Author: Jennifer Saint
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Released: May 4, 2021
Received: Own (BOTM)
Warnings: Assault, abuse

Yes! It’s another Greek Mythology retelling! I’ve been craving one ever since I read Circe, so you can imagine how excited I was about the news. Ariadne, written by Jennifer Saint, takes a classic story from Greek Mythology and flips the focus all around.

Instead of following one of the many heroes instead, we get to read about Ariadne, the princess of Crete. She has other titles too, but I don’t want to spoil them for you (assuming you don’t remember them, that is).

Ariadne is one of the daughters of King Minos. She’s one of the few who see the Minotaur as a person – her brother. Yet, she’s put in a decision to decide between her family and her love. She can help the prisoners (and future sacrifices), or she can stay a loyal daughter. Which will she choose?

“Asterion. A distant light in an infinity of darkness. A raging fire if you came too close. A guide that would lead my family on the path to immortality. A divine vengeance upon us all.”

Fans of Circe are going to adore Ariadne. At least, I know that I did. This novel did a fantastic job of giving the princess of Crete so much agency, and I loved every single minute of it. Frankly, I feel like we could use more like this.

I was pleasantly surprised by how far the story went. I thought this would be a tale of the Minotaur from Ariadne’s perspective – but it goes so much farther. It actually covers her whole life, which means we get to see several other stories come to pass as well.

“It did not feel momentous, yet when I tore my eyes away from his, I found that nothing looked quite the same, as though the world had fractured and sheared away from itself to reshape in almost – but not quite – the same formation. As though I had looked at a waterfall and realized with a faint jolt that the water flowing over the rock was ever-changing, that it would never be the same water again.”

There was a lot to love about Ariadne. Her character, which felt more real and human than any of her previous appearances, her loving nature, everything. I adore her perspective and insight on what her father had done, as well as the way she felt about her mother and brother. It all made the story come to life.

I will never get enough of these retellings and am very much hoping that we’ll be seeing another one soon. Perhaps from Jennifer Saint? Only time will tell.