Who doesn't love a greek myth retelling? and then you add an ancient prophecy and an unexpected hero and deadly quest! yes please count me in! I thoroughly enjoyed Daughter of Chaos, the side characters were enjoyable and each had their own unique personality and the story was a solid read, especially for a debut author. It was a thrilling read and I believe it took me so long to get around to reading it! I'll definitely be continuing with the series!

This is an unusual take on Greek mythology that proved a decently entertaining read. It was easy to get into and layered with twists and turns in a way that fantasy books lend themselves to.
Danae, the protagonist is a fisherman's daughter that knows the waters and caves near her home very well. She is devastated to be chased from her home leaving her loving parents shamed and ostracised by her actions.

Determined to return and restore the good name of her parents she is forced to take a journey and quest to find her missing sister. She is lucky to encounter and befriend the mighty demi-god, Heracles, who amongst his more suspicious colleagues allows her to join them as their seer.
Along the way they endure challenges and near-death experiences, that often involve other well known gods (such as Atlanta, Jason and the Argonauts). The battles allow you to get to know the characters more. It has a sense of adventure with danger with some novel ways of escape and conquest. There is a romantic element that works fairly well and overall I found this quite a light-hearted take of an adventure with known gods. I don’t think it takes itself too seriously. Do not expect historical accuracy this is not its intent; it is merely inspired by this to create a fantasy quest. Danae is quite young and unworldly, however her character develops quickly as she has to rise up to who she and what she must become, as the last daughter. She is a likeable character, somewhat naïve, but becomes more emboldened and determined, amidst her person doubts and confusion.
It may not be the best written novel, but it still manages to entertain. After a slower start, it becomes quite fast paced and the backdrop of where they travel& the worldbuilding thereof is intriguing and varied. As this is the 1st book there is more development to happen. It has a good ending to make you want to know what happens next. Great easy escapism.

"It was fitting somehow that the champion of mankind should be an ordinary girl who would become extraordinary."

Danae is a fisherman's daughter on the Greek island of Naxos, living an impoverished yet contented existence with her family. But when something terrible befalls them, she develops strange powers and is cast out by her loved ones. She's told she can find answers in the holy city of Delphi, but that experience raises more questions. While searching for answers, she ends up on a quest with the famed hero, Heracles, and Jason of the Argonauts.

This is a reinterpretation of the myth of the Greek gods, how they came to be and how humans were created. I was really excited to read this one, but to be honest, I feel like I've read one too many of these super popular mythology-inspired books, and they're becoming stale. This one really fell flat for me, and I dragged myself through it. I honestly wish that I had DNFed.

The overall, general plot isn't bad, but the execution isn't there. It feels like Danae just experiences a series of events in the then, then, then fashion. As a character, she isn't fully fleshed out. I empathised with her hardships in the village, but as soon as she left, I couldn't really connect with her, and she felt shallow. In fact, most of the characters felt that way. Even Heracles is like a caricature instead of a complex demigod.

Most of the book's themes, like self-discovery, loyalty, friendship and love, are underexplored and are dealt with in a cursory way. That said, the book could have been a bit shorter. It felt like there were just too many trials and tribulations for Danae to go through, and her decision about what to do next at the end of the book clearly means the overall plot will be dragged out even further before coming to a conclusion.

By the time the book ended, I no longer cared what happened next, so even though it ended on a cliffhanger, I won't be reading the next one.

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TL;DR: A really solid debut from Webb and strongly recommend. It’s a slower paced Fantasy with great lore and world building and amazing side characters. The only slight let down is our mc Danae but Daughter of Chaos is still a great read.

Review:
I was beyond excited to receive this arc and was, for the most part, not disappointed.

I’ll preface this by saying that I absolutely love Greek Mythology and will eat it up without hesitation so I’ve become a bit choosey after reading so much of it.

I loved the lore and world building - nothing felt forced or added unnaturally and the world felt so genuine and alive, you feel so immersed.

