Macy R, Reviewer, Three Stars (of Five)

A not so classic tale of the great MEDUSA.

I have always been intrigued by the story of Medusa, what causes her to become so vile? What ancient curse changed her life? Was she always evil?

This fresh new story of one of the most popular Greek Gods, MEDUSA , answers all these questions plus much more, it takes you on an adventure into the life of Medusa, through her perspective. This is her story and she’s here to tell it.

This book reads as an epic novel, it starts from the beginning of Medusa’s life. As a young toddler her family was murdered & she was sold of as a slave. It follows her adolescence where she finds love as a handmaiden to a Princess. Her life continues as she trains to become a high priestess in ATHENAS TEMPLE. Soon after she is thrown into a life filled with betrayal, rape, heartache, injustice & deception. As Medusa endures tribulation after tribulation, she becomes vengeful , her heart hardens & is filled with hate .

I thoroughly enjoyed this book although I must admit I found myself becoming irritated by some of the writing. It sometimes read as if two high school  teenagers from 2018 were having conversations with each other instead of two Ancient Greeks. Some of the language was so modern it felt so out of place- I found myself skipping conversations between Medusa, Cynisca & Helen.

Katy rated it: It was amazing

What a wonderful little book. This novel follows a recent trend of humanising the Greek and Roman myths (or am I noticing it more because I am addicted to BBC’s Troy?) A wonderful literary take on the scapegoated woman, very refreshing.

Nikki N, Reviewer at NetGalley

This was a very interesting take on Medousa, definitely not one I have seen before. This is the story of Medousa written from her perspective. It was fresh and very well written. “Medousa” has all the elements that I am looking for in a book! It was an emotional rollercoaster!

The hardest thing to read was the constant sexual assault and feeling of helplessness I felt for Medousa! The parallel of the victim shaming to society these days was blaring! She is constantly wronged and hurt and the blame is constaly thrust onto her. Though she finds joy and happiness it in a few relationships it is constantly stolen. It was hard to watch the way Medousa was treated and you dearly wanted her to have her revenge.

There was such a beauty to the love scenes, as well. Nothing too graphic! It was so enjoyable to read because you could feel the love in it and not carnal lust. I loved watching her strength rise and then her ability to control that very strength and direct it and harness it as opposed to being owned by it. She shows this strength as a human and also as the monster.

The constant sexual assault was not easy to read, but it was so necessary for the story and for the lesson of it for today! Women are constantly looked at as objects of men’s “affection” and always blamed when the situation goes awry. I appreciate any story that explains the emotions of the ACTUAL victim and hope that more people would understand the hurt and confusion that comes with being assaulted. Nobody should feel any kind of punishment when they are sexually assaulted!

This was such a great story, heartbreaking but also very empowering.

Jennifer L,  Reviewer at NetGalley

Wonderful retelling of a villain whose life and story was so misunderstood. A villain known by everyone, Medousa was once a girl who wanted to love and be loved. Yet she was faced with so much misfortune. But through the tragedy, she continued to fight through and to find herself. This book was so intriguing and told a different side of the story, the side of the villain.

Would recommend to those who love greek mythology

Kathryn M, Reviewer at NetGalley

This was one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve read in a while, it was an improved Wicked in the Greek setting. The writing was great and I felt for Medousa, overall I really enjoyed reading this.

Laura V, Reviewer at NetGalley

Choosing to humanise a mythological character is difficult to achieve. Still, this book nails it, converting Medousa into a tragic heroine.

It´s well written and except for a couple paragraphs that are a bit repetitive, very entertaining.

Some passages brought tears to my eyes – hey, it´s a tragedy after all and the author has to be faithful to the sources of the story, and he does for the most part.

I really enjoyed it!

NaTaya Hastings rated it: Did not like it

Gave it up at the 24% mark. I just couldn’t bring myself to go any further. The plot was okay, but the writing was ridiculously trite and “junior high”ish. The dialogue between the characters was, at best, worthy of great eye rolls and, at worst, so horrible and unbelievable it made me want to throw the book across the room. Plus, the book was just SOOOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW. I wanted to finish it; I really did. There have only been maybe three times in my entire life that I didn’t finish a book that I had started.

Alina G, Reviewer at NetGalley

Quite interesting interpretation of Medusa (Μέδουσα), the famous Gorgon in Greek mythology: the story follows her as a young girl whose family is killed in a raid and she is taken as a slave by the Spartans. It depicts her fears and hopes, shows her friends and enemies, and the ordeals she is subjected to, making her become the monster (?) that is known in mythology.

I like how the author rendered the Gods and heroes of Antic Greece, far from the way I used to see them as a child.

Sensitive topics: rape (and I liked that it was accentuated through the text that blaming the girls for being raped is totally not fair); lesbianism

My personal reaction to the critics next week!