It's funny - I don't think I was the hugest fan of book one. I enjoyed it, sure, but it took a while for me to get into and by the end I was like "this was nice." I'm not quite sure why I picked up book two with that mindset, but I'm super glad I did.

This did start off slow, I will say. I was a little worried that I had ended up with a similar book where I would end with "this was nice" and have nothing more to say about it, but once Menelaus arrived, everything changed. I really loved this book, and I loved how Penelope had to be cunning and witty but also stay within the confines of what women were expected to. She couldn't be flighty like Helen or cruel and vicious like Clytemnestra but how she ruled her kingdom and managed to handle the problems that were presented to her with clever and really fun to read.

I think after the halfway point, I really started to fly through the book. I will also say the... Gods perspectives always feels weird! Idk there's a very noticeable separation you have between the Gods and the Humans and at sometimes, especially at the beginning, it can lead sections to drag a bit. But I definitely think that it lessened by the end, which helped the pacing.

So a lot of fun! I would recommend, but know that both books can take a bit of time to get into.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for a chance to read and review.

I love Claire North and I did enjoy this book. I would have liked to ha e read book 1 prior to this, however it was a fun surprise to see it was part of a series. I love stories of female power and thoroughly enjoyed. Can't wait for book 3.

When I requested this read, I did not realize that it was part of a series. I had not read the first read. I have liked Claire North before, but this read was just not for me. The mythology was not what I expected.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will preface this review by saying that I did not read the first book by the author. I feel like this book had a lot of potential and while still good, fell short. The pacing was slow and I was not the biggest fan of the narrator. I did like them feminine edge to the story and will try the first book and see if my perspective changes at all.

I'm feeling indifferent towards this.

I enjoyed the first book because of its faithfullness to the story of Penelope, a story I am familiar with. But this one? It's something new that could have happened while Odysseus was away on his odyssey. The plot isn't rooted in any ancient story, but rather the author's own imagination.

I do think the murder mystery and Penelope playing detective was interesting enough to read about, but everything else failed to capture my attention. The writing isn't terrible and CN's creativity is obvious, but this was unfortunately just missing that “spark” for me.

I didn't read Claire North's first book in this series, and perhaps that's why it took so long for me to get into the House of Odysseus. I love Greek mythology and I love Odysseus and I'm a proud feminist, so this should have been right up my alley. But it felt slow and clunky, and I found Aphrodite's narration to be distracting at times with her lofty voice throwing in modern-day slang.

I loved hearing the POV from Aphrodite (especially when it came to the golden apple competition), Penelope, Persephone, Helen, and Elektra. North gave them motivations that Homer (clearly) ignored and it brought so much to the story.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and my honest opinion.

Maybe this cover looks familiar to you, that’s because it’s the continuation to the songs of Penelope series, the first being Ithaca which had a stunning cover as well. It’s a wonderful greek mythology with a feminist spin of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, who was left to run Ithaca for twenty years whilst Odysseus sailed to the Battle of Troy but this time we experience through the perspective of Aphrodite. I think these books are a shining beacon to any greek mythology nerds out there so be sure not to pass these up.
Full review on YouTube

the entwining of this story is legendary. We love a book that deals with love and loss and grief and forgiveness! and bonus points for murder mysteries and sisterhood. Claire North can write me all of the historical fiction wrapped with greek myths all she would like and I will devour them!

4.5 stars
House of Odysseus is the second book in a trilogy retelling the Greek story of Persephone and her island, Ithaca, during the 18-year period that her husband Odysseus is off to war. In this book Persephone is reunited with characters old and new to face a new set of challenges.

It is:
- A “behind the scenes” look at overlooked characters from this great myth
- Light, lyrical, immersive, and sensuous
- Includes a strong cast that feels like a soap opera
- Demonstrates the strength of female companionship and cunning
- Written so that if you don’t want to read Book 1, you can jump right into this one

I was given this book as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley and Orbit. This is part 2/2 reviewing The Songs of Penelope trilogy — you can see my review of Book 1, Ithaca, here.

