I, Medusa is the heartbreaking re-telling of Medusa's story surrounding Olympian gods and the cruel games in which they play. Medusa will become your new villain turned into heroine and highlight women's struggles. Simply brilliant!

Wow—what a stunning retelling. I, Medusa is a powerful and lyrical reimagining that breathes new life into one of Greek mythology’s most infamous figures. In recent years, I’ve absolutely been living for all the feminist takes on classic myths, and this one absolutely earns a spot at the top of the list.

We all know Medusa as a monster—one of the most iconic in all of mythology. But, as this book so beautifully explores, monsters aren’t born—they’re created. This is the first time I’ve truly read a full, rich backstory for Medusa. Sure, I knew how she came to be cursed and why her image is tattooed on so many bodies, but I’d never felt her story until now. Ayana Gray gives her depth, heartbreak, strength, and fury—and once you’ve read this, it’s impossible to ever see Medusa as the villain again.

Gray doesn’t hold back when it comes to portraying the gods as they are: cruel, capricious, and disturbingly entertained by the pain of others—mortals and lesser deities alike. It’s a story full of betrayal, power, identity, and ultimately reclaiming your narrative. I was completely swept up in it.

If you’re a fan of mythological retellings that aim to set the record straight, put this one at the top of your list. Medusa has long intrigued me, but now, thanks to Gray, she’s carved out a permanent place in my heart.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god. This book broke my heart, I loved it. This is one of the best retellings I’ve read and 12/10 the best Medusa retelling. Ayana’s writing is magnificent, I felt immersed in this world she created. Additionally, I felt connected with her characters. Whenever something happened to Medusa it hit me in the feels hard. I don’t want to spoil the story for any future readers but I will recommend reading this book. I, Medusa is a beautiful novel and I’m grateful NetGalley as well as the publisher and Ayana Gray allowed me to read the ARC. Now I am most definitely purchasing the hardcover version when it releases in November 🖤

This book was beautifully written. I love Greek Mythology and really enjoyed seeing an alternate view in this book. Following along Meddy’s journey, you are pulled into her views, emotions, and relationships. So much happens to her in such a short time. There is friendship, love, loss, growing up, and hard life lessons weaved into an intricate story of a mortal born of two sea gods.
And this part of the Author’s Note at the end was the icing on the cake:

“That Greek hero's name has been excluded from the pages of this book..” (read it to reveal the rest of the quote!.)

I, Medusa was absolutely fantastic! The author wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

The old stories of gods and heroes and monsters were constantly in flux, changing with each retelling and reflecting the times in which they were told but preserving the deep wisdom the ancient ones meant to preserve and pass along from one generation to the next.

When contemporary authors reimagine old stories from mythology, they continue this tradition, and Ayana Gray has put a thoroughly modern (in all the right ways) spin on the journey of Medusa from maiden to monster.

The first thing that struck me was the tone of the prose—many of the oldest sources we have for ancient myths are epic poems, and Gray really captured some of the cadence of that as she wrote from Medusa’s perspective. It feels like you’re reading something ancient, but without the difficulty of deciphering all of the references and idioms that the ancients would have been steeped in but often puzzle the modern reader.

Ayana Gray’s exploration of Black women’s relationship with their hair, and the community care of each other via caring for hair, juxtaposed with the transformation of Medusa’s locs into hissing, biting snakes is breathtaking.

Just a heads up if you’re not familiar with the store of Medusa, a big part of it is her rape by Poseidon (which does happen on page) and Athena’s grossly unjust reaction to her violation. Ayana Gray did an excellent job capturing the brutality of the assaults in the book without being gratuitous about them. She grapples with some of the complexity and nuance that conversation about consent often does not want to consider (but must!), and dismantles rape culture-steeped beliefs about power, coercion, blame, and stigma.

The reader gets a good look into Medusa’s head throughout the story, and by the time she fully sinks into being the dread creature of myth we are right there with her.

This book is perfect for someone looking for a moody mythic retelling that vindicates the woman we’ve been told was monstrous without accountability for those who made her that way.

This is an interesting different take on Medusa and her 2 sisters. Instead of horrible monsters, Medusa is presented as a tragic figure. She and her sisters are black, with coils of black hair that will be turned into snakes as punishment. Medusa is a mortal born into a family of gods. She is a spunky, adventurous girl who wants to leave the tiny island her family lives on and see the world. She sucessfully does at first--but the results of that 'escape' turns her story into the classic tragedy in which her own character dooms her. This is a good read for high schoolers and adults.

At the end of this book, I was not ready to let Medusa go.

