My thanks to Redhook for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

In this second installment of the Songs of Penelope, we are shown the aftermath of Orestes having killed his mother, Clytemnestra, to avenge his father Agamemnon. In the time following Clytemnestra's murder on Ithaca, Elektra and Orestes return to Ithaca for Penelope's help in concealing that Orestes is sick (and being tormented by unseen Furies). They plan to keep this from Menelaus, who would use it as an excuse to take the throne from Orestes and rule over a larger empire. This only compounds the issues that Penelope is going through herself, as she expertly fends off suitors in an effort to keep Ithaca in her own family.

The pacing of this story is steady, told from the point of view of Aphrodite (whose narrations border on funny yet distracting with some of her word choices). The series continues its theme of the strength of women in the face of men who underestimate them, and I enjoyed it very much. The only difficulty at times is the sheer number of names to remember in this story! Some of the fringe characters can get lost in the narrative and if you asked me to name any characters apart from the main ones, I wouldn't be able to give you any with real certainty. For this reason, I largely ignored them if they were not essential to the main plot.

I am looking forward to the next installment, as the cliffhanger this one ended on was a very good one!

Almost 20 years after her husband sailed off to fight for the return of another man’s wife, Penelope is facing an ever more precarious hold on her throne. Suitors circle like sharks, hoping to declare Odysseus dead and Penelope eligible to wed once again. Telemachus has secretly sailed off in search of his father. Meanwhile, the goddesses watch the women of Ithaca.

[b:House of Odysseus|61346133] is the sequel to [b:Ithaca|59416521], [a:Claire North|7210024]’s retelling of Penelope’s story as she endures Odysseus’s delayed return. While her husband is off in the arms of Calypso, the Ithacan queen faces an invasion of her own: Menelaus comes seeking his nephew, King Orestes, who is being driven mad by the Furies for killing his mother as revenge for the death of his father. His sister Elektra brings him – and mortal danger – to Penelope and Ithaca as she seeks to defend his hold of the Mycenaean throne from Meneleas’s hunger for power.

As a feminist retelling, [b:House of Odysseus|61346133] is more than serviceable. North’s Ithaca is a kingdom dominated by bloviating men but controlled by women determined to outsmart and outmaneuver them, even as they take care not to seem to get ideas beyond their place. We see a different side to Penelope through the eyes of narrator Aphrodite than we did in <i>Ithaca</i> through Hera. As Aphrodite, North’s narration was slow to get going – she tends toward floridness and travels down unrelated paths that seem to try to make her as interesting as the maltreated Hera, but doesn’t quite succeed. Penelope is almost maddeningly unflappable, though passionate Aphrodite does see her tempted by the exotic foreigner, Kenamon. Elektra – who ranged from inscrutable to enraged in <i>Ithaca</i> as she seeks the death of her mother Clytemnestra, is reduced to weeping at her brother’s bedside. As much fun as it is to see Penelope run circles around Menelaus and roll her eyes at Helen, the king is little more than a buffoon. At least Helen’s simpering chatter is a mask as she finds a way to survive her post-“abduction” return to Mycenae.

Looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy with [b:The Last Song of Penelope|195113207] next year.

[b:House of Odysseus|61346133]
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫 3.5 stars rounded up
🗡️ Don’t read if squeamish
🐐I appreciate North’s realistic picture of Ithaca’s… smelliness
😵‍💫 Just couldn’t keep all the maids and suitors straight
🦉 So, will Athena be our next narrator?

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Did you want Claire North's Ithaca to be less of a book about power dynamics and more horny? Well, now you can have the second without sacrificing the first, as Aphrodite is the narrator of this one!

Look, this is a book about war, power, and patriarchy. Yes, there's no one Aphrodite wouldn't, given the right circumstances, but despite being a little wary, I grew to love the goddess of love as a narrator almost as much as bitchy Hera. Although it's not her purview, per se, that doesn't mean she's not involved in a hundred different ways...and I think that's as clever a choice as Hera's "Ithaca, what a dump" energy.

