Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!! I’ve never read anything by this author. But I couldn’t be more pleased. I absolutely loved this book. There’s just something about the writing style of this author that I found incredibly easy and very captivating. I will admit that I am not as familiar with the myth of Hekate as I am all of the others mentioned in this book but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be doing all of my research now to find out more about her. I found myself so emotionally invested in this girl story that it absolutely broke my heart at the end of the second act. I cannot wait to read book 2, and I am excited to learn more about this Goddesses journey.

Hekate
Nikita Gill
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book: 67
Favorite quote:
It seemed to me that anything unpredictable was named dangerous by Gods and men alike. But the word unpredictable seemed reserved for women alone. A woman they cannot control, whether Goddess or mortal, is a dangerous woman.

Thank you NetGalley, Hackett Audio, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, and Nikita Gill for the opportunity to read the ARC for Hekate.

I was a little off put by this book at first due to the formatting but I quickly got over it. The story was so good. The writing was not quite Madeleine Miller level of entrancing but I loved learning more of the Triple Goddess. Her origins, how she came to befriend Hecuba, the titanomachy, and the “reduce” of Kore. This book was well written and beautiful. I also LOVED the narrator for the audiobook. Her voice is lovely and the emotion she lends to Hekate also lends itself well to the story. Hekate goes on a hero’s journey, where a young god child began her quest and comes back a seasoned Titanide and Goddess.

beautiful poetry and prose. i actually enjoyed the prose much more than the poetry, surprisingly. the poetry made it a bit choppy; sometimes it was hard to understand what was going on. really loved the female empowerment and rage though <3

Definitely a 4.5 for me. I loved this retelling. I feel like Hekate is so overlooked, so to have a retelling of her was amazing. I loved Hekate's journey from childhood to womanhood. I'm so used to father and son mythology retellings that having a mother and daughter was refreshing even though it was also devastating. The proses were great and having them read the way it did told such a beautiful story of self discovery and love. And Thanatos!!! I needed more.
Between the betrayal, pain, love, and loss--you will not be able to put this book down.
What I loved the most was the feminist reimaging of it all. How she--goddess of witchcraft and necromancy-- is feared by all the gods. We get so many stories of the men of mythology, this was a great change from that.

I love mythology retellings and this was a story I have never read before! I love Hekate but she’s always a side character in the other books I have read so it was lovely to get hers. I loved the look of her life through different stages which made us understand her choices later on. The writing was so smooth per usual from this author and I was able to visualize everything. The story took me through a deeper look of some tales that I was not as familiar with which was really fun. I cannot wait to own this on my shelves!

To defy your fate is to defy the Gods.

Titans versus Olympians: It’s a family drama for the ages, and Hekate is caught in the middle. Born of the Titans Perese and Asteria, Hekate is sentenced to a life of hiding from Zeus and Poseidon, only finding refuge alongside the dead in the Underworld. Not yet a goddess herself, Hekate seeks to understand her divinity and the fate of her parents, learning along the way that defying the Olympians may be the key to unlocking her true potential. Gill guides readers through some of the world’s most famous myths from Hekate's perspective, revealing her story in verse. A fast-paced, action-packed, and highly engaging tale that is sure to inspire readers to explore other classics in their traditional form. Rebellious and sympathetic Hekate is a heroine that readers of all ages will find something in common with. Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Madeline Miller, and Jennifer Saint, "Hekate" is the next great Greek retelling.

In this well-written novel in verse, Hekate is born to Titan parents during the war between the Titans and the Olympians. When the Titans are defeated, Hekate is taken to the Underworld to live, where she will be under the protection of Styx and Hades. When she learns that her mother has transformed into an island and her father is imprisoned, she vows to save him. She also longs to know her own purpose; she does not know which god-given powers she has. She loves to explore the Underworld and feels drawn to mortals and their stories. Learning about the three Fates in Hades' palace, she undertakes a dangerous voyage there, believing they can tell her what her purpose is.