I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of this book, and as I fell under the spell of Ayana Gray’s words, I also found myself rooting for a girl who’s always been depicted to me as a monster.

Told from Medusa’s point of view, this novel follows her from her adolescence on her family’s island where she is the only mortal member of her family to her brief time as an acolyte and priestess of Athena to her more commonly known depiction of a “monster” with snakes for hair.

But a monster she is not. As you read about her, her hopes and dreams, you root for her and want to protect her even as you want to embolden her to follow her heart. Gray is able to capture Medusa’s yearning for something more, the wistful aching of a teenage girl who is seeking her own power and path. Gray is also able to make me want to reach into the pages and shake some sense into this naive girl who’s too sheltered to understand the dangers of the world.

Too soon, the book ended. I knew how Medusa’s story would come to a close, and although it was too soon in terms of me being ready for it, it was handled deftly and with grace.

As a Greek mythology lover, I truly loved the concept of this story. I have always believed the version of events that Poseidon was the one to make things happen and Medusa was punished for it. I loved seeing Medusa before she became a gorgon. I loved seeing how she was such a caring person and hated seeing anyone mistreated. I found that this was such an entertaining book. I highly recommend if you like Greek mythology, a great story and great characters.
#imedusa #ayanagray #bookreview #books #bookstagram #netgalley #medusa #greekmythology #gorgon #athena #posideon #arc #randomhouse #randomhousepublishing

I, Medusa

By: Ayana Gray
Releasing: November 18, 2025

🐍 Medusa 🐍

The maiden, the myth, the monster. This tale was written beautifully, full of sorrow and anger towards powerful figures that use people like game pieces in life, with no regards to the pain they cause. I found myself captivated by young Meddy’s journey.

Unlike some retellings, the mythology felt purposeful and real. Gray made it seem as though I was in Ancient Greece watching these events play before my eyes or was on an island, watching the churning seas below. Every character that was introduced added to the story, and more than once, I found myself completely captivated. Though Gray hints throughout the novel of what is to come, I found that it actually gave me a stronger connection to Meddy, wanting to protect her before power hungry immortals would change an innocent and lovable young girl.

This book was a stand out for me. I don’t particularly like retellings, as I find them overdone and a bit tired. I, Medusa had a familiar feel to it yet took her story in a completely different direction. I appreciated the cultural heritage the author used, which had a much more historically accurate context of what someone could have looked like from an island at that time. I also loved that Gray took it one step further, and included even older myths woven into Meddy’s story. It was an eye opening read, one that brings to mind the now common feminine conversation, “would you choose the bear or the man”?

I was given access to this ebook through NetGalley. I am hoping this book releases with some amazing art and special editions, but regardless, I will be adding a physical copy to my treasure trove.

Stars ✨: 5/5 (The book had me yelling at times)
Spice 🌶️: 0/5- this book makes you feel things in your heart not pants
Yearning 💕: 5/5- but not necessarily for love… you’ll see
Emotional damage 😢: 4/5 😭😭😭

I found this book to be very interesting, and I loved reading Ayana Gray's take on Medusa's story. It wasn't one I was very familiar with so I loved getting the background to a character I have always found so interesting.

The first chapter had me hooked. After that, I do think it took a while to become interested again. The first 25% was a bit slow, but absolutely necessary to set up the entire story. I loved the rest of the book, but the last 20% felt rushed. Once we reached part 4: Monster, I felt like it was just being told what happened in passing. I was no longer IN the story. Overall, it gave me similar vibes to The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in the way that it gave us more to the story of Medusa without changing her story.

My niche critique - it always frustrates me when I can tell an author has not done their research on the animals they choose to include in their books. As someone that graduated with a bachelor's in Zoology, incorrect animal facts always take me out of the story. When Medusa meets a garter snake in part 2, it took me out of the story and frustrated me that the author picked a snake native to North America. I wish the author had done the bare minimum google search to look at what species of snakes are native to Greece. I always respect authors so much more when I can tell they have done research to enrich their books.

This book really has a lot going for it on paper: I love the idea of diversifying the Greek canon to reflect the actual diversity of people living in the Greek isles in antiquity. I’m a sucker for a mythology retelling and have been on a “loveable monsters” kick lately. I was seriously so excited to read this one.

And maybe it’ll be an “omg yes!” story for some readers, but for me it just missed the mark.

One of the things that frustrates me about some books (usually YA and/or Romantasy) is when the author doesn’t trust their reader to draw their own conclusions. They tell, tell, tell, and they don’t allow their characters’ choices and reactions show the meaning they’re trying convey. All the connections are made for us. No meaning is left to be discovered; it’s all just stated.

