I shook my head, as though I could dislodge the idea altogether. It would all change, even more so. A hundred men had come to marry her; the next one would take Menelaus’ place in an instant. The spellbinding new retelling of the Trojan War drawn from the perspective of the fearless women at the heart of it all.** We have all come here today for the same purpose,” he continued. “We all wish to wed the beautiful Helen, and we all have good reason to think that we are a worthy husband to such a woman. She is a prize beyond any that we can imagine, and the man who can call her his own will have to go to great lengths to protect her from those who would seek to seize her away from him.” and, because of that, i think i now prefer reimaginings, rather than faithful retellings, which is what this book is. Cassandra, is the daughter of King Priam. A priestess of Apollo who is blessed with the power of foresight but cursed for these visions never to be believed. Her predictions have branded her a Madwoman, and she is a Trojan pariah, even amongst her own royal family.

Clytemnestra, is Agamemnon’s wife, and the sister of Helen. She has waited ten long years plotting revenge on her husband.

The story itself was familiar to me, and yet I felt engaged from start to finish. I have always seen Clytemnestra as a victim, Agamemnon as a monster, and so this version of the story appealed to me. I don't want to give anything away fro the readers who are unfamiliar with the story, but I felt for all the characters, so many women who were used as pawns in the games of men and gods and suffered for it. The writing flowed well, and there was no choppiness when Saint switched from one POV to another, though the most compelling chapters for me were the ones told by Clytemnestra.

The house of Atreus is cursed- through generations of murder, usurping’s of the throne of Mycenae, and cannabalism. We are introduced to this house of Atreus in the generation of Menelaus and Agamemnon. First through Agamemnon’s marriage to Clytemnestra; then his daughter Elektra; and then his slave and captive, Cassandra. The fact remains, however, that all the able-bodied men of Greece went to fight the Trojans. The rest, as they say, is history (or mythology in this case). A Greek mythology retelling, when done right, takes us into the hearts and minds of seemingly remote characters and makes them come alive. And so this story does too, though with mixed results. Clytemnestra and Cassandra's narratives were undeniably fascinating, and for that, this was a worthwhile read for me. I thought of Menelaus, the adoration in his eyes when he looked at Helen. I wondered if she was right, if he’d be able to see things the way our father had done. If winning the contest in our halls really would be victory enough, whatever might happen later.When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods - drawing their attention can cost you everything.

But my absolute fave had a POV. Cassandra is my favourite character from Greek myth so I loved reading her view. Helen raised an eyebrow. “And let him grow up like they did? Nurturing the same dreams that they did? Agamemnon won’t want to risk it.” This book starts us off with before the Trojan war; Helen is in Sparta looking for a suitor and men from all over Greece have heard of her beauty and want her for a wife… apart from Agamemnon who meets Clytemnestra (and Odysseus, who finds interest in Penelope, Helens cousin). We witness Clytemnestra’s journey to Mycenae, the birth of their children… and of course the start of the Trojan war, as well as many more events that take place. Well its Greek mythology and for me that brings its own air of mystery, intrigue and tragedy. A sub-genre I will never tire off.Negative stuff: this book is still no better than Ariadne, but it at least got a little bit interesting after Agammemnon's death. I feel like Saint's retellings just follow the original texts too closely, but that's on me, not her. With the stories of the characters she's chosen so well-defined and told already, she has very little leg room for her own added flair or take on them. Helen was painted in a light not so different from others': pretty, perfect, cunning Helen who could do no wrong. And I hate to compare her to Madeline Miller, because other reviewers must've done this countless times, but Miller's prose just shines through with her work, which is why there are just SO MANY memorable quotes from TSOA & Circe. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said for Saint. Her chapters, while the events themselves are highly compelling, the way she tells them is just dull. Simply dull. Yeah, someone's being murdered, mutilated, etc., but the way Saint describes it feels the same way as she might a grocery list. A few description of the weather, the palace pillars, palace floors, maybe people around them, and tada, scene's done. On to the next. And the next. Next. And the nex— [GUNSHOTS] A mesmerising retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS. I shuddered. “He won’t want to kill a little boy, though, surely?” I could understand the brutal logic of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to picture the young men I’d seen in that hall plunging a sword into a weeping child. Ingannevole perché Elektra avrebbe dovuto ri-raccontare l' Orestea; invece, è l'ennesimo retelling della guerra di Troia. Sì, ancora. Gli eventi dell' Orestea sono riassunti nelle poche pagine che separano il racconto dalla fine.