I will start by saying that The Heir of Venus is a beautifully written work!! The words matched the setting and characters perfectly. The narrator did a fantastic job driving the story and bringing the characters to life. This book was a Greek mythology retelling told from the perspective of the women who were in Aneneas's life. Often the retellings and historical records are in a man’s view, so seeing what his wives, mother, lovers, and women he betrayed was so interesting. I don't know much about the story of Aeneas. All my Greek/Roman knowledge stems from a mixture of Percy Jackson/Song of Achilles, but The Heir of Venus had me hooked the entire time on the edge of my seat. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. What interested me the most was the dialogue of this story, as women were not in the front line of the action it was their inner thoughts and feelings that drove this story which I found compelling. Women's perspective of history is making its turn in the world! This is a story you don't want to miss out on.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Alcove Press for early access to read The Heir of Venus and for allowing me to dive into the adventure early!

3.25 stars

This is a completely serviceable retelling of the Aeneid. Based on the summary I was expecting more of a focus on Lavinia’s story, but we also get Dido and Creusa’s POVs (and Creusa even gets the epilogue). I was also expecting this to have a feminist take on the story, but I really can’t say that’s what we got. Especially by the end, the narrative seems to forgive his treatment of Dido.

From a writing perspective, I didn’t see a lot of difference between the three women’s voices. And the story was very straight forward. There was nothing to really stand out or distinguish any sections.
I did like the narrator for the audio though.

If you’re not super familiar with the story already and you haven’t experienced LeGuin’s Lavinia, I think you might enjoy this. (Also I really did like Shepperson’s first novel on audio, so check that one out!)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the preview. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Heir of Venus is a beautifully written Greek mythology retelling that powerfully presents a voice for the many women who were initially ignored.

THoV’s beautiful, compelling prose captivated me from the start, but as I continued reading, I realized that this story felt like all of the other retellings I’ve read before (for example, A Thousand Ships or The Song of Achilles). That’s fine, but I was hoping for something other in this story that made it more original and unlike the retellings I’ve heard before. As always, however, I appreciated the author taking on the story to shine a light on the women whose voices have been quieted. Fans of Natalie Haynes and Madeline Miller may rejoice in finding another read similar to their favorite authors’ works, or they may be disappointed in the similarities. Again, the writing and character development were beautiful, but the story was so familiar that it didn’t captivate me as much as I’d hoped.

The audiobook narrator for THoV did a lovely job. Her voice was soothing and fit the story well, though I had been hoping for more varied accents for the different characters. The narrator also did a wonderful job narrating the women’s voices and presented the story in an apt tone.

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

I had high hopes for this book and for the most part, it did not disappoint. When Lavinia’s father announces that she is to marry Aeneas, Turnus, her childhood friend, threatens war believing that he would marry her (a fact that neither Lavinia nor her father were not aware of). As the war rages on, Lavinia has to deal with the guilt of being the cause, even involuntarily of the conflict. She also slowly learns about her betrothed’s secret past further complicated her path forward.

What I liked about this book was Lavinia. As her parent’s only child, she expected to be queen - now she’s being fought over by two men neither of which she particularly cares for at the start. This indifference towards her suitors contrasts with her care for her people. Being a woman however, her power is limited so we wait to see what/if any change she could actually bring.

Another thing I liked about the book is that the mystery of Aeneas’s past is told through other women. These perspectives further the story while also bringing other women into the light, women who might have also been relegated to the footnote of history.

It was a bit tricky with the audiobook to keep track of all the names at the start, but as I made my way through the book, that became less of a problem.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Laura Shepperson for the advanced copy of the audiobook!