That alone wouldn’t make me 3* a book, but combined with shallow character development, abrupt plot shifts, weird timing around big reveals and a HUGE focus on mostly underage sexual assault, this just wasn’t the book for me.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity to read and advanced reader copy of this book.

In light of the existing collective of popular Greek mythology retellings, “I, MEDUSA” adds a new and diverse perspective to the bookshelves.

Ayana offers readers a three-dimensional heroine: a naive, empathetic, morally grey and highly relatable female protagonist who encounters discrimination as a dark-skinned woman and ethnic minority in Greece. Medusa comes from an affluent but conflicted upbringing and immediately garners sympathy from the reader. Although I understood Medusa to be a naive teenager, I had a difficult time reconciling the trauma and bureaucracy she has evidently navigated throughout her youth, with her decision making which often appeared poorly thought out or without any precedent.

For the inciting incident, Medusa accidentally kills a cruel, abusive, and very wealthy prince after asking him nicely not to marry her sister and attempting to bribe him with a single gemstone. The reader is led to focus on Medusa’s valor, her drive to protect her older sister. In truth, her character decisions make little intuitive sense. Why would a wealthy prince be swayed by a single gem? Why would a violent man who has already abused her sister refrain from violence against Medusa? Why would a power hungry and arrogant demigod agree to cancel his wedding simply by being asked? We are shown that Medusa is intelligent, that she is knowledgeable of the normalized abuse women face at the hands of men and that she understands the prince’s cruelty and status. Yet her decisions are sometimes incongruous during key moments of the plot.

Character motivations continue to be largely superficial and major plot points are only shallowly explained through exposition or internal monologue. I understand that there is a pervasive and normalized tendency towards the abuse of women due to a difference in physical strength and societal standing, but I didn't understand why Ceto put up with her husband's behavior since she was seemingly equally as powerful and of equal standing as another God. There were manly instances of this, including Apollonia's banishment and her random reappearance on Medusa's island. This often superficial exploration results in minimal emotional resonance throughout the novel. A notable exception, however, is the exploration of Medusa’s relationship with Poseidon. A primary element of Medusa’s story, the foundation and evolution of this relationship is compassionately handled. Ayana chooses to address certain nuances of r*pe culture, grooming, and power dynamics as Medusa transforms into a Gorgon and confronts her conception of the word “monster”. It is well done and thought-provoking and there are many facets here that I firmly believe audiences will appreciate.

There is an inherent challenge with retellings where our protagonist's agency is often limited by the original scope of their mythology. A lot of Medusa's life simply happens to her, rather than being a product of her own motivations and choices. In my opinion, this book still requires quite a bit of developmental editing but I appreciated the new take.

**Thank you Ms. Gray & Random House Pub Group for this arc in exchange for an honest review! I feel so special whenever I get the chance to read a book before it publishes, and this book is no exception even though it was not my favorite.

Ugh I really really REALLY wanted to love this book!!!! It was a fast, fun, and easy read…kinda like a CoHo but not lol. Unfortunately it felt a little too “woke” for my particular taste. It felt in my face by the time I finished the book with the feminism and the politics, and I felt like all the “bad people” were the only white characters. Idk if that was intentional or not, or if I’m just in a major reading slump, but I didn’t vibe with this book the way I felt I would. I was wayyyy too excited to read this, and maybe that’s not fair. That is the most simple way to put why I did not give this book four stars…

The storyline was really great, and it kept me reading nonstop. The writing was a tad too YA for me, so it was 3.5-4.1 stars for most of the experience. I just wanted and expected Medusa to grow as a character more by the end of the story. I felt like I understood why she was so immature in the beginning, but by the end?! She had absolutely no character growth, and I feel like a YA book needs that in their main character. I expected so much more from this than what I actually got. I put off writing this review for two weeks because I feel terrible not leaving it the four stars that I wanted to leave. I just want to be honest though.

The ending was too abrupt. 🤯😵‍💫🫠 I understand that we all know the story of Medusa, so I didn’t expect a HEA or anything…that being said, I expected the ending to be tragic and heartbreaking after everything the sisters went through. We did not even get the story of how she was killed!!!!!!! WHHHAAAAATTT?!? After all those tiny little details of bs and fluff that we didn’t need and the extra added drama for funsies, how did this author not give us the story of her tragic death?! This was a huge turnoff for me personally. I felt robbed at the end of this story. I wish she could still go back in there and change the ending to break us, but I know it’s a little too late for that. We never even got the evil Medusa of the legends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was here for ALL of that, but nope. You’re not getting any of that with this book.

