This book was not what I expected it to be! It was quite well done, especially considering the dark story that this retelling told. I’ve read books about the Minotaur, Ariadne, Medea, Hercules and even Jason, but I have never read one about Phaedra before. When I saw this book was coming out I knew I had to read it.

But boy, was this tale dark. You are 100% going to want to check out the trigger warnings before you venture into this book. While I think this book could have been incredible, I think this one just had far too much going on in it to make complete sense. While the different POVs worked with one another, I think there were way too many. It became a task to keep up with and if I hadn’t had both a digital and audio version to work through together, I would never have understood what was going on.

Phaedra was a force to be reckoned with in the later chapters of this book and I really appreciated her fight for what was right rather than running away from her trauma. I enjoyed learning more about her and what her life could have looked like as the youngest sister of Ariadne and the Minotaur. It was really interesting!

Overall, this book was quite dark, full of sexual violence and death, and had too many narrators. Other than that, it was a pretty well done retelling and I enjoyed reading through it as a piece of fiction.

⚠️TW: rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, confinement, grief, incest, child death, abortion, adult/minor relationship

Thank you @macmillan.audio , @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review! All of the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I'm absolutely loving the resurgence of Greek Mythology in modern literature, especially because so many of these new books give voices to the women mistreated in the original stories. Phaedra is a beautiful example of that, With alternating perspectives of Phaedra, her cousin Medea, as well as the women who are their maids and closest confidants, we are shown a broader more realistic vision of what life in Athens and all of Greece could have been like for anyone who wasn't a favored male descendant of the Gods.

The audiobook version of this book is especially well done with a great variety of narrators who manage to convey the story and language very authentically. I was drawn in immediately.

As a fan of Natalie Haynes, I enjoy giving mythological retellings a chance- seeing Greek, Norse, etc. stories from more feminist perspectives and bringing to life the women who were left in the silent shadows of the original stories has lots of potential. "Phaedra" is a story that had lots of potential, but never quite lived up to it for me. A lot of it was the writing style. Despite having multiple POVs- many, many characters tell this story- all of them sound exactly the same. There is virtually no way of differentiating any of the voices if you just closed your eyes and opened to a page. There is almost no character development among the characters, including the main women, Phaedra and Medea, although I had high hopes for Medea and personally thought some of her scenes were among the best in the book. Phaedra starts out as a young and naive princess who ends up married to Theseus and is in Athens really as a hostage instead of a wife. She is sure she is supposed to witness the gods' justice against the terrible wrongs Theseus has done on Crete. There is hatred in her early on, but that gets banked and we don't get to see it again until pretty much the end. The rest of the time she's . . . not much. You'd think she couldn't be as naive as she acts sometimes, that she'd figure out her status doesn't save her from the terrible things that happen in the Athenian palace. But she never seems to change, to grow up from the girl we first meet.

When she accuses Hippolytus of rape and the statesman Trypho convinces her to bring it to trial, the modern reader sees plenty of the MeToo movement trying to rise up in ancient Athens. The problem being, of course, women have no voice in ancient Athens and the men who will do the voting are the men who are behaving just the same to the servants in the palace. Maybe Phaedra's status will mean something to them, maybe not. One of the most realistic and heartbreaking scenes in the book is between Phaedra and Theseus when he comes to ask her to stop the trial before his son can be judged. After all, why should his life be ruined because she suffered for a few minutes? It made me want to cry and be sick at the same time, because you know this was genuinely how this man understood the situation, and how generations since have and still do think.

By the end of the book we see the limited choices women in this world have: the vast majority, the 'night chorus', choose to silently accept the violence done to them and find small ways of avoiding the worst of it-working in pairs, putting sleeping draughts in men's wine, moving in shadows to avoid being seen. Medea has made choices others condemn her for, but she believes were right. What will Phaedra choose?

