I had thought he brought salvation with him. Instead he had traded my existing bondage for another.I just cannot pass up a Greek mythology retelling, and the story of Ariadne is an undeniably fascinating one. Growing up in Crete as the daughter of King Minos, she sees how her mother suffers at the hands of the gods as retribution for their anger towards the king. Ariadne vows to never be a pawn for the gods or for mortal men. When she is faced with the terrible atrocities happening under King Minos, will she have the courage to do the right thing and finally accept her destiny? There are variations to the myth regarding Ariadne’s fate and I actually enjoyed the author’s interpretation and how the story ended. Ariadne Book Review: Summary

It was the woman, always the women, be they helpless serving girls or princesses, who paid the price. Cursed to roam the land without refuge, transformed into a shambling bear or lowing cow, or burned to ashes by the vengeful white armed goddess." No longer was my world one of brave heroes; I was learning all too swiftly the women's pain that throbbed unspoken through the tales of their feats.” Ariadne, played by Aiysha Hart, is a major character in the BBC series Atlantis (2013), which is loosely based on Greek myths. She falls in love with Jason and helps him conquer the Minotaur and escape the labyrinth. Later, her stepmother, Pasiphae tries to prevent their union.

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This monster, also known as the Minotaur, demands blood and every year 14 innocent young men and women from Athens are given as a sacrifice. Despite being horrified by the brutality and loss of life, Ariadne does nothing.

Barthes, Roland, "Camera Lucida". Barthes quotes Nietzsche, "A labyrinthine man never seeks the truth, but only his Ariadne," using Ariadne in reference to his mother, who had recently died. Though the ending fell extremely flat to me and was ultimately disappointing, the writing itself wasn’t completely terrible, (it certainly wasn’t great, and to compare this book to Madeline Miller is hubris and punishable by the gods) and the first half as it followed the myth was alright. Ariadne’s viewpoints of how unfair it is that gods always target women for the acts of men are really the only thing that would be considered “feminist.” So that saves this book from having a one star rating, but it’s still a 1.5, and because it has been my most disappointing read of the year, and still inspires rage whenever I think about this book, I’m rounding it down to one star, as it deserves.

Book Summary

With Ariadne, Jennifer Saint gives voice to the titular princess of Crete, known mostly as a side character in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, placing her at the centre of her own story for once. The concept has been trialled and tested in Circe, The Silence of the Girls and A Thousand Ships, but Ariadne’s story is one that lends itself perfectly to the same treatment, as even in her original story she’s a female character with a lot of agency. As the brains behind Theseus heroic rescue operation, Ariadne dares to spin the threads of her own faith and stand strong and tall in a world ruled by man, Gods and monsters. Ariadne was the first novel by Jennifer Saint. It’s a book I’ve had on my TBR pile for a while, and with Saint’s second novel, Elektra, coming out soon I decided it was time to read the debut. Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid's stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. Stunning writing, fabulous storytelling and surprisingly real characters who you could empathise with’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