The side character? Stop, I absolutely loved them and I am so invested in them. I can only hope we have more and more page time with them as they add so much to the feel and weight of the story.

The biggest disappointment of the book was unfortunately our mc danae. It wasn’t too bad at the start as she's leaving her very sheltered life to go out into the world as you expect her to think and act a certain way, but you would expect to see a decent degree of character growth and I just don't believe we see that in Daughter of Chaos. Danae almost feels disconnected from the story, everything and everyone else flows through the world so easily and I can believe that's where they're meant to be whereas Danae just doesn't feel rooted in the word at all. This obviously makes it a bit difficult during scenes where there isn’t a lot going on and we’re left with just Danae and her thoughts

While Danae's characterisation does let the book down (honesty feel like it should have been a 5-star otherwise) Daughter of Chaos is still an extremely enjoyable book and considering this is Webb’s debut book, I can imagine the next instalment can only (hopefully) get better from here. Absolutely loved and definitely recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for my ARC Copy of this book.
I love Greek Mythology and adored this book, It was really well pased and the story built up really nicely. Danae is what everyone should aim for when writing a strong female character. I have already brought a physical copy of this book but will 100% be buying it for my friend this Christmas.

What an epic whirlwind of a read! Set in ancient Greece, the story follows Danae, a fisherman's daughter who, after eating a mysterious golden apple, discovers she has strange powers that lead her on a journey to challenge the gods themselves. Along the way, she allies with the legendary Heracles, battling monsters and facing a destiny that could change the fate of mortals forever.

The mythological setting is definitely a strong point of the novel. Webb does a good job of bleding the fantastical elements of Greek myths with the struggles of everyday mortals, creating a world filled with divine cruelty and powerful heroes. Danae's character is somewhat relatable, and the book does well in showcasing her growth as she discovers her powers and comes to terms with the prophecy that shapes her future. However, despite the rich setting and premise, I felt that the Daughter of Chaos had some pacing issues, and while the action sequences and mythological references were interesting, the lengthy sections slowed the pace a bit. However as a fan of Greek Mythology it was an enjoyable read.

As someone who has a strong interest in mythology, I was very excited to read this book. And it was…pretty good. I struggled to get past the first few chapters, but after that, the story did pick up a bit and I enjoyed it. I liked how the mythological characters and monsters were woven into the story as our FMC tries to understand the prophecy she has seen.
Thank you A S Webb, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very spectacular book. It was very cleverly written and it developed nicely throughout the book. The characters within this book were every interesting and I didn’t want to put the book down. It was a very interesting read.

Daughter of Chaos by A.S. Webb is a bold reimagining of Greek mythology that left me both intrigued and conflicted. The premise—Danae, a fisherman’s daughter, embarks on a quest to challenge the gods themselves—immediately drew me in. Webb’s world-building is rich, and I appreciated the fresh take on familiar myths. However, the pacing felt uneven; the initial chapters were heavy on exposition, making it challenging to stay engaged . While some readers praised the novel’s epic scope and unique perspective , others found the character development lacking and the narrative occasionally disjointed . Despite these issues, Danae’s journey offers a fresh lens on ancient tales, and I found myself eager to see where her path leads next.     

I really loved the idea of this book, greek mythology reimagined in such an interesting and fun way, but sadly I just couldn’t get into it.

I’ve tried a couple of times, but I’m just struggling to get past the 30% mark, which is such a shame.

(I am a mood reader, so this is probably more of a reflection of that than the actual book itself!)

Ill preface this by saying I am a huge fan of fantasy books and Greek mythology... I knew I'd absolutely love this.

And I did!

I love that it is plot heavy, my favourite books are. I see some people have rated it down for this but for me it makes it aaaaallll the better. I understand that isn't always for everyone but I ate it up.

I love how fantastic meets Greek mythology, with prophecies and heroism. Every page was interesting, and kept you wanting to turn and turn and read and read. And I enjoyed each page.

The characters are likeable, lovable, and I was sad to leave them when I finished reading.
The pacing was quite quick but fell flat in some places, like some events took longer than they perhaps should've been a tad quicker. And other should've maybe have been given more time... but it didn't take me out of the story.