You can probably guess from the description, but there are triggers in this book: rape, violence, and suicide

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

A beautiful re-telling of a Greek myth, starring Phaedra, the younger sister of Ariadne, who helped Theseus through the labyrinth of Crete. This story places much blame on Theseus and the people of Athens. Medea also has a supporting role.
After Theseus slays the minotaur (who's name is Minos and is the legitimate, albeit, disformed child of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae), he absconds with Ariadne. He comes back to Crete claiming she is now the bride of Dionysus, and he's going to need another bride in return. Phaedra is offered up and this is where the story truly begins.
Athens is terrible and basically a hovel. People are running lawless. Theseus is a giant jerk and his son, Hippolytus, is even worse. He claims that since he worships Artemis, he will remain virginal. He winds up raping Phaedra, impregnating her and is put on trial. The story, like most Greek myths, ends tragically.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for this e-arc.*

I generally love mythology re-tellings, particularly those that center the often lost voices of the women, so I was very excited about this one. Unfortunately, it ended up being quite a disappointment.

The story switches from character to character, only the women, but none of them were fully developed. As a result, it felt uncentered and incomplete. The writing felt underdeveloped, which is fine except that it really took away from the experience because it was much more noticeable at the end than the beginning. It also slowed the pacing of the story.

I read this one on both audiobook and physical copy. The audiobook turned out to be more enjoyable for me, mostly because having different voices reading helped distinguish between characters that otherwise lacked that clarity of distinction in this work.

There are a number of incredible mythology retellings out there, but I'm sorry to say that I can't claim this to be one of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to review this book ahead of publication. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This is not the feminist Greek retelling that I was expecting. After several recently published titles have rewritten well-known Greek mythology stories from the feminine POV, I expected this to join that list of great reads. Unfortunately, aside from Phaedra being the central character I found no other similarities to those books.

Phaedra’s story is told from her POV and that of several other women that cross her path. After a lifetime of being the “less pretty” sister her father gives her to Theseus to be his bride and to solidify relations between Athens and Crete. Then her husband abandons her in the Athenian court without acknowledging her officially as the queen and she is treated miserably without his protection. Then she is beaten and raped by her stepson. When she finds herself pregnant, Trypho, the one male POV in this story, uses her situation to further his agenda in the court… of men.

After the failure to get justice in ‘a fair trial’, she takes her own revenge and causes the death of her rapist. She is imprisoned, but won’t be executed until after she gives birth. Instead of letting her baby be raised by the horrible men that brought her to this point, she ends her own life and the life of her unborn child.

At the end of this supposed feminist title Phaedra’s story was twisted by Theseus and Trypho. Now herstory will be that she was possessed by a petty and angry GODDESS who makes her seduce Hippolytus. She forced him to beat and rape her and then she accused him before his father and peers. When the trial didn't end how she wanted it to she went into a rage and killed him. After doing all of these awful things she took her own life out of shame.

The final message seems to be to blame the victim because it is the woman’s fault that this happened to her. I am not a fan.

Content warning: rape; abuse; misogyny; murder; violence; victim blaming

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

1.5/5: I’m all in on Greek mythology retellings, but this one sadly wasn’t on the same level as the others I’ve loved, like Circe or the upcoming Clytemnestra.

I never read Phaedra’s story before, so I was certainly intrigued by this new-to-me myth. However, the execution fell flat. Too many POVs that didn’t really add to the narrative or have distinct voices, and then having male POVs in a book marketed as a “feminist retelling” felt…off.

I really wanted to root for Phaedra, but the way she was written was too juvenile (to be fair, the character is like 15?) and always seemed to be at the whims of everyone around her. The best of these retellings allow the women to finally take charge of their fates/stories.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought I might have been alone in my evaluation, but it turns out I'm not the only one. PHAEDRA suffered from a few things:

1) Lack of character growth. By the end of the book, everyone feels pretty much the same, even Theseus. Which is saying something, as most Greek myths have the man grow in some way or another. I had to check whether or not Shepperson was a student of Classics in any regard, and imagine my surprise when her bio says she did Classical Studies in university. The book doesn't reflect that.

