Review: Hera

Hera by Jennifer Saint
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted badass but I got ... mopey. Not quite what I wanted, and sadly kind of dull.

When I think of Hera, Queen of the Gods, I think of petty vengeance and ferocity. I think of her as bold, brave, and confident.

I was excited for a book that would take these things and show us a villain in a new light, but instead this book tries to make her something of a beaten-down heroine? It really didn't work for me.

I didn't like Hera as a character here at all, and I felt the story really washed her out and turned her into a victim. It seemed to be fighting so hard to tell a feminist story that it forgot women can be villains, too. Hera is well-known for her wrath and it was so washed out, here.

The storytelling was also to blame, I feel. It takes all the big stories from Greek mythology and mostly glosses over them all in a sentence or two - as though it was essential to include all these things but the author didn't really want to. I would have preferred less references in lieu of further detail. As a consequence of the sparse detail, it feels like nothing really notable happens - it's just the bland passing of time.

I just wanted so much more story than what I got. It was disappointing to get to the end and feel that I hadn't really felt anything at all.

An ambitious goal, but I do feel it fell flat. Others may appreciate this more sympathetic take on the famous Queen, but it didn't quite meet my expectations.

With thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC

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