Were I writing a one-word review, I'd jot down, "Meh-dusa," and be done with it.

But perhaps that's a bit unfair. The thing is, I opened Medusa understanding it to be "General Fiction (Adult)" and "Women's Fiction." So imagine my dismay when I found myself essentially listening in on a couple of teenagers having adolescent-deep conversations about beauty and perception and expectations in a you-hang-up-first, no-you-hang-up-first kind of way.

My eyes still ache from all the rolling.

Maybe if I'd known the novel was geared toward a fourteen-year-old audience I would have been able to enjoy it. After all, it did have some beautifully written, almost lyrical passages. Consider this description of Medusa's exilic island: "When the crescent blooms to a coin, no lantern is ever needed, no fire in the hearth. The sand on the shore is a pewter ribbon. And up on the cliffs, hares live like silver trinkets, for the grass is smooth enough to line a jewel box."

I mean, it's stunning, evocative prose, right? And that's not an isolated incident; Burton creates dozens of passages like this throughout the book.

But for most of the novel, literally nothing happens. We're just listening to Medusa and Perseus thinking, talking, having and sharing quasi-deep thoughts...

...about beauty: "When beauty's assigned you as a girl, it somehow becomes the essence of your being. It takes over everything else you might be. When you're a boy, it never dominates who you can be."

...about self-awareness: "I was trapped; I was the one person I could never escape."

...about opening up to somebody else: "We were dealing in the market of ourselves now, presenting our parts, the swift and heady bartering of tales."

...about being genuine: "...there's only so long you can wear the mask before the skin beneath it starts to curdle. Before you contort into a half-self. And you can't go back. Time doesn't work like that."

So much of this came across as forced, preachy, stilted. By the time I reached the single scene of action and agency, I was more than weary of being told so much and shown so little. And while it should have been refreshing to read Medusa's story from her perspective, this was not a tale that drew me in and made me care.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read. This was such a wonderful read it was a smaller book but I highly recommended and would purchase!

So I didn't realize when I asked for this title that I had already read a different version of it previously on netgalley. It was an interesting take on the Medusa myth, but it also wasn't my favorite. Those feelings still stand at this time. Wasn't bad and I do recommend it to anyone interested in mythology and medusa.

Also this new cover is a lot more visually pleasing in my opinion.

Good book. I like Medusa’s story, it definitely needed to be told correctly and this did it! I like the dialogue and the way the author weaves the story. A good read!

An imaginative retelling of Ovid's story of Medusa and how she became the mythical monster, instead of born of monsters. A beautiful and heart wrenching tale of womanhood and the unwanted attentions of men. It was a quick and simple read, but full of fantastical mythical context. This will leave your eyes full of tears from sadness and recognition as a woman, but also feminine rage we as women all have/or will eventually feel from pressures of patriarchal society.

Medusa is a retelling of an old Greek myth and it really hits the mark. I found it heartbreaking but also uplifting. Finding our worth can be a long road for many people and Medusa has had an extra long road, being abused and villified. She is an amazingly strong and thoughtful character. I really loved her head of colorful snakes, each with their own little personality. The story is an incredibly quick read and kept my interest the whole time. I look forward to reading more by this author.

This was received as an ARC through NetGalley:
This was a lovely fast read of Medusa of her origins and struggles. Inspiring telling of the gods fickle behavior and consequences they didn’t think about.

I love me some mythology books. real, fiction, retelling, anything. It is all fantastic and I love it. Medusa was well-written, well-paced, and just all-around a good story.

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

I love Medusa and the current trend of reimagining the Greek myths and exploring the female characters with further depth.

So when I saw this book up for review, I had to give it a shot.

It's short, and I definitely found it quick and easy to read, but the story just didn't work for me.

It feels as if it's a Twilight version of Medusa rather than the in depth story that I was looking for. More of a teen romance rather than adult romance/women's fiction it was labeled as.

