As a person who’s been dipping their toes into Greek mythology retellings (and Greek mythology in general), The Shadow of Perseus was a captivating story. This book tells the story of Perseus’s life through the eyes of three women – Danae, his mother; Medusa, the Gorgon; and Andromeda, his wife.

I loved the perspective of each woman, and the strength they claimed in their lives – before and/or after Perseus’s arrival. It was definitely a treat to not read another hero’s story, but rather get a view into the villain within.

I read this book in two settings. The story was well-paced, and the descriptions of the various settings were well done. Of course, check your content warnings before jumping into this book.

Reading The Shadow of Perseus definitely led me to want to read the author’s first novel, Daughters of Sparta, as well as dig into more stories surrounding Medusa.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC. All thoughts in this review are honest and my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Shadow of Perseus is a retelling of the Greek Myth in the perspective of the three main women in Perseus' life. First, his mother who was cast away for bearing a child the oracle predicted would be the downfall of her father's kingdom. Second POV is from Medusa, his greatest victory. And thirdly, his wife Andromeda. Individually, the three parts felt unfinished and rushed. Overall, the book has a lot of potential and I really enjoyed following Perseus through feminine eyes. I hate his character but please be mindful that this is my first retelling of Perseus' story in Greek mythology. Heywood definitely set him up to be a terrible character and *spoiler alert* he did eventually redeem himself but it wasn't big enough for me to give him a second chance. I was able to see how he became the way he was from his upbringing and it was very realistic. I love Claire Heywood and will continue to automatically pick up her books.

I absolutely loved this book. I personally really enjoy greek mythology retellings from the point of view of the women that the heroes affect.

Particularly, I want to focus on the story of Medusa in this. When it comes to Medusa in most mythology, we hear about her as the Gorgon. She is essentially boiled down to being a monster without anyone looking too closely at what got her there. I've heard two sides to this myth, one is that she was turned into a Gorgon to protect her from men, and one is that she was turned as a punishment. Personally, I like the first option a lot more and that's what this story focuses on.

We also have our character Danae, who tried her best to keep her son from turning into a monster even though his destiny is to be the ruin of her father. I love Danae, she is a survivor and does her best to make do in every situation she is in.

We also have the story of Andromeda and I truly love this retelling. In the original myth, you get the story Perseus tells in here as well, that he saw a sea monster, saved her, and married her. I love the way this story turns that on its head and really shows the other side of things that isn't completely masked by what the heroes say.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I think it was a fun story. I am personally very into greek mythology retellings, so this was a fun read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this Greek myth retelling. This book was wonderful and I throughly enjoyed it.

The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood is a reimagining of the epic story of Greek hero Perseus through the three women whose lives entwined most closely with his own: Medusa, Andromeda and Danae. But there are no gods or monsters here. There are no heroes either.

Heywood treats these characters as historical figures in historical times and places, and so this book reads like historical fiction. It’s an interesting take that I enjoyed but because of that, it felt even more dark and heartbreaking without the mythological elements. Although the story is women-centered, it is not inspiring or satisfying from a feminist perspective. It is simply women doing their best with the circumstances foisted upon them and I began to dread Perseus’ presence as it brought nothing but terror and pain.

Overall an interesting, well-written and enjoyable read but definitely on the darker side of the mythological retellings we are seeing. If you love realistic historical fiction set in ancient times, pick this one up.

Trigger warning for rape and violence.

The Shadow of Perseus releases on February, 21st.

Thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for the ARC.

The writing was easy to follow and I liked that the story was told from the POV of the women in Perseus' life. I recommend if you like greek mythology retelling.
Thank you so much NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the ARC

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy of this novel.

I'd read the plot and was excited to see how this all played out. How could Perseus (based on his stories with Danae and Andromeda) be portrayed as "bad"? We all know Medusa wouldn't have anything good to say.

This story is reimagined without the use of supernatural intervention of gods. That asterisk really makes for a cool spin to these stories and was a first for me. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and will be looking forward to what the author writes next.

Eh, this just wasn't for me. There was nothing wrong with the book, I just couldn't get into it. I'm sure others will throughly enjoy this re-telling though!

Pub date: 2/21/23
Genre: mythological retelling
Quick summary: Perseus is well known as a Greek hero - but for his mother Danae, his victim Medusa, and his wife Andromeda, he was more of a monster than a man.

