But will Ariadne’s decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind? Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. 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.A mesmerizing debut novel for fans of Madeline Miller's Circe.Īriadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. Some books based in earlier history have quite complex writing, but this one doesn’t have that problem.

The style of writing is also quite easy, despite it being based in an ancient period. 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. There are a few lovely moments between Ariadne and the maenads as well on Naxos which are amazing to see. There are beautiful moments when Ariadne spends time with her children and defies her father to run away with Theseus. 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.

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 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.Īriadne was an intriguing character, especially seeing her development across the years of the novel. 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. 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.

Ariadne a novel