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Wearing the Lion
This second novel from Nebula Award-winning John Wiswell brings a humanizing, redemptive touch to the Hercules story in this mythological fantasy for fans of Jennifer Saint and Elodie Harper
Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to Hera, goddess of family. Heracles’ mother raised him to revere Hera, as her attempt to avoid the goddess’ wrath. Unbeknownst to Heracles, he is yet another child Hera’s husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.
Hera loathes every minute of Heracles’ devotion. She finally snaps and sends the Furies to make Heracles kill himself. But the moment Heracles goes mad, his children playfully ambush him, and he slays them instead. When the madness fades, Heracles’s wife, Megara, convinces him to seek revenge. Together they’ll hunt the Furies and learn which god did this.
Believing Hera is the only god he can still trust, Heracles prays to Hera, who is wracked with guilt over killing his children. To mislead Heracles, Hera sends him on monster-slaying quests, but he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, cures the illness of the Lernaean hydra, and bonds with Crete’s giant bull.
Hera struggles with her role in Heracles life as Heracles begins to heal psychologically by connecting with the monsters—while also amassing an army that could lay siege to Olympos.
Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his signature humanizing touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth—and the goddess reluctantly bound to him.
Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to Hera, goddess of family. Heracles’ mother raised him to revere Hera, as her attempt to avoid the goddess’ wrath. Unbeknownst to Heracles, he is yet another child Hera’s husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.
Hera loathes every minute of Heracles’ devotion. She finally snaps and sends the Furies to make Heracles kill himself. But the moment Heracles goes mad, his children playfully ambush him, and he slays them instead. When the madness fades, Heracles’s wife, Megara, convinces him to seek revenge. Together they’ll hunt the Furies and learn which god did this.
Believing Hera is the only god he can still trust, Heracles prays to Hera, who is wracked with guilt over killing his children. To mislead Heracles, Hera sends him on monster-slaying quests, but he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, cures the illness of the Lernaean hydra, and bonds with Crete’s giant bull.
Hera struggles with her role in Heracles life as Heracles begins to heal psychologically by connecting with the monsters—while also amassing an army that could lay siege to Olympos.
Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his signature humanizing touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth—and the goddess reluctantly bound to him.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published June 17, 2025
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October 5, 2025
Greek mythology was not what I expected coming up next from John Wiswell after "Someone You Can Build a Nest In" but I am 100% here for it. "Wearing the Lion" is unlike other current Greek mythology novels, for it is less of a retelling and more of a reimagining of known myths. Still, if mythology retellings (think Madeline Miller or Jennifer Saint) are not your thing, I wouldn't recommend this one either, because all these books do have the same basis after all. So do expect a lot of Greek Gods and Goddesses and their schemes, mythical monsters and the heroes that are sent to slay them, and mortals with big families whose stories span many, many years.
This story follows Hera and Heracles as equal protagonists in alternating chapters. Hera, Queen of Olympos and Goddess of Family, is sick of her ever cheating and child-siring husband, so she decides to focus all her anger on Zeus' latest insult to her: the demigod Heracles. Heracles, however, is completely unaware of his aunt's hate towards him and is even a devout follower of hers. Honestly, that made for one of the most interesting dynamics I've ever read about, and I think that both characters were very well developed. Heracles starts out as a bright-eyed himbo of sorts but is soon changed by tragedy. Hera, who is supposed to watch over mothers and families and children, is hate-filled towards Heracles since the day he was born and wants to cause him harm. But when she ultimately goes too far in her actions, she is feeling guilty and doesn't really know how to act upon it. Instead of answering Heracles' prayers she sets up the 12 labors, so he might never learn the truth. I really liked how both characters changed but still stayed true to themselves in some way. Although he has every reason to, Heracles is not looking for revenge but for answers. He doesn't turn violent, and so he doesn't fight the monsters he's supposed to but helps and befriends them instead. The result is a strange but very lovely found family of misunderstood creatures. Hera's family (aka the Gods of Olympos) was very interesting as well. While she is Queen of the Gods and commands many of them, she is also mostly frustrated by them and has only few confidants. I wasn't the biggest fan of Hera's crude language that's a result of her constant annoyance, but I think I prefer it to the Gods speaking super posh or all lyrical or something. (But for real: According to my kindle the phrase "my dipshit husband" was used 41 times, and that's at least 40 too often if you ask me.) The portrayal of Godhood itself was great as well, with the fast passage of time, the shapeshifting into basically everything, and the overseeing of the mortal realm. And I loved the way how the Gods worked their domains and how they could switch from watching from above to walking among the humans in an instant. With things like these, the book really held my attention throughout the entire story. And even though the story didn't span Heracles' entire life, everything wrapped up nicely and provided closure in the end. Truly a great read for me.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and DAW for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
This story follows Hera and Heracles as equal protagonists in alternating chapters. Hera, Queen of Olympos and Goddess of Family, is sick of her ever cheating and child-siring husband, so she decides to focus all her anger on Zeus' latest insult to her: the demigod Heracles. Heracles, however, is completely unaware of his aunt's hate towards him and is even a devout follower of hers. Honestly, that made for one of the most interesting dynamics I've ever read about, and I think that both characters were very well developed. Heracles starts out as a bright-eyed himbo of sorts but is soon changed by tragedy. Hera, who is supposed to watch over mothers and families and children, is hate-filled towards Heracles since the day he was born and wants to cause him harm. But when she ultimately goes too far in her actions, she is feeling guilty and doesn't really know how to act upon it. Instead of answering Heracles' prayers she sets up the 12 labors, so he might never learn the truth. I really liked how both characters changed but still stayed true to themselves in some way. Although he has every reason to, Heracles is not looking for revenge but for answers. He doesn't turn violent, and so he doesn't fight the monsters he's supposed to but helps and befriends them instead. The result is a strange but very lovely found family of misunderstood creatures. Hera's family (aka the Gods of Olympos) was very interesting as well. While she is Queen of the Gods and commands many of them, she is also mostly frustrated by them and has only few confidants. I wasn't the biggest fan of Hera's crude language that's a result of her constant annoyance, but I think I prefer it to the Gods speaking super posh or all lyrical or something. (But for real: According to my kindle the phrase "my dipshit husband" was used 41 times, and that's at least 40 too often if you ask me.) The portrayal of Godhood itself was great as well, with the fast passage of time, the shapeshifting into basically everything, and the overseeing of the mortal realm. And I loved the way how the Gods worked their domains and how they could switch from watching from above to walking among the humans in an instant. With things like these, the book really held my attention throughout the entire story. And even though the story didn't span Heracles' entire life, everything wrapped up nicely and provided closure in the end. Truly a great read for me.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and DAW for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
August 19, 2025
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!!
this was certainly a new spin on the myth of heracles — in recent years, many authors have tackled heracles and painted him to be a heartless, abusive monster, but i think many authors forget that all humans were at the whims of the gods and could never truly win against them.
in most, if not all renditions of myth, heracles murders his children (and sometimes his wife) after being driven mad by the gods, and that is his ultimate downfall. and while heracles sadly murders his sons in this version, and it does destroy him because he values family so much, instead of killing the beasts and creatures he is set out to take down for hera, he instead pardons them and creates an interestingly dysfunctional family to honor the sons he slayed.
i also appreciated the characterization of hera — while she was the instigator in this version, she also slowly and reluctantly realizes that she was wrong in her attempts to break down heracles and works to right her wrongs.
i also listened to the audio, and it had dual narrators for heracles and hera!! both narrators did great!
this was certainly a new spin on the myth of heracles — in recent years, many authors have tackled heracles and painted him to be a heartless, abusive monster, but i think many authors forget that all humans were at the whims of the gods and could never truly win against them.
in most, if not all renditions of myth, heracles murders his children (and sometimes his wife) after being driven mad by the gods, and that is his ultimate downfall. and while heracles sadly murders his sons in this version, and it does destroy him because he values family so much, instead of killing the beasts and creatures he is set out to take down for hera, he instead pardons them and creates an interestingly dysfunctional family to honor the sons he slayed.
i also appreciated the characterization of hera — while she was the instigator in this version, she also slowly and reluctantly realizes that she was wrong in her attempts to break down heracles and works to right her wrongs.
i also listened to the audio, and it had dual narrators for heracles and hera!! both narrators did great!
May 26, 2025
This was a unique retelling of Hercules that had me chuckling quite a few times.
Most retellings make you hate all the gods and goddesses. This one made you question their motives and inner thoughts.
“Auntie Hera” loathes every minute of Heracles' adoration - he is the result of her husband’s infidelity after all. Despite causing a lot of problems for Hercules, he always makes them work in his favour and thanks his ‘Auntie’ for such fortune.
That is until she takes it too far and, grieving and desperate for revenge, Heracles sets off to find the god responsible (because he could never believe it is his goddess).
“𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯.”
𝗭𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀, “𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯.”
“𝗢𝗵, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁.”
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗮, 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗹𝘆. 𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀?
This is told in the second person from both Hera and Hercules, jumping back and forth and causing a hysterical contrast of these two characters.
If you are familiar with Greek mythology, there are so many Easter eggs to catch. Apollo the domain stealer.
Plus, Hercules names the Nimean Lion Purrseus.
There was a bit of repetition after the halfway point as Hercules is dealing with grief and responsibility and Hera starts worrying about her own accountability and morality. This slowed the pace down.
