Thank you Netgalley for providing my with the audiobook to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

I am dnf-ing at 40%. I was hoping the writing would get better but although I think Jeanne de Clisson is a great choice for a historical fiction novel, the execution fell extremely short. Jeanne read as a cliché and caricature of feminism due to shallow characterization and her motivations being reduce down to "I solve problems through fighting", "I loved my husband because he fought well", "if only my kids from my first husband saw their stepfather fight, then they would love him as a father also"...paraphrasing but you get the point.

I would have loved to see Jeanne portrayed with more nuance, her love for her husband and kids shown through her interactions/memories with them instead of just being told she loved them. We were only ever told about her emotions and relationships, never got to experience them as the reader. A female character that fights and brags about beating all the guys, does not count for writing a strong female character in my book.

As far as the narrator goes, I think they did a decent job. They didn't necessarily add to the story but nor did they take away from it.

Jeanne is avenging her husband beheading by the king without a trial. It is based on a true story which makes it even better.

However it read more like a checklist of events being covered then a story and the emotion range you would expect wasn't there.

It was an interesting story but it didn't quite make the mark

This isn't my typical genre but it sounded interesting.

I loved the portrayal of strong female characters in history. However, the writing made them seem pretty one-dimensional. (In my opinion) We really only see our characters guided by their rage. Even in places where they should be more emotional, it didn't really feel like they were.

I received an audio copy of the book, and I liked the narrator. There were multiple voiced characters and accents and it was easy to distinguish between them all. Also easy to decipher at an increased speed.

Jeanne is out to kill the King. He killed her husband without cause nor a fair trial. It's 1343 and this is based on a true story. She has to hide her children and then she sets out, with her men, to kill the King. And the king is trying to stop her. A great read, exciting from the start and an excellent narration!

While I really enjoyed the story of Jeanne and her band of revengeful pirates I felt this story lacked true emotion. I am most likely an outlier here as I see that this book is already receiving some wonderful reviews and not to say mine is bad but I didn't love it, although I did think it was well told and entertaining. I felt like the author told us what was happening instead of being in the thick of things. Like, oh we did this, we did that, we went here, this happened and I didn't feel as connected to the story as I should. So again, I did like the story but I didn't love it. I enjoyed the fact that this was based on history and this was not a story I had heard before and I was intrigued for sure.

I thought the audio narration done by Imani Jade Powers was great.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I was as brave as jeanne.
This is a true account of the wrath of a woman, her husband has been killed by the king without a trial, so she is out for revenge. She makes her way towards the king and on the way she annihilates the castles in which the kings men are residing. Loss of friends and family. How she soldiers on is heartfelt.

4.25/5. Thank you to Ms. Griffis, the publisher, and Netgalley for the ALC/audiobook ARC. The narrator, Imani Jade Powers, is becoming a quick favorite of mine, so I was glad to see another ALC offer that was from her. Fantastically done.

The Lioness is a wonderful example of a historical novel done right. Ms. Griffins has obviously done her historical research into Jeanne de Clisson’s life, taking into account the footnotes of history the Lioness of Brittany was included in. Even her added character (as stated in the author’s historical note at the end) felt like part of the story that was natural to the historical accuracy. And, I’m biased, I love anyone who loves ravens.

The novel follows Jeanne de Clisson after the beheading of her third husband. At 43, and as mother of young (and older) children, she has had enough and desires to avenge the unfair accusation of treason that was given to her husband – and her. She may as well make the claim true. In order to do so, she decides to strike King Phillip VI where he’s weak: the water. And to do that, she has to become a pirate.

From what little research I’ve done (very little), the story follows through some of the hardest times from the death of Olivier IV de Clisson (her husband) to when she is wed to her next husband. Ms. Griffis develops her version of Jeanne well, bringing her from the hurt wife to the feared Lioness with emotional growth that seems true to the character, even if a bit rushed at the end.

If you’re looking for an interesting historical fiction that follows an older woman (and mother) who proves that women are just as deadly as men, and don’t mind a bit of blood and violence, this certainly is something to consider adding to your TBR list!

This is different from what I usually read. The story was good.
I found the book well written and I liked the narration too.

Will I recommend it? Yes I have already recommended this

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

This story is pure female rage and I am here for it. What an amazing story. This book made me look up Jeanne de Clisson and study about her. She is the perfect balance between loving mother and ruthless pirate set for revenge. The narration was also wonderful! It was very fast paced and there was hardly any down time in this story. This book took me through the entire range of emotions and left me wanting another story of her after her pirate years. If I could rate this more than 5 stars, I would!

