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Book Review: HERA by Jennifer Saint
I’ve talked before about how I looooove a myth retelling, and one of my favourite writers giving a voice to the women of Greek mythology is Jennifer Saint. Her fourth novel, Hera, is released in Australia today and I was lucky enough to get an early copy on my kindle thanks to Hachette (via NetGalley). This one kept me company on several train trips across England – you can check out my review below the blurb from the publisher. Synopsis of Hera by Jennifer Saint When Hera, immortal goddess and daughter of the ancient Titan Cronus, helps her brother Zeus to overthrow their tyrannical father, she dreams of ruling at…
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New books to look out for… Psykhe by Kate Forsyth
Yes – I did just feature Kate Forsyth here on a ‘waiting for Wednesday’ post a few weeks ago, but she is such a favourite and also happens to have two new books coming out in close succession. Kate Forsyth’s Long-Lost Fairytales has now hit shelves, and up next is Psykhe, Kates retelling of the Greek Myth of Psyche and Eros. Here is the synopsis from the publisher’s website: Psykhe has always been different. Fair as Venus, the goddess of love, and with the hard-won ability to save the lives of those of mortal blood, she is both shunned and revered. When she unwittingly provokes Venus, she and her sisters…
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Review :: The Heroines by Laura Shepperson
In January I posted a little preview of some of the new novels based on Greek myths being released in the next few months that I’m looking forward to reading. When Tandem Collective Global announced they were running a readalong in Australia for The Heroines by Laura Shepperson it felt like a sign and I was thrilled to be included. Wait, what is a Tandem Collective Global readalong? The Tandem Collective readalongs are pretty fun. The team at Tandem organise for the publisher (in this case Hachette Australia) to send a copy of the book (thank you!) and they also set some guidelines for which pages to read each day…
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Review :: Elektra by Jennifer Saint
I adored Jennifer Saint’s first novel, Ariadne, when it came out last year (you can see my review here) and I was thrilled when I found out she was tackling another Greek myth retelling in Elektra! Here’s a bit of info about the book, then check out my review below. What is Elektra about Elektra tells us the story of the Trojan War, from the perspective of three women with high stakes in how it unfolds: ClytemnestraThe sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon – her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against…
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Review :: Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
I am always drawn to retellings of myth and folk and fairytale alike, and don’t get around to reading nearly as many as I would like to. I’m determined to change that, and Ariadne by Jennifer Saint landed on my doorstep at exactly the right time to kick of my retelling reading campaign. Let’s start with a little introduction to the book. What is Ariadne by Jennifer Saint about? As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur – Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s…
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Currently Reading :: 28 April
I’m not usually one to have more than just one book on the go, but this week I found myself partway through Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne (which was kindly sent to me by the team at Hachette) AND I wanted to reread The Raven Boys over the weekend, since the first scene is sent on St Mark’s Eve, 24 April.Lucky for me we had booked a weekend away to celebrate my birthday with lots of reading time and relaxing (more about that on Friday!) I know I mentioned The Raven Boys here when I talked about the tarot cards last Friday, but I’m surprised I haven’t raved about it a bit…
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#loveozya :: Vasilisa the Wise :: Kate Forsyth
I am always up for a fairy tale retelling, and I’d had my eye on Kate Forsyth’s collection Vasilisa the Wise since it came out earlier this year. I finally read it in September, after I saw Kate speaking on writing historical fiction about womencat the Heroines Literary Festival. If anyone knows about fairy tales, and will inspire and intrigue you enough to want to know more it is Kate Forsyth! I strongly recommend listening to her on Richard Fiedler’s Conversations (Including this one where she talks about Vasilisa, but I think she has spoken with him on there three or four times) – she is sooooo good! Vasilisa the…
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Review :: Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault :: Candace Robinson
Some see it… Some don’t… People in the town of Deer Park, Texas are vanishing. There is a strange museum, known as Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault, that appears overnight. Perrie Madeline’s best friend and ex-boyfriend are among the missing. Perrie, along with her friend August, go on a pursuit to search for them in the mysterious museum. Could the elusive Quinsey Wolfe’s Glass Vault have anything to do with their disappearances? My feelings about this book are a bit complicated. Overall, this wasn’t quite the right book for me right now. Call me a crabby old lady, but I’ve read a few books lately with a young narrator and…
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Review:: Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles :: J.M. Sullivan
Do you ever read something and that starts you off on a hunt for as many books with a similar theme as you can find? This happens to me pretty often – I pick something up and all of a sudden need to read alllll the books about witches, or cults, or coming of age, or space operas, or classics, or whatever. I can’t remember what it was that started me off on this one, but at some stage late last year I decided I wanted 2017 to be the year of the fairytale/myth/classic retelling. So when Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles – a YA Alice retelling with a zombie twist – popped…