Or maybe that's just how North MAKES it.

The power of women, I suppose.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Greek myths, other than the original tellings. I blame being an English teacher, and assigning ‘The Odyssey’ as part of required reading for many years. So I’m very selective about retellings of myths to pick up. I loved CIRCE when I read it a couple years ago, but it wasn’t until I picked up ITHACA this year, that I became a fan of newly told myths.

THE HOUSE OF ODYSSEUS is the second installment of The Songs of Penelope, in which Odysseus’s faithful wife and queen of Ithaca is a fleshed out version of Homer’s original. And I must say, I *love* her. North both sharpens and dulls Penelope’s one-dimensional mold. She is as shrewd and cunning—more, I would argue—as her husband, and just as deliciously flawed.

I love the layers North has built of her: queen, mother, politician, woman. And what all those titles entail. This sequel pits her against her uncle, Menelaus, sees the return of her cousins, Elektra and Orestes, and introduces us to the illustrious Helen of Troy.

In place of Hera, Aphrodite is the omniscient deity narrating this tale, and she delivers the story with the same snark tempered with some tenderness for the mortals under her watch, as her stepmother. The plot deals with the fallout of Orestes’s actions at the end of ITHACA, and once again, Penelope’s gift for subterfuge plays a role in resolving the conflicts. There is even an unexpected subplot in which Penelope has to play detective, which only highlights her brilliance as a character.

Overall, this was a delight to read and once again revisit the little island of Ithaca. My only gripe, and it’s so minor that it can be overlooked, is that Aphrodite’s voice sounds an awful lot like Hera, but again, it’s negligible. I’m so pleased to discover that The Songs of Penelope is a trilogy, and I am eager to find out what happens in the story.

Thank you to @orbitbooks_us #redhookbooks and @netgalley for an early copy of this delightful sequel in North’s Songs of Penelope series!

Told to us from the perspective of the beautiful and unique goddess Aphrodite, the book opens with (but of course) men who sacrilegiously allow themselves into her temple as she bathes. So begins the story about true feministic beauty, power, boldness, courage, and strength.

Elektra seeks protection from her cousin Penelope, the queen of Ithaca as her brother Orestes loses his sanity and is therefore in danger of losing his throne to his uncle Menelaus, King of Sparta. Though Penelope agrees to give them shelter, she is barely hanging onto her own power over the kingdom, and will not allow war to come to her home and take her people. Helen of Sparta is shown to be a much more complex figure than history portrayed her as, becoming an ally to Penelope, with all three women (Penelope, Helen and Elektra) outwitting the men who have reigned supreme in the OG versions. Even the hand and temple maidens are shown to be clever and strategic. We strategize with these women as Penelope fights to keep her kingdom out of the hands of two mad kings.

Aphrodite was a pleasant surprise and a breath of fresh air as a narrator, she is unbiased to everyone as she watches over them, witty in her ability to make Zeus a little fearful of her (LOVE that she has ideas to use her powers to cause him misery should he step out of line! 😂) and she is able to keep topics a little lighthearted but which is also refreshing and keeps the story moving at a steady pace.

Already to date many retellings have come to light about our heroines. So I found it at times difficult to keep my perspective unbiased from all of the others out there. IE: Clytemnestra via Elektra; but Clytemnestra also via Clytemnestra. (Who can really blame her for seeking vengeance on the man who sacrificed her daughter?) Odysseus via Circe, via Penelope, via Athene.

Despite all of the retellings out there, The House of Odysseus did not disenchant me as we were transported through time and myth by the impeccable storytelling of Claire North.

We are permitted to see Orestes having gone mad by the whim of the Furies who are said to be in Greek mythology as givers of Justice for one’s sins, Orestes having the blood of his mother, Clytemnestra on his hands was a worthy symbol for this storyline.