A lot of reviews say this is really dark. Honestly, I don’t see it. It’s a Greek mythology retelling and so it’s dark in that it follows the caprice of gods. Yet the tone was light and cozy and funny, and there was no graphic content.
P.S. the word ‘dipshit’ is used more than five times to describe Zeus, her dipshit husband. That’s too many!!
Arc gifted by Head of Zeus.
(This is definitely not endorsed by Zeus though because, as we know, Zeus is a dipshit.)
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Most retellings make you hate all the gods and goddesses. This one made you question their motives and inner thoughts.
“Auntie Hera” loathes every minute of Heracles' adoration - he is the result of her husband’s infidelity after all. Despite causing a lot of problems for Hercules, he always makes them work in his favour and thanks his ‘Auntie’ for such fortune.
That is until she takes it too far and, grieving and desperate for revenge, Heracles sets off to find the god responsible (because he could never believe it is his goddess).
“𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗜’𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯.”
𝗭𝗲𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀, “𝗗𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯.”
“𝗢𝗵, 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁.”
𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗮, 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗹𝘆. 𝗪𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀?
This is told in the second person from both Hera and Hercules, jumping back and forth and causing a hysterical contrast of these two characters.
If you are familiar with Greek mythology, there are so many Easter eggs to catch. Apollo the domain stealer.
Plus, Hercules names the Nimean Lion Purrseus.
There was a bit of repetition after the halfway point as Hercules is dealing with grief and responsibility and Hera starts worrying about her own accountability and morality. This slowed the pace down.
A lot of reviews say this is really dark. Honestly, I don’t see it. It’s a Greek mythology retelling and so it’s dark in that it follows the caprice of gods. Yet the tone was light and cozy and funny, and there was no graphic content.
P.S. the word ‘dipshit’ is used more than five times to describe Zeus, her dipshit husband. That’s too many!!
Arc gifted by Head of Zeus.
(This is definitely not endorsed by Zeus though because, as we know, Zeus is a dipshit.)
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June 27, 2025John Wiswall feels like he’s trying to get on the writing staff of Netflix’s show, Kaos.
I feel like the cover kinda fools you.
“At the foot of the bed, down on his knees, is my son. Ares, the God of War, the scourge of battlefields, crouches between Aphrodite’s thighs, face buried in there, giving peace a chance.”
If you thought Stephen Fry was snarky or flippant in his retellings, Wiswell is like –hold my wine. 🍷
I thought I would gobble up a mythology satire, but a few things held me back from wanting to finish it.
1. Dipshit - 48 mentions. As a kick off sentence, it was hilarious. But 47 more times, it lost its luster.
2. Making Heracles an I’m-Just-Ken-like character feels funny in theory, but his story is tragic and for some reason, when those sad notes played out, the humor hit the wrong notes.
3. Pacing - I would have embraced the 12 Labors differently. Instead of 5 acts, made them clearer short stories. The internal dialogue felt repetitive because of it.
I’m sure there will be people that love this book, so if Hera or Heracles are MVP’s in your mythology worlds, I would still recommend this.
DNF
TY @netgalley for this ARC
I feel like the cover kinda fools you.
“At the foot of the bed, down on his knees, is my son. Ares, the God of War, the scourge of battlefields, crouches between Aphrodite’s thighs, face buried in there, giving peace a chance.”
If you thought Stephen Fry was snarky or flippant in his retellings, Wiswell is like –hold my wine. 🍷
I thought I would gobble up a mythology satire, but a few things held me back from wanting to finish it.
1. Dipshit - 48 mentions. As a kick off sentence, it was hilarious. But 47 more times, it lost its luster.
2. Making Heracles an I’m-Just-Ken-like character feels funny in theory, but his story is tragic and for some reason, when those sad notes played out, the humor hit the wrong notes.
3. Pacing - I would have embraced the 12 Labors differently. Instead of 5 acts, made them clearer short stories. The internal dialogue felt repetitive because of it.
I’m sure there will be people that love this book, so if Hera or Heracles are MVP’s in your mythology worlds, I would still recommend this.
DNF
TY @netgalley for this ARC
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2025
DNF at 25%.
This is disappointing as I am a huge Greek mythology fan, and love seeing stories reinvisioned and retold in a modern spin. When I saw this being compared to the works of Jennifer Saint, I was so excited, but this book just disappointed me. This mainly comes down to the writing; the premise of the book holds so much promise, but the execution needs work, a lot of work. I'm sure this would appeal to a specific audience who enjoys more of a specific type of humor, because that is what this reads as: a comedic take on the story of Hercules, not a retelling from a different perspective.
I'm not one to be offended by cursing, but there is an absurd amount of cursing, and it adds no value to the story; it's just there for the sake of being there. If I never have to read the words "dipshit husband" again, it will be too soon.
The tone in which Hera is written also rubs me the wrong way; it feels as if Wiswell is pushing the 'crazy ex-wife' narrative a bit too hard, like shoving it in your face and suffocating hard.
The entire time I was reading it just felt like a watered-down version of Greek mythology told by a stand-up comedian who did not do his research.
This is disappointing as I am a huge Greek mythology fan, and love seeing stories reinvisioned and retold in a modern spin. When I saw this being compared to the works of Jennifer Saint, I was so excited, but this book just disappointed me. This mainly comes down to the writing; the premise of the book holds so much promise, but the execution needs work, a lot of work. I'm sure this would appeal to a specific audience who enjoys more of a specific type of humor, because that is what this reads as: a comedic take on the story of Hercules, not a retelling from a different perspective.
I'm not one to be offended by cursing, but there is an absurd amount of cursing, and it adds no value to the story; it's just there for the sake of being there. If I never have to read the words "dipshit husband" again, it will be too soon.
The tone in which Hera is written also rubs me the wrong way; it feels as if Wiswell is pushing the 'crazy ex-wife' narrative a bit too hard, like shoving it in your face and suffocating hard.
The entire time I was reading it just felt like a watered-down version of Greek mythology told by a stand-up comedian who did not do his research.
September 3, 2025
I already read, and didn't care for, Someone You Can Build A Nest In before, but I found the premise for this one quite intriguing, and I appreciate the author's approach to fantasy in theory, so I wanted to give him another try. Unfortunately, as much as I like his ideas, the execution is not working for me - but I think it will for others!
I would say that many of the problems I had with Someone You Can Build A Nest In remain, here - use of American modernisms in a decidedly not modern context, being a bit on the nose with all the pop therapy concepts, taking the easy way out of some complex situations that frightened to get us all out of cozy territory, etc.
The main difference for me was with character work: they all felt more solid and consistent, which helped a lot. On the other hand, they start rather unlikeable. In theory, I should have loved that, as I felt that Shesheshen's story suffered from the need to keep all main characters likeable, even if it got in the way of depth and interesting themes to explore. And yet I am still not convinced that this author's stories are fit to handle unlikeable characters, or rather I don't think they are willing to, because they are more interested in remaining within the "cozy" realm. As a result, the fervently religious and quite Panglossian nature of Heracles, and the irascible and manipulative attitude of Hera were more of an obstacle to the reader, and the book itself, than a plot device, in the beginning.
Finally, due to the very nature of the 12 Labors of Hercules, and despite the author's best efforts there was some measure of repetitiveness.
-> Heracles finds monster, gets vulnerable, monster never experienced anything like that and is won over - next.
-> Hera gets angry, another god comes in to give her the answer/solution she needs, she lashes out then acts on the advice but in stupidest way possible, blames others for the resulting mess - next.
I caught myself wishing that a certain event around the 50% mark had ushered in the ending, but we were short almost half of the labors by then and this was not an option. So instead, from then on, each time the characters would be close to finding a way out, bam, here would come a convenient interruption that would keep them going some more. Caging your characters in their own story is never an elegant solution, but the 12 labors structure might have made this somewhat unavoidable for the author - with what I just said, I do think he did his best to minimize the reiterative nature of it all.
All in all, it's not groundbreaking and it's not very subtle. It's also not really making use of the setting (this could happen almost anywhere/when) but I will say that it does feel heartfelt. I didn't feel that come through as much / at all from Someone You Can Build A Nest In, so this is an improvement.
A perfectly fine book for what it sets out to be: readers who don't mind their plots and characters bending to the needs of the cozy subgenre will probably enjoy this a lot. I just don't personally seek this in stories - a case of it's not you, it's me.
I would say that many of the problems I had with Someone You Can Build A Nest In remain, here - use of American modernisms in a decidedly not modern context, being a bit on the nose with all the pop therapy concepts, taking the easy way out of some complex situations that frightened to get us all out of cozy territory, etc.
The main difference for me was with character work: they all felt more solid and consistent, which helped a lot. On the other hand, they start rather unlikeable. In theory, I should have loved that, as I felt that Shesheshen's story suffered from the need to keep all main characters likeable, even if it got in the way of depth and interesting themes to explore. And yet I am still not convinced that this author's stories are fit to handle unlikeable characters, or rather I don't think they are willing to, because they are more interested in remaining within the "cozy" realm. As a result, the fervently religious and quite Panglossian nature of Heracles, and the irascible and manipulative attitude of Hera were more of an obstacle to the reader, and the book itself, than a plot device, in the beginning.
Finally, due to the very nature of the 12 Labors of Hercules, and despite the author's best efforts there was some measure of repetitiveness.
-> Heracles finds monster, gets vulnerable, monster never experienced anything like that and is won over - next.
