follow along Jeanne de Clisson's journey as she puts together army to avenge her husband's death and makes sure that nothing stands in her way. A perfect book to read it you support Women's rights and women's wrongs

I HIGHLY recommend listening to the author's note in the end for her reasons to write this story.

More people need to read this for sure.

This is a great adaptation of a legendary female that history books neglect to mention. The author did a great job in telling Jeanne’s story, it’s very engaging and I was invested beginning to end. The pace is great and the narrator did a fantastic job in telling the story.

A fictionalized account of characters and events, The Lioness is the tale of a fearsome and vengeful woman who builds an army to avenge her husband's death. This book highlights the prominent women who were left out of the history books, but had a large role in the medieval battles between France and Spain. Gigi Griffis is like a less verbose version of Bernard Cornwell.

Fantastic audio narration.

I flew thru this audiobook. This was a side of history I don't remember hearing about. I love a good story about women taking charge. If you love Historical Fiction and not so delicate women, you'll love this.


The narration was good. The accent for the love interest seemed to change throughout.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put down The Lioness. This is about a woman scorned and the things we do for love, family, and justice. Jeanne de Clisson is a force to be reckoned with. She is a wife, mother and friend: fierce and brave and strong! She was amazing! Nothing stood in her way. Oh how we need a Jean in this day and time. I loved the supporting characters and how they loved, grounded and supported her. Griffis writes vividly and I felt like I was sailing on the pirate ships and invading the castles with Jeanne. If you like stories about strong women, revenge, with love and hope mixed in read this. This book also shared information on a time in history that I did not know much about. Definitely a 5 star rating from me!

I also love when authors include a note at the end explaining how they came to write the story and what is true and what they took liberties with. Griffis does a good job of this. She also includes other works in case you would like to learn more.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the copy of the audio book for my honest opinion.

Wow! This book was amazing! I love historical fiction, and I love a strong female character even more. The Lioness has a little bit of everything, heartbreak, joy, romance, and battles. I had heard in passing about " The lady pirate", but I believe this is the most I've read about her. Gigi Griffis is able to pull out those raw emotions that I believe I would go through if the love of my life was taken from me. If you like historical action packed stories, then you should check this one out.

True story--I was looking for another book that had a similar cover, but thought the premise of this book sounded cooler. So happy to have received this as an ALC! Thanks Dreamscape Media.

This FMC is a bad a$$. Total definition of feminine rage. She watches her husband be beheaded and her first thought is to kill the killers. She keeps mentioning her mother's teachings. I would have liked to see how those teachings made her so hardened. This book almost seems like a sequel because we come in right to the action. A prequel of the FMCs earlier life would be amazing.

This book was very tragic. It was difficult to watch this courageous woman lose everyone she loves.

The cat Monster stole the show.

I kept thinking of the song, "Bring the lion out".

Fave quotes: "For now, she wasn't the most furious thing on the English Channel." "She spent her whole life proving she was a threat." "Yes there were warrior women. No they aren't as rare as you think."

The authors note at the end was awesome. Women are footnotes in history; however, as mentioned in the quote above, warrior women aren't as rare as you think.

This review will be shared to my bookstagram toomanyfivestarreads.

**I received an advanced listening copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Griffis, known for her book "The Empress" and its subsequent adaptation on Netflix, brings to light another real life woman relegated to the shadows of history, Jeanne de Clisson. Jeanne lived during the time of The Hundred Years' War, and Griffis begins her story at the origin of Jeanne's rage. Her husband murdered by the French king, Jeanne decides she has to fight back to avenge her husband's death. Fueled by legends and rumors, Jeanne takes to piracy and battles against mercenaries, soldiers, and the king's supporters. Jeanne earns the nickname The Lioness for her ferocious fights and her unerring pursuit for justice.

As the author's note indicates, this fictionalized story about Jeanne presents a new perspective on the recorded histories of the 1300s. While histories are a collection of perspectives, most of the perspectives learned through popular history sources and through school are written by a specific demographic. This story helps to convey that not just white men fought for beliefs, king, and country; rather, there were a number of women warriors during the Middle Ages, as well as diverse groups of individuals who contributed to battles and freedoms.

This engaging story lets Jeanne's voice be heard. The repetitious musings on revenge for lost loved ones could be a bit distracting at times, and these left Jeanne seeming either a rather obstinate character or, much like a lion, keen for the next big attack. However, the narrative itself shows how much respect Jeanne earns as a warrior during this time, and the reader is left cheering on Jeanne as she considers her next big adventure.

The audio narration is very good for this story, with the voice actress portraying various characters--and various dialects--superbly. There is that sense of rage always under the surface of Jeanne's words as she speaks throughout the narrative, and the voice actress really does well to convey this.

I'd recommend this as a complement to Philippa Gregory's historical fiction accounts--a good way to learn a bit more about women in history in an accessible way. #TheLioness #NetGalley

I flew through this audiobook! Thank you #NetGalley and #Dreamscape for this #ARC. It was definitely worth the read. Jeanne is now on my ever-growing list of female role models who I'm mad I didn't learn about in history class. Somehow my high school and college education didn't make clear that women in Europe were often warriors in the 1300s.

While the protagonist, who legend apparently refers to as The Lioness for her grit and prowess in battle, is a tad delusional and cliché at times (at least with the creative license used in this portrayal), there is no doubt she is a strong female main character. I thought the writing style was great, the pacing was appropriate, and the interpersonal relationships between the characters was touching but also pretty realistic. I like how her platonic bestie often called her out. I also love that we get a few chapters from the POV of other badass ladies, like the queens of France and England at the time and one of the king of France's mistresses. I'd definitely like to read more from this author and more historical fiction from this era.

Holy Smokes Jeanne. I am in love with your bravery, courage, deep abiding love and your unholy need for vengeance. Really, this book was just so good. The writing style, the prose, dialogue, characters. Just nailed it! And Walter, omg in the background, but so not. Every character had their purpose.

Very nicely done and definitely an author to follow

#netgalley #TheLioness