Natalie Haynes once again proves that she’s the reigning queen of reimagined myth. This novel is fierce, lyrical, and devastating in all the right ways.

The interplay between myth and modernity is handled with Haynes’ signature wit and precision, blending tragedy with commentary in a way that feels both timeless and relevant. The prose is taut, with moments of insight that linger long after the final page. It’s a story about the price of love and the fight for agency in a world that seeks to define women by their silence.

If you’re a fan of A Thousand Ships or Stone Blind, this book is essential reading. Haynes doesn’t just retell myth, she rewrites the narrative powerfully, giving depth to voices history tried to forget. No Friend to This House is bold, heartbreaking, and utterly unforgettable. I loved it.

DNF at 29%. I tried this from 30/06/25 to 05/07/25.

This just wasn’t for me. It’s written in the same style as Haynes’ other novels which just doesn’t work for me. It just feels disjointed to me. This will work for fans of Haynes’ other novels and I’m just not feeling it enough to continue reading.

Oh this book! This book was a masterpiece. This book was art in book format! I rated it 5 stars. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.

This was very good however it's marketed as Medea's story but it's not, it's about Jason and the golden fleece with a focus on Medea in the second half.
The writting style is my favorite part it's so engaging I couldn't put it down. We have dozens of pov including a dove at one point, I was never bored.

I do love a good Greek myth, but will admit that my knowledge of the many tales is sketchy at best. I’m probably not alone in say that all I know about Medea is the whole nasty, killed-her-children bit, and anything about Jason or the Argonauts from the Ray Harryhausen movie.

Natalie Haynes is very familiar and highly educated in these matters, and seems to be working her way through several – including Stone Blind – adding a feminist rebalancing to the mythology. Women are usually poorly treated, or just background faces, so I strongly approve of the endeavour. However, that doesn’t mean it’s going to make for comfortable reading.

I do wonder exactly who the target audience for this was. I feel I would have gotten more from it if I was more familiar with the stories, beyond just the broad strokes. Instead I felt like we rushed through the earlier parts of things, cramming just so much in – worthy background, but also felt my head spinning a bit. We jump around so many points of view and it doesn’t help that I’m not sure any of the characters come across as all that sympathetic. Jason – hero in the movies etc – is, pardon the phrasing, a total dick here. Well, yes. And omg – pun intended 😉 – the gods are just obnoxious all round. Again: well, yes. There is a satisfaction to having the usual layers of rephrasing stripped away and just: these are awful individuals. Doesn’t make for a cheery read, though!

Medea herself is given more of a voice than ever before, and yes it absolutely helps with that core myth. But, she is not perfect. And it’s frustrating how much is her whining, however appropriate that might be in the circumstances.

Overall, this *is* a good book, but one that didn’t quite click with me as much as I would have liked. Some myths are just always going to be… well, unpleasant, at many levels. I still wanted to read on, always wanted to see how things were going to ‘turn out’/be explained, and on that front I’d call this a success, even if I didn’t entirely love the journey getting there.

No Friend to This House is a fast-paced and compelling retelling of Jason and the Argonauts, with a strong focus on Medea and the fallout of their relationship. Natalie Haynes brings her signature wit and depth to the story, giving voice to characters who are often silenced or sidelined in myth.

Told through multiple perspectives, the narrative moves quickly and keeps you engaged — I read it in under 24 hours. Haynes explores themes of gaslighting, betrayal, and revenge with nuance and emotion, making these ancient stories feel incredibly modern and relevant.

Medea, in particular, is portrayed with complexity and empathy — not just a villain or a victim, but a fully realized woman caught in a brutal world. If you enjoy Greek mythology retellings, especially ones that center women’s experiences, this is a must-read.

I absolutely loved this! Haynes does an excellent job of painting a portrait of Jason without ever speaking from his point of view, instead focusing on how he affects the lives of those around him. The polyphonic narrative is where Haynes really excels and I was thrilled to see her signature humour and sarcasm come through, particularly in the chapters from the perspectives of the goddesses. I wasn't familiar with the myth of Jason and the Argonauts but that did not matter at all, and if anything made all the stories I picked up along the way even more interesting. So, so brilliant. I bet Haynes does a fantastic audio narration!

In which Natalie Haynes retells the story of Jason, the Argonauts and Medea. Now, simply bolting the two halves of the story back together, when we often get the first half as told by Ray Harryhausen and the second from Euripides, already makes for a radical shift; I once saw the voyage staged as a free play for kids, with the same cast coming back after an interval to do the tragedy, and wondered how drastically that was going to traumatise any younger audience members who stuck around. But while Haynes has a firm grasp of her sources, she also knows they contradict each other anyway, and feels free to tweak them in furtherance of the version she's telling, just as her predecessors did. The easy way to characterise this would be as part of the raft of feminist reworkings of legends, and there are certainly lines which play into that: "It's curious, isn't it, that anything wanted by a man or a god becomes just an object?" And yes, the point of view is traded between mortal women, goddesses, and those in between, plus the odd ship, rock or arrow, and yes, the menfolk often look distinctly inglorious from that angle. Frequently in ways that recall the present, too, though never clumsily so. The men of Lemnos, who suddenly take against their wives; the crabbed, paranoid kings; most of all Jason himself, so plausible when he wants something, so heedless once he tires of it, so hurt that anyone could possibly hold any of this against him, the great hero, even though his only real achievement is knowing who to ask to do everything for him – they all have their counterparts, but we're left to spot those parallels for ourselves, rather than being beaten around the head with them. Crucially, though, plenty of the female characters are just as dreadful; Jason's would-be Corinthian wife Glauke is a particularly pungent portrait of entitled jealousy, but I did find myself worrying whether I might be struck down by some horrendous curse if I chuckled too much at Haynes' Mean Girls vision of Olympus. Thank goodness this is definitely a fictional portrayal, eh? I know Haynes primarily from her radio work, and the one other book I've read of hers, Divine Might, was non-fiction which retooled that material for a different medium, but was very much told in the same wry voice. This isn't; sadder, more savage, alive to the magic of the myths but also to the collateral damage. And of course, given the film played fast and loose even with the portion it adapted, there aren't even any skellingtons.