2) Medea??? Why did her character feel so off and just kinda thrown in there?! Her story is absolutely not one I would have paralleled with a retelling like this. Like...I get that "feminist retellings" are the big deal nowadays and sell really well (even when the quality is subpar), but damn, that brings up so many questions for me that I don't think were explored here at all.

3) So...back to the author's bio. Did she take more than one class on myth? You can read any myth canon you like over and over again, but if you don't bother to dive into the interpretations both ancient and modern, then you're doing yourself a hearty disservice in not fully comprehending the importance and meaning of what you've read. PHAEDRA felt as though Shepperson wrote some edgy Wattpad fanfiction and called it good. The reason Miller's CIRCE works is because she's true to how the myth feels, and applies that ancient feeling to a modern telling. This? Sorry, but it was bad.

"I was to learn the truth: that any man can throw words up into the air, and it is women who must pay when those words land."

The story of Phaedra, sister of Ariadne, Helius's grandchild and the Cretan king Minos' daughter was a very sad and odd retelling I have ever read!

Phaedra HAD to marry with Theseus, an Athenian prince twice her age, his son Hippolytus is about her age. This wasn't from passion, Phaedra is his hostage, something that Theseus use against King Minos.
Well, from this point nothing makes sense, there are so many WHYs, Why did Phaedra accept his proposal? Why did Theseus come back after Ariadne? Why were King and Queen kept silent?...
Ok, I even didn't mention about what would happen after they reach Athen, and the unbelievable characters, Medea and Hippolytus.

"Women are capable of far more than lies when they need to be. Medea knows that better than anyone."

Don't make me wrong, this wasn't a bad story! but in my eyes, it just wasn't a mythology retelling. NO gods or goddesses!
"There were no gods after all. Only flawed humans looking for something to pin their faults to. Their exploits they took credit for themselves."

Phaedra is about women's rights, and how they fought during history (still fighting), stood up against men and their cruelty, and how painfully they were defeated most of the time.

"I know that history will judge me, but history is written by men. I did not want to be at any man's mercy, not again."

Thanks to Alcove Press via NetGalley for DRC, I have given my honest review. Publication day is 10 January 2023.

Overshadowed by her sister’s fame, we are shown the life of Phaedra, from her journey in Crete to Athens. As we watch Phaedra grow up, from princess of Crete to Queen of Athens, watching as she grows her quiet life in Athens, amongst people that she does not trust, and people that force her to watch her back. As we dive into Phaedra, we see how this retelling of Phaedra’s life is spun with detail that leaves us wondering the lengths that Phaedra must take to take control as queen of Athens.

I gave Phaedra, 3.5 stars, enjoying the overall story of Phaedra’s life and time in Athens. I found that the story overall was quite interesting and learning about Phaedra was fascinating. She was definitely overshadowed by her sister, Ariadne’s fame and being able to read about Phaedra pushed me to research and learn more of Phaedra. I found the plot, women’s empowerment to be a great plot point of the story, especially the night chorus and just the growth of the women in this story.

The one thing I found that took away from the story was the points of view featured. I found myself wanting more of Phaedra and more of her voice rather than getting the other points of views. This was about Phaedra and to have all the other points of views made me lose a little interest and just dragged the plot a little longer. It would jump back and forth between the different women in Phaedra’s life that it got a little crowded and messy in terms of who was talking and who was truly important to the story.

The overall story of Phaedra was a little long for me and I just found myself losing interest with the points of views. Some characters that were meant to be important, like Medea, felt lacking in character and Medea’s powerful voice simply wasn’t as strong. She’s an infamous woman in Greek mythology and it would be great if she was portrayed to hold such power and fear, but, it was as if she was a regular woman and I wanted more from her.

The story of Phaedra was in total an interesting read and I did enjoy reading this book for the most part. As a lover of Greek mythology, it is always nice to be able to read various Greek characters and to see someone new like Phaedra.

