3.5 stars

I have always tried to read any and all mythology and folklore books I can get my hands on. I cannot even attempt to explain to you how bad this out-of-body yearning for the books is. So when I saw this one on NetGalley, I had to read it. Athena’s Child is dual point of view (Medusa’s and Perseus's), you watch how both of them are manipulated, and treated like nothing but puppets by the gods. You watch Medusa try to help and save women from the same positions that she will be in later on. I have always seen Posiden and Perseus as the villains of the myth. Poseidon raped her and defiled her in a temple for women, a place Medusa thought was safe. Perseus sought out her head and slaughtered her. Through every myth and retelling, I have hated him, except this one. I am still not sure how I feel about the sympathy that was invoked. I loved how the gods were made the enemy, how they are not these divine beings to be worshipped and praised, in fact, their wrath and hubris will burn anyone in their path. My only complaint is that I wished we had seen more of Medusa’s earlier life with her sisters, their stories were not elaborated on and fell a little flat. Also, Medusa’s story has always been one of feminine rage to me. Men tried to court her when she was just thirteen, Poseidon raped her, and Athena cursed her. In all the retellings it has been about her anger will the gods. But this one was more about her guilt about the deaths that Athena had caused. Guilt for her family and the boys sent to kill her. I wish the author had written the book with that rage included, I wanted to see it flow off the page and seep into me. The writing was quick and easy to follow, you didn’t get lost in the endless names of Greek heroes and kings. I am looking forward to reading more of this author's books in the future. This book was previously published in 2020 and is part of an ongoing series of Greek women and warriors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC, I was given a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology and even a bigger fan of Medusa. I’ve read a bunch of stories about Medusa, making her the monster and then some showing that she truly is a victim of awful people and horrible situations.

I truly love Medusa. I have always said that she wasn’t a monster. And the “monster” people think she is was made not born. I feel so bad for her because she was truly just misunderstood and didn’t deserve the stuff that she was put through.

I also feel bad for Perseus in this story specifically because he didn’t want to have to kill her and Medusa showed pity on him and his situation and gave him an easy way out, ending in her death.

This is a fantastic retelling and I think all Greek mythology fans would enjoy reading this!

4 stars!

I would like to start off this review by taking Anna from sourcebooks for sending me this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Athena's child is the retelling of the story of Medusa. This follows Medusa's story from when she was a child to her demise. I really enjoyed this retelling of Medusa! I did not know the mythology prior to reading this book and I really appreciated the detail in it. I think the story of Perseus was tied into Medusa's story so beautifully. This book was imaginative and fresh.

Medusa has become a symbol in recent years to empower women. Medusa was a misunderstood woman in mythology who was punished by the fault of a man. I loved the feminine voice that Medusa had and I loved her sisters. I loved that her sister's stuck by her side and believed her story when no one else did. But what made this story so great was how Medusa offered herself to save another woman. She offered her head to Perseus in order to save his mother from her suitor. It gave me chills. As much as I wanted Medusa to live, I knew she had to die like all great protagonists. I think this was an empowering story and everyone should read it and learn who Medusa really was.

Thank you again Anna from sourcebooks for this ARC!