-> Hera gets angry, another god comes in to give her the answer/solution she needs, she lashes out then acts on the advice but in stupidest way possible, blames others for the resulting mess - next.
I caught myself wishing that a certain event around the 50% mark had ushered in the ending, but we were short almost half of the labors by then and this was not an option. So instead, from then on, each time the characters would be close to finding a way out, bam, here would come a convenient interruption that would keep them going some more. Caging your characters in their own story is never an elegant solution, but the 12 labors structure might have made this somewhat unavoidable for the author - with what I just said, I do think he did his best to minimize the reiterative nature of it all.
All in all, it's not groundbreaking and it's not very subtle. It's also not really making use of the setting (this could happen almost anywhere/when) but I will say that it does feel heartfelt. I didn't feel that come through as much / at all from Someone You Can Build A Nest In, so this is an improvement.
A perfectly fine book for what it sets out to be: readers who don't mind their plots and characters bending to the needs of the cozy subgenre will probably enjoy this a lot. I just don't personally seek this in stories - a case of it's not you, it's me.
July 7, 2025
Look, I’ll admit it - when I first heard someone had written another Greek mythology retelling, I sighed hard. But Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell proved me wrong. Turns out, I did have room for one more.
Wiswell takes the famous, blood-soaked story of Heracles and flips it on its head. Instead of a nonstop parade of monster-slaying and muscle-flexing, this book gives us a surprisingly tender, often hilarious look at what happens when a traumatized hero decides that maybe violence isn’t the answer.
Heracles adores Hera, the goddess famous for hating him. He calls her Auntie Hera, dedicates his whole life to worshipping her, and basically turns her elaborate revenge plans into an awkward family drama. Hera, meanwhile, is at her wit’s end. Her rage over Zeus’s latest love child (Heracles) spirals so badly she accidentally causes Heracles to kill his own kids.
From there, things get interesting. Heracles needs to do Labors to discover the truth, but instead of butchering monsters left and right, he befriends them. The Nemean Lion becomes a cuddle buddy. The hydra joins the support group. In a way, it feels like the 12 Labors reimagined as a found family sitcom.
Wiswell writes well and I like his sense of humor. I also like how he continuously plays with the expectations. The book switches between Heracles’s and Hera’s perspectives. Heracles feels like a good-hearted, grieving man trying to make sense of his pain. Hera is much more complicated - stubborn, but also full of regret. I won’t lie, watching Her grapple with guilt and accountability is oddly satisfying.
And now, the downsides. The pacing gets a little wobbly. With all twelve labors squeezed in, some parts drag more than they should. But it’s a small price to pay for a story that turns divine vengeance and legendary violence into something that feels so wholesome.
Wearing the Lion is dark but also surprisingly funny and charming. If you’re tired of retellings that lean too hard on tragedy, and you want one that adds in emotional growth and hope, this one’s for you.
Wiswell takes the famous, blood-soaked story of Heracles and flips it on its head. Instead of a nonstop parade of monster-slaying and muscle-flexing, this book gives us a surprisingly tender, often hilarious look at what happens when a traumatized hero decides that maybe violence isn’t the answer.
Heracles adores Hera, the goddess famous for hating him. He calls her Auntie Hera, dedicates his whole life to worshipping her, and basically turns her elaborate revenge plans into an awkward family drama. Hera, meanwhile, is at her wit’s end. Her rage over Zeus’s latest love child (Heracles) spirals so badly she accidentally causes Heracles to kill his own kids.
From there, things get interesting. Heracles needs to do Labors to discover the truth, but instead of butchering monsters left and right, he befriends them. The Nemean Lion becomes a cuddle buddy. The hydra joins the support group. In a way, it feels like the 12 Labors reimagined as a found family sitcom.
Wiswell writes well and I like his sense of humor. I also like how he continuously plays with the expectations. The book switches between Heracles’s and Hera’s perspectives. Heracles feels like a good-hearted, grieving man trying to make sense of his pain. Hera is much more complicated - stubborn, but also full of regret. I won’t lie, watching Her grapple with guilt and accountability is oddly satisfying.
And now, the downsides. The pacing gets a little wobbly. With all twelve labors squeezed in, some parts drag more than they should. But it’s a small price to pay for a story that turns divine vengeance and legendary violence into something that feels so wholesome.
Wearing the Lion is dark but also surprisingly funny and charming. If you’re tired of retellings that lean too hard on tragedy, and you want one that adds in emotional growth and hope, this one’s for you.
Read
October 20, 2025DNF @ 20%
This is a case of it being me and not necessarily the book. I’ve said before that I don’t enjoy sarcasm, particularly when it permeates the entire story. It’s not that a don’t have a sense of humour or appreciate things that are funny, I’m just not the kind of person that finds a lot of sarcasm funny.
I’m also not great with characters who have tantrums or anger management issues where that behaviour is supposed to be part of the humour. It’s just not for me.
Having said that, this is a book that all my friends are loving so if it seems interesting to you then you should definitely go for it :)
This is a case of it being me and not necessarily the book. I’ve said before that I don’t enjoy sarcasm, particularly when it permeates the entire story. It’s not that a don’t have a sense of humour or appreciate things that are funny, I’m just not the kind of person that finds a lot of sarcasm funny.
I’m also not great with characters who have tantrums or anger management issues where that behaviour is supposed to be part of the humour. It’s just not for me.
Having said that, this is a book that all my friends are loving so if it seems interesting to you then you should definitely go for it :)
May 11, 2025
“Dark yet endearingly sweet” seems like a good summary of Wiswell’s works. His Someone You Can Build a Nest In from last year is garnering all the major award noms, and I can see that repeated next year with this rewriting of the labors of Hercules. He takes on the tale with back and forth narratives told by Heracles and Hera. Heracles is kind of a good-hearted himbo who adores his family and diligently worships Hera; meanwhile, Hera loathes Heracles because he was produced by her husband’s philandering, and her project of vengeance is so deep she almost breaks herself in the process. That creates a complex book wherein the hero and villainess both struggle to find salvation amid their grief. The book isn’t without humor, though, and it often arises from the found family that Heracles creates through his labors.
Want to read
October 23, 2025I enjoyed Someone to Build a Nest In so much, that I'm jumping into this one knowing absolutely nothing about it. Wish me luck!
March 17, 2025
Heracles may be the son of Zeus, but he does all his deeds in the name of Hera, the goddess of families. When he is struck with madness by a mysterious god and kills his children, he’s sure Hera will return that devotion and help him gain revenge on whoever it was that did it – not realizing that she has hated him all along.
Greek mythology retellings have been in vogue in the last few years, following heroes and villains alike and reinterpreting their stories. What sets this book apart from the crowd and caught my attention is that Wiswell deviates from the myths in that Heracles chooses to befriend the monsters he is meant to capture or slay.
I expected humor from the premise, and there’s plenty of that in this book. But there’s a heartfelt exploration of grief too, and what it means to be mortal and carry mortal burdens. I loved how Wiswell interpreted the 12 Labors of Heracles in the light of processing guilt and grief, as well as the meta twist on how those stories might have come down transformed through the ages. As such this kinder, quieter retelling has more emotional heft than if the story had just been told straight.
However, I did think the pacing was slow in the middle, as Heracles wanders the land and Hera wrestles with the new concept of accountability. After the first few tasks, you begin to anticipate the pattern and then it just wears on you. That both Hera and Heracles makes for such unreliable narrators means that the story becomes disjointed at times, their interpretation of other characters’ decisions so off-base I found myself getting confused too.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Greek mythology retellings have been in vogue in the last few years, following heroes and villains alike and reinterpreting their stories. What sets this book apart from the crowd and caught my attention is that Wiswell deviates from the myths in that Heracles chooses to befriend the monsters he is meant to capture or slay.
I expected humor from the premise, and there’s plenty of that in this book. But there’s a heartfelt exploration of grief too, and what it means to be mortal and carry mortal burdens. I loved how Wiswell interpreted the 12 Labors of Heracles in the light of processing guilt and grief, as well as the meta twist on how those stories might have come down transformed through the ages. As such this kinder, quieter retelling has more emotional heft than if the story had just been told straight.
However, I did think the pacing was slow in the middle, as Heracles wanders the land and Hera wrestles with the new concept of accountability. After the first few tasks, you begin to anticipate the pattern and then it just wears on you. That both Hera and Heracles makes for such unreliable narrators means that the story becomes disjointed at times, their interpretation of other characters’ decisions so off-base I found myself getting confused too.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Read
July 8, 2025I loved Someone You Can Build a Nest In and really expected to like this book far more. It’s a modernized reimagining of classic mythology but I didn’t like the writing at all. It feels like it’s trying way too hard to be cute and funny if that makes sense. Love the queer representation tho!
October 15, 2025
A retelling of the Heracles story from Greek myth that turns the story on its head. The goddess Hera considers the birth of Heracles to be the last insult in a long series of insults, and treats his existence as an ongoing affront. Meanwhile, young Heracles worships Hera above all other gods, referring to her as Auntie Hera. Hera's focus is on the pain of Zeus's infidelity though, and she takes every prayer as a personal insult, culminating in Hera sending a Fury to destroy Heracles. Possessed by the Fury, Heracles kills his children, an act which leaves both him and Hera wracked with guilt and kicking off Heracles's famous labours.