I am currently at a loss for how I feel about this book. I am first and foremost a sucker for a Greek mythology retelling. I don't know if I just misread this entire book, but Shepperson removes the fantasy from the mythology. In some cases, it does work, in others it seems like it becomes muddled. It left me wanting more. The multiple POV was not a large issue to me, sometimes even really enjoying it.
It's an easy read, if retellings are your thing. It wouldn't hurt to check it out.

3.5 Stars

CW: sexual assault/rape (multiple), suicide

I absolutely loved this book, and it was one of the best things I have read I’m a very long time. This book is intelligent not only from a craft perspective but from a historical one, and you must read it. My review contains some spoilers, if you wanna know more they are not super large spoilers since this is based on Ancient Greek literature, but if you wanna go in completely blind just know that I stayed up all night finishing this book, I had not done that since I was in college and had to because it was for a test the next day or something like that. I sobbed reading this, it made me angry it destroyed me. It was perfect. For those reasons also please be mindful of the list of trigger warnings below. Go buy this now if you can handle the TWs because you will not be disappointed at all.

TW: Violence against women, violence against children, emotional and verbal violence, Animal violence, Graphic Sexual assault, discussions of child sexual assault and molestation. Misogyny, ableism, murder, violence against animals, suicide, bodily mutilation, public humiliation.

Retellings have become a trendy genre in the last few years, especially those of ancient greek literature. I am particularly biased toward this sub-genre; more often than not, I reach for any modern novel that promises some intellectual insight into these timeless stories. Timeless here is a powerful word because, more often than not, the importance of retellings is the morality of the initial text; and if there is one literary period concerned with the ethics of human existence is the ancient greeks, for better or worse. However, more often than not, modern retellings of the ancient greeks are veering towards the criticism of ancient Greece and its storytellers, not in any intelligent way but in a patronizing one that centers women for pure convenience and marketing, trying to make love stories complex and yet rom-cons at the same time for a wider audience appeal. This does not apply to Phaedra. Phaedra is an amazing retelling of the definition of what a good adaptation means. The author points out, and this will be obvious from the beginning, in her author's note that she changes the timeline quite a bit and fills the gap in between the original storyline of Theseus, Phaedra, and Medea (who is a great addition to the story). But most of all, I think the unique thing about this novel is its almost brutal realism, not in the violence or exploitation that is very much on the page, but in the sheer desperation of a world without gods. The author takes an almost ultra-atheistic view of ancient Greece (or rather humanity in general), where cynicism is common knowledge, but rather than a boastful acceptance, there is an almost theatrical and cryptic way in which all the characters interact with each other. The gods are excuses and false hopes that men create to hide the truth, create narratives in the mainstream's shadow, and reroute History to their liking.
The best and most impressive way this is done in Phaedra is the death of Ariadne; this isn't a spoiler since it happens in the first few chapters, and if you know anything about the myth of Phaedra, the only reason why Minos' youngest must go to Athens. Ariadne escapes with Theseus in the greek boat after saving him from the labyrinth and ensuring the deed (killing the minotaur) that solidifies his place in History as a Greek Hero. Only later for Theseus to return to Crete without Ariadne, claiming that the God Dyonisus took her to Olympus to be his bride. This is somewhat what the original sources say too. Still, before that, it is even explicitly said that Theseus deliberately abandons Ariadne only to later go back and find her missing blaming the god for her kidnapping. However, in the novel, we can only go from the point of reference of Theseus's story; in his version, no abandonment occurs, and thus due to powers beyond his own, he must come back to Crete and marry the other Cretan princess, Phaedra. DUMB SPOILER, but surprise, surprise that didn't actually happen, something that is obvious to Minos and his queen from the very moment the story is told. But to accuse the Athenian prince of lying would incur an act of war that no one is willing to risk; besides, it would clearly state Crete's defiance against godly law. I mention this scene not only because it is the actual defining point of Phaedra's narrative. But also because it does a great and beautiful job of illustrating the politics of gender, religion, and narrative in this world. As Queen Pasiphae howls in desperation to Minos that the Athenians have killed three of her children, and now they must take her last. Here the life of a beloved princess is both coveted and disposable at the whims of more powerful men; these men create religion to hold each other in a mutual destruction system to maintain p[eace, but only as far as the narrative and the public allows. Although the overall greek people are only represented through background characters, and then later on by the chorus, and only ever as a collective, having its only two individual characters only show up briefly and to move the narrative of the higher social class further, this implied need for narratives of power still shows the importance of the public eye. As for a mostly oral society, History is only passed down from the narratives that these men pass down, and so the truth becomes equivalent to great storytelling. This is a theme that surrounds everyone in this story, but most explicitly, Medea, who is known to us through her tragic label of witch and child killer. Throughout most of the novel, Medea isn't a character of consequence, but as the novel ends, we are given a glimpse of what her justification for the act is. And although I don't agree, I see as perfectly logical the way that she chooses to believe the heroism of her actions. This is something I don't want to spoil because it isn't initially clear, even though after it is confirmed makes perfect sense. This idea of narrative and heroism is also highlighted by Phaedra's and the chorus' view of Heracles, who, although only briefly showing up, makes a great impact on how we understand the perception of masculinity in this world and what defines a greek hero.
The chorus is by far my favorite character. As the book turns into a political/courtroom drama, they play the most interesting role of what we would recognize today to be the public, not the media, but the overall public. They turn on Phaedra for exposing them, while still many support her and all escort her out of the courtroom and cry for her death. Here Shepperson did something remarkable. The parallels of the trial of Hippolitous with modern Me Too era ones are not only perfectly executed but compelling in a way that does not feel pandering. We can perfectly understand the many machinations in place and how, as this is happening, Theseus is trying to push the controversial idea of Democracy to his fellow men, something that in any other circumstance would make him an admirable character for modern audiences but since he is only focused on saving his son, falls short. Ultimately this was a phenomenal book and had one of the most complex and intelligent sets of characters I have read for a long time. I have not sacrificed my sleep for a book since I was in college, but I stayed up all night simply because of the beauty of the writing and the urgency of the narrative. I cried, I sobbed, I got visibly angry, I cheered, and I cried again. I have only ever cried one other time while reading (Yes, I am heartless, and no, it wasn't A Little Life). I recommend this book to anyone interested in great writing, character development, understanding adaptation as a medium, and who wants to be moved. GO BUY THIS RIGHT NOW

