I adore retellings - especially those featuring monsters instead of the heroes. I appreciate the way the author draws out the humanity of the characters and tells the stories of Medusa, Danae, and Perseus through a new lens. It is a fairly quick read, well written, and gut wrenching.

I’m left reassured that monsters (and heroes) are not born - they’re grown.

I received an ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. The opinions are my own.

Athena's Child is the retelling of the stories of Medusa and Perseus, in so far as it pertains to his origins and Medusa. There's a bit of a feminist spin to the tale. It does a great job of showing the hypocrisy faced by women throughout history but doesn't actually offer a new approach to the story. Athena still doesn't come out of this story in a good light but Perseus perhaps regains some redemption.

It's easy to follow, and makes for a rather quick read so I would definitely recommend for anyone looking to figure out how Medusa ended up with snakes for hair or anyone looking to enjoy a tried and true Greek myth.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing a review copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

“For those whose truth has been lost, may it one day be found.” From the dedication on, Athena’s Child is about discovering how Medusa came to be the villain in our stories. As she’s cursed by Athena and hunted by Peruses, we are sent on a journey to discover who Medusa really was, before she became what they made her.

I love Greek mythology and this is a beautifully tragic, but a bit basic of a retelling. I think it would be especially great for those new to the mythos as a more basic introduction to the tale.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy from NetGalley for review.

So what I like about this was that it's an easy, not overly dull retelling of Medusa and Perseus. It's perfect for when you're just starting to get into Greek mythos but don't want to read something like Madeline Miller's Circe (it's long and dry). I love that the author keeps it close to the original myth.

There were definitely some hard parts to read, like the parents being turned to stone and the sisters' transformation into murderers with no remorse (but like rightfully so because men suck), but I like that the author adds some instances of feminine rage. I wish there was more from Medusa's POV throughout the story.

Medusa has been getting her voice heard lately and this is another great retelling. I liked the changes in this one and enjoyed seeing how Medusa’s will continued after she was turned. I think this would be a great book to get younger readers in to mythology. I can’t wait to read the other two books in this trilogy!

Rounded up - I wish this stayed on the first trajectory which was very promising. The switch was abrupt as was the ending. Lots of out of nowhere shifts throughout

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

Most readers know who Medusa is and how her curse affects those around her. ATHENA'S CHILD takes a step back and tells the story of how Medusa came to be cursed. A short, quick read that I enjoyed enough to check for back titles of Hannah Lynn.

It seems that mythological retellings have become popular lately. I haven't read any yet, but when I saw Athena's Child I knew I needed to read it.

Athena's child is a mythological retelling of Medusa's story. I find Medusa an absolutely fascinating mythological figure, and her story is rather sad, but familiar.

Medusa was assaulted by Posiden, but was not believed. Instead she was vilified and turned into a monster. Living out her days hunted, having to kill to protect herself. Until Perseus came along, was he really a hero that killed the monster Medusa, or was his act one of mercy.

I thought this story was very well written, it was captivating, but so very sad. In some ways, I liked the ending in this retelling and in some ways it was still sad. Medusa has been vilified forever and she deserved better.

If you enjoy mythological retellings this is a definite must read. It's a quick fast-paced story you could get through in one sitting.

2.5⭐️, rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Athena’s Child is the story of Medusa, and those who made her into a monster along the way. We see both Medusa and Perseus’ beginnings and the paths that bring their stories to collision.

I love a Greek mythology retelling, and I read my fair share. I really enjoy picking out the ways that each one brings something new to the table. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like Athena’s Child really did that at all. We got the standard narrative of Medusa and Perseus, the sympathetic monster and the somewhat-inept hero.

Overall the book was well written, but my biggest issue came along with the dialogue. There were a lot of instances where the book felt really preachy - there’s a way to emphasize the wrongs women are subjected to in society and the way that they’re put down by men without it being a soapbox speech, and sadly that nuance was missed here.

If you like extremely descriptive books, then you’ll appreciate the detail and depth to be found in the prose. The timing was very clunky, however, and some of the time or setting jumps were so sudden that it wasn’t easy to keep track of how much time was meant to have passed between scenes. Some jumps are weeks, some years, some millennia, and none of them were very clear.

Overall, not a bad book by any stretch, but I wouldn’t recommend it if someone asked.

I am heavily conflicted on this book. On one hand, it was an accurate retelling of the source material and was a fun and enjoyable read. On the other, it's claiming itself to be a feminist retelling, without really doing the work of interrogating this story and its characters. Personally, I don't think it's enough to just give a tragic assault backstory to a "villain". Especially when this story already existed in the greater classical cannon. I do think the very end presents some good ideas, but they weren't well integrated into the rest of the story. Not everything has to be a "feminist" retelling and if you separate this book from that qualifier I think it's a great read!