For my love of Greek mythology and retellings, I absolutely love reading the perspectives of each character regardless of their fates, their sins, triumphs and their motivations or mistakes.

With all of this being said: I do believe that those seeking this piece of literature should have some knowledge of Greek myths. I don’t believe you need to be an expert but I think in order to understand the characters portrayed in this book that one should possess a little sense of each of their histories.

Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook Books and Claire North. It was truthfully an honor and privilege to be given an advanced readers copy of this gem in exchange for an honest review.

All you have to tell me to get me interested in a book is that the story is about/based on/involving mythology.

Having read and enjoyed Claire North’s first book, as soon as I saw House of Odysseus, I had to request it. It’s always interesting to read these retellings and this one was fun.

What was really interesting off the bat was the perspective of the narrator of the story. It’s very interesting to see a story told by the ever seeing eyes of a goddess, Aphrodite. It gave a different angle due to her personal interests as well as a little cheek from her as a narrator.

We may have heard of the women in this story, but it gives different views and potential storylines due to a majority of focus in the past being from their male counterparts. There is such nuance in speech and tone in the story that it makes you better understand and appreciate each character for how they represent and hold themselves.

While reading, I found myself taken to another realm where I could picture the lay of the lands, could hear the waves by the boats and see the garments adorning the characters.

I cannot wait to know what Claire North comes out with next!

Thank you so much to the author, Claire North, Redhook Books, Orbit Books and NetGalley for the eARC of House of Odysseus in exchange for my review!

This is an excellent read for anyone who wants to get on the "female protagonist Greek mythology retelling" train. Like Jennifer Saint and Madeleine Miller, Claire North writes about the female perspective to classic Greek myths that we all know so well. Her writing style, while somewhat choppy, goes back and forth from the main characters to an overall narrator (usually one of the Greek goddesses). While I personally didn't like her writing style in general, I did really like the way she characterizes the perspectives and crafts the overall story.

Fans of Circe, Ariadne, etc., would love this! Her first book in the series is Ithaca. This is her second.

A special thanks to #NetGalley and Orbit publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

Ithaca continues to wait for its king Odysseus to return. In his wake, his wife Penelope strives to keep control of a kingdom threatening to fall to chaos. Her cousin Clytemnestra is dead, killed by her own son Orestes. Clytemnestra’s daughter Elektra brings Orestes to Ithaca to wait out the fall out from his crime, but he has brought his furies and madness to the small kingdom. Meanwhile, in Mycenae, Menelaus prepares to seize the throne of his absent brother. In the fight to protect her own kingdom, Penelope’s allies are Elektra and Helen. The Goddess Aphrodite looks on with interest.
I absolutely loved Claire North’s Ithaca and its sequel House of Odysseus does not disappoint.

As a huge fan of mythology, I'm excited to be living in the same era where Greek mythology retellings THRIVE. Claire North's ability to give the often overlooked women of Greek mythology a background and a voice in "House of Odysseus" is fantastic.

Feminist retellings of myths are becoming more popular, but so few books justify that category; Claire North deserves a top spot in it. The plot was refreshing and much needed, as the main story (The Trojan War) has been told a thousand times over. While this book can be slow, everything has a necessary place for the pacing. I found myself wanting to speed-read to know what happens, but also slow down so I wouldn't finish the book that fast; it was hard.

Although we saw the badass "wife of Odysseus" *ahem* queen in "Ithaca" from Hera's POV, we learn about Penelope, the badass female (among other badass females), from Aphrodite's POV in this book, which is fitting. I loved having her POV be the narrator for this second book. In the beautifully written narrative, Penelope showcases she can be just as, if not more, clever, witty, and just better than her husband, who is often praised for his intelligence. Actually, Penelope is smarter than he is, period. I enjoyed meeting the new characters in this book. I truly enjoyed North's ability to create distinguishable voices, backstories, and the personal development of each one. Previously, everyone glossed over the females and what their crucial roles were, but I enjoyed getting the chance to stop and listen to what they had to say, what their tragedies were, and how they overcame them.