SPOILER ALERT: This book is narrated by a different narrator than Book 1. In order to properly review the book, I will reveal who this narrator is.

Narration and Prose: The prose in this book is my favourite aspect. It is grounded, descriptive, engaging, and sensuous. It is evident here that imbuing the prose with her narrator’s characteristics is one of North’s great strengths — it really feels like it is voiced by Aphrodite. This choice of narrator also matches the plot perfectly. Typical of our understanding of the goddess, there is a strong emphasis on the sensuous: this book is ripe with sensory detail and floral prose. Her voice is compelling: rolling forward at reflective moments, then reeling out with quick cadence during fast-paced ones. It also is incredibly funny: I found myself laughing out loud at many points. Aphrodite feels even more present in this book than Hera did in book 1. You feel her limits and wonder at the truth of the mysteries this island offers alongside her.

Plot: This book is more quickly paced than the first one. The way that it is plotted from the very first chapter is gripping. There is a cliffhanger or development at the end of almost every chapter which makes you want to read forward. The plot is constantly thickening in a way that is incredibly enthralling: there are lots of criss-crossed mysteries. We get to see the repercussions from the first book, discover new difficulties, and engage in more romantic entanglements.

Characters: The cast of this book is abundant without being overwhelming. There are several new characters I greatly enjoyed, while the characters previously seen are also pushed into new and interesting directions. Penelope’s character in particular is much stronger in this book. Likewise, as in the first book, the goddesses all have strong and unique personalities, and feel evolved. Seeing them interact with one another and react to the action is once again a huge part of my enjoyment.
I found the male characters to be quite strong in this book as well. Menelaus and Laertes both occupy exaggerated roles in this book, and I laughed at many occasions at their dialogue. They are both funny to read and good reflections on the tropes given the themes of the book. Kenamon (the Egyptian suitor) has also had interesting developments since book 1. I found it smart the way he is used as a plot device: the reader learns about the world through the eyes of a foreigner.

Ending & Setup for Book 3: The ending of this book sets up well for the finale of the trilogy, especially if you have an idea of what happens in the original myth. While there is a decent cliffhanger, it still feels very satisfying and ties up most of the mysteries. I can’t wait to keep reading to see how Claire North will take on and twist the rest of the myth, and to see who the new narrator will be (if she follows her form of changing with each new book).

Overall, I found this to be a formidable and engaging book. It is well plotted and a delight to read. All of the things that were missing for me in Book 1 were not only addressed but became central features of what I enjoyed in this one. I enjoyed this book so much that I purchased the hard copy after having read the ARC, and will definitely be reading on to the last book in the trilogy.

A marvelous story of life from the POV of Penelope, Odysseus' wife, who was left to fend for herself while Odysseus was winding his way back to her from exploits in Troy and other venues. Great character development, fast moving and exciting. Claire North is up to the challenge of a Madeline Miller when it comes to reimagining the lives classical Greek Gods, Goddesses and Heroes. I highly recommend this one

An excellent follow-up to Ithaca. The "feminist reimagining of Greek mythology" industry is experiencing such a boom that I have largely steered clear of it, after Circe -- it's not that I don't like it, it's that there's now so much of it that I would hardly know where to start (and hardly be able to stop, once I broke the seal). (I came to these because Claire North was already on my to-read list for her other books.) So, I can't speak to how it compares to other entries in the genre, exactly, but what it's doing in mashing up both the Odyssey and the Oresteia appears to be unique, and it's scintillating stuff.