Overall, I’m just really disappointed in this story. I expected it to be fantastic and exciting, but it was a little boring honestly. It was cute and had some hard-to-read moments, which brought me to the 3-star rating. It was a good book overall, but I won’t be recommending it to friends. Nor will I be reading it again, unfortunately.

This book is beautiful - I consumed it like it was the one thing keeping me from starvation. It's both a phenomenal retelling of Medusa's origin, and a deep, much needed narrative on the subtle, predatory behaviors men can exhibit towards younger women, especially when more than one power imbalance exists.

Knowing the outline this story was likely to take, with Medusa being a victim of Poseidon, I wasn't disappointed. I initially expected the assault to be more clear, more violent, even - but the muddled nature of it is even more prudent. And honestly, it's heartbreaking.

The conversation of men using their experience, their power, their influence, their currency, to make you feel special, indebted to them, smaller than them, is so powerful. This might be Medusa's story - but it's so timeless, the first 75% could apply to any young woman in any time period.

The fact that women are also capable of being complicit in abuse, as well as perpetrators of it, is frighteningly realistic and sickening as well, and I'm so glad it's touched upon.

My niece will be freshly 15 when this releases, and I fully intend to gift her a copy. These are important themes and topics to be addressed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts & review.

I love a Medusa retelling. A lot of retellings have a habit of turning her into either a victim or just a villain.

I loved that this book didn’t fall into that trap!

Ayana Gray did such a wonderful job of humanizing her and her story. This is by far one of my favorite retellings.

I truly enjoyed this book. As a fan of Greek Mythology I was delighted to find this origin story/perspective on Medusa. So often just a bit character in many stories, Ayana's focus and development gives you a deep connection to Medusa and a look at other gods and their effect on her life. Like the tale of Beauty and the Beast, you see that the true beasts/monsters of the story aren't those ugly in appearance. I also appreciated the author's note at the end about the tales of Medusa and the focus she pursued.

I enjoyed the character and world building, as well as the background the author created, I highly recommend this book to fantasy and mythology lovers alike. Although you may know the fate of Medusa, you'll being rooting for the underdogs and wishing the gods had to pay for their cruelty and harm.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for a free copy of this book!

This was a beautiful re-telling of the story of Medusa. I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology and I loved reading this. It’s a story of sisterhood, friendship, vengeance, feminine rage, love and heartbreak.

It starts off by introducing us to a young Medusa, also called Meddy by her close friends and family. She is the only mortal in her family living alongside secondary gods and goddesses, including her immortal sisters. All her and her sisters dream about is escaping the small island her family lives on. I loved the way we get to see her as a young and innocent girl with hopes and dreams. This story does not immediately focus on Medusa as the Gorgon we all know, but as the sister, the daughter, the friend. She is fiercely protective and loyal to those she loves, going to whatever length to honor what is right and yet still going through life with such grace.
There’s naivety to her especially in the beginning when it comes to the being taken under Athena’s wing as an acolyte and meeting Poseidon. It’s impossible not to feel for her and all that she goes through while reading this book. There’s so much rage that could be had, yet she still regains a large part of her humanity despite all that has been done to her.

“ Your voice and your truth will never hold weight unless you also learn to hold power.”

Incredible! I absolutely love a well written retelling and that is exactly what Ayana gave us. Her take on Medusa was captivating and I would love to see her do more retellings.

4.25 stars - an excellent foray into the origin story of the girl that was Medusa before she was savagely turned into the famous gorgon of Greek mythology. The writing is beautiful yet crisp, leading the reader deep into Meddy’s background at an efficient pace. That, combined with the book’s shorter length, kept the book from feeling insurmountable (which I feel is particularly helpful in a tragedy - a longer or more verbose prose just prolongs the expected and impending doom). I raged along with Medusa at the injustices of the times, chiefly that of placing the blame for (perceived) indiscretions on women. She’s a complex character, even after being turned into a “monster.” The lead up to the fateful night where Medusa’s life is upended extends much longer than the aftermath - which I didn’t expect (and slightly wished it was edited differently). I also appreciated the approach to her journey after being turned, but I didn’t feel it was consistent in tone with the prologue or how the book has thus far been marketed (with Medusa being a “vigilante”). That being said, it was really truly strong and wonderfully written, and an excellent addition to the modern Greek retellings. It stayed true to the tone of Greek myths, which felt simultaneously classic and refreshing. Thank you so very much to the publisher and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I so very much appreciate it.