4ish stars

I usually enjoy a good retelling of a story from Greek mythology, and this one was no exception. There were some examples of dialogue or other word choices in the narrative that maybe weren’t quite in keeping with the time and setting of the text, but it wasn’t enough to deter me from reading or to prevent me from enjoying the narrative. I had different hopes for how the ending would turn out, but I do understand that the writer was trying to work within the limitations of the existing myths and traditions. I liked the various characters’ perspectives and appreciated the exploration of serious issues (rape, misogyny, patriarchy, etc.) within the myths. Overall, I enjoyed this novel.

Phaedra has been cast to the side all her life: daughter of an adulteress, sister of a monster, and now unwilling bride to the much-older, power-hungry Theseus. Young, naïve, and idealistic, she has accepted her lot in life, resigned to existing under the sinister weight of Theseus’s control and the constant watchful eye of her handsome stepson Hippolytus.

Laura Shepperson did a good job for a debut novel. I think she did a wonderful job highlighting the issues woman endured during that time but does it at the expense of making almost all the men villains.

Would I recommend this book? If you're familiar with retellings, by all means. I personally find it exciting to read and find out how an author shapes the known story.

Despite the faults, I still quiet liked this book and this might be just because my bias towards Greek Mythology retellings is showing.

{3.5 stars}

"'Are we safe anywhere?' I asked dully. 'We are only women, after all."

