Having already read and loved ‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller as well as ‘Circe’ I was looking forward to this one when it was chosen as our book club book for February 2022. I don’t know much about Greek mythology but the stories I’ve read are really engaging and I’d like to read some more. I was expecting a telling of the minotaur story, but this is so much more; it covers Ariadne’s entire life rather than just the minotaur event which is within the first third of the novel I would estimate.

Ariadne was an intriguing character, especially seeing her development across the years of the novel. She starts as a rather innocent and naive girl, but grows through the events of characters like Theseus, Dionysus, and Phaedra (without giving too much away), up to her tragic end. I’d be quite interested in reading more about Ariadne and Dionysus in particular, if anyone has any book recommendations I’d be pleased to hear them! Phaedra was also an intriguing character and her relationship with Theseus and how she handled his secrecy and lies.

There are beautiful moments when Ariadne spends time with her children and defies her father to run away with Theseus. There are a few lovely moments between Ariadne and the maenads as well on Naxos which are amazing to see. There are some slow moments in the middle as the story builds to its crescendo but that’s also where some of the beautiful moments are.

The style of writing is also quite easy, despite it being based in an ancient period. Some books based in earlier history have quite complex writing, but this one doesn’t have that problem. I didn’t know what to expect of the novel, but it really is in the vein of Madeline Miller which I was really pleased about. Another author writing Greek mythology fiction for me to look out for!