YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur - Minos's greatest shame and Ariadne's brother - demands blood every year.

When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods - drawing their attention can cost you everything.

In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne's decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover's ambition?

Ariadne gives a voice to the forgotten women of one of the most famous Greek myths, and speaks to their strength in the face of angry, petulant Gods. Beautifully written and completely immersive, this is an exceptional debut novel.

A mesmerising retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Perfect for fans of CIRCE, A SONG OF ACHILLES, and THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS.

I ended up starting this a little early as it was the only books I had to hand after my kindle died today.

First quarter - (view spoiler)[I'm so immediately invested in Ariadne's story! I felt sorry for her entire family, torn apart by the minotaur's birth. Her mother suffered the most, due to her father's attempts to trick the gods, and the blameless child born to her grew and was treated like a monster.

The introduction of Theseus' character had him immediately set up as the love interest, which I knew from my basic understanding of the original tale. Deadalus provided an interesting point that Ariadne had never sought to save the fourteen sacrifices to the minotaur before one of them was a handsome, foreign prince! (hide spoiler)]

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[Theseus' betrayal angered me so much! Poor Ariadne! I had wondered if the island she was abandoned on was once Circe's island but Google tells me they have different names.

Part Two opened with Phaedra's perspective. It was sad to see her vain hope and unbridled faith in Theseus' plan when the reader already knew he had abandoned both her and Ariadne. Following this, she seemed to understand his character and disallow herself to be so deceived ever again. She was his new prize and forced to live amongst his people for five years before she came of age and they could wed. She seemed untrusting but clever enough to hide this from him.

I thought Rhadamanthus' analysis on Pasiphae's grief over the minotaur's death was interesting:

'Does she grieve for the best?' he asked. 'Or with its death, does she grieve for what it represented? What was done to her all those years ago, that so scattered her mind, perhaps now it is ended she can afford to mourn it?'

Dionysus arrival at the island saved Ariadne but it was unsure what his next action would be or what he would take offence with, in the mortals around him. (hide spoiler)]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[I loved reading all the other myths and stories this wove into the central one. Dionysus' story of saving his mother from the Underworld was one of my favourites.

I also really loved how Saint described the passing of years. I usually dislike skipping over so much time in books, but here it still remained engaging. Both sisters grew and gave birth to children. Theseus and Phaedra learned that Ariadne lived, wed to a god, but initially did nothing about it. When Phaedra did it was to make her intentions of joining them known, only after she had seduced her step-son. (hide spoiler)]

Fourth quarter - (view spoiler)[Ariadne discovered the truth of what Dionysus got up to at the top of the mountain each night. He was just another individual in her life who showed her only a portion of who he truly was, leading her to feel betrayed. It spurned her decision to aid her sister, when she had initially decided not to.

Pheadra's suicide was tragic to read about. So much unnecessary suffering features in every Greek myth!

And the ending of this book was nothing but suffering after more suffering. Dionysus want of power caused him to inflict the women of the city with madness and for them to sacrafice their babies to them. He could not bring them back and this quote really hurt to read, when both Araidne and myself had thought him one of the few good gods:

"Dionysus could call himself the greatest of all the gods now. He could measure his glory in female torment and blaze his legend across the heavens as the conqueror of infants, destroyer of the innocent." (hide spoiler)]

1 hour 15 minutes: (view spoiler)[I’m a tiny bit confused because I didn’t really know the original story. I’m glad that the narrative is informative. So far the story is full of unpleasant tales (hide spoiler)]

2 hours 42 minutes: (view spoiler)[ how romantic! She rescues the prince and hears him tell his story all night. I’m still not sure if I’m sarcastic now (hide spoiler)]

5 hours: woah!(view spoiler)[why did all Greek myth stories just have to be so tragic and heart breaking!?!? (hide spoiler)]

Dannii wrote: "I ended up starting this a little early as it was the only books I had to hand after my kindle died today.

First quarter - I'm so immediately invested in Ariadne's story! I felt sorry for her enti..."

I agree (view spoiler)[ when he said that about the previous sacrifices, I almost screamed because that’s how I felt, ugh (hide spoiler)]

Bayan wrote: "1 hour 15 minutes: [spoilers removed]"

I thought the book did a really job of introducing lots of original stories without doing a dull infodump of their facts.

Bayan wrote: "5 hours: woah![spoilers removed]"

Right!?!?

64%
(view spoiler)[I’m so happy with where she is now I’m so delighted that she is no longer unhappy but I’m holding my breath because it’s a Greek myth retelling and I’m just sitting here waiting for a heartbreak 🥲 when he suddenly said he loved her and will love her “can’t remember the quote because I’m on audio”, I almost fainted (hide spoiler)]

Dannii wrote: "Second quarter - T.."
The confusion around Dionysus was same here

Bayan wrote: "64%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[This entire book had me waiting for heartbreak in every chapter. I was always just waiting for some more tragedy to befall poor Ariadne :( (hide spoiler)]

Dannii wrote: "Bayan wrote: "64%
[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

But her sister(view spoiler)[ is super strong and I just love her and can’t wait to see if she takes her revenge or not I think she will because Dionysus said she will come to the island so maybe she’ll find out about Ariadne and do something? I’m excited BUT anxious (hide spoiler)]