---------------------------------

Phaedra is the youngest daughter of Minos and Pasiphae which makes her the granddaughter of Zeus and Helios. She is the sister of Ariadne and the infamous Minotaur. When Ariadne disappears and the Minotaur is killed, she is left to marry Theseus, the prince of Athens. She is just a girl and he a much older man. He has little interest in her other than using her as a piece of revenge against her parents. While he is off warring, his son (a proper prick if I do say so myself) rapes her. In this age, women are not seen, not believed and mostly seen as temptresses and pieces of property. Phaedra does the unthinkable and accuses him, demanding a trial. It goes just as you can imagine it will.

I'm a sucker for Greek myth retellings and after reading last year's Ariadne, I was intrigued by continuing on with this family through young Phaedra's eyes. Most of the recent retellings have been deep, emotional modern looks at women's role in these famous stories. This attempts at that, but fell a bit short for me. First, it uses several POVs, but they all sound the same, man or woman, Athenian or Cretan... it's really just a bland storytelling. It is missing the emotion and connection you'd hope for in a story like this. If you don't know this particular myths and you just want a readable version that tells you the facts, this will give you that. 

Thanks to Alcove Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

THE MANY CHARACTERS MADE A MESS OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD RETELLING

As a great fan of Greek Mythology retellings, I was really looking forward to Phaedra's story. Sadly, I was let down. The main problem, for me, was the characters. There were too many and the main character, Phaedra, never really found her voice or her place.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Plight of the women: The one thing that really got under my skin - in a good way - about this book was the visceral portrayal of the plight of the women in the palace. Though many of them were unnamed, they still had voices to be heard. I liked hearing them tell their own stories, even if those stories were bleak and depressing.

👎 What I Disliked 👎

Phaedra: Out leading lady should have been the star of the show. She should be the one carrying the story, leading us as readers on in the pursuit of her conclusion. But I almost felt like I had to drag Phaedra through her own story. She never really came into her own as a character. She showed little to no growth throughout the story. And her only personality trait was naivete. That is a good starting point for a character, but without any growth, it just becomes tiresome really fast.

POVs: All in all, there were simply too many POVs. I can handle a fair amount of POVs. As long as they add something to the story. Sadly, they did not in this case. Especially not since they all sounded the same, had the same voice. It only made the story less coherent and more bungled.

Medea: One character in particular didn't sit well with me. The infamous Medea makes and appearance throughout much of the book. Her presence could have been great. But it wasn't well utilized. She wasn't an active participant. She was more of a watcher. She made no difference in the story. She should have been the sole narrator, for her presence to work in this capacity. Hearing Phaedra's story through Medea's experience and words could have been really interesting. In stead we just got two separate stories that never really came together - on their own or together.

After reading Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, I was interested in seeing Phaedra’s side of the story. The way this novel is formatted was really interesting; it’s told through an almost witness testimony, and after watching a lot of “LawTube” this year, I was engrossed. Shepperson takes a myth that villainizes the woman for her fiendish ways and reframes it to focus on what it might be like to be a woman at that time (and how those truths still carry forth through today, especially in a post #MeToo world.) I liked how in the author's note, she explains why she changed things and how she was inspired by the oral tradition of myth in her edits, shifting the narrative closer to conversations that have been seen as more modern.

I really loved the concept of this book! Though I did not really like the feel of how it was written, the multiple perspectives seemed to be a bit jumbled, and the tone felt strangely too modern.

This title might be enjoyed by someone who doesn't typically read Greek Mythology retellings, or historical fiction.

I honestly had a hard time believing that this is a debut book... it was that good. Phaedra is so imaginative and it takes such complex topics and historical fiction and makes it a story that from start to finish you will not only be invested, but thinking about for a long time after. As someone who loves greek mythology and stories that are surrounded by strong female protagonists, this was a dream of a book. It was imaginative, fast paced, lyrical and just honestly when it comes down to it a good book. I could go on and on about why this book was amazing but in the end I just encourage anyone with any glimmer of an interest to give it a go.