Complex—and bold…Fans of Madeline Miller's Circe will enjoy this faithful retelling that centers the often-forgotten women of Greek myth.” With Ariadne, Jennifer Saint gives voice to the titular princess of Crete, known mostly as a side character in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, placing her at the centre of her own story for once. The concept has been trialled and tested in Circe, The Silence of the Girls and A Thousand Ships, but Ariadne’s story is one that lends itself perfectly to the same treatment, as even in her original story she’s a female character with a lot of agency. As the brains behind Theseus heroic rescue operation, Ariadne dares to spin the threads of her own faith and stand strong and tall in a world ruled by man, Gods and monsters. im really happy with this. it is a definite must read for fans of ‘circe’ and greek mythology retellings in general.

Ariadne lives on the island of Crete with her controlling father Minos and her bull brother The Minotaur. Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echoes the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. My mother, Pasiphae, is a daughter of Helios, the great god of the sun. Unlike the searing blaze of my grandfather, she shimmered with a gentle golden radiance. I remember the soft beams of her strange, bronze-tinged eyes, the warmth of summer in her embrace, and the molten sunshine in her laughter in the days of my childhood, when she looked at me, not through me. She infused the world with her light, before she became a translucent pane of glass through which the light was refracted but never poured forth its precious streams of brightness again … before she paid the price for her husband’s deception. I am next in line! Honestly I’ve been waiting so long I really I hope it lives up to the hype I’ve made up in my head 😂😂 In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?

This retelling clearly flew through the base myth, Theseus and Ariadne fleeing Crete at 30%, Dionysus being introduced at about 40%, and so on, I had no idea how it was truly going to end and the ending that was given did not leave me feeling satisfied in the least and mostly left me wondering what even was the point of the novel other than “women suffer a lot” I love this new trend of writing about the women of greek mythology. The ones we don't get to see because, as Jennifer Saint writes, "I only knew Medusa as a monster. I had not thought she had ever been anything else. The stories of Perseus did not allow for a Medusa with a story of her own." And I think my favorite part about this story is that in the end, Ariadne's understanding of Perseus is the reason she only gets half a story. The symmetry was incredible. This book evoked a lot of emotions. As soon as I saw Theseus enter the scene I had utter dread in my stomach as I knew what would happen. But however, this story also included the god, Dionysus, my favourite God of wine and rituals- I was so happy he was included! I Love Dionysus 🍷 🍇 Medusa was beautiful,” Eirene told us. She had put down the comb now, and Phaedra climbed up on to her lap to listen. My sister was rarely still, but stories could always hold her enraptured. “My mother saw her once, at a great festival to Athena, just from a distance, but she could recognize Medusa by her glorious hair. It shone like a river, and none could mistake the maiden for any other. But she grew into a ravishing young woman and swore herself to be chaste, laughing at the suitors who clamored for her hand.…” Eirene paused, as if weighing her words carefully. Well, she might, for she knew it was not a fitting story for young princesses. But for reasons only she could say, she told it to us anyway. “In the temple of Athena, one suitor came before her that she could not scorn or run from. The mighty Poseidon wanted the beautiful girl for himself, and he would not hear her pleas or her cries, nor did he restrain himself from defiling the sacred temple in which they stood.” Eirene drew in her breath, slow and precise. On a side note, Pasiphae, Ariadne's mum is actually the sister of Circe, said to have considerable witch like abilities too. I'm surprised that Saint didn't explore that more. It would have been quite believable that Ariadne had been taught some of these techniques. Equally, the dancing that Ariadne does at the beginning of the novel just disappears, it seemed like such a useful tool to be used with Dionysus later on. Many missed opportunities.

Ariadne is a retelling of the Theseus and the Minotaur story from Greek myth, aligning with Ariadne's perspective, one we don't see much of in the original myth. I'm a huge fan of Greek myth retellings and just knew this one would be a hit for me - I wasn't wrong.

this book is the perfect addition to my greek mythology shelf and fits right in with ‘circe,’ ‘the silence of girls,’ and ‘a thousand ships.’