I can't waaiiitttt to see more from this author!

If you’re a fan of Greek mythology, this book is for you! I was so immersed while reading this! It has tropes we know and love and with lots of lore woven inbetween. I found myself fully immersed while reading this and feeling what the characters felt which is a testament to Webbs writing.

I struggled with this book, I found it very plot heavy and the characters felt very one-dimensional to me. This was just not for me, but as I always say if we all liked the same thing there would only be one book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this arc! This book was set in Ancient Greece while we followed our FMC on her new journey, and it was a really good journey. We got to see some characters we know really well from Greek Mythology, and how our FMC worked with them so she could follow the prophecy she had discovered that was about her. Her growth was amazing, and we saw her grow in confidence and her growing as a person. I did not expect what happened in the last few chapters, and I already need book 2 to come out as this one was so good. I ended up giving the book 4.5 stars, which I was not expecting as the book started off a bit slow but the pace picked up so fast. If anyone is a fan of Greek Mythology retellings, then I highly recommend giving this book a try as it was so worth the read and my rating!!

I love Greek mythology, and any fantasy books that has any hint of a Greek retelling in it and I'm instantly intrigued. So the premise of Daughter of Chaos pulled me in from the start, as we follow Danae as she embraces her destiny to hunt down and overthrow the Gods. And these are Gods known for their cruelty. I liked the way AS Webb played on the common conception of the Greek Gods and twisted it to suit their narrative. Zeus, Demeter and co are given that extra edge. It's just a shame we only get small snippets of them.

Danae is an ok protagonist but she really suffers in comparison to these side character in the Gods and demi Gods who are so naturally full of colour and intrigue. Danae is just a little dull, with a little less sparkle, in comparison. She reads very young too, even for a YA novel. And this young feel seeps through into the writing style too, which felt a little clunky at times with pacing all over the place and lots of info dumping. A little more finessing would have gone a long way.

Interesting ideas, but the writing style and character felt a little rougher around the edges.

‘When the prophet falls, and gold that grows bears no fruit, the last daughter will come. She will end the reign of thunder and become the light that frees mankind.’

I throughly enjoyed this book, the world building was incredibly intricate but inspired.
The story follows a mortal woman Danae, who was prophesied as the last daughter!

Having no idea what this truly meant, and being forced to run for her life, both from the villagers of Naxos and now the Gods themselves, she finds what is truly meant by this.
She sets off on a voyage with a group of Greece’ fiercest fighters, and along the way uncovers so many more of earth shattering secrets, as well as hiding her own.. some of which she couldn’t even begin to understand.

The cliffhanger at the end only leads you wanting more..

“Daughter of Chaos” is a Greek mythology fantasy book by A.S. Webb.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Plot: ⭐️ ⭐️
Characters: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Ending: ⭐️ ⭐️


What you’ll find in this book:
⭐️ Greek mythology
⭐️ Heroic alliances
⭐️ Monster battles
⭐️ Prophesies
⭐️ Divine cruelty

My Review:

Daughter of Chaos by A.S. Webb offers an intriguing premise, steeped in Greek mythology, with a prophecy-driven tale of rebellion against the gods. Set in Ancient Greece, where the gods reign with cruelty, the book follows Danae, a fisherman's daughter, who discovers she has strange powers that lead her on a journey to challenge the gods themselves. Along the way, she allies with the legendary Heracles, battling monsters and facing a destiny that could change the fate of mortals forever.
The mythological setting is definitely a strong point of the novel. Webb does a good job of blending the fantastical elements of Greek myths with the struggles of everyday mortals, creating a world filled with divine cruelty and powerful heroes. Danae’s character is somewhat relatable, and the book does well in showcasing her growth as she discovers her powers and comes to terms with the prophecy that shapes her future.
However, despite the rich setting and premise, I felt that Daughter of Chaos had some pacing issues. At times, the plot felt unnecessarily long, dragging through ups and downs that made it harder to stay engaged. While the action sequences and mythological references were interesting, they were often weighed down by lengthy sections that slowed the pace and made the book feel overly drawn out. It seemed like the story could have been tighter, with some parts feeling like filler rather than essential to the plot.
One of the other aspects that kept me from fully enjoying the book was the lack of emotional depth in some of the characters. While Danae is certainly a strong and determined protagonist, there were moments where her development felt a little too predictable, and some of the secondary characters, like Heracles, didn't offer enough complexity to elevate the story.
In terms of overall enjoyment, I found Daughter of Chaos to be an average read. It’s got a lot of potential, especially for fans of Greek mythology, but the pacing and occasional lack of depth left me feeling a little underwhelmed. If you're a fan of mythological fantasy and don't mind a longer, more meandering narrative, it could be a good fit for you. Otherwise, it might not be as gripping as some other fantasy books in the same genre.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my early copy. All opinions are mine and sincere.

#DaughterofChaos #NetGalley #PenguinRandomHouse

First person fantasy based on greatest hits of Greek myth
—
Told in first person from the perspective of Danae, who, despite sharing a name with a mythological figure, is the daughter of an impoverished fishing family, or, as the title suggests, a daughter of chaos. Whether or not this is answered in this first book of a series, I won’t spoil. As Danae leaves her Ordinary World, she encounters the heroes of Greek myth, Heracles, Jason, the Argonauts, and the oracles and monsters, all the while searching for her own fate.

There are some interesting takes on Greek myth in this fantasy but the book as a whole is surprisingly uneven. Almost all from Danae’s perspective, there is one single and short chapter told from another point of view, a parallel narrative that might have been used to mislead the reader (and the characters) further and amping up the tension. The one bit of near-spice is fade to black and off page, and not very well telegraphed. An interesting start but I don’t think I’ll be reading any more.

I was really excited to receive this ARC as I am a huge fan of Greek Mythology retellings, and expected to be enthralled.

Unfortunately, I found it challenging to really connect with the characters and get lost within it, which led to a slightly more laborious reading experience than I was expecting.

Thank you A S Webb, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.

As an avid reader of historical fantasy that interweaves Greek mythology, I was really excited to start this one. The protagonist, Danae, is ‘the chosen one’ destined to destroy the connection between humans and the twelve gods, to set free all of mankind from slaving under their rule. Simply from reading the blurb, I was very interested in the premise of this book and the adventure it promised to deliver.

Before following Danae on her journey, the story starts in her hometown of Naxos where she lives with her family. This was by far the best part of the story, if I was rating solely on this part I would be rating this five stars. The writing was intriguing and the imagery was vivid and beautifully written, it was incredibly easy to visualise the setting. Experiencing the viewpoint of a protagonist who was poor in ancient Greece was new to me and provided a new perspective compared to other books also set in this timeline.

After Danae leaves Naxos, the story fell short for me. All the characters lacked depth and emotional connection to one another. It felt like reading shells of characters with no understanding of who they were. I felt that even Danae's character was underdeveloped and deprived of personality. I couldn’t name a favourite character or even one I hated, they all just appeared empty. The adventure the characters pursued had no reason. Danae and the Argonauts all had an end goal but there were way too many ‘missions’ along the way that felt out of place, causing me to completely forget their goal and lose any interest I had left in this book.

The romance was incredibly confusing to me, it was almost impossible to figure out if Danae had feelings for anyone or if she was just admiring their looks. She had three love interests throughout the book, but all were completely underdeveloped and out of nowhere, especially when she sleeps with one of them when they had no prior emotional involvement with each other.

The premise was intriguing but there were many elements that could have been written better. If I wasn’t against DNFing books, I probably would have around the 50% mark. I was mainly put off by the emptiness of the characters and that the main mission which seemed to be going nowhere. I won’t be reading the sequel, however I would be interested in reading future books written by Webb since I really loved how the beginning was written.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for providing me with this eArc in return for an honest review. ♡