Can I just say, “Wow!” and leave my review at that?

All the stars. All the cliche words, like “powerful,” “enthralling,” and “captivating.”

Clytemnestra is a mythology retelling that reads like the best, most immersive historical fiction.

The writing has a beautiful, lyrical quality without feeling pretentious or overdone. I lived the story, which is the best gift a writer can give me.

*I alternated between reading my NetGalley ebook copy and listening to the audiobook. Olivia Vinall, the audio narrator, does an exceptional job.*

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmarks, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! There’s been a lot of mythological retellings lately and this one is a great addition to those. It follows Clytemnesta through her life and reminds me a lot of Madeline Miller’s books. She’s a strong character and it was nice getting to see her side of her own story. I recommend it for fans of Greek mythology!

Really enjoyed this! Love, sorrow, heartbreak, revenge, great characters and the ending definitely leaves room for a follow up to continue the story!!

Such a great book. It was not how I expected it to go at all. I'm a huge fan of Helen and so to hear this story from her sisters side was very interesting. I loved this take on the events. I couldn't stop listening to this book. There are parts that I loved and some that I hated. The characters are amazing and of course I still don't like Agamemnon. Such a great telling of a classic story.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmarks and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Full disclaimer, I got it in October, and it took me until June to read it, but not for lack of story!
This book had all the great elements of a modern Greek retelling, including a new twist of a much hated character from the Iliad. Who doesn't love a feminine reclaiming of Clytemnestra?

For anyone who is a fan of Madeline Miller, definitely worth the read!

This book was incredible! I’m a huge fan of Madeline Miller and when I saw this mythological retelling was compared to one of my favorite authors, I had to read it.

The story follows Clytemnestra, a strong Spartan woman who is incredibly engaging right from the first page. The book starts early in Clytemnestra’s life, and even though her character is strong and witty and smart, the story was a bit too slow for me at first. However, it does pick up and the author does a fantastic job with Clytemnestra’s story. The writing is beautiful and aptly compared to Miller’s.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Ancient Greece, Clytemnestra is a heartbreaking, empowering epic chronicling the rise of a queen who didn't get to choose her fate ...

This book tells a powerful story about love, bravery, and loss. When everything you care about is stripped away from you, all you have is yourself. Time heals wounds, but it does not make you forget. The most powerful warriors remember, and that's what fuels their momentum. That's what keeps them alive.

Another amazing mythological retelling. I am living for these feminist retellings that give the women in these originally male centric stories the place and story they deserve.

Honestly this was a refreshing take on a retelling; I really enjoyed how this shed light on the original story but with added bits to flesh it out and turn it into a great read. Usually I don't get through retellings as quickly as I would say a fantasy but I zoomed through this book because it was so well written.

DNF- this one was too slow for me. I was a bit confused by the choice to begin the story so early in Clytemnestra's life and I just could not quite push through.

4.5

This story was incredible. Getting a perspective from Clytemnestra was like getting the perfect bite of a cake. Every single thing that you needed to be satisfied was provided and I felt completely fulfilled after finishing.

I honestly don’t want to say anything at all about this book except that anyone who loves greek mythology should prioritize this story. It’s a fantastic retelling that encompasses so much. I loved it!

It was pure luck that I read Atlanta right before reading this and it made this book even better. There were references to the big journey in Atlanta that made this story become so much more alive in my mind.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Now this is how you do a retelling. Absolutely captivating. I could not put this down. My only regret is not having started it sooner.
Clytemnestra is such a powerful character, multifaceted. The details and levels of the character is well taken care of.
For a debut, Costanza Casati nailed it.

This is a wonderfully complex debut novel! From the cover, I thought this was going to be a bit dry and be similar to the already overly saturated Greek POV genre but this could be farther from that. I was hooked in about 30 pages in. The strength in this novel is the transformation Clytemnestra's character takes from adolescent Spartan warrior to Mycenae 'unofficial' ruler. I almost felt bad for wanting more bad things to happen to her just to see how she would react or what revenge she would exact next. This is like if Taylor Swift's Bad Blood were a novel. The relationships between the characters were believable. This novel also does a great job of balancing the myth with reality. There is no blaming or praising the gods with Clytemnestra, she lives life by the mantra play around and find out.

Thanks to Costanza Casati, Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgally for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was a truly enjoyable book! I haven't really read many myth retellings, so I loved the way the myth came to life this - the characters and story felt real and tangible. I didn't really remember the story of Clytemnestra before reading this, so I looked her up and got a brief refresher. She was a villain, but I had great sympathy for her and her situation. This made me understand and root for her; and also dislike some of the mythical heroes and gods. It also made me pick up another myth retelling about Helen and look forward to reading a story about her side of the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Man, every time I read one of these Greek mythology retelling books, I want to go back to college and pay better attention in my classes. I know I'd heard of Clytemnestra before, but was it only as Helen's sister? Agamemnon's wife? I say I will go back and re-read the classics, but then I read this and it is so brilliant I don't need or want to!! I just need one of these for every character in Greek mythology.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I am a huge fan of Greek mythology and have enjoyed the resurgence of these retellings with a feminist bent. We are all aware that history is written by the victors and most of the victors have been men. I enjoyed seeing more of the Queen of Mycenae beyond her marriage to Agamemnon and the sacrifice of her daughter. Her upbringing in Sparta is usually ignored and this was intriguing to know more about all of her siblings, including Helen. I was actually surprised that the novel finished before her children exact their revenge for the murder of Agamemnon even just to see her life once he is eliminated. This book is a time commitment but the details were fascinating. If you like feminist retellings of myths that are better written than what I have seen with Jennifer Saint, check this out.

(4/5 stars) Here I am, back to my predictable "requests every Greek Myth retelling" book behavior. I've read Clytemnestra's story a few times as part of other's stories (think: Elektra) but I loved the way Casati characterized Clytemnestra and didn't take away from her strength despite the trauma she experienced. Spartan women were raised warriors, and I am glad that Clytemnestra never lost her warrior spirit. This book is giving "we support women's rights, but also women's wrongs" in the best way.

This was such a GREAT book. I love Greek Mythology based stories, and this was one of the best I’ve read in a long time. If you know the mythos of Clytemnestra, you know her story of loss and motherhood is gut wrenching, and this book really made me feel a wide range of emotions. I felt connected to Clytemnestra and cannot say enough good things about this.

An amazing story about Clytemnestra. I ADORE Fiction about Ancient Greek life. The writing is so easy to follow, the details so easy to imagine. Clytemnestra’s story is one of love, immense heartbreak and sorrow, and ultimately, resilience. I don’t want to give too much of her story away. Even if you think you know it from Greek mythology, trust me. You know nothing! Beautiful and epic, this book pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages. Definitely five stars!

This is probably my third(?) book I've read on Clytemnestra and I think it's by far my favorite. I really love this modern trend of focusing on the women in Greek mythology and telling their stories in a new way. Clytemnestra is the protagonist we all need in this story. She's strong, she's nuanced, and she's gonna get her revenge. I loved the deep dives on the characters/parties involved—everything and everyone felt so well developed and complex which I find is often not the case when we read Greek mythology. They're often painted as these one dimensional characters with one strong characteristic only and that is NOT the case here. I will be forever recommending this book to those who like Greek mythology and those who just need a badass lady to root for.