But in this story Heracles's great acts of strength are great acts of emotional strength, as he befriends the Nimean lion, helps the Lernean hydra, shows compassion to the Erymanthian boar and goes on to build a found family from the ashes of his own and creatures that the rest of the world consider monsters. Meanwhile Hera struggles with her culpability in the death of Heracles and Megara's children, first seeking to deny fault, then delay taking responsibility and eventually having to come to terms with what she has done and face Heracles. All while being relentlessly shadowed by Athena in her role as goddess of wisdom.
This uses some clever narrative techniques as it switches between the narratives of Hera and Heracles, often using second person. There's also use of humour which is an interesting contrast to a story which is overwhelmingly about emotional pain and grief and recovering from those.
But in this story Heracles's great acts of strength are great acts of emotional strength, as he befriends the Nimean lion, helps the Lernean hydra, shows compassion to the Erymanthian boar and goes on to build a found family from the ashes of his own and creatures that the rest of the world consider monsters. Meanwhile Hera struggles with her culpability in the death of Heracles and Megara's children, first seeking to deny fault, then delay taking responsibility and eventually having to come to terms with what she has done and face Heracles. All while being relentlessly shadowed by Athena in her role as goddess of wisdom.
This uses some clever narrative techniques as it switches between the narratives of Hera and Heracles, often using second person. There's also use of humour which is an interesting contrast to a story which is overwhelmingly about emotional pain and grief and recovering from those.
July 31, 2025
thank god that’s done. the only saving grace of this book is the fact that the lion is named purrseus
May 2, 2025
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
What if Hercules never killed the Nemean Lion, but instead adopted it as his best friend? What if he helped monsters in their labours instead of killing them for his? What if... Instead of Zeus's son, Heracles dedicated himself to Hera's Glory? And she, in turn, did the most despicable thing to dissuade him...
What an incredible take on the legendary tale of Hercules, the greatest son of Zeus to ever live, the strongest hero of Greece, the toughest demigod to date--- but what if all of that was just exaggeration? What if Hercules was actually just a rather down-to-earth, kind fellow who loves his children, his wife, worships the gods and prays each day, and desires nothing more than peace?
I can't go too much into a synopsis for this book or I'll ruin the whole thing for you--- just go pick it up. Wiswell has this extraordinary talent for irreverent humour mixed perfectly with heartfelt coziness. It's an unbeatable combo that makes you laugh and cry in quick succession, especially when it comes to Heracles, also known as Alcides, and his gaggle of adopted monster family members.
While this is certainly a tragic story, I laughed very hard sometimes, and cried with happiness at others, and felt upset occasionally. Grief, depression, suicide ideation, apathy, and self-harm are very present in this story, please be careful while picking it up, but I promise there is such a kind heart at the middle of this book.
Can I please just say. That I have not laughed so hard. Ever before. As when some of the quotes from Hera in this book hit?
"What the hell, Athena? You fucked a snake?” “They are not a snake.”
“Because if you go to its home region, and you examine the creature very closely, you will find it is a big fucking lion that kills everything.”
"Is Oedipus still alive? He’s easy enough to fuck with . Just tell him he’s related to Heracles and that’ll do it.”
Genuinely some top tier comedy becomes available when you're really not expected Hera, Queen of Olympos, to swear like a sailor.
Overall, I was so pleased and honored to get to review something as unique and cozy as Wearing the Lion early. John, you've earned yourself a dedicated fan.
What if Hercules never killed the Nemean Lion, but instead adopted it as his best friend? What if he helped monsters in their labours instead of killing them for his? What if... Instead of Zeus's son, Heracles dedicated himself to Hera's Glory? And she, in turn, did the most despicable thing to dissuade him...
What an incredible take on the legendary tale of Hercules, the greatest son of Zeus to ever live, the strongest hero of Greece, the toughest demigod to date--- but what if all of that was just exaggeration? What if Hercules was actually just a rather down-to-earth, kind fellow who loves his children, his wife, worships the gods and prays each day, and desires nothing more than peace?
I can't go too much into a synopsis for this book or I'll ruin the whole thing for you--- just go pick it up. Wiswell has this extraordinary talent for irreverent humour mixed perfectly with heartfelt coziness. It's an unbeatable combo that makes you laugh and cry in quick succession, especially when it comes to Heracles, also known as Alcides, and his gaggle of adopted monster family members.
While this is certainly a tragic story, I laughed very hard sometimes, and cried with happiness at others, and felt upset occasionally. Grief, depression, suicide ideation, apathy, and self-harm are very present in this story, please be careful while picking it up, but I promise there is such a kind heart at the middle of this book.
Can I please just say. That I have not laughed so hard. Ever before. As when some of the quotes from Hera in this book hit?
"What the hell, Athena? You fucked a snake?” “They are not a snake.”
“Because if you go to its home region, and you examine the creature very closely, you will find it is a big fucking lion that kills everything.”
"Is Oedipus still alive? He’s easy enough to fuck with . Just tell him he’s related to Heracles and that’ll do it.”
Genuinely some top tier comedy becomes available when you're really not expected Hera, Queen of Olympos, to swear like a sailor.
Overall, I was so pleased and honored to get to review something as unique and cozy as Wearing the Lion early. John, you've earned yourself a dedicated fan.
July 13, 2025
Wearing the Lion is a humorous yet tender-hearted retelling of the Heracles myth that stands out in a market oversaturated with Greek myth retellings. But while there was a lot to love in this refreshing, modernized take on a well-known myth, the book lost too much momentum in the middle of the story for me to feel fully invested in an otherwise standout retelling.
I knew I was in for a fun time when the e-ARC blurb included the words “Hera’s dipshit husband, Zeus” (unfortunately, the blurb on the final copy no longer includes the word “dipshit”), and the book definitely did not disappoint in humor. Both POV characters Hera and Heracles have incredible narrative voices—it’s irreverent, sometimes profane, and surprisingly tender in emotional moments. Wiswell does an impressive job with balancing the narrative tone, making sure that the book was humorous while also becoming emotional and more authentic when the story demanded it. I normally don’t read books for humor or absurdity, but Wiswell ensured most jokes and bits never felt forced or overused. This book is more quirk than absurdity or hilarity, which definitely meshed well with my reading preferences and broadened its appeal to a mainstream audience rather than those who gravitate towards straight humor. The only joke that lost its humor and began to edge into annoying territory was the sheer amount of times Hera calls Zeus her “dipshit husband” instead of by his name or just “my husband” or “the king,” but thankfully it was gradually phased out as Hera began to grow and emotionally mature.
The mythological retelling element was impressively innovative and refreshing! As someone who studied Greek culture and mythology in undergrad, I’m normally pretty cautious when it comes to retellings because 1) they’re completely overdone in recent years 2) they lack originality/innovation while preserving the culturally-relative essence of the original myth. Wearing the Lion was genuinely refreshing by taking the framework of the Heracles myth (and not just the Twelve Labors!!) and using it to explore deeper themes, like the role of family, trauma, and healing in both ancient and contemporary contexts. It was awesome to see an author who does not attempt to “modernize” or “update” a myth (those often come across as inauthentic or lazy/uninspired) and instead uses the story to investigate issues relevant to a modern audience. The characters were impressively original, even the animals and beasts that become Heracles’ new family—I mean, how could I *not* love an adorable lion named Purrseus??
Unfortunately, the mythological framework is also this book’s biggest shortcoming. The nature of the Twelve Labors made the narrative a bit too repetitive for my liking and conveyed the themes in a much more heavy-handed manner than I would have liked. The first two or three labors are fun reinterpretations, but they quickly lose their originality when it becomes clear every other labor will be handled in the same manner: Heracles gets assigned something deadly and violent, refuses to perpetuate the cycle of violence, and instead befriends/therapizes the misunderstood creature(s) instead. The constant repetition caused the middle of the book to drag and the message about refusing the cycle of violence and/or healing from trauma edge into sermonizing. I want to emphasize that these are incredibly important and timely conversations to have and I appreciated the creative way in which Wiswell chose to address these topics, but the repetition and lack of subtlety by the 60%-ish mark caused my attention to dip. Additionally, while I appreciated that the book was equally narrated by Hera and Heracles to add more nuance to the themes, I unfortunately could never fully get into Hera’s story. Perhaps the nature of the original myth makes it hard to reframe the story into equal parts Hera and Heracles, but Hera’s subplots felt even more repetitive and heavy-handed than Heracles’. While I did feel empathy for her, I grew tired of her constant flip-flopping between anger and guilt with little character growth until the end.
Wearing the Lion is a unique and refreshing addition to the glut of Greek mythological retellings published in the past several years. Despite the dark nature of the Labors and their violent implications, Wiswell impressively subverts them in a cozy yet tender-hearted narrative that encourages timely conversations about violence, family, and trauma. While the repetitious plot prevented me from getting fully invested in the characters, it was still a fun and enjoyable read.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4!
Thank you to DAW for the e-ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I knew I was in for a fun time when the e-ARC blurb included the words “Hera’s dipshit husband, Zeus” (unfortunately, the blurb on the final copy no longer includes the word “dipshit”), and the book definitely did not disappoint in humor. Both POV characters Hera and Heracles have incredible narrative voices—it’s irreverent, sometimes profane, and surprisingly tender in emotional moments. Wiswell does an impressive job with balancing the narrative tone, making sure that the book was humorous while also becoming emotional and more authentic when the story demanded it. I normally don’t read books for humor or absurdity, but Wiswell ensured most jokes and bits never felt forced or overused. This book is more quirk than absurdity or hilarity, which definitely meshed well with my reading preferences and broadened its appeal to a mainstream audience rather than those who gravitate towards straight humor. The only joke that lost its humor and began to edge into annoying territory was the sheer amount of times Hera calls Zeus her “dipshit husband” instead of by his name or just “my husband” or “the king,” but thankfully it was gradually phased out as Hera began to grow and emotionally mature.