Jeanne de Clisson, Lioness of Brittany, is a fascinating historical character, a notorious woman pirate in 14th century France, and Gigi Griffis creates a compelling revenge story and character sketch out of Jeanne's life.

In 1343, Jeanne de Clisson's [third] husband Olivier de Clisson was executed by King Philip VI for treason, as a part of the conflict of the Breton War of Succession. Griffis picks up her story as Jeanne is out for full revenge on everyone who has wronged her husband and also her. A fierce warrior in her own right, Jeanne sold her land and raised an army to seek revenge. Griffis gives us the years that Jeanne spent at sea pirating and harassing the French crown, and a portrait of a strong and fierce woman who leverages her friends and allies to carry out her missions.

This is an era of history in France that I know little about. This story pre-dates the Black Death by a few years, and is a time of great political turmoil. As Griffis says in her author’s note, just because we don’t hear as much about the women who raised armies doesn’t mean they didn’t have fascinating stories, and it’s interesting to see that a woman who raised 400 soldiers could be considered a footnote in history. But the men who recorded history often didn’t know what to do with women who didn’t fit their mold. All of the women Griffis writes about in The Lioness, with the exception of the young Black astrologer who joined Jeanne’s crew, are real women from history (with some names changed because half of them are named Jeanne). Griffis is meticulous about historical details where she has them, and then choosing additional elements for good storytelling. Jeanne’s character shifts a little too abruptly at the end of the book, making it a little less satisfying of an arc overall, but still a genuinely interesting read about a compelling historical character.

If you need a book about a fierce 43-year-old woman who is out for revenge and gives no quarter, this is the book for you. It’s a sometimes harsh, and certainly bloody, story that pulls no punches when it comes to Jeanne de Clisson’s force of personality.

I picked this up initially because the concept looked interesting and because the audiobook is narrated by Imani Jade Powers, and have no regrets about learning more about this era in France.

Author here! Leaving this review so that I don't tank my NetGalley ranking, then will yeet myself from the reviewer space.

Here's what I shared in my Goodreads review:

This book is a sweeping story of a woman wronged, a pirate fleet, and a quest for revenge. And it's also an effort to right a great wrong.

You see, I grew up thinking a lot of history was very boring. It was memorizing a thousand old white dudes' names and the order in which they ruled a country. It was battles where you couldn't tell Old Dude A from Old Dude B, let alone figure out who to root for. It was dates and dates and dates until your head exploded.

And it was so very rarely about women.

So imagine my surprise when, as an adult, I found Jeanne de Clisson. Piratess. Vengeance-seeker. Villainess. A woman so irritating to the powers that be that the Pope wrote a letter to England telling them to rein her in.

And then, as I was thinking she was so unique, so completely standalone, I found another woman like her.

And another.

And another.

The queen who led a coup on her husband to put her son on the throne. The woman who told others to tear their skirts and go to battle. Another defending a kingdom. Another leading forces to quash a rebellion.

They were powerful, and they were messy, and they were *many*.

I'm angry that I didn't learn about these women in history class. I'm angry that in my research they were so often in the footnotes instead of splashed across the pages. I'm angry that the history we're taught is such a narrow one.

So this is my attempt to right part of the wrong. To introduce you to not only Jeanne and her quest for revenge, but her hero Isabella (real), her contemporary Joanna (real), and so many other women like them.

I'm so grateful to share Jeanne's story with you. I hope you fall in love with these complicated, powerful, pissed off women as much as I have.

This was ok, but not as wonderful as I had hoped.

What I didn't like:

One thing that REALLY bothered me was the extreme over-use of the word "Damned." I don't mind cursing - in fact I do quite a lot of it myself - it was the repetitive nature of it that bothered me. Jeanne didn't seem to know any other curse, and she used it over and over and over. It became so redundant and annoying. It seemed like the author was trying to convey that Jeanne was a tough pirate lady by having her curse a lot, while not wanting to use any curses other than "damned." I should have turned it into a drinking game.

Jeanne is painted in very broad strokes here. This book paints her as a warrior with a hot temper that can't see logic. That is basically pasted on her character like a name tag. There's not a lot of nuance behind her decisions, and I feel like to have been as successful at terrorizing the French as she was for as long as she was, she must have been a woman who understood nuance and logic. Her character annoyed me in her "speak loudly and carry a giant axe" approach to life.

What I did like:

This was an interesting historical fiction set in a time period of which the stories usually revolve around the men rather than the women. Jeanne was a really fascinating character, and this told her story pretty accurately. I am always a sucker for a feminist retelling of a historical or mythical character. The side characters were wonderful and complex, and I enjoyed them a lot. So much so that I found myself far more curious about their lives than Jeanne's.