Athena's child by Hannah Lynn is a retelling of a Greek mythology, a story of Medusa. When we say Medusa, a monster comes to our mind, a head surrounded by numerous snakes hissing and the eyes which can turn anyone who gazes into them into stone.

It has always fascinated me, the Greek mythology and stories like Medusa and Perseus so I was definitely intrigued by the book.

We know more about Perseus who beheaded this monster, killing her and even used it to turn Cetus into stone. But what of Medusa? We know so little. was she both a monster or was she made into a monster?

Athena's child made me think of Medusa as a human being. A human being with two arms, two legs and a beautiful face which led her to her damnation. She was a living, breathing human being with all kind of emotions, the same ones which keep our hearts beating and our souls alive, yours and mine. I loved reading about Medusa but there was a draught of emotions.

I wanted to feel how dreary it must have felt for a curse as one she was bestowed upon by Athena. But there were almost little to none of those emotions. I would have loved to see a range of emotions , say ranging from sadness to disappointment, hatred even after serving a God for so many years and coming back not only empty handed but with a curse that somehow snatched her family from her leaving her with no true companion. Such is a mockery of Greek Gods. There should have been anger and fury but it just felt with so very less emotions.

Nonetheless, It is a fast read, first half being of Medusa. The second half is about Perseus. The shift in the narrative was so sudden that it didn't make sense and it even felt fractured for about few chapters even when I understood that Perseus' part was integral to the story. The ending was good and being a short read I was about to finish it off.

Thank you Netgalley and sourcebook landmark publishing for providing me with ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The story of Medusa has always been one of the villain. But was she really?

This was a quick read but in the time we get with her we learn of girl not born of evil, but cursed for being beautiful and by the vile acts of men

This is a slim one, coming in under 300 pages, so the action starts pretty fast. We are introduced to Medusa and her family when she is still a child. She becomes a priestess at a temple dedicated to Athena, and seems to have a pretty good head on her shoulders… and also a soft spot for women in trouble.

But eventually, she finds herself in trouble when she is raped by Poseidon. Athena doesn’t quite buy her narrative, and punishes her by giving her snakes for hair, and the curse of turning people to stone with a glance. She only discovers this last part on accident, when she seeks solace at her family’s farmstead and turns her parents. Feeling bad for orphaning her two younger sisters, she flees with them to find a place to hide.

All three of them end up with the curse of Athena, and live for hundreds of years on a deserted island. Men come from time to time to try to slay them, but the sisters – now known as Gorgons – always prevail.

The narrative then jumps to the tale of Danaë, herself a girl at the time. (We stick with this tale for a while, and it was admittedly a bit jarring, as it takes quite a bit of time for the two tales to intertwine.) Eventually, Danaë gives birth to Perseus, who is a half-God. When he grows up, he is given the challenge of bringing back Medusa’s head. He only trains for this challenge while on the ship, sailing to her island. But he is helped by two of his half-siblings – other children of Zeus – including Athena herself, who of course wants to rid the world of the monster she created.

So, what makes this retelling different from my old understanding of Greek mythology is that it attempts to humanize Medusa – especially by showing that she was once a human. It emphasizes that she was really turned into a monster as punishment for Poseidon’s actions, and that she really doesn’t want to turn people into stone – but does so to protect herself and her sisters.

Aside from the abrupt narrative shift in the middle, this was a solid story. And it’s pretty short, if you’re looking for a quicker read.

This review is based on an uncorrected e-galley of this novel. Portions of this novel are subject to change.

This was a nice quick read, well not exactly nice because people were horrible to Medusa, but anyway. Fans of Circe and Jezebel will definitely enjoy this novel. I thought it was well written and well thought out overall. At less than 300 pages, it was an easy binge read as well.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC of this novel.

This retelling of the story of Medusa and Perseus is... ok. It is a fairly basic retelling, there is nothing to make it stand out in either a bad way or a good way. It was quick and easy to read and would be a great introduction to someone that is more of a reluctant reader when it comes to mythology stories. I would not recommend for someone already familiar with the myth that is looking for a retelling that has either a different point of view for the myth or someone looking for a more in depth interpretation of the characters in the myth. It will be great for some, and others will not be as impressed. There were two things that stood out to me (and bothered me) while reading it. First... Medusa is the younger Gorgon sister, not the eldest. That part of the retelling threw me and made me question what was going on. Second, there are large chunks of time missing in the book with pretty much no transitions. As in... baby Perseus and Danaë are getting out of the box after being rescued and *poof*, now he's an 18 year old man. No transition... not even a brief paragraph to fill that gap.