I received this book through a NetGalley ARC. Surprisingly, it was a shorter read and is a dramatic reimagining of the Medusa and Perseus story, with an "unexpected" victor by the end. It offers a fresh perspective on the characters and exploring themes of love, sacrifice, and the beauty that can be found within the most unlikely places- ourselves.

I wouldn't consider myself vain, but as a black woman who attended a predomintately white institution and is employed in corporate America, I have had more times than I can count of feeling lesser than as normal humans do. Cursed to be alone and wistful for the things I see others so easily retain. I wish I could tattoo “I could taste Danae's loneliness because it tasted exactly the same as mine.” (page 31) on myself as a reminder from where I have seen myself come from. Now, books like these never shy from romance, but this takes a drastic turn and unsurprisingly reflects my views on love. “'I want a man to treat you as if his happiness had found a home.'” (126). Wouldn't it be so miraculous that we should be admired not for our external looks, but our internal fears, dreams, deeds, our very beings that we hide away? This book riffs on the loneliness that can fill the human experience, but honestly it falls flat sometimes. Kind of wish it stopped there and had the two fall in love with her beauty being recognized by herself and him seeing past the unconventional "hairstyle" she had going on.

By the end, we come to realize that, as women, we all have a piece of Medusa inside of us. Full of rage, full of sorrow, fulll of questions, full of answers. And we must nurture her to take back what we wish was untrue- our very lives. At many points I found myself having to put the book down and allow myself to be angry right along with Medusa as if I was Medusa. The curse of loneliness is broken as I choose to set myself free and “Maybe I had found my space to simply be.” (116). However, I realize that I haven't broken this curse on my own, but with the help and presence of others. Medusa seems to take that for granted and edges on a "girlboss, gaslight, gatekeep" moment, which felt emotionally stunted, especially taking into account the ending.

If I was a little younger, I feel that I wouldn't have see the things I didn't enjoy, but I digress. There was no real character development and even in the moments when you think Medusa is going to reach the coming to G-d moment, it falls right on its face. Don't get me wrong, there are some good points in this book regardless of that. The book had a lot going for it, but I feel like the feminist perspective was too in your face at some moments. It read almost Wattpad-y because of this, but overall I enjoyed the book.

I love a good Greek mythology retelling - but this one... I have mixed feelings about it. Short and sweet. Another story in the trend of reclaiming women’s voices in Greek mythologies. It was a quick and easy read and told as a coming-of-age tale from Medusa’s perspective.
I didn't really like the writing style..

The myth of Medusa like any myth changes as time passes but what is the real story? Medusa is living on an island with her 2 sisters in voluntary exile when Perseus arrives. The more Medusa and Perseus talk as time passes they realize they are falling in love. But can you really love someone you haven't seen or someone you don't truly know? As they both learn the truth about one another they realize love is not enough.

While I felt the book was a bit short I did enjoy that it was Medusa telling her own story and you were able to see her growth as a girl and a gorgon. The end was empowering, "But you will find me when you need me, when the wind hears a woman's cry and fills my sails forward." - Medusa realized her worth, her power, who she was.

This book was a truly beautiful piece of work to read. It was so well crafted and so well thought out on the author's part. The way Burton takes her time in creating this story makes the reader fall more and more in love with Medusa and her heartbreakingly beautiful story.

Medusa solidified my love for this myth and story, this was a fantastic was to showcase Medusa in a new light, and I am wholeheartedly obsessed with this book.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book, I was so excited when I was approved, but honestly I was just expecting a bit more from it. It was still a good read, I just wanted that something extra.

Retelling of Greek myths are obnoxiously trendy currently, but often I am left feeling that no one can do it as well as Madeline Miller. I eagerly requested this because I do think there is room to expand on the myth of Medusa in the modern age of feminism. This book ain’t it though.

Admittedly I only read 40% of it before deciding I couldn’t finish it, but there’s no depth and there’s nothing new. They simply talk back and forth about their lives while Medusa hides in a cave. It’s boring and simple and the modern language used was jarring.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the electronic readers copy for review.