(Netgalley ARC)

'No Friend to This House' by Natalie Haynes tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts from the female perspective. Goddesses', queens, birds, Medea and the moon speak, to tell the story with humour and pathos. The Jason presented here is hungry to be a hero, charming, full of hubris, and not good at keeping his promises. Medea is flawed, and has a poor memory for her role in events, but is equally the wronged woman, pushed into situations by the gods and left to deal with the consequences.

Haynes is an excellent scholar and manages to give the myths life. I particularly enjoyed the section close to the beginning of the novel on the Island of Lemnos, where the men suddenly leave the women due to their sudden odour - something caused by the goddess Aphrodite for them failing to honour her. However, as someone who enjoys modern retellings of Greek myths, but doesn't have a sound knowledge of the source material, I did at times find this novel confusing, particularly as the time line moved around a bit, particularly in relation to the golden fleece. This might have been exacerbated by reading the e-book version, as there is a list of characters at the front of the book, something slightly less accessible on Kindle. Nevertheless I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to Haynes fans, as well as those who like Pat Barker, Madeline Miller and Stephen Fry.

Natalie Haynes has done it once again. Something about the fantastical way she weaves a story, telling all the intricacies and drawing attention to those often overlooked, always does it for me. This is far more than the story of Medea and Jason. The novel includes narratives from all those involved in the tale - from the goddesses who influence the lives of Medea and Jason, to the Golden Ram who is sacrificed to become the Golden Fleece. This was my most anticipated read of the year, and I have not been disappointed.

What an unmitigated joy it is to read a new book by Natalie Haynes. I wolfed this down in two sittings and immediately went back to start again, in order to pick up anything I'd missed. Natalie Haynes unfailingly makes the reader see a well known story from Greek Myth in a new light, from a female perspective, using meticulous research, a vast knowledge and love of the subject matter, wry humour and straight talking. This turns the story of Medea on its head, and makes you see events unfolding from her perspective, and from many other characters. Authors such as Haynes, Madeline Miller, Pat Barker and Jennifer Saint are giving the women of Ancient Greece a voice previously unheard: one which questions the true legacy of the Heroes and Gods. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review of the book.

Oh, man. I really didn't enjoy this. In fairness, I fully believe it's a me thing. I have never rated a Natalie Haynes book higher than 3.5, and that is purely because of my reading tastes. Haynes isn't one for the dramatic flairs and the pure angst that has you crying at 3am over mythological characters -- which is exactly what I want from my Greek Mythology. Having read Medea by Rosie Hewlett this year (and adoring it) I think I've just hit the peak of Medea books. I couldn't wrap my head around the heaps of characters in this one, and it took until around 40% for me to develop any interest in the story.

This is a brilliant book. As in Stone Blind Natalie Haynes takes a familiar myth - in this case the story of Jason and the Argonauts' search for the golden fleece and of his marriage to Medea; she then turns it on its head by telling it in a range of different voices, all those of women (including goddesses) who were involved in the tale.

Each voice is distinct but the overall tone is wry and amusing as Jason's hero status is punctured and he is revealed as a charming, weak pretty boy. The silent women speak and they are gripping and give such a different slant to a familiar story. But don't be put off if you're not familiar with the story already - this novel is very accessible whether you know it or not. Highly recommended and many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy

Natalie Haynes can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes, her books pull you in from the very first page and this one is no exception.

I didn’t know much about the tale of Jason, the Argonauts or Medea and yet this book was completely accessible to me in weaving a story I could follow and looked forward to seeing the ending.

As with most Haynes novels you follow a cast of characters that all interlink to tell the story, this novel even includes the perspective of a crow (which I am sure will be delightful for the audiobook). Keeping track of characters and places is so easy as Haynes crafts such distinct narrative voices and styles for each character.

Would highly recommend picking this up!

It is no secret that I am obsessed with Haynes work and the myth of Medea is one of my all time favourites, so this could not have been a more perfect book for me.

I know the source material very well and adored the way it was adapted and tied many other stories and myths together.

I really enjoyed the many perspectives and uniqueness of each voice. The structure lended itself extremely well to the plot and broadness of what was being tackled.

The essay at the end explaining choices and sections of the text was wonderful and I wish more authors included this in their texts, I find the craft of writing incredibly interesting.

Overall another brilliant book that I will be recommending over and over again to customers in my little book store.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book right from the very first page. Natalie Haynes has a way of bringing history to life that is unique to her books. Through them you get a deeper understanding of the characters that you thought you knew.. We are all familiar with the movie Jason and the Argonauts, but this book focuses on the characters around Jason's quest, giving a voice to those you may have forgotten. or never even taken any notice of. Voices of those such as Kleite who is so much more that just her beautiful hair. and Iris the misunderstood Harpie
I cannot recommend this book highly enough, no one brings mythology alive the way Natalie Haynes does.