4.5 star read - my highest NetGalley book yet! I laughed, I teared up, and now I can't wait for the final part of this trilogy to come out. Thank you to NetGalley, RedHook Books, and Claire North for the amazing opportunity to review this ARC for free in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed this book and I could not put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the writing was really well done. It made you want to keep reading.

There are books I devour quickly and books I read slowly to savor every delicious phrase— this book is one of the latter.

The story imagines and expounds upon the vacuum of power left behind for Penelope, when Odysseus is absent from Ithaca following the Trojan War. Although it is the second in the series, following “Ithaca,” it can also be read as a standalone, particularly if you are already familiar with the general plot of the Odyssey. It is written through the voice of Aphrodite as she and her sisters watch what unfolds on the island following the killing of Clytemnestra.

The characters are complex and striking from beginning to end. It is clear in the first chapter that everyone who has descended upon Ithaca to pursue Odysseus’s crown underestimates Penelope, who has been deftly running the Western Isles since Odysseus departed. This idea is a thread that runs through the book, and it surfaces when describing Penelope, her group of female soldiers, Ourania, and of course Helen herself.

The dialogue is so well executed as to both feel befitting of the setting and incredibly modern and relatable. I genuinely felt giddy during the denouement — imagining Laertes proudly stand back to watch Penelope eviscerate Menelaus felt so deeply satisfying.

A word about content warnings: if you’re a fan of this genre you’ll know that women are not often treated well in the traditional tellings. While North doesn’t shy away from the reality that women in that time period were mistreated in myriad ways, the violence that exists is far less graphic than in the originals.

If you liked the political maneuvering in the Game of Thrones series; if you chafe at the way that Greek mythology couldn’t pass even a modified a Bechdel test; if the inner lives of women are interesting to you; if you love a “good for her” story with an denoument that feels absolutely earned and yet somehow still in some ways surprising; I recommend this book whole heartedly.

Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook books for an advanced copy of this fantastic book. Genuinely waiting with bated breath for the third installment in this series.

Gosh, I wanted to love this. But I was just so bored! North has a good opportunity to create her own story but this became a bunch of political grappling and nothing thing more. I understand why there aren’t myths about Ithaca during Odysseus’ absence because nothing really happens. With that said, North is such an exquisite writer and her prose is always so beautiful.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

I was certainly not expecting to read the story of Penelope when Odysseus was not in Ithaca from Aphrodite's perspective, but it certainly felt like it was from the eyes of the goddess of love. I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology and found North's style to work well with the material as it tended to veer more poetic and omnipresent.

It's nice to see the women of Ithaca and the goddesses of Olympus being centered as the focus with war stories in Greek mythology is usually on the men. Penelope. Elektra, and Helen all felt like they had a history, as did Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, and Hera, and it made for a richer narrative as it explored female relationships and how women view other women as well as male-female relationships.

My main critique is that, occasionally, Aphrodite's POV felt a bit jarring when compared to what was going on in the scene, but that could also be that, as a goddess born of Ouranus, she just was more separated from the affairs of mortals than I might have personally liked for her. I did really appreciate the subtle suggestions around Athena not quite viewing herself and Aphrodite in a similar light regarding gender as that is a discussion I've heard in many Greek mythology circles.

I would recommend this to fans of the Odyssey who want a more female-leaning POV

The prose in this book was stunning. North writes with a gorgeous flow and each word enriches the descriptive environment she has created. The world, plot, and characters are richly developed and the narrative voice is strictly unique and unlike anything I’ve read before. The characters are all multi-dimensional and all are unique in clever ways that play on the mythological nature of the story. North takes a classic tale that everyone knows and shows a side of it that too often is forgotten in history books, myths, and legends. This tale speaks of the power of women when united and even isolated and their ability to overcome, adapt, survive, and thrive. I found the narrative a bit too otherworldly and felt taken out of the story by how it was written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the advanced copy of this book!

