Medea by Rosie Hewlett

Medea was born a princess of Colchis with a gift from the goddess Hecate: magic – just like her aunt Circe. But her father abhors magic, until he begins to see that it’s also a powerful weapon. When Colchis obtains the Golden Fleece that makes its owner invincible, all heroes of Greece and beyond flock to Colchis to earn it. Among them are Jason and his argonauts. An encounter that will change Medea’s life forever.

I must honestly admit that when I started this book I feared it might not be for me. I love Greek myths, but the story of Jason has never really been quite my thing. But, as it turns out, I just have to read it from Medea’s perspective. Medea was a great Greek retelling that I enjoyed a lot!

Throughout the story you get to know Medea with all her faults. You learn how she is treated badly by the people around her (mainly men), you feel her fears, her anger, her injustice and her helplessness at times. This book really reminded me of Madeline Miller’s ‘Circe‘. And not just because Circe is an important side character. But because you follow Medea throughout her own struggles, along with all these other mythological characters she meets and you begin to understand her. She becomes more than that witch of the well-known myth.

Jason is, as always, an asshole. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at him in any other way. The book did make me look at the Argonauts differently. In this book, Atalanta was also part of the crew and I found her personality more strongly expressed than in Jennifer Saint’s Atalanta book.

The book is smoothly written with a great pace – even though it’s not a thin book. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Hewlett, her book on Medusa is going on my TBR-list.

Medea comes highly recommended for fans of Circe, or of Jennifer Saint’s books. Or for anyone who wants to learn about Medea’s story.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Have you read anything about Medea?

Medea is a Greek myth retelling, I’ve listed all retellings that I’ve read here.

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5.