This book continues to lean more heavily on the Oresteia, really, as Odysseus remains on Calypso's island [ until the very end of the book (hide spoiler)], and it's really coloring in detail from between the Libation Bearers and the Eumenides more than it is providing much background to the events of the Odyssey on Ithaca. As such we have not only Orestes and Elektra but also Menelaus and Helen bopping around Ithaca, which suits the shift in narrators: no longer narrated by Hera, we now get Aphrodite serving as our omniscient and sometimes-interventionist narrator, who favors Helen as Hera favored Clytemnestra in the previous book. This change is exciting, as now I get to speculate about the narration of the forthcoming third volume: one might expect Athena, given her substantial connection to the Odyssey, but the book does terrific things having Athena one degree removed from the narration, so perhaps she is best kept there. Presumably not Artemis; she is also very well-used at arm's length in both of these books, and I doubt she would be all that interested (as portrayed here). Maybe we finally get first-person narration from Penelope herself? Looking forward to finding out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for the ARC.

As a huge fan of the Ancient Greek classics like The Odyssey and the Iliad, I knew I had to read this book as soon as I saw it! And I didn’t disappoint! What a masterpiece to show this from the women’s view! What a remarkable storyline!

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm fairly certain I audibly shrieked with joy when I saw the confirmation email that my ARC copy of The House of Odysseus was approved. I fell in love with Ithaca, and found my thoughts constantly coming back to this series.

It should come as no surprise that The House of Odysseus feels very similar to Ithaca, be that for better or for worse. If readers struggled with the first one, they will struggle with this one as well for many of the same reasons. That being said, readers that found themselves -- like me -- enamoured with Ithaca will also be drawn right back into The House of Odysseus.

One of the things I loved the most about Ithaca was the use of the goddess Hera as a first person omniscient narrator. The framing of a literal goddess commenting on the lives of mortals, privy to their thoughts, and moving amongst them unseen was such a brilliant way to tell this story that it had me instantly invested. Hera's narrative voice shone through so powerfully as well, that her biased interpretation of events influenced my own feelings towards the characters. I was thrilled to discover that, rather than sticking with Hera, The House of Odysseus surprises readers with a new narrative voice in the form of Aphrodite. It was such a delight to see how different she was from Hera, how hew narrative voice broke through in ways I didn't expect, how her world view could be far more complex than I would have ever associated with the Aphrodite of classical texts. She was so lovingly written as a flawed and complex character that in turn loves her flawed and complex mortals, that I also found myself thinking of those characters in new ways and becoming invested yet again.

Just like Ithaca, The House of Odysseus never stops being a slow and steady read. Moments of action are interspaced by long moments of contemplation, broken by characters' internal rationale, and speckled with the commentary of the goddess of love. But really, that's what this series is about. It isn't an action and adventure novel. It isn't about the plot, per se. It's a careful and respectful character study, and by extension a philosophical exploration of the role of women in history and the constraints that society places upon them. I'm not the type of reader that highlights and annotates their books, but I found myself time and time again highlighting passages that struck me to my core and left me hanging with my mouth agape.

If you were thinking about giving this series a try, please do. It requires patience and love, but then so do people. I think that's the point, and I think that's why I love it so much. I can't want to read the last instalment. This is the type of series that I know I'll continue thinking about years from now, and come back to reread multiple times over.

House of Odysseus was an interesting retelling of Penelope’s life and times while Odysseus was away. While overall I enjoyed the idea of it, the middle section drug on quite a bit and Aphrodite’s narrative grew a bit wordy and overly descriptive. I will be interested in reading more from Claire North as in general, I had a solid time reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and RedHook for the advance copy.

3.5/5 stars

This is the sequel to Ithaca, which I also read in advance. I really enjoyed both although I did enjoy Ithaca more (perhaps because it tells the story from Hera's perspective and she is a lesser explored god).

North is good at incorporating the gods into the story, something that is missing from lots of other myth retellings which I appreciate.

I also enjoyed the characterized of Helen and the chance to see Helen's story after the end of the Trojan War, something not often explored in modern retellings.

This is certainly worth reading for anyone interested in retellings of the Greek myths.