The mythological retelling element was impressively innovative and refreshing! As someone who studied Greek culture and mythology in undergrad, I’m normally pretty cautious when it comes to retellings because 1) they’re completely overdone in recent years 2) they lack originality/innovation while preserving the culturally-relative essence of the original myth. Wearing the Lion was genuinely refreshing by taking the framework of the Heracles myth (and not just the Twelve Labors!!) and using it to explore deeper themes, like the role of family, trauma, and healing in both ancient and contemporary contexts. It was awesome to see an author who does not attempt to “modernize” or “update” a myth (those often come across as inauthentic or lazy/uninspired) and instead uses the story to investigate issues relevant to a modern audience. The characters were impressively original, even the animals and beasts that become Heracles’ new family—I mean, how could I *not* love an adorable lion named Purrseus??
Unfortunately, the mythological framework is also this book’s biggest shortcoming. The nature of the Twelve Labors made the narrative a bit too repetitive for my liking and conveyed the themes in a much more heavy-handed manner than I would have liked. The first two or three labors are fun reinterpretations, but they quickly lose their originality when it becomes clear every other labor will be handled in the same manner: Heracles gets assigned something deadly and violent, refuses to perpetuate the cycle of violence, and instead befriends/therapizes the misunderstood creature(s) instead. The constant repetition caused the middle of the book to drag and the message about refusing the cycle of violence and/or healing from trauma edge into sermonizing. I want to emphasize that these are incredibly important and timely conversations to have and I appreciated the creative way in which Wiswell chose to address these topics, but the repetition and lack of subtlety by the 60%-ish mark caused my attention to dip. Additionally, while I appreciated that the book was equally narrated by Hera and Heracles to add more nuance to the themes, I unfortunately could never fully get into Hera’s story. Perhaps the nature of the original myth makes it hard to reframe the story into equal parts Hera and Heracles, but Hera’s subplots felt even more repetitive and heavy-handed than Heracles’. While I did feel empathy for her, I grew tired of her constant flip-flopping between anger and guilt with little character growth until the end.
Wearing the Lion is a unique and refreshing addition to the glut of Greek mythological retellings published in the past several years. Despite the dark nature of the Labors and their violent implications, Wiswell impressively subverts them in a cozy yet tender-hearted narrative that encourages timely conversations about violence, family, and trauma. While the repetitious plot prevented me from getting fully invested in the characters, it was still a fun and enjoyable read.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4!
Thank you to DAW for the e-ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
March 31, 2025
Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the access to this phenomenal read.
This has got to be one of my favorite mythology remixes that I've read to date. I have never been more glad to read something that uses Greek mythology as another retelling.
Wiswell's writing is comedic to contemporary audiences without sacrificing mythic references and nods to Greek history at its expense.
Reading the blurb makes you believe that a certain plot point happens much sooner than it does. Wiswell is a great writer and yet so emotionally cruel for the build-up to the turn in the narrative.
When readers' say that they want found family THIS is what they want. The patience put into developing each character, the comedic moments, and a strong emotional core that snowballs in size through the narrative.
This has got to be one of my favorite mythology remixes that I've read to date. I have never been more glad to read something that uses Greek mythology as another retelling.
Wiswell's writing is comedic to contemporary audiences without sacrificing mythic references and nods to Greek history at its expense.
Reading the blurb makes you believe that a certain plot point happens much sooner than it does. Wiswell is a great writer and yet so emotionally cruel for the build-up to the turn in the narrative.
When readers' say that they want found family THIS is what they want. The patience put into developing each character, the comedic moments, and a strong emotional core that snowballs in size through the narrative.
August 14, 2025
I try my hardest to not read the synopsis for books and go mainly off covers and vibes, especially when the author wrote one of the best books that I read… NO! DEVOURED last year. Someone You Can Build a Nest In is a queer masterpiece. A monster romance and fairy tale expertly woven together and wormed its way into my very being. The fact that I picked up and started reading Wearing the Lion without any information was a given.
Taking the stories we all know because of companies like Disney and the cult television series’ Xena the Warrior Princess, as well as Hercules, John Wiswell has surprised us all by writing the mythologically remixed story of Heracles.
Being the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmene, our hero grows up praying to his father’s wife, Hera. Each chapter is read from one of our two main characters through a dual perspective. Heracles, who is living his life happily while his stepmother, Hera, tries her hardest to maim and kill him. Heracles attempts being a comedy of errors, because her stepson is impervious to her efforts… even when some of them have disastrous consequences.
I really love mythology of any form from any culture or civilization of the past, so it makes a lot of sense that I’d enjoy this story. I just spent a large portion of my time reading it and comparing it to other media I’ve read or seen. Playing mental gymnastics trying to think of how this story differs from others, about what I liked and disliked, and how I wish that our MC was much more queer (honestly it would have made the book 100% better).
I would love to read this again in the future and see if I can seperate this version of the myths with anything else I’ve seen or read. Sometimes it takes me 2 to 3 times before I can do that.
3.5⭐️
Taking the stories we all know because of companies like Disney and the cult television series’ Xena the Warrior Princess, as well as Hercules, John Wiswell has surprised us all by writing the mythologically remixed story of Heracles.
Being the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmene, our hero grows up praying to his father’s wife, Hera. Each chapter is read from one of our two main characters through a dual perspective. Heracles, who is living his life happily while his stepmother, Hera, tries her hardest to maim and kill him. Heracles attempts being a comedy of errors, because her stepson is impervious to her efforts… even when some of them have disastrous consequences.
I really love mythology of any form from any culture or civilization of the past, so it makes a lot of sense that I’d enjoy this story. I just spent a large portion of my time reading it and comparing it to other media I’ve read or seen. Playing mental gymnastics trying to think of how this story differs from others, about what I liked and disliked, and how I wish that our MC was much more queer (honestly it would have made the book 100% better).
I would love to read this again in the future and see if I can seperate this version of the myths with anything else I’ve seen or read. Sometimes it takes me 2 to 3 times before I can do that.
3.5⭐️
July 15, 2025
4.5 rounded up.
John Wiswell has become an auto-buy author for me, regardless of genre (he's written in two so far). In this retelling of Heracles' 12 labors, he goes beyond fleshing out the story, which is already my favorite thing about retellings. His Heracles is heroic because of his empathy to his fellow suffering creatures. The godly strength is just frosting. His Hera is complex and humanlike and even though it is never disputed that she has done a horrible thing in the event that kicks off Heracles' labors, as the reader, you still root for both of them. This is because this book is about guilt, grief, and atonement. I would almost call this a "lit fic plus" which is one of my favorite genres (lit fic itself is my least favorite, but pair it with something, be it sci fi, fantasy, mythological retelling, etc., and I suddenly can't get enough), due to its truly in-depth exploration of the aforementioned human emotions. Despite the darkness implied by those, however, the story remains lighthearted at its core. In pulling together all of these conflicting elements (darkness and lightheartedness, mythology and humanity), Wiswell has an almost-masterpiece here. I only have one critique and that is that the extreme showcasing of soppiness in some parts made me uncomfortable, but I am a cynic and a skeptic so that very well could be entirely my own fault. Do your mythology-loving soul a favor and read this!
John Wiswell has become an auto-buy author for me, regardless of genre (he's written in two so far). In this retelling of Heracles' 12 labors, he goes beyond fleshing out the story, which is already my favorite thing about retellings. His Heracles is heroic because of his empathy to his fellow suffering creatures. The godly strength is just frosting. His Hera is complex and humanlike and even though it is never disputed that she has done a horrible thing in the event that kicks off Heracles' labors, as the reader, you still root for both of them. This is because this book is about guilt, grief, and atonement. I would almost call this a "lit fic plus" which is one of my favorite genres (lit fic itself is my least favorite, but pair it with something, be it sci fi, fantasy, mythological retelling, etc., and I suddenly can't get enough), due to its truly in-depth exploration of the aforementioned human emotions. Despite the darkness implied by those, however, the story remains lighthearted at its core. In pulling together all of these conflicting elements (darkness and lightheartedness, mythology and humanity), Wiswell has an almost-masterpiece here. I only have one critique and that is that the extreme showcasing of soppiness in some parts made me uncomfortable, but I am a cynic and a skeptic so that very well could be entirely my own fault. Do your mythology-loving soul a favor and read this!
September 18, 2025
I know this book is hit or miss for some people, but I really liked it. I didn’t love it as much as Someone You Can Build a Nest In, but I liked it as much as many other books I would give five stars.
I really liked the list of the 12 labors at the beginning of the book.
I cried in numerous places, which I consider a good thing.
I know Hera wasn’t a particularly lovable character, but I felt like her character exposes so much about how faithfulness, femininity and motherhood are devalued. Yes, this is a story about accountability and found family, but it’s also a story about surviving deeply horrible situations. It’s a story about how love by itself isn’t enough. Other things like respect and accountability are necessary too.
I think many humans would abuse their power if they had as much as Hera did, especially in her situation. I respect her and her growth throughout the book.
I liked the diversity in the book as well: one character uses they/them pronouns and there is a mlm romance subplot in the book.
There were so many funny/well-written lines in this book, but I limited myself.
