No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes is the retelling of the story of Medea, and her relationship with Jason, leader of the Argonauts.

Jason is a hero, a leader, handsome and charismatic. Medea is the daughter of a cruel king, a priestess of Hekate and a witch. The gods have planned for them to fall in love and have a life together – but for how long? And at what cost?

I have previously read several Natalie Haynes novels, and I absolutely adored them. I was incredibly excited when I was approved to read this ARC via Netgalley, and I was not disappointed.

The story is told from multiple points of view and gives an in-depth perspective on what really happened between Medea and Jason. We are shown the reasons why they fall in love – and why Jason could not have achieved his goals without Medea. Meddling from the gods, witchcraft, blood and death are all reoccurring themes within Greek mythology, and No Friend to This House is no exception. I was already familiar with this myth, but the way Natalie has written it – from Medea’s perspective – is both refreshing and soul destroying.

The entire novel is suspenseful and dark, and even those not familiar with the story can’t help but feel on edge. All the way through we are aware that something horrific is going to happen, we just don’t know how or when. And of course, when things begin to unravel for Medea, all we can do is watch it happen.

This book is perfect for anyone who has a love of Greek mythology, particularly if you prefer things narrated from a female perspective. I learnt so much more about this tale through this book, and although it is heartbreaking, it can be argued that every woman has experienced similar treatment at the hands of men.

No Friend to This House is brutal and gut wrenching, but it is also the story of women’s strength and resourcefulness in the face of adversity and rejection. I loved it!

An engaging retelling of the myth of Medea. To me, the strength of this book lies in its ability to establish character motivations in the context of the ancient era in which the story is set. These are not people driven by 21st century norms and values, and the author does a great job of making their actions make sense to a modern readership. The same goes for the gods and goddesses, whose point of reference is entirely separate from that of humans.

The book begins with a very long list of all the characters, which was intimidating, but it turns out it was not difficult to keep them all straight in my mind once I started reading. The plot does jump around a bit as we spend short periods of time with a variety of different characters, all of whose stories set the scene for the tale of Jason and Medea’s relationship. The central two characters don’t appear until about 40% of the way into the book and then the narrative stays mostly with them.

As a consequence of the plurality of narrative voices, however, no one’s story is built up enough for us to become emotionally engaged with its outcome. We never get to know any of the characters in much depth and so while I remained interested all the way through, I didn’t feel anything when tragedy invariably struck. This isn’t so much a criticism as an observation; I don’t think the book was aiming for deep character studies that would have readers in tears. Had it done so, this probably would have been a five star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

Natalie Haynes' new book is marketed as a Medea retelling, but tells a wider story. We follow Jason and the Argonauts from the onset of their voyage until Jason's death. However, rather than following a linear pattern focusing on the male heroes, as traditional versions of the story do, No Friend To This House gives voice to the women and children who are often left on the sidelines.

I really enjoyed the way this book was written, as it shifts points of view for each scene, allowing for a fresh take on the tale.

If anyone has read this and figured out what the words in italics under the section headings mean, please let me know (I have a feeling they might make sense if all read together but that's hard to do on Kindle)!

A recommended read for fans of mythology retellings that give a voice to the voiceless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes

5/5 stars (no surprise there)

Let me start by saying, with my whole heart and the statement “I will die on this hill”, Natalie Haynes is incapable of writing a book that I won’t rate 5 stars. 10 stars. 100 stars. It’s an absolute fact.

I love Haynes’ writing style, she’s informative, descriptive, colourful and just straight out brilliant. I will never get bored of reading her books. I was SUPER lucky to receive a proof of No Friend to This house and I’m not even exaggerating when I say, I actually cried. To be blessed with what is now my most beautiful book. Did that stop me from preordering from Waterstones? Of course not. Support your favourite authors guys, I always will.

Anyway, a bit off topic there…. The use of multiple POVs in the book, really stood out to me. I found it interesting and far more compelling than just one POV. I think it's important to understand that whilst this is described as Medea’s story, there is a lot more than just writing about Medea alone. Haynes sets the scenes, gives you understanding and introduces you to other characters that have played a part at some point.

For me, it’s another masterpiece from Haynes and I’m forever going to love her work.

