Most people know Medusa’s tale…or do they. Medusa takes us on a journey of her life, reimagined through the authors eyes, showing her part as a victim in her story. Abandoned, sexually assaulted and betrayed, Medusa struggles through life and begs us to look at some of the Gods’ stories with a different perspective. I am not usually attracted to mythology type stories and rarely enjoy them, but I love villain origin stories, so I decided to give this one a try. I was surprised to find I devoured it!

This is such a fresh outlook on this age old tale and I am more intrigued by the legend of Medusa than I ever was before. The writing was beautiful and I had to read it all in one sitting. I was spellbound. Although everything was wrapped up beautifully, I actually wish this book was a little longer, just because I enjoyed it so much!

Really enjoyed this book, thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.
Most people know the story of Medusa, but this retelling really sheds a new light. A real page turner, i read it in a day!

This book was everything I wanted and more.

I've always been so intrigued by Medisa's story so as soon as I saw this one I knew I had to read it!

It was so intriguing to read about Medusa before she became the villain, how she had been abandoned, how she struggled in life only to be treated poorly by the gods.

I really loved hearing Hewlett's perspective and retelling of how the battle between Medusa and Perseus went. It was so different to what I've read before!

I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Greek Mythology!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion!

What a great take on the Medusa story. Loved that she was telling her story herself! I really enjoyed it, a great quick read.

Hewlett does an amazing job at introducing the heart-wrenching story of Medusa to an audience who wouldn't know the intricacies of the myth. This is a must for mythology lovers, and an absolute delight to fans of Medusa who have been waiting for a retelling that reminded everyone that was not a monster, but a victim. I highly recommend this book and the storytelling abilities of Rosie Hewlett.

4.5*
Wow! This books was stunningly written and I was utterly absorbed the whole time that I read it, I even shed a few tears! This was such a refreshing insight into Medusa, I really really enjoyed this debut novel and am excited to read more of Rosie's work in the future. Now I am off to buy the physical copy as it definitely deserves a place on my bookshelf.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

When you hear the name Medusa an image of a scary monster with snakes as hair, who turn people into stones, comes to mind. But after reading this story, you see that she’s not a monster but rather a victim. This book gives you a glimpse of her life and how she came to be this feared entity.

This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed it! It was a quick read. I was able to finish it in about a day. I thought the writing was great (sarcastic and a bit playful). It isn’t overly descriptive, which actually worked as the voice of Medusa. She’s a no nonsense person so why would she feel the need to describe the way the sun felt on her skin, the coolness of the water, blah blah blah. The story was captivating and flowed well. No dull moments.

This is perfect for any Greek mythology fan or anyone who enjoys a good story.

Amazing debut! Short, crisp and painfully true! The Medusa story we've been waiting for!
Definitely waiting for more from this author.
And the prose was very nice, which is important for me in a book.

Medusa is a short book. But it is right to be.
Medusa is always depicted as a monster. But similarly to many monsters in Greek mythology, she was an innocent victim who was wronged by the gods.
This is a wonderful retelling of Medusa's origin story. The author did a great job of giving Medusa and Perseus humility. The reason I say it's good that it's short is because Medusa's origin story was always cut short and I'm glad this book doesn't waffle around the edges of needless Greek mythology information like a lot of these style books do because it's not needed.

This is great. It's badass. It's powerful. Powerful Medusa!

Rosie’s Hewlett’s Medusa is seriously everything that I didn't know I needed in a retelling. It is more appropriately a reclaiming of Medusa's story. Medusa, like many female characters, has been unfairly maligned and villainized by many authors simply to further the development of a male protagonist. Hewlett doesn't do Medusa dirty like that. She doesn't write basic stock female villains or victims. She gives Medusa an authentic voice that allows the reader to see the complex, multi-dimensional woman through her own words. Medusa is a relatively quick and very satisfying read, so it is perfect for one of those days when you just feel like curling up and getting lost in a book. I highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy Margaret Atwood, Madeline Miller, and Mary Renault.

I loved this book. I devoured it in one sitting. Never really read much mythology before but I will be reading more now. I don't have much knowledge to draw from but loved this retelling can't wait for more by this author.

Thank you #netgalley #RosieHewlett #silverwoodbooks for this ARC.

When I saw the blurb for this book I was really interested in the premise of the book. A retelling of the Medusa myth from the viewpoint of the snake-haired lady herself.

The story starts from Medusa’s birth but written in a first person flashback style. I have to be honest I personally am not keen on the ‘chatty’ writing style and think it’s very hard to get right. There were a couple of occasions were modern sayings were included and I thought ‘they wouldn’t talk like that at that time’ which pulled me out of the story.

I also felt that there was very little ‘world-building’ or descriptive writing, a lot of it was through dialogue instead. Which did keep the pace of the book up but did make it seem surface level. The shortness of the book may have led to this.

Apart from this, I enjoyed the book for showing that there are grey areas in between good and evil. I enjoyed learning more about Medusa and I know the author has a classics background that would have helped with this so we the reader were able to get more insight into the mythology of her curse.

There is a big trigger warning that people should know about, this book deals with sexual assault and the character dealing with the aftermath of this.

My favourite part was probably Hermes and I could have a book entirely on him!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for the complimentary reading copy of this book.