Once I got past the moderately slow start, I felt invested in Hekate's journey. She's an interesting character from Greek mythology; I hadn't known much about her and wanted to learn more. The tone of the book is rather somber; Hekate faces danger and great stakes and has lost those closest to her. She ends up falling in love with Thanatos, and I sort of wished that romance hadn't been a part of her story here at all; I'd have liked to see her remain single. (Not that strong, independent women can't fall in love; it just felt a little bit unnecessary to this story, I guess.) A final gripe: Thanatos uses the "f word" right at the end of the book, and it just felt so anachronistic compared to the language in the rest of the book that it jumped out at me in a jarring way.

The telling of the story in shorter poems heightened the emotions portrayed in each moment. It lacked the description and detail of a typical novel, but told the story more powerfully. Instead of seeing the story unfold, I felt it unfold. This style helps build a stronger connection with experiences I have not personally experienced, but I can now empathize with.

The poetic prose was lovely, just as I expected anything written by Nikita Gill to be. She's truly talented. I felt there was an element of atmosphere and flow missing from the story, though.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a mythology lover, Hekate the Witch was a captivating and powerful read. Nikita Gill gives voice to one of mythology’s most overlooked goddesses—the one who can raise the dead and command legions—with lyrical, poetic prose that’s both intimate and fierce.

Hekate’s story is steeped in love, loss, betrayal, war, and redemption. The backdrop of conflict between the Olympians and the older gods adds a compelling layer to her journey, highlighting the imbalance of power where gods always seem to have the upper hand.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narration added a haunting, immersive tone that truly brought the words to life. It felt like listening to an ancient incantation—deeply atmospheric and emotionally charged.

A great read for fans of mythological retellings and feminist reimaginings of ancient stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

at first, i was skeptical finding out the whole book is in a poem. but it actually works!
i love this take on Hekate. it follows her story as a child to her journeys finding herself & her purpose. the struggles, the trials, etc.
from the beginning, i was ultimately hooked & invested in her story. the side characters are just as lovable. Thanatos, Charon, & Styx.
also love the brief appearances of Odysseus, Persephone, & Hecuba.
definitely cannot wait for book 2 come out & see what else is in store! from beginning to end, i was captivated!
hoping to also get the ALC for this!

This was an interesting take on Hekate. In most story retellings it just always portrays her as a wise Goddess who is known to be kind to those less fortunate, it also portrays her usually as witty, cunning, or always being one you have to be mindful around.

I like the take on this book because it walks through how she was once young and had to grow into herself and learn her journey in a way that was not like most due to war and secrets. The play on how stories wrote her out of them to make others look better made me roll my eyes in the way that it could easily have been true. Who wants to admit a Goddess helped defeat and win a battle when Zeus was around? It was heartwarming at times. Because of that it made it seem more mortal feeling were controlling gods then how it’s usually portrayed. but the play on the ancient gods and how they saw mortals made it make sense to me as to why she seemed to care so much about them. It channeled the old ways though the new gods ruled. Overall I liked the book, though it was short. it covered everything you really would like to see in a book and then some. It isn’t one I usually would read but I’m happy I gave it a shot.

I absolutely LOVE Greek mythology and this was a stunning book. I do not normally read an entire book in a day but I could not put this one down. Between the riveting retelling of the story of Hekate and the beautiful prose in which the author used to delivery the story I was hooked.

There were countless times I had to stop and re-read a passage because the descriptors were so perfect I could image the splendor of the gods in my mind.

This book made me laugh, cheer, get angry, and weep and I am so very happy that I read it at this time in my life. I need a little bit of Hekates spark and I hope that this book can be an entry for younger people to delve into the wonderful world of the Greek myths and I very much hope that Nikita Gill will continue to write more of their tales.

Lastly, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the formatting of the book but it was honestly perfect.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher Little Brown and Company, and the author Nikita Gill for allowing me to read this eARC and to give my honest review.

3/5 stars.
I didn’t realize this book was written partially in verse when I first picked it up, and I think that’s worth noting up front. If you don’t enjoy that style, it may not be the right fit. For me, the verse sections didn’t add much to the storytelling, I found the prose portions stronger and more engaging. Occasionally the poetry felt a bit forced, more like collections of evocative words than fully realized passages.

That said, the story itself was solid. Hekate’s journey explores the transition from child to adult, motherhood, and ultimately the freedom to choose your own path. I appreciated that the book highlighted a goddess who rarely receives much attention.