Great! Love Jessie Burton. Not super crazy about mythological retellings, but this was wonderfully done.

This is a retelling of the Greek mythology story of Medusa with a twist. It focuses more on the strength of Medusa and her sisters, and how they made it through the things that happened to them. There are some parallels that can be drawn to things men of power do to women today. Feminism is highlighted in this story. It tells you to be yourself and not conform to society’s standards.
This book is well worth a read.

This was a gorgeous feminist re-telling of the story of the "monster" of Greek Mythology: Medusa. It was a fast and quick read. Very empowering and emotional. I loved what it said about the inner self versus the outer self and really coming to love ourselves for who we really are.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the digital advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The novel will be available December 5, 2023.

As long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated by Greek Mythology. In college, I learned a lot about the Greek and Roman Gods and their intriguing stories. I’ve noticed lately that this genre of retellings has grown more popular. Or maybe it always has been and I’ve only just recently jumped into the genre. Books like Circe, The Song of Achilles, Ariadne and more are cropping up and have a dedicated following. And that’s why I decided to pick up Medusa by Jessie Burton because I am one of those that are part of the dedicated following.

Medusa, tells the story of the young gorgon with snakes for hair after she has been transformed by Athena and exiled to a far-off island. Having only her immortal sisters and dog by her side, Medusa feels isolated and lonely, yearning to be normal again. When a young man named Perseus drifts onto her island everything changes. Medusa is instantly charmed by his gentle nature, but cautious as she remembers Athena’s warning “Woe betide any man fool enough to look upon you.”

“I know a lot about beauty. Too much, in fact. But I’d never seen anything like him.”

Therein lies the overarching conflict in Medusa. Perseus is funny and kind, but Medusa does not want to risk putting him in danger so she keeps her distance, while slowly growing to truly care for him. It makes for a suspenseful story the entire way through as Medusa keeps this boy a secret from her sisters as well. Unfortunately, she has no idea what would happen if Persues gazes upon her and therefore keeps her real identity and “deformity” from him as well.

Oftentimes when learning about Greek Mythology, the Greek Gods are put on a high pedestal, praised and worshiped. Medusa gives a different, refreshing look on the gods, making it clear to the reader that they are far from perfect. That they can be cruel and uncaring. Sometimes, they can be downright assholes.

“Please, I urged the gods - and one goddess in particular. You’ve done so much to punish me. Athena, please let me have this sliver of moon.”

Medusa is a lovely retelling of this young woman’s story with a satisfying, feminist twist and characters that you’ll fall in love with instantly. It’s a very quick read because you won’t want to put it down. You’re sure to be fascinated from the more you read and wonder just how different this story will be from the one you learned about in school. I highly recommend picking it up if you’re a lover of Greek Mythology or even if you just love a great story about powerful women.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the opportunity to see an ARC of Medusa by Jessie Burton, scheduled for publication on December 5, 2023.
As children we are often told doctored stories of the Greek legends and we rarely if ever question the information we are given. In fact, we are more often that not told stories wherein heroes teach us morals and we think ourselves better for having learned how to do things "the right way."
As adults, if we choose, we have a chance to revisit Greek legends and understand why they're also called myths. The full story of Medusa is a great example of why legend should not be confused with myth, and why retellings deserve their place in culture.
Burton has woven a short but fascinating story in which the tale of Medusa and Perseus takes a decidedly different arch, and in so doing the fates of many other legendary myths may be forever altered.
Unfurling by way of the two characters happening to meet (without one seeing the other), what happens next will certainly entertain and engage readers and enlighten many to what really happened when Medusa and her sisters fell under Athena's curse.
I loved Burton's turns of phrases and her take on the Medusa narrative. I am not a Greek scholar. I knew a little about Medusa's storyline going into this book but I felt for she and her family even more by the end. There was a solidarity with her sisters I wasn't expecting. I looked at Medusa as a survivor before, and Burton painted her not as a warrior but as a human first, and gave her a tenderness that reminded me she was not just a symbol.