House of Odysseus is the second book in The Songs of Penelope series, but because this is a mythology retelling, I feel like you can read them out of order if you are familiar with Greek mythology. The book picks up many years after the Trojan War and centers on Penelope's struggles to maintain control of Ithaca while Odysseus is on his very long adventures. I loved this book a lot more than the first one mainly because it gave us interactions that we seldom see in mythology. My favorite aspect of the book it's told through Aphrodite perspective. The goddess of love has taken to watching over the people in the story, along with Athena and Artemis. Aphrodite also adds humor to this otherwise tragic tale.

I look forward to reading the next installment, which I assume will focus on Odysseus returning home (finally).

House of Odysseus is the brilliant continuation of the story of Penelope that began with the first novel, Ithaca.

It’s been almost 20 years since Odysseus left Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. Odysseus’ wife Penelope is left holding back suitors encamped at the palace wishing to marry her and take over Odysseus’ throne.

Now Penelope faces a new threat. After providing a place of refuge for Elektra and her brother, Orestes, both children of the now dead Agamemnon killed by his wife Clytemnestra, Menelaus, Agamemnon’s brother, catches wind that his niece and nephew may be hiding out in Ithaca.

Haunted by the Furies, Orestes seems to be going mad, giving Menelaus an easy excuse for dethroning him and taking over as king of kings. Penelope must find a way to keep Orestes and Menelaus apart to avoid a war and also keep Ithaca safe at the same time.

I love how each book is narrated from the perspective of a different goddess. Ithaca, told from Hera’s perspective, focused on Penelope as a mother and a queen. In House of Odysseus, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, lets us see Penelope as a woman, someone with passions and desires.

There’s a tone and flavor to the writing style that is so smart and clever and witty. It both left me laughing out loud and also slowing down to reread passages that were emotionally beautiful.

I loved the whole book, but the last third kept me flipping the pages it was that suspenseful! Even though I’m very familiar with Greek mythology, I was so connected to Penelope and her maids and the goddess that it was easy to feel their fear and dread and danger.

I enjoyed The House of Odysseus even more than Ithaca, so of course I’m eagerly anticipating the final book in this amazing trilogy.

*Thanks so much to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

I always love a good retelling and this one was so good. Such a strong book for celebrating women and of course the Greek mythology can only be loved.

Yet another wonderfully dark retelling from Claire North! I can't help but to be absolutely captivated by her writing, it just sucks you right into the story and you stay there until the very end! Definitely check this out if you enjoy Greek mythology.

This is the second book in The Songs of Penelope series, and while I didn't love the first book (ok I thought it was actually really boring), I gave this a shot because I'll read any retelling of Greek mythology. And I actually ended up liking this one so much more! 
*
This tells a story that I was not familiar with, about Elektra's plight to protect her brother Orestes, who appears to have gone mad after killing his mother Clytemnestra. And I think the fact that I didn't know this story already helped a lot in my enjoyment, I had no idea what was coming so was interested to see how it unfolded. 
*
I also just found the characters so much more engaging. I loved the dialogue, and the subtle sarcasm of Penelope and the misleading submissiveness of Helen, and the reflections of Aphrodite as the narrator. I liked the theme of these women and how powerful they truly were, because they had to protect themselves but do it in a way that men couldn't pick up on what they were doing. 
*
I'm really glad I gave this series a second chance, and look forward to what comes next!

I struggled to finish this book. While I was excited to read a story about Penelope, a character I have long admired as a fan of Greek mythologies, I found "House of Odysseus" to be slow and not able to hold my attention. I found the narrative voice of Aphrodite to be extremely grating. One moment she would be speaking in a manner similar to other characters and of the time, at others she was speaking in a very modern way. When this would happen, I would have to reread the sections as they were so jarring. This book had a lot of promise and it is too bad that it was unable to hit its mark.