I love mythological retellings, so I was excited to hear the story of Perseus reinvented. I enjoyed the book overall - it was a good listen on audio with narrator Olivia Darnley. However, as other reviewers have noted, this book left me wanting. I felt like Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda weren't fleshed out enough to make this a true retelling, and I didn't feel connected to them. I wanted more from their characters - more action, more motivation, more feelings.

The book is structured in four sections - one for each woman + two for Danae, but they feel more like short stories than interconnected narratives. I didn't dislike the book, but my bar for mythological retellings is high now that so many have been released.

Thank you to Dutton Books for providing an e-ARC and PRHAudio for providing a complimentary audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. Feminist centered retellings of greek myths has been a popular genre recently and one that I've been enjoying a lot. That being said, with so many similar stories out there right now. I felt that this book was missing some of the emotional connections that I have found so compelling in the genre. Overall, this story was a brilliantly easy to read and accessible tale of the women Perseus came in contact with. I particularly liked the retelling of the story of Medusa and the focus on the idea of how stories only tell the side of the victor. A great read but not my favorite: 3.5 stars

A feminist re-telling of the Perseus myth from the POV of the 3 main women in his life; Danae, his mother, Medusa, his "monster", and Andromeda, his conquest/wife. Although this myth has been retold countless times, I think a feminist POV is a fresh take on this stale myth. Perseus struggles in becoming a "man" and this story is really a fresh perspective on heroes and ancient Greek myths.

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

I Love mythological retellings so I was very excited to read The Shadow of Perseus. This book was broken down into the perspectives of 3 different women that had their lives greatly impacted by Perseus. His Mother, Medusa, and his wife. I thought that was such an interesting way to write this novel. To see how these women viewed this man without ever reading it from his own perspective.

The story itself was very easy to follow, and pretty straightforward. My issue was that for this been a book about Greek Mythology there were no gods/goddesses interactions in the story. Only mentions of people praying to them. Which is fine and completely under the authors control (the author even mentions it in their note at the end, they wanted this to be an “authentic setting, without the intervention of gods or supernatural forces”) but I read Greek Mythology retellings for that aspect in the story. I just feel some things deviated too far in the authors attempt to make “real-world alternatives” that it loses the magic and appeal that makes me gravitate to this genre.

The story was still entertaining to read overall though! Thank you for the ARC, it was my first and I greatly appreciate the opportunity!

This felt different from the author's first title in that the story was more well-crafted I think. I liked it a lot and I think it'll have a solid reader base, especially as mythology retellings remain incredibly popular. I do think the first book was a tad better in terms of character development so if that's an important part of what someone wants this doesn't nail it quite perfectly in my opinion. Overall still a very nice read though.

I'm so tired of "feminist" mythology retellings. I don't know why I keep picking them up expecting something different. Circe. Ariadne. The Shadow of Perseus. None of these are feminist. None of these show women reclaiming the narrative. Instead, they show women pandering to men. They take a previously male-centric story and keep it that way. They add nothing new to these myths, and I'm tired of the false advertising.

Because really, what was supposed to be "feminist" in this one? In what way were Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda reclaiming their power? Danae let every one of her decisions be dictated by men. Her father. Myron. Perseus. She was never Danae's Danae. She was always claimed by someone else and subsequently held back by them. I wanted her to change over the story, or at least stand as a character on her own. This did the opposite. Without Perseus, she is nothing. Without her father, she is nothing. The only relevance she is given is through the men in her life. The abusive men.

Medusa was no better. She had the barest foundation that could've gone somewhere. I was so excited to see her leading a village of similarly abused women, giving them a safe haven from men. This philosophy lasts about 10 pages before Perseus shows up. And then, she compromises everything she ever believed in. Like Danae, her story ceases being about her and becomes a tale of Perseus's exploits.

Andromeda, while being the closest to powerful, also is disappointing. Her entire character arc starts with her sacrificing herself for her family's sake. I'm so tired of this. So tired. I'm tired of books glamorizing selfless women. Women, who instead of standing up for themselves, will let themselves be tortured if it's for the good of someone else. This is ridiculous. This is outdated. Give me a woman who will fight for herself. Give me a woman that while caring for her family, also protects herself. Andromeda did none of this. She sacrifices herself for her family, and then saves them from Perseus. Even at the end, when she had the chance to end this suffering, she stays. Why? To try and better a man. This narrative is so old. It's not our job to "fix" men. It's not our job to protect the world from their insecurities and anger. I see enough of this attitude in reality. To see it in a book labeled as a feminist retelling is infuriating.