Favorite quotes:
“A lion makes an imposing thing to wear to new places. It starts conversations.”
"You know you are my son."
I can hear the concessions coming in his tone. "Yes."
"And you know I love you."
"I never doubt that out loud."
“So that's how I soil a perfectly good dress. Do you know how hard it is to get stains out of stardust?”
“What was the point of giving Therimachus the hands and feet of a lion if he couldn't grow up to roar?” (I cried so hard at this part).
Favorite character: Purrseus
I also really liked that Wiswell thanked so many people in the acknowledgements, including translators: “Translators keep an essential part of humanity in the humanities. They honestly should get more hugs than they do. I'm trying to do my part when I see them.”
If you like this book, I recommend the Dark Lord Davi series by Django Wexler, and the Dark Hunters series by Sherilyn Kenyon (don’t be fooled by the word “dark” in both of those series titles, they’re actually quite funny).
I really liked the list of the 12 labors at the beginning of the book.
I cried in numerous places, which I consider a good thing.
I know Hera wasn’t a particularly lovable character, but I felt like her character exposes so much about how faithfulness, femininity and motherhood are devalued. Yes, this is a story about accountability and found family, but it’s also a story about surviving deeply horrible situations. It’s a story about how love by itself isn’t enough. Other things like respect and accountability are necessary too.
I think many humans would abuse their power if they had as much as Hera did, especially in her situation. I respect her and her growth throughout the book.
I liked the diversity in the book as well: one character uses they/them pronouns and there is a mlm romance subplot in the book.
There were so many funny/well-written lines in this book, but I limited myself.
Favorite quotes:
“A lion makes an imposing thing to wear to new places. It starts conversations.”
"You know you are my son."
I can hear the concessions coming in his tone. "Yes."
"And you know I love you."
"I never doubt that out loud."
“So that's how I soil a perfectly good dress. Do you know how hard it is to get stains out of stardust?”
“What was the point of giving Therimachus the hands and feet of a lion if he couldn't grow up to roar?” (I cried so hard at this part).
Favorite character: Purrseus
I also really liked that Wiswell thanked so many people in the acknowledgements, including translators: “Translators keep an essential part of humanity in the humanities. They honestly should get more hugs than they do. I'm trying to do my part when I see them.”
If you like this book, I recommend the Dark Lord Davi series by Django Wexler, and the Dark Hunters series by Sherilyn Kenyon (don’t be fooled by the word “dark” in both of those series titles, they’re actually quite funny).
February 10, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and DAW for the eARC
Very enjoyable greek myth retelling. It feels modern and yet, still respectful of the original material. Wiswell has a knack to mix humour with horrific things, as well as writing characters who do thing we condone and still managing to make us care about them (here, Hera).
The story structure and reinventing of Heracles tasks were well done, making the story interesting with nice twists, refreshing a story I know very well. The tone is light without shying from hard things, showing trauma and anger as well as being broken very well. Hera's arc was convincing too. Like I said, I struggled with her at first, with her actions and positions. I still struggle with her but I understand how she could make the choice she did. The other gods were great too. Some are more on the scene and developed better, other were more in the background, making it easy to follow. Their relationships was funny and tense, with scheming and secrets, keeping my attention.
Heracles was cute. Good hearted, strong willed, wanting to do good. And yet, not too mellow or soft either. He has that stubborn pacifist vibe, which was really redreshing in a way I wasn't expecting.
This story should appeal to people loving mythology, well thought and light (but not only) story !
Very enjoyable greek myth retelling. It feels modern and yet, still respectful of the original material. Wiswell has a knack to mix humour with horrific things, as well as writing characters who do thing we condone and still managing to make us care about them (here, Hera).
The story structure and reinventing of Heracles tasks were well done, making the story interesting with nice twists, refreshing a story I know very well. The tone is light without shying from hard things, showing trauma and anger as well as being broken very well. Hera's arc was convincing too. Like I said, I struggled with her at first, with her actions and positions. I still struggle with her but I understand how she could make the choice she did. The other gods were great too. Some are more on the scene and developed better, other were more in the background, making it easy to follow. Their relationships was funny and tense, with scheming and secrets, keeping my attention.
Heracles was cute. Good hearted, strong willed, wanting to do good. And yet, not too mellow or soft either. He has that stubborn pacifist vibe, which was really redreshing in a way I wasn't expecting.
This story should appeal to people loving mythology, well thought and light (but not only) story !
September 29, 2025
I didn’t love this like I hoped to, but could just not have been in the right headspace. This book has a comedic and relatively gentle tone that centers around found family. Hera curses Heracles to fight monsters as a punishment for being born of her (dipshit) husband’s infidelity. Instead of slaying the monsters, Heracles befriends them. Heracles and Hera both need to figure out how to move forward after doing terrible things, and see themselves as deserving of care.
I do think this will appeal to a lot of people, Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes comes to mind for having a similar tone of voice. Unfortunately it sort of dragged for me and I struggled to pick it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC
I do think this will appeal to a lot of people, Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes comes to mind for having a similar tone of voice. Unfortunately it sort of dragged for me and I struggled to pick it up.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC
September 25, 2025
the evil has been defeated (me finishing this book)
June 22, 2025
Congratulations to John Wiswell for his recent Nebula Award win for his “Someone You Can Build a Nest In”. After reading Wearing the Lion, I need to go back and read his award winning book!
Wearing the Lion is a different take on the story of Heracles (Hercules) and Queen of the Gods, Hera, and his 12 labors. I have always been fascinated by the Greek gods and legends so being able to revisit the stories of the gods was very comforting. I’ve been to Greece to visit and was able to spend some time at Delphi and the Parthenon so it was fun to revisit the Greece of Wiswell’s mind.
Of all of the Greek gods’ stories, I wasn’t as familiar with Hercules tale. Wiswell does a very well-done retelling of the story that everyone else knows. After each “labor”, I then went and looked up the story as everyone knows it and without a doubt, loved Wiswell’s vision so much more.
I’m over the moon with his Heracles, the lion Purrseus, the hydra Logy, the Hind, and all of the “monsters”. His spin on the tale is hilarious at times, especially of Hera, but there are definitely a few very heartbreaking scenes.
This was a fun read and I would love to read more of this genre going forward, especially if written by John Wiswell!
*Thanks so much to partner Daw Books for the gifted PR box with ARC, and especially for the finished copy! What an absolutely stunning book. Just look at that cover! It’s probably one of my favorite covers of the past few years.*
Wearing the Lion is a different take on the story of Heracles (Hercules) and Queen of the Gods, Hera, and his 12 labors. I have always been fascinated by the Greek gods and legends so being able to revisit the stories of the gods was very comforting. I’ve been to Greece to visit and was able to spend some time at Delphi and the Parthenon so it was fun to revisit the Greece of Wiswell’s mind.
Of all of the Greek gods’ stories, I wasn’t as familiar with Hercules tale. Wiswell does a very well-done retelling of the story that everyone else knows. After each “labor”, I then went and looked up the story as everyone knows it and without a doubt, loved Wiswell’s vision so much more.
I’m over the moon with his Heracles, the lion Purrseus, the hydra Logy, the Hind, and all of the “monsters”. His spin on the tale is hilarious at times, especially of Hera, but there are definitely a few very heartbreaking scenes.
This was a fun read and I would love to read more of this genre going forward, especially if written by John Wiswell!
*Thanks so much to partner Daw Books for the gifted PR box with ARC, and especially for the finished copy! What an absolutely stunning book. Just look at that cover! It’s probably one of my favorite covers of the past few years.*
September 16, 2025
“I’m doing violence with these hands again. I’m no better than a monster.”
Heracles, son of Zeus, has spent his life praying to his auntie Hera, the goddess of family. But this loving, soft man's happy life is torn apart when an angry god sends a monster to destroy Heracles's life, making him kill his children. Sure that Hera has his back, the heartbroken Heracles sets out to find out who destroyed his family. There's just one problem: Hera, who has always hated Heracles, her husband's bastard, was the one behind this tragedy. The story that unfolds from there is transformative for both of them – an ode to forgiveness, redemption, family and self-discovery.
Wearing the Lion is a very unique take on the myth of Heracles. The familiar beats of the story are all there – the tragedy of his family, the labours, the monsters he faces, the wrath of Hera and so on – but none of it unfolds in the way you'd expect. Wiswell makes this old story his own while paying homage to the original sources (there are so many little easter eggs littered throughout the story to famous myths that weren't, presumably because there was no time to do is, included more in this book – it is clear Wiswell knows his mythology!). I especially enjoyed the way I liked how he described the world of the gods and the world of the mortals, and how the mortal realm is littered with monsters and magic, yes, but still recognisable as our world, whereas Olympus is this ever-shifting, non-fixed place where walls change shape, rooms appear out of nowhere and time flies by: while Hera argues with Zeus, months can go by in the human world. It was a great way to showcase how differently the gods see the world they rule over and how they are so very alien to us. Their home shifts and so do they: they can take on different avatars from human-like shapes to animals and weather phenomena. Athena spends most of the book as an owl.