I don’t think the writing (in either prose or verse) quite reached the level of Madeline Miller, and to be fair, that’s probably an unfair comparison. I’d describe this more as an introduction to the lyrical, poetic style of retellings in Greek mythology. In that way, it feels like a starter book for readers who might eventually pick up Jennifer Saint, Madeline Miller, or Constanza Casati.

I would like the thank Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book. To be fair, I probably should have done more research before going into it. Not knowing that it was YA and entirely written in a poetry format threw me for a loop. I love Greek mythology retellings but I wasn’t in love with this one. I don’t think the poetry format served a specific purpose for the story. I also feel like Hekate’s story, as gritty as it is, deserves to be told in a new adult/adult format. While there were elements of this book I still enjoyed, it wasn’t entirely for me.

I do think there are places this isn’t quite being marketed properly, so let’s just be 100% clear - this is a series of poems. I am sure many who are familiar with the author will adore this stylization, but it didn’t really work for me.

Personally, the balance between portraying the plot and continuing the poetic prose created a disjointed experience. The stanzas seemed to be given more priority than the story itself with the author leaning into structure over content. I had trouble connecting with the characters and overall flow due to this creative decision. I can appreciate the work and effort it took to create Hekate in this way, but can also acknowledge that as someone who longs for more emotional connections with characters and settings, this style kept me from immersing in the story.

If you are curious to check out a poetry style full novel, but aren’t sure of a 384 page commitment, know that many of these pages contain quite a bit of white space. This is because of the style of stanzas and each page representing a poem. Some are longer, but many pages only contain 125-175 words. I would not say it is overly poetic in a flowery way. Sentence structure just happens to be divided into stanzas (which is perhaps another issue I had with the structure).

I also feel that while this may be a great first experience with a stylized poetic novel, it should not be your first foray into Greek mythology retellings. Due to the quick more static nature of the writing, it feels the author is relying on the reader having prior exposure, knowledge and preconceived notions of the supporting characters and settings (Hermes, Zeus, etc).

Personally, as a fan of Greek mythology (and Hekate herself) I found the story too short and brief. It kind of just felt like a taste. I wish we could have seen further into Hekate’s lore and spent more time with her and her craft.

Thank you to Little Brown Books and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hekate by Nikita Gill is a haunting and lyrical retelling that lets one of mythology’s more elusive figures step into the light. The writing is vivid and atmospheric, pulling you down into the underworld and giving it a pulse you can feel long after you close the book. Gill doesn’t write in standard prose here. The story unfolds in a free verse, every line cut with intention, the rhythm landing more like a spell than a sentence. It feels less like reading a novel, and more like being pulled through an incantation, where line breaks guide the breath and emphasis. As someone who has loved mythology my entire life, (at one point I had planned to teach Norse and Roman myths when I was younger), this book was right up my alley. At only 126 pages it is a quick read, but the impact is lasting. I loved how Gill gave depth to the characters surrounding Hekate (Hades, Styx, Thanatos) so they felt layered and alive instead of distant figures from myth. The themes of loss, exile, and claiming your own power run through every page and leave a strong impression. The verse format won’t be for everyone, and there were moments where the rhythm stumbled a bit, but overall, it worked beautifully and gave the story an edge that typical prose might not have captured. Hekate is a memorable read that will help readers see this goddess in a new and memorable way.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

It was really refreshing to me to see Hekate’s story imaging from her own perspective. Most of the occurrences in the book were predictable by virtue of its being based on well known myths, but this didn’t take away from the story.

I loved that Hades wasn’t completely acquitted of all wrong doing as is so often the case with Persephone retellings, also Demeter wasn’t vilified for losing her good sense when her daughter was taken. All around a great retelling, I also thought the prose was a good choice to lend Hekate a gravitas necessary for The Witch.

This was such a delight to read! I felt for Hekate and her rough journey. She had such a big heart and was very easy to route for.

The poetic writing style was charming but could be hard to follow at times.

Overall, I would definitely recommend it for fans of poetry and novels written in verse.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ALC

I adore mythological retellings, more so those about the less romanticized goddesses like Hekate. The writing style of this book made it difficult to enjoy. I had troubled connecting with the story because of this.


Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.