Amazing and quick read! I finished in one day.

Here we have Hera, Queen of Mount Olympus. You think you know her, think again. I’ve always seen Hera as a vengeful bad ass, constantly being cheated on by Zeus and taking hollow revenge on everyone, but Zeus. Well, well, well. Here I am changing my mind! Yes, Zeus is a cheating, misogynistic, jealous god but Hera doesn’t just roll over and take it. This talks us through Hera’s story but also the history of the gods. It’s probably the most comprehensive backstory of the Greek myths that I’ve ever read and elevated from her other works. I was in awe. The last few chapters brought the entire novel to a satisfying conclusion. Just as Hera is Queen of the gods, Saint is Queen of the Greek myth retellings.

This is her best one yet (and that's saying something because I'm a huge fan of her other books)! Hera is a very rich book and I felt like it made Jennifer Saint’s books come full circle for me because, in illustrating the vastness of Hera’s life - and that of any god - it touched on some of the narratives explored in the author’s other rewritings. Hera is known in current times usually as Zeus’s wife, the goddess of marriage, but this book intends to show just how much more Hera has to show for herself. The book starts right after Hera and Zeus take down Cronus and the Titans, starting the age of the Olympians. It shows how Hera was in equal measure responsible for this take-down of the old regime and is just as powerful as Zeus, but suffers at the hand of misogyny. Reading this book was really infuriating because of all of the situations Hera goes through, especially when it comes to her relationship (in the wide sense) with Zeus, and it intended for us readers to feel that way. Jennifer Saint’s writing is at its best here; she was really able to portray the vastness of the life of a god, compared to the fleetness of a human's - the changes and the frustrating many cases of sexism/misogyny. The book doesn’t seek to redeem Hera against characterisations of her as the jealous and vengeful wife, but humanizes her and gives an overview of her life and all of the many things that happened in the life of a goddess that is one of the most ancient and powerful among the Olympians.

I really enjoyed this book and reading the perspective of Hera. The book was engaging and a really enjoyable read if you like novels based on Greek mythology

Hera was born to be great and when she has played a pivotal role in the destruction of Cronos she expects an important role amongst the gods of Olympus. Instead Zeus forces her to marry him and makes her the goddess of marriage. Her husband is not faithful and Hera finds her own children pushed aside in favour of Zeus' other children and resentment starts to grow. Despite supporting revolts and working against her fellow gods, Hera still fights for Olympus. What a delight, a new Jennifer Saint book. I am such a fan of her writing, feminist retellings of ancient myths but in an accessible and entertaining voice. Here there is a certain degree of pathos and modern sensibility as various tales are woven together leading to the downfall of the gods but it is a wonderful journey with a strong heroine.