Medea is a beautifully written book told from one POV across multiple timelines. I wasn’t familiar with the story of Medea prior to reading this so had no expectations going in and was immediately caught up in her story. A strong female protagonist who overcomes every obstacle placed in her path by the gods, goddesses and men in her life, Medea is a heroine in her own right despite her deeds which many considered evil. I absolutely loved everything about this book from the writing to the characters, the sapphic moments. I was completely immersed and sad when it ended. Thank you to Netgalley and Books Go Social for my digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is not the story of the woman you think you know. You know only the tales of men through the ages. No, this is the story of a dangerous woman fighting for her freedom in a world dominated by cruel gods and ego driven men…

I love a good mythology retelling and JJ Taylor's Medea really did it for me. Very well -written with lots of great characters and tension. It felt epic even though it wasn't super long. Well done!

Very average retelling that I was struggling to want to read. The beginning is very slow and could have been edited down a bit.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

I must confess, I adore a Greek mythological retelling, but I was apprehensive coming into a story about Medea. The ancient sources were not kind to this princess/priestess, and I was concerned that I would never be able to relate to her as a character. I am, however, happy to report that I was completely wrong.

The narrative shifts back and forth in time, starting with Medea as a young woman about to meet Jason (of the Argonauts fame). It is fascinating to see how her relationship with her family impacts those she goes on to have with others in her life, and how these in turn set about the chain of events that lead to her time as Queen in the later timeline of the book.

“Medea” is an excellent retelling, which spins the whole narrative of her time with and after her life Jason to something so much more relatable and, well, human – despite the frequent visits and interferences from the goddesses of Olympus. The characters are all well drawn, and I would certainly recommend this to any fans of a Greek retelling.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

There were a lot of difficult topics to cover in this book and I think JJ Taylor has done so flawlessly. Can Medea make her own choices when she is god-touched? Does she have free will when the Fates have already decided what will come to pass? I really enjoyed Taylor’s take on these questions and I think she did amazing. Then there’s the dynamic between her and Jason, and Jason’s character in general. I didn’t go into this book expecting to like either, but I’m glad to say I did. (Right up until the end, of course.)

The pacing of this book did feel a little off to me. We spend a very long time on the Argo, and while that highlights just how long of a journey our heroes have taken, it does start to feel repetitive. I liked Medea’s prayers and her divine gifts, but a lot of the journey all feels the same. I wish we’d spent more time with her after she leaves the Argo.

In the end, I’m so glad to finally have a Medea retelling. She will always be very dear to me in all of her shapes, forms, and sizes and I did love this book. I'm currently going over the story of the Argo with my Greek students in class as well, so this was a very fun read for that reason too. Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and JJ Taylor for the ARC.

Who was Medea really? Euripides makes her a tragic and terrible figure, a woman to whom divine ancestry has given immense powers, who exploits scheming deception in the service of her own ambition. The climax of her deceitfulness comes when she discovers Jason’s treachery, which causes her to rage enough to kill her own children in order to make him suffer. In short, according to Euripides Medea is everything a good woman doesn’t have to be.
JJ Taylor, on the other hand, makes of Medea a completely different portrait. Hated by her father and brother because of a prophecy that involves her, Medea is the toy of the gods, to whom she has gave herself to escape a fate of forced marriage. It is the gods who forge the alliance between her and Jason, who suggest the sacrifice of her brother, who guide her on the long journey that in endless stages will lead them to Iolco, where Jason should get the throne due to him in exchange for the golden fleece. In this magnificent narration, Medea keeps all her promises, for which in return she asks only respect and freedom, but each time she is betrayed, and especially by Jason, who in the end is revealed to be the pusillanimous that Medea had guessed was.
Only after depriving her of her children and setting her aside for a new hero, Theseus, the gods will finally leave her free to be herself and master of her own destiny.
One of the best mythological retelling I’ve ever read.

I received the Advanced Reader (Digital) Copy of Medea, by J.J. Taylor through NetGalley. My thanks to Net Galley, the author and publisher .

Medea was fabled goddess and princess of Ancient Greece mythology ,living, if she really lived, in the time of the Siege of Troy. She certainly lives in the pages of J.J.Taylor excellent novel. Masterfully researched and written the character of Medea emerges for the shadowy myths as a powerful, and powerfully conflicted , woman. As a child of the gods, her lineage is tangled, but she is definitely goddess touched, devoted to Hecate,, Greek goddess of the underworld, , but a familiar to other powers dwelling on Olympus. She is “ familiar” in the sense of a familiar to witchcraft- used by the goddesses for their purposes, and using dark forces to clear her way.. Though Medea desires freedom to be her own woman, not ruled by any man, free to find her own way, she realizes that other powerful forces shape her destiny.
The author tells the story of Medea’s growth from girlhood to late womanhood. Loved by some , feared even by those who love her , using her powers to forge her path she is not adverse to manipulate and remove those who would use her or control her. But she is controlled by fate.
The book is long, but not dense. The story flows with adventure, compelling and memorable characters, fascinating detail of long - lost kings and kingdoms destroyed by the sort of cataclysms that wiped fabled Atlantis from the map. The reader, at least this reader, was drawn into Medea’s character, her desires, her fortunes and misfortunes.. Books about the Ancient Greeks, especially the women of the ancient Hellenic world abound these days. In my opinion, Medea by J.J. Taylor is one of the best . It was easy to become immersed in, hard to put down.
Note: I found it helpful to bookmark a wiki page or two on Medea and Greek mythology to get familiar names and places.
Cautions: nothing much to trouble the reader as to sex and violence,

We all know about Medea - the one who did not flinch from murdering her children when Jason left her. She is an ultimate villain - a kinslayer. But what made her do it?