I was a huge fan of Claire North’s first book in the The Songs of Penelope Series. This is my bag, retelling of the ancient Greek epics. North is keeping this to a trilogy, which I think is perfect, long enough to really dig into the details, yet not so long and dragged out that the reader will lose interest.

The best part of Ithaca was the narration. North hit the nail on the head with Hera narrating Penelope’s story. Could she maintain that rock-star start? You know she did! With House of Odysseus, we have a new narrator, the one and only, Aphrodite. North did something magical here: book two in a series, same characters, continuation of the same storyline and a complete 360 in style and attitude. Aphrodite has sass coming out of her ying-yang (if Aphrodite had a ying-yang). This is stuff that would be completely out of character for Hera, she could not pull it off and it made for an incredibly fun read.

North brought in a few old friends from the Iliad and Odyssey. Menelaus and Helen were perfect characters to move this story forward. The face that launched a thousand ships and the buffoon. I never really like Menelaus or his blow-hard brother. Homer never really painted them in a good light, the Iliad and Odyssey had other heroes, and like Tina Turner, we don’t need another one.

The worst part of finishing House of Odysseus is waiting until June 18, 2024, to find out how North wraps up this trilogy. There are a lot of questions to be answered: Will Odysseus really kill them all? Will Telemachus be there when it happens? But most importantly, who is North recruiting to do the narration? My money is on Athena, but she seems a little too no-nonsense to tell an interesting story; she is more of a how-to kind of narrator. I would kind of like to see Artemis, she is the kind of girl to put an arrow through your eye just for looking at her the wrong way or any way at all for that matter. She would tell a fun story.

*5 Stars

I read and love Ithaca, so I was excited to see House of Odysseus. This book effectively continues from where Ithaca left off.

I absolutely adore the way that Penelope is written in this story. She appears passive from outside, but she is truly brilliant at strategy. The way she maneuvers and manipulates Menelaus, Elektra, and all of her suitors.

I look forward to future books in this series!

Claire North has managed to follow up the lovely ITHACA with another engaging, fun, and beautifully constructed installment of Penelope’s story. if you’re a fan of myth retellings, or if you like political fantasy or historical fiction, or if you just want to hang out and read a book written from the perspective of, but not about, a Greek goddess, I highly recommend giving this series a try.

HOUSE OF ODYSSEUS, narrated by none other than the lovely Aphrodite, returns us to Ithaca, where Penelope is clinging to her relatively unsteady power in the face of troublingly ambitious visitors and even a murder in her own palace. the writing is wonderfully readable, often laugh-out-loud funny, and the characters and plot continue to shine in this second installment. Aphrodite is a wonderfully compelling narrator as well; just as well-crafted as Hera in the previous book. if you enjoyed ITHACA, you’ll find this a very worthy follow-up!

I didn’t love this one quite as much as the first — the plot moved a little quicker, which I appreciated, but I didn’t feel quite as much of the underlying emotional punch as I did in the first one — but I think this is a largely a personal preference/“your mileage may vary” situation. I also wanted a little more presence from the side characters, like we got in the first; but these were minor concerns overall, and not enough for me to knock my rating down.

all in all, a very good time, and I will be eagerly anticipating the final book in the trilogy; thanks so much to Orbit and Netgalley for the advance copy!

I love the retellings of Greek mythology and this was no exception. This was a little more of a slow burn because not a lot is happening on Ithaca at this time periods, but still another great retelling from Claire North!

House of Odysseus was a well written retelling of Penelope (wife of Odysseus), and her story on ithaca while her husband was on his long journey home. This is the second book in the series, and originally i didn't know it was the second when I read it and it wasn't hard to follow along at all! I am reading the first one know and I can say that the series is one of my favorites! North does a great job of bringing the women of Ithaca and Greece to life, and the narration of Aphrodite, although sometimes confusing to follow, provided a good amount of sass that kept the story flowing and fun. I recommend this book to anyone that loves Greek mythology and loves to read about powerful women!

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook books for access to this title in exchange for an honest review!