Heracles and Hera were both interesting, dynamic lead characters who are both very much the people they always are in myth while also being radically different. Wiswell's Heracles, though a brilliant fighter and a muscular strongman, is defined by his empathy, his love and his desire for peace. Hera is as vengeful and bitter as we know her to be, but she goes on such an arc of growth in this book that, by the end, she is very different from the goddess we know. As a fan of soft himbos and characters who exist in cruel worlds but refuse to be cruel themselves, I loved this version of Heracles and his story of finding people who understand what feeling monstrous is like, who know what it does to you to commit unspeakable violence or be forced into it, and who do not feel like they quite belong in "polite society" was so sweet. I love a found family story, especially when that family consists of outsiders and people who, on the surface, don't seem like people who should band together. Hera's arc of having to face the consequences of her actions, to interrogate her own rage and what makes her act the way she does, and actually fight to take responsibility for the things she does was also super cool. I loved this quote from her when The ending of both main characters felt satisfying, with both of them profoundly changed by all they went through and the turbulence of their relationship with each other. I loved that Heracles finds his way back to
There were many fun supporting characters. First, a bit on the gods. I liked how Athena keeps popping up and annoying Hera without meaning to (even though it felt a bit repetitive that she always appeared out of nowhere and made Hera angry, as did everyone saying to her: "You are the smart goddess".), and I loved that she was canonically ace but not aro (her having had a relationship with ) I cackled at the running gag of Apollo trying to create or steal new domains of godhood for himself, because, yeah, he is quite the jack of all trades in myth. Zeus was appalling as he always is (also some repetition with him: I cannot tell you how many times Hera called him "my dipshit husband" and even though she is not wrong, it got a bit tiresome), but I liked the toxic dynamic he had going on with his wife. I liked how there used to be passionate love there and that even though Hera despises him most of the time, there is that eternal bond between them: whenever he is gone, she cannot relax. Their ending was fab with Até, a minor goddess of Ruin, has a big role in this book which was a lot of fun, as I have never read a story that featured her so heavily. Granny, an old, old Fury was also fun, especially once I realized she was a Fury who wanted nothing less than to be a Fury ever again. The trio these two formed with Hera was intriguing cause even though they hurt each other (Hera is not a great friend), there is still a whole lot of love there. Hera is often remembered as this goddess who hated women, and yeah she punished many an innocent woman in myth, so it was fun to see a version of her, in this book, that has close female friends who are more family to her than her actual siblings. Ares gets a lot of page time and I loved that he wasn't simply the oafish, aggressive killer he usually is in stories. This story delves into his relationship with his mother – War and Family – and how he sees himself compared to the other god of War, Athena. I liked Ares highlighting that he is the god actually there with people in the thick of it, the one who is by their side when they bleed out, while Athena is in the strategy tents. I was quite moved when Finally, I have to say how desperate I was to learn more of the triangle of Aphrodite, Hephaistos and Ares. Hera tries to use
Now, on to the other supporting characters. Megara was super cool and it was fun that, in this version, she wasn't killed alongside their children and took part in figuring out the truth. The crumbling of her marriage to Heracles was sad, but understandable, and when The monsters Heracles encounters and befriends were all wonderful. This quote regarding the Nemean Lion that I saw a lot in posts promoting this book – “So many killers have come after this lion. Has nobody ever thought to pet it?” – made me FEEL THINGS, as did the way Heracles comes to relate to these so-called monsters because he too feels himself monstrous. Logy was super fun and sassy, and I liked how they are really curious about the world, while Boar made me really sad cause his story is quite devastating. The Hind was a cutie pie, as was the Nemean Lion (I can't believe he was named Purrseus - perfection!). I was gagged in the end when Heracles, when he was reunited I love stories about unlikely families and friends, about people who are lonely and unloved finding love and belonging in each other. Heracles gravitates towards these creatures because they have known the kind of pain he has known and they gravitate towards him because despite his mistakes, he is kind, good, protective and loving. Them ending the story
This novel is very casually queer which I loved. Heracles's main romantic relationship is with his wife, Megara, but we know from very early on that he is queer. Athena is asexual, some of the Amazons are trans women, Boar fancies men and so on. Heracles especially is so often straight washed and made into this ultimate macho manly straight hero which pains me because, in antiquity, he was queer and had both male and female lovers. It makes me so happy to see modern authors embracing this aspect of him after so many decades of it being denied or hidden. I also loved the inclusion of fat characters. Heracles himself is described as having a big belly and Hippolyta, the fabulous queen of the fearsome Amazons, is a "spectacularly fat" woman. It was very refreshing to read about characters who are clearly, explicitly fat, not just "curvy", while also being so much more than just that.
My biggest issues with the book were to do with the slight repetition in terms of some phrases or nicknames. I also think some plot lines could've used a little bit more time – a great example of this is the mystery surrounding where Zeus keeps disappearing into. The reveal, when we got it, was cool, but then we kinds just moved on from it. But overall I do not have anything super negative to say about this book – it just wasn't a five star new favorite for me. I also am just now, in general, the biggest enthusiast when it comes to the Heracles story. I like it well enough and I can regocnize how important it was to the ancients and still is, but it has never been my favorite.
I would recommend Wearing the Lion for people who yearn for a soft boy Heracles, who love the found family trope and angry goddesses, who are intrigued by themes of monstrosity and what being a monster actually means, and people who want a book that balances tragedy, comedy and wholesomeness in a world steeped in magic, wacky creatures and wild adventures. This is not a book for everyone – the quippy writing and the way Wiswell spins the myths are not gonna suit everyone's tastes – but I would highly suggest giving it a try.
Heracles, son of Zeus, has spent his life praying to his auntie Hera, the goddess of family. But this loving, soft man's happy life is torn apart when an angry god sends a monster to destroy Heracles's life, making him kill his children. Sure that Hera has his back, the heartbroken Heracles sets out to find out who destroyed his family. There's just one problem: Hera, who has always hated Heracles, her husband's bastard, was the one behind this tragedy. The story that unfolds from there is transformative for both of them – an ode to forgiveness, redemption, family and self-discovery.
Wearing the Lion is a very unique take on the myth of Heracles. The familiar beats of the story are all there – the tragedy of his family, the labours, the monsters he faces, the wrath of Hera and so on – but none of it unfolds in the way you'd expect. Wiswell makes this old story his own while paying homage to the original sources (there are so many little easter eggs littered throughout the story to famous myths that weren't, presumably because there was no time to do is, included more in this book – it is clear Wiswell knows his mythology!). I especially enjoyed the way I liked how he described the world of the gods and the world of the mortals, and how the mortal realm is littered with monsters and magic, yes, but still recognisable as our world, whereas Olympus is this ever-shifting, non-fixed place where walls change shape, rooms appear out of nowhere and time flies by: while Hera argues with Zeus, months can go by in the human world. It was a great way to showcase how differently the gods see the world they rule over and how they are so very alien to us. Their home shifts and so do they: they can take on different avatars from human-like shapes to animals and weather phenomena. Athena spends most of the book as an owl.
Heracles and Hera were both interesting, dynamic lead characters who are both very much the people they always are in myth while also being radically different. Wiswell's Heracles, though a brilliant fighter and a muscular strongman, is defined by his empathy, his love and his desire for peace. Hera is as vengeful and bitter as we know her to be, but she goes on such an arc of growth in this book that, by the end, she is very different from the goddess we know. As a fan of soft himbos and characters who exist in cruel worlds but refuse to be cruel themselves, I loved this version of Heracles and his story of finding people who understand what feeling monstrous is like, who know what it does to you to commit unspeakable violence or be forced into it, and who do not feel like they quite belong in "polite society" was so sweet. I love a found family story, especially when that family consists of outsiders and people who, on the surface, don't seem like people who should band together. Hera's arc of having to face the consequences of her actions, to interrogate her own rage and what makes her act the way she does, and actually fight to take responsibility for the things she does was also super cool. I loved this quote from her when The ending of both main characters felt satisfying, with both of them profoundly changed by all they went through and the turbulence of their relationship with each other. I loved that Heracles finds his way back to
There were many fun supporting characters. First, a bit on the gods. I liked how Athena keeps popping up and annoying Hera without meaning to (even though it felt a bit repetitive that she always appeared out of nowhere and made Hera angry, as did everyone saying to her: "You are the smart goddess".), and I loved that she was canonically ace but not aro (her having had a relationship with ) I cackled at the running gag of Apollo trying to create or steal new domains of godhood for himself, because, yeah, he is quite the jack of all trades in myth. Zeus was appalling as he always is (also some repetition with him: I cannot tell you how many times Hera called him "my dipshit husband" and even though she is not wrong, it got a bit tiresome), but I liked the toxic dynamic he had going on with his wife. I liked how there used to be passionate love there and that even though Hera despises him most of the time, there is that eternal bond between them: whenever he is gone, she cannot relax. Their ending was fab with Até, a minor goddess of Ruin, has a big role in this book which was a lot of fun, as I have never read a story that featured her so heavily. Granny, an old, old Fury was also fun, especially once I realized she was a Fury who wanted nothing less than to be a Fury ever again. The trio these two formed with Hera was intriguing cause even though they hurt each other (Hera is not a great friend), there is still a whole lot of love there. Hera is often remembered as this goddess who hated women, and yeah she punished many an innocent woman in myth, so it was fun to see a version of her, in this book, that has close female friends who are more family to her than her actual siblings. Ares gets a lot of page time and I loved that he wasn't simply the oafish, aggressive killer he usually is in stories. This story delves into his relationship with his mother – War and Family – and how he sees himself compared to the other god of War, Athena. I liked Ares highlighting that he is the god actually there with people in the thick of it, the one who is by their side when they bleed out, while Athena is in the strategy tents. I was quite moved when Finally, I have to say how desperate I was to learn more of the triangle of Aphrodite, Hephaistos and Ares. Hera tries to use
Now, on to the other supporting characters. Megara was super cool and it was fun that, in this version, she wasn't killed alongside their children and took part in figuring out the truth. The crumbling of her marriage to Heracles was sad, but understandable, and when The monsters Heracles encounters and befriends were all wonderful. This quote regarding the Nemean Lion that I saw a lot in posts promoting this book – “So many killers have come after this lion. Has nobody ever thought to pet it?” – made me FEEL THINGS, as did the way Heracles comes to relate to these so-called monsters because he too feels himself monstrous. Logy was super fun and sassy, and I liked how they are really curious about the world, while Boar made me really sad cause his story is quite devastating. The Hind was a cutie pie, as was the Nemean Lion (I can't believe he was named Purrseus - perfection!). I was gagged in the end when Heracles, when he was reunited I love stories about unlikely families and friends, about people who are lonely and unloved finding love and belonging in each other. Heracles gravitates towards these creatures because they have known the kind of pain he has known and they gravitate towards him because despite his mistakes, he is kind, good, protective and loving. Them ending the story
This novel is very casually queer which I loved. Heracles's main romantic relationship is with his wife, Megara, but we know from very early on that he is queer. Athena is asexual, some of the Amazons are trans women, Boar fancies men and so on. Heracles especially is so often straight washed and made into this ultimate macho manly straight hero which pains me because, in antiquity, he was queer and had both male and female lovers. It makes me so happy to see modern authors embracing this aspect of him after so many decades of it being denied or hidden. I also loved the inclusion of fat characters. Heracles himself is described as having a big belly and Hippolyta, the fabulous queen of the fearsome Amazons, is a "spectacularly fat" woman. It was very refreshing to read about characters who are clearly, explicitly fat, not just "curvy", while also being so much more than just that.