Medea by J.J. Taylor attempts to peel off the layers of this complex personality. The book is narrated in first person by Medea and being in her head was not as bad as I thought. She is quite ordinary otherwise -except when she is touched by God. The meeting with Jason, his subsequent challenges, and their flight from her father's palace is all very thrilling. I liked the way the way female friendships and relationships are portrayed as well.

One thing that could be worked upon is the length of the novel. After a while, it became tiring to read about the Argonauts reaching a village and something surprising happening to them there.

I enjoyed this novel and will definitely explore more of J.J. Taylor.

4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC.

I loved the story of Medea, a character that often takes more of a side role in stories. JJ Taylor did an excellent job bringing her story to life and creating characters that I connected with and enjoyed spending time with. You really get the feeling of a character that is pushed and pulled by the gods and has some choices but so often the gods are in control. The pacing was well done and I liked the shifts between the past and the present for Medea. The story is set during a time of drought, heat, and earthquakes which lends itself to the power of the gods and their extension on the ground Medea. This was almost a perfect read for me, however, I felt like the ending was a little rushed and it felt a little disappointing after the story to that point. I can see why the ending was what it was I just expected more after the rest of the story. Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the story. I liked that Medea and Kip had a relationship of both friendship and attraction. Jason and Medea had a dynamic that was both based on respect and the influence of the gods. Overall the characters and setting had me engaged and interested throughout and I will be recommending this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

JJ Taylor does a great job in bringing Medea to life in this book. It uses the story in a way that it was supposed to and glad it worked with the story overall. It had that adventure element in a way that I was hoping for. It had a great overall feel for a re-imagining and glad I got to read this. The cover worked wonders with the story inside and glad I was able to read this.

"I've paid for my freedom in blood that drowns me in my dreams."

J.J. Taylor's "Medea" opens with one of the strongest lines I've come across in a while, and I truly wish I could say what comes after lives up to the expectation it sets, but unfortunately, it simply doesn't. Having read Euripides's "Medea", and David Vann's "Bright Air Black", I was familiar with the myth, and what I was looking for in this book was either an interesting new perspective, or good writing, and sadly I found neither. Readers unfamiliar with the story could enjoy this book more, but given that two other books titled "Medea" are being published in the first quarter of 2024 alone, both of which have so far gotten more publicity, as far as I can tell, I'm not optimistic about this one's chances.

Two specific scenes cemented the low star rating of Medea: Priestess, Princess, Witch - two out of the three murders that define Medea - the first one being that of her brother, and the second - that of her children. In the first scene, less time is spent on Medea's inner turmoil before she suggests they dismember her brother's corpse, than to the gruesome description of the act itself, which didn't quite sit right with me. Worse yet, is the choice made regarding the murders of her children, and the attention given to that scene felt... insufficient.

I do wish I could rate this book higher, but there's only so much charity a good opener can buy.

Fans of Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint will love this retelling of Medea's story from a feminist stance.
I absolutely adored this book and can't wait to see what else this author puts out.

I love Greek myth retellings so I’m always looking for new ones coming out. I love the story of Jason and Medea and really liked how their story was told in this book. We get to see all sides of Medea throughout her journey. Her anger at being a pawn for the gods, her friendships, her love, her becoming a powerful woman, and of course betrayal

My favorite thing about this book is that we were shown Orta of her whole life. Her past, her time with Jason and the argonauts, and then her life as a queen when she’s older. It was very clear in each stage of her life how she has changed and learned from past mistakes.

The author did a great job of keeping the story flowing while Medea and Jason are traveling by introducing new characters, locations, and cultures. She kept this part interesting by showing lots of new things. It was really interesting reading about the new cultures and their beliefs.

I love love loved this mythological retelling! Perfect for fans of Circe by madeline miller Medea tells the story of a woman often forgotten in the discussion of bloodthirsty greek mythology women - the woman who killed her two sons as revenge against her cheating husband. Her story is filled with tragedy from the very beginning and as the tragedy builds up.

The character exploration is simply fancinating, the political intrigue written to perfection - an absolute gem in the greek mythology retelling genre.

Dnf'ed at 63 pages.

I don't like Medea as a character yet and for a novel that wants to empower women it's portrayal of women who are more traditional is not great. They are all described as overly emotional as if that's a bad thing.

Normally I wouldn't rate a dnf as I don't find it fair to the book to not judge it on it's entirity

DNF at 12%

I can't get past the writing. I'm really bored with the whole story, and there is nothing holding my attention. The writing style is more telling than showing. I feel no real connection with Medea. The story has a nice pace but it's overshadowed by poor writing.

I struggled with Aeetes being mortal. I struggled with the goddess implanting desires and thoughts within this "feminist" story. Also, Greek Mythology has many goddesses; please name the goddess instead of just mentioning it once and saying it like it's a mystery.

Some may like this book but I just couldn't get into it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fascinating retelling of the story of Medea, whom most people will know only as the scorned woman who commits the terrible crime of killing her own children. About half way through this story now, finding it very absorbing and well-written, definitely one to recommend to fans of Madeline Miller etc especially if they want to explore something with some challenging themes.

A deep retelling of the story of Medea and Jason and the Argonauts

Imaginative and expansive story that focuses on the tale from the point of view of Medea, witch, princess, priestess of Hecate. So glad that I had a chance to read this book. I recommend it as an engrossing read.

I have started to dabble in mythology retellings of late, and Medea's story is one I knew nothing about so when I came across this book I was keen to read it.
I enjoyed reading Medea's POV and the past and present timelines, although I felt the pace of the book was a little slow in places, and then elsewhere it felt a tad rushed. Overall, I enjoyed this retelling of Medea and I would recommend this book to mythology enthusiasts.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC to read and review. Medea is out now.