So overall not a bad read, but not among my favorites either. I'm pretty neutral about this one.

3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed the first half of this book - which focused on Medusa and how she ends up as a Gorgon . There was a lot of depth and feeling to the story of the young girl who was disgraced by one god and punished for it by another

The second half was much slower and a bit more disconnected - we heard mostly Perseus’ story, I would have preferred more of Medusa and her sisters

This is another retelling of the story of Medusa, and at first I had hopes for a strong Medusa-centered book. The beginning centers on Medusa, on her being a priestess of Athena, the women she tries to help, and how she tries to understand why women are so often secondary figures in society- often at the expense of their lives. Then she unknowingly meets Poisidon and is blamed for him raping her in Athena's temple and Athena curses her. Rather like Medusa's life, the story goes downhill after that. Medusa's sisters are similarly cursed for learning the truth and sympathizing with her, and they escape to a deserted island. Then we get Perseus' story and his quest to bring back Medusa's head in order to save his mother- and we all know how that ends.

My main issue with this book was that between the major time jumps, the spare and almost emotionless writing style, and the distance we as readers are kept from the characters, we don't really get the chance to know any of them. I rarely felt like I was in Medusa's head, or feeling what she was feeling. Her sisters felt like they were there more because they had to be (because of the myth) than to help enhance the story the author was trying to tell.

This is really a 2.5 star review and the extra half a star is for Persues' story. Hannah Lynn does an interesting job making him a mix of the hero mimicking the toxic masculinity he's seeing around him and the young, more compassionate, man his mother raised him to be. There's also the ending- which I won't spoil here- but I was very conflicted about. I can't decide whether it was an abrupt ending and hugely disappointing because it shows the triumph of toxic masculinity, or a new and brilliant take on the myth as a whole with compassion from both heroes and gods and just what should really have happened. Either way, I know it is an ending I'll be thinking about and debating with others for a long time.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I guess this is already published by the author herself back in 2020 but now it’s being republished by Sourcebooks Landmark!

I’m curious what the differences are between the self published and now traditionally published versions especially because the TRAD book is 192 pages while Lynn’s self published work is 252.

Anyways, on to my review of Athena’s Child-Immediately pulled in! That prologue, chills!! I was so excited to finally read a Medusa retelling and that we are finally getting a story where Medusa is not a monster born but a “monster” who was made, victimized by the actions of others.

We get POVs from Medusa and Perseus. The first half is mainly Medusa, focusing on her early life and how she became a Gorgon. Then in the second half we get Perseus’ back story and his “heroic” journey. I wish we would’ve gotten more from Medusa though, this novel certainly is quick, to the point, and interesting but it doesn’t add anything new to the Medusa story which I found disappointing.

I enjoyed the first half much more than the second half because I didn’t care about Perseus and wanted to get back to Medusa. The writing style is okay, it’s simple and makes for a quick read but does more telling than showing. I do wonder if the novel is better in the self published version as it’s about 50ish pages more than this version.

Some time jumps could be jarring at times with no warning, the book is split into two parts but the time jump occurs 2-3 chapters into part 2. Seemed like it could’ve been organized a bit smoother. I thought this would be 4.5-5 stars easily but towards the end I just got disappointed in how the story ended up.

Overall not a bad read and one I’d still recommend for Greek mythology lovers, for a quick and easy read! I’m interested to check out the other 2 books in Lynn’s series and hope I’ll enjoy them more.

n Athena's Child, Hannah Lynn depicts a beautiful young Medusa serving in Athena’s temple. Poseidon forces himself upon her. Athena, rather than blame Poseidon for raping her acolyte, blames Medusa and curses her, making her into the monster of mythology. Lynn’s Medusa, feeling forsaken by her goddess, tries to live in peace on her island, but her seclusion is interrupted time and again by wannabe heroes, hoping to kill her. This depiction of Medusa shows the persistence of the male hierarchy and how women, even other women, blame the victim for her own rape rather than blaming the perpetrator.

Lynn also writes from Perseus’s point of view and shows his desire to decapitate Medusa. He wants to save his mother from marrying King Polydectes. Perseus plans to weaponize Medusa’s head and use it to kill the king.

The prose in Athena’s Child is a bit simplistic and far less poetic that that in Madeline Miller's Circe or Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls. Lynn does ask us to listen to the stories of women that the patriarchy sees as villains and to reevaluate their lives in view of the #MeToo movement. However, so much of the book is in Perseus’s point of view that the momentum for feminism is diluted. This might be a good middle grade reader for a child who won’t be triggered by the rape and killing.

Any book about madusa I will automatically love. The writing was lovely I wish I was longer so many one liners that are soo well written. If you love mythology i recommend this book.