If this book truly wanted to be feminist, we would've seen Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda striking out on their own. We would've gotten to meet them before Perseus infiltrated and ruined their life. We would've gotten to meet them, and possibly emphasize with them. We would've understood their decisions, and why they kept crawling back to toxic men. Because we never got to see them stand on their own, we only ever saw them as parts of Perseus. The very thing this retelling tried to avoid.

I totally understand that these retellings try to stay true to the originals. At some point though, this comes across as laziness. Because the Greeks were a sexist society with strict gender roles. There comes a point when historical (or mythological) accuracy must be scorned in exchange for a story that actually does what it claims to do. If these retellings actually want to be feminist and add new dimensions to old stories, they need to leave the old stories behind and improve upon them.

If you're looking for retellings that are actually feminist and tell the women's side of the story, read The Witch's Heart and The Goddess of Nothing At All. Both take old myths and give the women of them new life. Put this one back on the shelf and support authors who actually do what they claim to do.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Really enjoyed this one! I have really enjoyed the trend of myth retelling and this book was no different. The books is written in four section with different POVs and it makes the story more accessible for those who aren’t fully knowledgeable of the myth. While I enjoyed the story of the women who end up as background stories in the original telling, I do wish we got more of them, it came across as a different POV but not really the purpose behind the action. All in all I really enjoyed and will definitely recommend to others.

I had such a great time reading this book. Overall, I'm giving it a 4 star and will most likely purchase my ow copy on release date. If you enjoy these sorts of retellings, I think you'll have a good time.

[Pluses]
- Engaging characters. I loved all of the character dynamics.
- Suspenseful moments.
- Just all around being in the world of Greek mythology. It's always a wild ride.
- Fast paced.
- Claire's writing style.

[Minuses]
- While the characters were engaging, I would have liked to see them fleshed out a bit more.

[Trigger Warnings]
- Loss of Family Members
- S.A.
- Some violent, intense scenes.

A quality historical fiction retelling, I feel like a lot of the struggle of this title is going to be in if the trend remains or hits a cultural saturation point and dries out. I enjoyed it, but I didn't have the most robust prior knowledge for it to conflict with. The prose is lovely, the characters realized if a little flat. Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity with this title.

(4/5) Greek mythology retellings (as I will say in every review I write of them) always have me smashing the request button and waiting impatiently to read them. The Shadow of Perseus is no different. Perseus is well known -- the legendary founder of Mycenae, Gorgon-slayer, the precursor to Heracles/Hercules -- but Claire Heywood takes the myths and tells them from the perspective of Perseus' mother (Danae), his monster (Medusa), and his wife (Andromeda). Removing the supernatural elements of the story (no gods, no magic) makes it more interesting albeit darker. Heywood tells the story in four sections, with each section told from the perspective of one narrator; I found this much easier to read and more accessible than other retellings I've read (think: Phaedra or Ithaca where narrators change every chapter and it's hard to keep up) and each narrator was distinct and had her own development. While this book doesn't rise to the level of Madeline Miller, I would certainly recommend it for any fans of Greek myth retellings.

I really enjoyed this retelling of Perseus through the eyes of women who featured in his legend - Danae, Medusa, and Andromeda. This book was a new and interesting take on how heroes aren't always noble men, it's all in who's version of a story gets passed down. Heywood tells this myth as a realistic story, so there are no Gods that appear, magic, or actual mythical creatures. While I do enjoy tales with all of those things, it was also easier to relate to these women and their struggles. They had nobody to save them but themselves and their own will to live and keep fighting. I especially enjoyed the look into the Gorgon community even though Medusa's story was particularly tragic without magical powers. I do feel like Perseus does not give us much to sympathize with, and really thought at times he posed a danger to the whole world with his unchecked ego and lust for violence. I don't think I can see this childish man-boy the same after reading this.

Overall I thought this was a great book and it kept me turning pages late into the night to finish. Heywood's writing painted a realistic picture of Ancient Greece and Libya at the time. If you like different versions of Greek mythology, and don't mind less fantasy and more quiet feminism, definitely give it a read! I look forward to more from Heywood in the future. I received this book as an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for my opinion.

After highly enjoying Daughters of Sparta (way more than other "feminist retellings of the trojan war" aka Elektra, sorry) I was thrilled to get an early copy of The Shadow of Perseus. I thought the triple POVs were well done as the story was told about Perseus through the eyes of three women who knew him. I will say it was kind of a downer to read and a lot of the fantastical parts of mythology that we love were removed. Unfortunately, that took away from the story quite a bit for me. I don't think this is my favorite retelling of all time unfortunately but I'm still glad I read it and will continue to pick up future Claire Heywood books.