Costanza Casati provides us with a breathtaking take on Greek mythology with the story of Clytemnestra, the daughter of the Spartan king and the wife of Agamemnon. This story was fresh and the writing was so smooth! If you are a fan of Greek Mythology, you should definitely read this!

This was such an engaging read and then it lulled a bit before moving into the well-known conclusion. Still, I’m a fan of Greek retellings and this one shows the utter violence and sacrifice of many in the Trojan war story well.

As for Queens, they are either hated or forgotten by the people. This is the story of a Queen who already knows which option suits her best. She was born to a King, but she ended up marrying a tyrant who made her stand by helplessly as he sacrificed their child to placate the gods. She watches him wage war on a foreign shore, and violent thoughts fill her mind. She knows that this was not the life she ever deserved and that this will not be her undoing. So, she slowly starts to plot her revenge.

When her husband returns in triumph, she becomes a woman with a choice. She can either accept her fate or seek vengeance. But she knows that infamy follows both. So, she bides her time and forces the gods' hands in the game of retribution. She understands something that others never did - if power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.

This blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies that will leave you on the edge of your seat. If you are a fan of Jennifer Saint and Natalie Haynes, this is a must-read book. It's a story of hatred, love, and an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This was a ride! Clytemnestra was a young girl raised in the grueling schools of Sparta, then betrayed by her father to be married off to a really brutal man at a young age. Despite being thrown into a lot of really shitty situation, she becomes a well respected queen and real badass.

I’m slowing getting into Greek mythology, so the part that kept this from being a five star read was how many different people were name dropped without proving a lot of context. If I was more versed in these tales and characters, it would have been just fine.

WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK! Greek myths are one of my many go to books and this one my friends did not disappoint. I loved every minute of this book as it gave you an insight of what a means to be a women in these times. We get to know more about Clytemnestra and her so called forgotten role after the Trojan War. After you read this book you will never forget about this character you can mark my words on that. This is a great origin story novel and now when I read other books in the same time frame that mention Clytemnestra I automatically associate her with this novel and character. I have already recommended this book to so many people and the feedback and response have been great. Definitely give this book a read if you love Greek history.

This is the best Clytemnestra retelling I have ever read. I did not need to use my imagination to fill out the gaps or give her a character. Everything about her were on those pages. Her hopes, dreams, yearnings, heartbreaks were all in there.

Clytemnestra before and Clytemnestra after were not so different than each other. One just learnt to not to trust anyone and get what she wanted one way or the order. Her father did not protect her when she was a kid. Her husband would not be protecting her either, because as he said what was the difference between a princess, a woman, and a pig. But Clytemnestra, a mother who lost a child to stupidity and ego of men, was not going to bend the knee.

I liked the style of this story. It just flew by. You could jump from person to person, event to event without any confusion, and appreciate all the emotion hidden between the lines. Mythology lovers - this is the Clytemnestra story you need to read

I love this cover and the idea of it, but something about it just didn’t work for me. Maybe it’s just me but it didn’t really grab me and hold my attention.

I absolutely love women when they are furious. This is that book.
This is great even if you know nothing about Greek mythology outside of Percy Jackson.
This had a slow start but is SO worth persevering through.

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book!
I was reading The Odyssey at the same time as this and it made it a really fun journey to get a well rounded idea of the characters and see some crossover themes.
Clytemnestra is painted as a selfish villain in most pieces so I enjoyed the way the author fleshed out her character, motives, and sense of self.

Requested this for editorial background reading for review on BookBrowse:
https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/op295360/clytemnestra#reviews
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I usually love mythology books, and for awhile I loved this one. I though the author, Costanza Casati, wrote Clytemnestra's story beautifully, however I still felt like I didn't enjoy the book fully. I think I rated it 3.5 stars just due to the heartbreak the book made me feel in the last half of the book.

With each retelling we get a new take.

This is a little slow paced and there are alot of characters to keep track of, that being said I found this captivating and hard to put down. I appreciated that there was a glossary of characters at the beginning of the book and a glossary of Greek terms at the end of the book for easy reference. This was really helpful and I used both often when I couldn't remember who a particular person was or if I couldn't figure out a particular term from context clues. The author did a really good job spelling out the Greek terminology but if you forget what a term means, the glossary is nice to have.

I thought the author did a great job with the world building. It isn't often that you are transported through the seasons in a book, but here we get descriptions of cold and mud which I really felt enhanced the storytelling. It made the story come alive for me and made the characters and the setting feel real. You could also feel Clytemnestra's hatred and anger throughout the book. She has to endure so much, yet because of her gender and station she has to wait until the time is right to enact the justice she has been seeking for so many years. I also thought the author did a great job making you really hate the villains of the book, and there are several of them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Such a great story! The story has betrayal, revenge and power! Who doesn't love a great greek mythology story especially one that showcase the women! Great read! I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!

I struggled to connect with the protagonist - so many terrible things happened to her but she still remained far away from me.

This was such a beautifully written, lyrical story that still managed to break my heart even though I knew how Clytemnestra's story ends. Constanza Casati is a lyrical mastermind and the audiobook was just as beautifully done. 10/10, five stars!

This retelling delves into the personal and emotional upbringing of the older sister of Spartan/Trojan myth. Giving reasoning to her infamous actions. Themes of feminism and trauma are elegantly woven throughout. Good for readers who enjoy retellings such as Circe.

This was an absolutely brilliant book! This book spanned the time of Clytemnestra's life, from when she was very young, to when she was old and all the trauma had already occurred. A book with that much time span has a lot of areas that could have become slow or boring, but this author really made every aspect of the life of Clytemnestra as fascinating as possible. I literally could not put this book down, and really enjoyed reading all about the trauma she had to endure, and how she overcame her heartache. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book, and look forward to more retellings, especially by this new to me author!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this an absolute 5 stars 2 years ago, when i havent worn out by greek myth retelling yet. Now it’s still a good book, but it took me TOO LONG to read from start to finish that the experience wasn’t exceptional anymore.

All hail Clytemnestra, the brave strong resilient woman who refused to bend to men.

For a myriad of reasons, this book was a hard read. There is violence, murder (including of children and infants), rape, and war. It is not an easy book to read, but then, anyone familiar with the mythology surrounding the titular character knows to expect that. That said, this review will have spoilers and mention the content that I referenced above.

The story follows the life of Clytemnestra of Sparta, daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, sister of Helen. It starts when she is young, and goes through the murder of her second husband, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and lord of men. To say that Clytemnestra's life is rough is an understatement: she is betrayed at every turn. It's fascinating to watch this character go from someone who values loyalty and justice twisted into who she becomes at the end.

And to be clear: I do not think that her vengeance in the end is wrong. She did what no one else would and avenged her first husband, her first son, and her first daughter. All of whom were killed by Agamemnon to further his own interests: Tantalus and the baby's murders allowed him to lay claim to and marry Clytemnestra, and Iphigenia's murder allowed him to wage the war that he'd been dreaming of waging for years. The literal decades of hurt that he put Clytemnestra through is appalling, and she was forced to persevere. She kept living for justice and her children, but justice so easily is warped into vengeance, and while she acknowledges that what she wants is vengeance, it is hard to watch the change from the Clytemnestra at the start of the book to the Clytemnestra at the end of the book.

None of the characters are truly good. They all make morally questionable decisions which cause the deaths of someone (or, in Helen's case, thousands), but what makes the story so engrossing is how the author weaves nuance into everything. It is hard to fully blame the children of Tyndareus for their choices because, in some instances, they weren't choices at all. Clytemnestra and Helen try so hard to stave off their suffering, and yet cause even more.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book.