3.5/5

This is a perfectly fine retelling of the story of Medusa, and I can't quite put my finger on why I can't muster more enthusiasm for it than that. The story is told by Medusa directly to the reader with the fourth wall absent, and perhaps that contributes to the feeling that I was being told *about* a story rather than truly feeling immersed *in* the story. It is short and direct, and somehow I felt more like I was reading the summary of a story than a fleshed out narrative.

Although I enjoy Greek mythology, I'm not actually super familiar with the specifics of Medusa's myth, so I'm not sure how much was changed in this retelling, although there are some places where common elements are "corrected" by the voice of Medusa. I do always appreciate any attempt to give a woman's voice to the rampant misogyny in the Greek myths, and this version of Medusa was definitely likeable.

I admit I laughed when the pain of childbirth was described as "exhilarating" and immediately felt sure the author had never given birth. The narrative overall feels quite... young.

This is a very quick read, more like a novella really, and a fairly nice interpretation, but nothing to elevate it beyond "fine" for me.

The narrative style of this book really took me by surprise and it took a while to get used to. The author has Medusa talking to a modern world audience from presumably the underworld. It distracted me slightly from the actual story that was being woven in the first few chapters but I think that says more about my preferred style of narrative rather than the authors writing abilities.

To build on this, throughout the novel, the author writes as if Medusa herself is telling this tale, and so sometimes ‘Medusa’ as the narrator goes off topic and then will say “anyway” and put herself back onto the tale. I think it’s clever because it does sound as though we are being told the story as if it were an autobiography; however sometimes it feels like the person telling her tale is a teenage girl rather than someone who has supposedly seen centuries pass since.

I also came to this novel not knowing much Greek mythology further than a few of the names and titles of the gods and obviously the infamous snake hair of Medusa herself. If you are already familiar with more than a couple of the gods, it may be tedious hearing each of them referred to as their name and title. It was a little distracting and felt a little forced at times, explaining each of the characters. Though, I do think it was necessary for those of us without the in-depth knowledge, and did push the story along. Again, it’s a small thing but it might put some readers off.

However, the good parts of this novel heavily outweighed the bad. I found that once the author delved into the story, I found it incredibly hard to put down. I loved the angle that was taken here; with the interwoven feminism and relating it back to the modern day audience.

I enjoyed how Perseus had his story told too, and the underlying themes of misogyny and toxic masculinity. I really felt like I could relate to Medusa, as a woman, knowing how even women can support the patriarchy and tear down other women. I liked how the author ‘Medusa’ lamented on how different her story could have been had Athena showed her sympathy.

I also liked how at every opportunity the author chose a specific myth to follow, for instance that her sisters had been cursed after standing up for her, because each time it helped to recreate the story that so many women are familiar with. It really pushed the narrative of how good people can become bad people because of circumstance and the life that the “fates” have chosen for them; but equally that people are worthy of redemption.

Even though Medusa had her sisters on her side, telling Athena she was raped, they still all suffered for telling the truth. The gods never received their comeuppance, just as many of those in power now do not. But in the end, she found someone who understood her, who heard her speak her truth and believed her.

I really did enjoy this book and would recommend it to my friends. I would definitely read this again.

"I have found a small corner of history and claimed it as my own, not as a monster or a victim, but as a survivor, a protector."

"Medusa" is a mythological retelling of the story of Medusa, a woman who was cursed to be a terrible monster that turned men to stone. This is a dark, heavy tale with a strong recurring theme of sexual assault. From her resting place in the underworld, Medusa finally feels ready to step forward and share her side of the story.

I have always had a lot of love for Medusa, & Hewitt reweaved her story in a way that broke my heart in both new and familiar ways. With so much time to reflect, Medusa has evaluated the path she took in life. I loved hearing her reasoning for doing what she did, while also expressing remorse for her emotion-fueled actions.

I thought this was a beautiful feminist retelling of one of my favorite Greek myths. I never would have thought I'd walk away from this book loving both Medusa and Perseus. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Silverwood books for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Medusa by Rosie Hewlett

Full feature for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

Medusa is one of my favourite characters within Greek mythology, but I have to admit I did not enjoy this book. I ended up not finishing it, as I did not get on with the style - first person narrating to the reader. I did not like the uses of phrases like “anyway, where was I?” And “you wouldn’t think…”. The concept is great but unfortunately fell short for me

Beautiful, clever, heart breaking . Hewlett managed to make Perseus a character I enjoyed and I enjoyed the re imagining of him. But the story of Medusa and her sisters was just wonderful. Medusa came alive on the page and rose above what she’s been previously relegated to as a “monster”. Thank you Netgalley and Silverwood Books for the copy!

Rosie Hewlett's Medusa is an exhilarating look at Medusa. My interest in this book stemmed from my love of Medusa. It was a lot of fun -- the story is engaging and intriguing. It would be interesting to learn more about the characters and lore of this story. The narration was very poetic and I enjoyed the inner monologue.

"Medusa" is one of those books you don't want to put down... but you don't want to get to the end either! It's an incredibly gripping re-telling, told from Medusa's point of view. It's told perfectly! The writing is wonderful, the characters are brought up-to-date while still keeping the age and feeling of myth intact, and obviously the plot is great, too! I can't wait to see what Rosie Hewlett writes next!!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.