This book begins with the voyage of the Argo and the quest for the Golden Fleece. All the hazards they encounter along the way and the back stories are fascinating, especially as the author makes a point of telling the stories from the women’s point of view.
I liked the section with the Goddesses Hera, Athene and Aphrodite and their casual cruelty and disdain for each other, (apart from the rare occasion when they want the same outcome) and a clever recap from Erato the Muse of love part way through helps any reader who might feel they are getting a bit lost with so many different characters involved.
However this book is an imaginative interpretation of the traditional myth of Medea and her relationship with Jason who, with the help of the gods, she gives up everything for just to have the chance of a life with him.
But a love steeped in vengeance has disastrous consequences for everyone.
No Friend to This House is a clever and compelling read that will grip the reader from start to finish.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for an ARC

3.75 stars

This is a fresh take on the Argonautica where the women finally get their say. And yes, I said the Argonautica - this book might be advertised as a Medea retelling, but I think that does this book an injustice as it covers a much broader scope, in fact Medea doesn’t appear until almost 150 pages in. Haynes’ Medea is a formidable witch, but rather than the unhinged and vengeful woman we often see depicted, this version is motivated by love - first love for Jason, then love for her children. She is angry, sure, but she has a right to be - she has been manipulated by Jason for years and her love has made her blind to that. I also really liked how strong and unique each of the narrative voices are, each giving character to the woman (or boat, or bird) who is telling the story.

While Medea is a compelling protagonist, I was actually more interested in the other storylines involved - this book is meticulously researched and gives voice to so many other women who are often overlooked. I particularly enjoyed the Lemnos sequence and could easily read a whole novel about Hypsypile and her people. I also really liked the inclusion of the goddesses meddling with the mortals. The book really focuses in on Medea at around 60-80%, and this was when I started to miss those other POVs. Haynes doesn’t do anything particularly special with Medea’s storyline (until the end, which I really enjoyed), but it’s her writing around the story everyone knows that makes this an original retelling.

The second half also felt like a completely different book to the first, and I think this is because Haynes drew from so many different sources in her research - the second half is based on a play and includes direct translations with much more archaic language, which contrasts with the more modern style of the first half in a rather jarring way. That said, I did really like the ending as I mentioned, and I thought the tension built to a truly satisfying climax.

Overall, this isn’t my favourite Natalie Haynes book, but it’s still worth the read. Don’t go into it expecting just a Medea retelling, though, because it covers so much more ground.

Natalie Haynes has done it again and this time, she’s taken Medea’s tale and spun it into something fierce, funny, and utterly unforgettable. No Friend to This House is a triumph of mythic reimagining. I was cackling one moment, clutching my heart the next. Haynes gives voice not just to Medea, but to the gods, the beasts, and the forgotten souls tangled in Jason’s quest. Her wit is sharp, her research deep, and her storytelling as rich as ambrosia. Devoured it in two sittings and would’ve gone back for thirds if there were more pages. Five stars, no question. A must-read for anyone who loves their mythology with bite and brilliance.

4⭐️

No Friends To This House is a retelling of the myth of Jason and Medea. You think you know the story, but you don’t.

Initially I thought this story would center around Medea. It didn’t. The story focussed on Jason thus pushing Medea to the background, which served the story well.

The book is very fast paced, switches between voices known and unknown, while taking you along the Argo’s journey. You meet practically every mortal or god involved in Jasons success finding the fleece and taking home Medea.

Nathalie Haynes wrote a well known story and fills in the gaps left by the men telling the tales.
I really enjoyed this book, especially because it was told somewhat chronologically, making it feel as if I too was on the Argo looking at this boy playing hero. Nathalie Haynes never really misses. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good retelling.

I support womans rights, but mostly I support womans wrongs (but was she really wrong though?)

Thank you NetGalley for this eArc!

I love the way Natalie Haynes makes the classics so accessible to the everyday reader. Told in a modern and engaging way this Greek myth is brought to life through modern language and humour.

4.5 stars

After years of sharing her fascination with Euripides' Medea, Natalie Haynes has finally written her own version, drawing from a multitude of sources to create her own story.

There is a multide of voices (including a hilarious crow for whom I will gladly purchase the audiobook) from a multitude of angles who share their view of Medea. They call her a villain, a monster, a witch, a mother, a healer, forming a picture that never settles on one aspect but allows you enough glimpses to make up your own mind. I found it incredibly fascinating how she was never what I thought she would be.

