This was a thoroughly entertaining and interesting read; quite possibly my favourite book of 2023 so far.
Absorbing, exciting, illuminating and riveting. It was a real page turner. And very funny in parts too.

I haven't read much Greek mythology so after my frantic Googling of all the characters at the beginning, I really started to enjoy this novel even if the plot was a bit meandering. It was funny at times and nice to see so many strong female characters. My only complaint would be there was a lot of characters to get round that weren't totally necessary to the plot.

I had such high hopes for this one as Greek Mythology is an area of literature I love to read about. The story is told from the POV of Hira which I found refreshing. It was great to get the birds eye view of everything that was going on and see the reactions of the Gods.

However I did end up DNF'ing this at 45%. At almost half way through I have lost count of the number of characters we have been introduced to. Whilst this story focuses on Penelope and I was interested to see how her story developed I didn't feel connected to any of the characters and often found myself lost with all the different stories we have been told.

I think that if the author had stuck with just Penelope's story and not recapped over the other mythology tales then this would have been a lot easier to follow and more captivating.

Fascinating retelling of the Odyssey from the point of view of Penelope. While Odysseus is away for 20 years fighting and coming back from the Trojan Way, Penelope rules Ithaca and tries to protect her people.

This is the book I've been waiting for! I've always wanted a story about what happened to Penelope while waiting for Odysseus to return, and this did not disappoint. Thank you for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this book!

I’m a fan of Mary Beard & Madeleine Miller so happily jumped into this and read it very quickly. Odysseus is still away from his kingdom of Ithaca after leaving many years ago to fight in the Trojan war. He has left behind his wife Penelope (who is Helen of Troy’s cousin) and their son Telemachus who was an infant when his father left & is now entering adulthood. Penelope has managed his affairs well, but has a problem, many suitors have arrived wanting her to choose one of them to marry as they believe Odysseus is dead & want to take over his kingdom. However Penelope knows that the fate of her son is put in jeopardy if she was to marry, and must distract them from forcing her to make any such decision.

I actually decided to go and see a local production of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad after finishing this book as I wasn’t ready to leave this world behind. I can’t wait for the next book & highly recommend Ithaca.

I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology but we've definitely had a recent uptick in published novels and not all of them are great. This is a solid offering but nothing startling.

Penelope has been left behind in Ithaca whilst her husband King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy. Told from Penelope's perspective of this time period I was completely gripped. I felt extremely cheated by the ending but knowing there is another novel in the series I will eagerly anticipate its release. Nothing else to say other than I loved it; 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

I loved the Penelopiad, so I was really keen to read this. I really liked having the goddess narrating it as it gave us insight and a birds-eye view into the events in Ithica. The prose was great, and there were some really beautifully crafted passages.

This was a beautifully written book, that took the far more interesting angle of taking what was happening in the background of the Odyssey and bringing it to the light.

The absolute charm here came from Hera's narration - involved, funny, emotional - combining the authority of the Gods with the feeling of someone who is also used to wielding her power behind the back of her husband.

A very good read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC*

A beautifully written book. I Really enjoyed reading this.

A perfect read for those interested in mythology and retellings.


Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Did not finish at about a third of the way through.
It's very, very rare that I abandon a book this early on but I simply couldn't persevere with this one.
It probably wasn't helped by the fact that I have recently read Circe by Madeline Miller, incredibly written and in a similar vein.
Ithaca's style is facile, flowery, and un-engaging. The plot is bogged down by irrelevant mythical detail and a confusing narrator and under-developed characters.
I feel bad for being so brutal but I am annoyed to have wasted time on this one.

Book was not for me. Did not finish - DNF. I’m not a fan of this authors writing style and won’t be continuing to read.

I love Greek retellings and was excited to read this one - I even waited to get my hands on a physical copy when it released locally, in South Africa. That being said, this wasn't as gripping as I would have hoped - it was slow, and at times, I struggled to connect with the characters.

Greek retellings are super in right now, but I think maybe I am getting a bit saturated with them. This was an interesting premise but I didn't enjoy the book quite as I thought I would as the pacing moved slow and the writing was a bit hard to connect with.

2,5 stars

The book started a bit slow but got better towards the end. It was a nice change to read something from Hera's pov for once. I didn't always necessarily like Hera, but still.
The book had good and not-so-good parts, but mostly it was just meh.

Unfortunately not as compelling at the other Troy related novels like Circe but still an interesting read.

Full disclosure- I'm a Classics teacher. It makes me picky about Classics-inspired literature.

Penelope, Odysseus's wife, is the protagonist of this tale, which chronicles her experiences as she assumes the throne of Ithaca in his absence. The work is written from Hera's point of view and aims to present a feminist version of the traditional Greek myth.

The novel has a great beginning, full of suspenseful atmosphere. The writing is poetic and interesting, and the characters and their interactions are fully fleshed out. The second half of the story is where the story really starts to fall apart, with the storyline meandering and the characters becoming less fascinating. I was left feeling disappointed by the end and wondering if the sequel will answer my questions.

There are some redeeming qualities in Ithaca. The female protagonists are strong, multifaceted characters, and the themes of female empowerment, sacrifice, and loyalty are portrayed in depth. Hera's sardonic, acerbic voice gave the story an interesting twist, and I enjoyed reading it.

Ithaca has some good points, but the plot doesn't pay off. Although the characters are interesting, the story drags and the finale is disappointing. As an added downside, the novel's emphasis on violence, deceit, and scheming often overpowers the female topics it aims to portray.

It's an ambitious book that could have been great, but it falls short in the end. Even if you're not seeking for a feminist version of the traditional story, you could find something here to like if you're a fan of Greek mythology.

It took me some time to get to this one, but it was better, I was reading a lot of myth retellings and the comparison would be certain.
But I still compared, it was bigger than me.
Anyway, it was a good book, not a great one (15 lives is a great book). I didn't care about the characters and I hated Hera as the narrator.