My biggest issues with the book were to do with the slight repetition in terms of some phrases or nicknames. I also think some plot lines could've used a little bit more time – a great example of this is the mystery surrounding where Zeus keeps disappearing into. The reveal, when we got it, was cool, but then we kinds just moved on from it. But overall I do not have anything super negative to say about this book – it just wasn't a five star new favorite for me. I also am just now, in general, the biggest enthusiast when it comes to the Heracles story. I like it well enough and I can regocnize how important it was to the ancients and still is, but it has never been my favorite.
I would recommend Wearing the Lion for people who yearn for a soft boy Heracles, who love the found family trope and angry goddesses, who are intrigued by themes of monstrosity and what being a monster actually means, and people who want a book that balances tragedy, comedy and wholesomeness in a world steeped in magic, wacky creatures and wild adventures. This is not a book for everyone – the quippy writing and the way Wiswell spins the myths are not gonna suit everyone's tastes – but I would highly suggest giving it a try.
August 7, 2025
Hera hates her dipshit husband and how much he cheats. She hates his offspring even more. Alcides, more often known as Heracles, is a devout follower of his godly father's wife, Hera. After several attempts to kill him, Hera sends an order for a fury to kill him - only for the fury to possess Al to kill his own children. As Al goes on a journey to find which Olympian cursed him, Hera has to cover her tracks.
I picked this up after loving Wiswell's debut, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, and needing to fill in for a reading challenge! I'm a big greek mythology fan, so I was super pumped when I saw this was coming out. I listened to this on audiobook - I wasn't super sold by either of the narrators, but I got used to them as the book went on. I really liked this peaceful version of Heracles. The major events of his life still happen, but they happen in different ways than the original myth. After having terrible violence done to his family, he has no interest in participating in violence again. He ends up befriending the creatures he was meant to kill. Al's exhaustion was palpable, so seeing him be able to build up his life that way was healing was great. Hera was bugging me at the beginning of the book, but I ended up really getting along with her character journey. I thought that the way that the gods were physically described was creative and was more in line with how they are shown in myth. Sometimes they manifest as natural phenomena, and there's even a scene of a god Infinity War-style disintegrating - very cool. Some of the humor didn't exactly land for me. I understand that this is probably a reference to the epithets constantly used in ancient works, but using the exact same joke descriptors of the gods got annoying.
Overall, I think this did a good job describing the trauma of terrible violence and an aversion to continue the cycle. There were some things that bugged me but got better. I don't know how long I'll be thinking of it, but I had a good time.
I picked this up after loving Wiswell's debut, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, and needing to fill in for a reading challenge! I'm a big greek mythology fan, so I was super pumped when I saw this was coming out. I listened to this on audiobook - I wasn't super sold by either of the narrators, but I got used to them as the book went on. I really liked this peaceful version of Heracles. The major events of his life still happen, but they happen in different ways than the original myth. After having terrible violence done to his family, he has no interest in participating in violence again. He ends up befriending the creatures he was meant to kill. Al's exhaustion was palpable, so seeing him be able to build up his life that way was healing was great. Hera was bugging me at the beginning of the book, but I ended up really getting along with her character journey. I thought that the way that the gods were physically described was creative and was more in line with how they are shown in myth. Sometimes they manifest as natural phenomena, and there's even a scene of a god Infinity War-style disintegrating - very cool. Some of the humor didn't exactly land for me. I understand that this is probably a reference to the epithets constantly used in ancient works, but using the exact same joke descriptors of the gods got annoying.
Overall, I think this did a good job describing the trauma of terrible violence and an aversion to continue the cycle. There were some things that bugged me but got better. I don't know how long I'll be thinking of it, but I had a good time.
May 8, 2025
4 stars!
John Wiswell is shaping up to be a reliably charming author! This is truly a greek myth retelling like you've never seen before.
Heracles is quite possible the bane of Hera's existence, but blind to this Heracles worships her incessantly. When Hera's rage finally pushes her to meddle in his life, Heracles attempts to rebuild his family from the ashes in his wake. Are we doing cozy greek myth retellings now? Is that a thing? Anyway, this was delightful and full of the humor I expected based on Wiswell's debut novel. I do think I preferred Someone You Can Build A Nest In by a slight margin just because generally the horror elements in that are more up my alley than greek myth retellings which definitely aren't my favorite. Still, the shifting perspectives, references to second person, and at some points experimental writing lend some artistic flair to this otherwise pretty simple premise. I think it dragged a little in the middle but there's some truly gorgeous writing at the beginning and ends of the book.
Super cute and I can't wait to see what John Wiswell writes next!
Thank you to John Wiswell and DAW for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
John Wiswell is shaping up to be a reliably charming author! This is truly a greek myth retelling like you've never seen before.
Heracles is quite possible the bane of Hera's existence, but blind to this Heracles worships her incessantly. When Hera's rage finally pushes her to meddle in his life, Heracles attempts to rebuild his family from the ashes in his wake. Are we doing cozy greek myth retellings now? Is that a thing? Anyway, this was delightful and full of the humor I expected based on Wiswell's debut novel. I do think I preferred Someone You Can Build A Nest In by a slight margin just because generally the horror elements in that are more up my alley than greek myth retellings which definitely aren't my favorite. Still, the shifting perspectives, references to second person, and at some points experimental writing lend some artistic flair to this otherwise pretty simple premise. I think it dragged a little in the middle but there's some truly gorgeous writing at the beginning and ends of the book.
Super cute and I can't wait to see what John Wiswell writes next!
Thank you to John Wiswell and DAW for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
April 21, 2025
A book that will break your heart into a thousand pieces, then stitch it back together with gold thread.
Simultaneously heart-rending and heartwarming, the story examines complex family dynamics and the impact of those dynamics on individuals and relationships. Vibrant characters leap from the page with new life in this retelling of the Heracles myth. I dare you not to fall in love with them. I dare you to read this book and not come away with a deep understanding of the power of found family and forgiveness.
Himbo Heracles? A hero's journey you've never seen before? Trauma, suffering, denial, hope, and healing? And my most favorite interpretation of Cerberus, ever??
Please read this book. It is a statement about how much we need one another to survive and thrive, and I want more people to hear it.
Simultaneously heart-rending and heartwarming, the story examines complex family dynamics and the impact of those dynamics on individuals and relationships. Vibrant characters leap from the page with new life in this retelling of the Heracles myth. I dare you not to fall in love with them. I dare you to read this book and not come away with a deep understanding of the power of found family and forgiveness.
Himbo Heracles? A hero's journey you've never seen before? Trauma, suffering, denial, hope, and healing? And my most favorite interpretation of Cerberus, ever??
Please read this book. It is a statement about how much we need one another to survive and thrive, and I want more people to hear it.
July 13, 2025
i rlly wanted to like this since i liked someone you can build a nest in but i just did not. the tone was annoying: too modern, trying to be funny but not rlly funny (or like, it’d make a good joke once and then repeat it forty times and get sooo old), trying to be super sweet and cozy but it just didn’t work for me. it felt just flat? like lacking in depth, esp the dialogue which was just character says exactly what they are thinking. the second person was wack shit (hera and hercules kept talking to “you” but it changed between like twenty different characters throughout the book). some of the labors literally didn’t happen or lasted like a second. idk i just wasn’t into it and i knew that pretty early on but i kept hoping that things would take a turn for the better. also i agree with the top reviews: dipshit husband should have been said one time, not fifty!!!
June 2, 2025
Only giving this 5 stars because I can't give it more. This was absolutely perfect - I laughed, I cried, I contemplated the universe. I will be reading anything this author publishes, please and thank you.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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