As always, the man most people like to think of as the glittering manly hero of the tale turns out to be self-involved, whiny ass, and I am here for the disappointment that is Jason. Especially when our goddesses start being really disappointed. Hilarious!

Whether you've ever only thought of Medea as the one who "cut up her brother and threw the pieces into her papa's way" (Georgette Heyer) or thought she must be "perfectly amiable when one comes to know her" (also G.H.), this novel will show you so much more of her, and is bound to keep you thinking about her for a good while.

Personally, there where points where I thought the story would lean a certain way and then didn't, and I couldn't quite make up my mind whether to be disappointed by that. But in the end, I enjoyed it for what it was, a way of showing the multiple ways people have thought of Medea over the years, while never limiting her to just one aspect.

I found the multiple PoVs very confusing and I met alot of characters that weren't important. But as always Natalie Haynes is super informative she knows her stuff. I am very familiar with the story of Medea. Who in turn this book eventually becomes about..
I didn't enjoy the way the nurse's chapters were written.
But I enjoyed Medea's reasoning

I've really enjoyed Haynes Greek retellings in the past, so this one was a no-brainer to request (and the stunning green and gold cover didn't hurt it's chances any!)

Interestingly, I'd say that this book -- which I felt was very much a story of two parts -- sort of combined different strategies from Haynes previous offerings.

The first 50-60% is reminiscent of A Thousand Ships, in that we take a macro-level approach to the story. This is the story of the ship (the Argo) and it's crew of Argonauts - specifically, it's captain, Jason, and their quest for the Golden Fleece. Except, it's not. Not really. Instead, we follow the ships journey through the eyes of the various women they either encounter or who's lives are affected either directly or through the gods' manipulations in furtherance of these 'heroes'. We never stay with any one POV long, and instead Haynes makes us question how 'heroic' these adventurers truly are and appreciate the swath of destruction and tragedy they leave in their wake.

The second section feels closer to Stone Blind or The Children of Jocasta, delving into one particular woman from mythology and reshaping the story from her point of view. Here, we see Medea not as a monster, but as young woman forced by circumstance, then a wife to a capricious husband, and finally a mother, faced with an impossible choice. Haynes paints Medea as sharp and smart, there's still hints of the qualities we know from mythology -- vengeance, bitterness and ruthlessness -- but rounded out by intelligence and determination in the face of discrimination.

Another great retelling from Haynes, exploring some lesser known figures from mythology while giving a new perspective on one of it's best known villains.

Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars

I loved the way this novel told all the little stories that weave together myth, all the crossed paths of epic heroes and the creation of mythical beasts, the legacy of these cities and temples - in the first third, we really got to delve into that and it kept the momentum up enough to stay interested. And, then, I enjoyed the last part of the book, where of course the creative license of retelling has the most to play with. The biggest chunk in the middle, I honestly really struggled to stay focused throughout.

Medea's chapters - yes, the supposed protagonist of the story, basically repeated the same prose over and over again. I've never been a fan of first-person narration, but in this context it makes the female perspectives feel defensive rather than diverse and included. Part of why the figure of Medea has captivated us for hundreds and hundreds of years is really that, even as a sympathetic character, there is space to imagine what could make someone act in the way she does. Writing it out into black and white (which may not have been the intention but was the result) loses that.

No Friend To This House is a retelling that tells everything and shows almost nothing at all. It feels like a stage play in that sense, which, sure, is a nod to the original versions of the myth - but why not just go and read those, which will always be incomparable masterpieces. We're just retelling the same events through new eyes - but we don't seem to be expanding these characters' perspectives, their backstory. Sure, they're given grounded motives, but it's like theatre where we're just expected to accept it to serve the performance. Rather than a story exploring who these characters are out of the plot, so that when they finally take to the stage, we understand them.

