I’ll be honest, I requested this from Netgalley because I saw the author’s name and the cover, I was not expecting a homage to Greek mythology (and probably wouldn’t have picked it if I’d known) but wow! That was quite literally epic.
Heracles is named for Hera, queen of the gods but she only sees him as further proof of Zeus’ infidelities. The story is told in a dual narrative between Hera and Heracles, and it’s fascinating to see how their story unfolds. I particularly love the fact that although Heracles is infinitely strong, his greatest power is his kindness and compassion. The lesson is very much the importance of being a force for good.
A definite recommendation for those who love mythology and those who love found family, even if that family is beasts of legend.

Wearing The Lion by John Wiswell is such a good story and book. This author is a genious! I loved the experience of reading it and I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me an ARC.

I really enjoyed this re-telling of the Heracles myth. First of all thank you to the author for using Heracles and not the Romanised Hercules - it may seem like a small detail but it drives me mad!

Sometimes it's difficult for an author to make a story feel like their own when it's re-telling a well-known story, but this was really well done! The characters, whilst familiar, all felt unique from their classical personalities, and I'm delighted Hera got to call Zeus a dipshit (many times!).

The prose was great and the dialogue was one of the strongest features of the book. It cemented the dynamic between families perfectly and was very realistic (or as realistic as dialogue between gods can be).

Although very different from Someone You Can Build A Nest In, I really enjoyed both books, and I'm very excited to see what the author writes in the future!