I thought Radio 4 were producing bespoke programming when I first came across its show Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, and I’ve been a fan of her work since, fiction and nonfiction. I was excited to hear that she was tackling the story of Medea, a perfect fit for her retellings of Greek myth with a focus on the female stories, particularly well done in Children of Jocasta. Here again, Haynes portrays most of the male characters as severely lacking, whether in courage or moral compass. Rather than it being right-on feminist, though, I think the evidence is all there in the source material: Jason is a ‘blank space where a man should be’, a breaker of promises; Medea’s father Aietes is cruel and suspicious. And it makes sense to have a look at the effect of a whole boatload of men sailing off into the (supernatural) unknown on those left behind.
The beginning of the book is necessarily episodic – Jason encounters many places and people on his way to Colchis to find the golden fleece, including Hypsipyle on Lemnos and the vain Heracles. And then we meet princess and priestess Medea, impressive and sympathetic despite her later deeds. I liked the changes in point of view; third-person narrative is interspersed with chapters told by a Muse here (Erato) a queen there (Kleite), each of whom addresses the reader directly, in a voice one can imagine as Haynes’s own. It’s really effective when Medea takes up the story herself. I recommend No Friend to This House if you want to read a story of lies and revenge, where the gods are as fallible as the humans. And there’s a cracking twist at the end.

I was given an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This is Natalie Haynes at her best. While it would be a tall order to live up to A Thousand Ships, No Friend to this House comes very close.

This book takes a winding path through the story of the Argonauts, highlighting the women that underpin this heroic quest of bravado, boldness and bloodshed. I thought the structure was really well done, with an almost Ovidian feel that still felt like an accessible and engaging route into a complex mythos. Haynes encourages the reader to look at the bigger picture, and consider how narrative framing can provide a completely new vision of heroes and villains alike. By telling Jason and Medea's story through not only the latter's voice, but through a series of crucial, intersecting female characters, she puts a new spin on a classic, while remaining faithful to its origins.

Natalie Haynes is perhaps my biggest literary influence, so I was very excited for the opportunity to read her latest retelling. I think her books shine brightest for me when they explore multiple characters simultaneously, and this was a lovingly crafted homage to an often underappreciated aspect of Greek myth.

Books with similar vibes - A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, Medea by Rosie Hewlett, and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.

The book wasn’t for me unfortunately, writing style and pace wasn’t strong enough to keep me hooked and too many characters too early on. I was expecting a dual pov, or a singular story line but was met with multiple small chapters about various Greek gods and goddesses that I wasn’t interested in or understood all that well without a background knowledge

I have loved every books by Natalie Haynes I've read, but I think <i>No Friend to This House</i> might be one of my top favourites. It reminded me a lot of <i>A Thousand Ships</i>, because it recounts the myth of the Argonauts, and of Jason and Medea, through different narratives, giving voice to a lot of characters, many of which I knew nothing about. Even the minor ones had something to offer to the story: the characterization, as usual in Haynes's works, was fantastic.
The real star of the book is, of course, Medea, and I can confidently say this is my favourite retelling of her. I have recently read two others by Eilish Quin and Rosie Hewlett which I really liked, but I enjoyed Haynes's take more. Medea is not without faults, she isn't overly justified but at the same time her actions are very understandable, and you can't help but admire her and felt sympathy for her. The ending was definitely one of the best parts of the book. While it was heartbreaking, it also worked very well for the story, and it was perfect for me.

Natalie Haynes never disappoints. She had a rare and spectacular gift for rejuvenating Greek myths and delivering engaging and empassioned stories for a new generation. My daughter is a fan as are fellow students of Ancient History and Mythology, a writer who can be enjoyed by young and old alike.

No Friend to This House is a powerful and captivating retelling of the myth of Jason and Medea, bringing fresh perspective and emotional depth to a story often reduced to fragments. Natalie Haynes revisits this ancient tale with her signature blend of wit, insight and compassion, giving voice not only to Medea but also to those who are too often overlooked in mythology.

The book follows Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece, a journey fraught with danger, betrayal and divine interference. At the heart of the narrative is Medea, a priestess and witch torn between loyalty to her family and the pull of a stranger whose fate is bound to hers. Haynes portrays Medea not as a villain or a victim but as a complex, layered figure whose choices are steeped in love, vengeance and survival.

What makes this retelling so effective is the use of multiple perspectives, each offering nuance and humanity that enrich the story. The pacing is finely judged, with every character given space to breathe without losing the momentum of the epic. Haynes’ prose is vivid, sharp and emotionally resonant, making the myth feel immediate and alive.

This is a gripping and immersive book that proves once again why Natalie Haynes is one of the finest voices in contemporary mythological fiction. It is essential reading for anyone who loves retellings that combine fidelity to the past with a fresh and compelling lens.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

An absolutely wonderful retelling of Jason and Medea! It started off a bit slow for me, but I stuck with it and eventually got hooked. I really appreciated the unique approach of highlighting perspectives from different women.