Atalanta Review

Turned into lions → HEA?

Atalanta is a Greek heroine that does not get much popular coverage, but she is one of my favorites, so I was ecstatic that Jennifer Saint chose her for a retelling! I was most familiar with her as a runner and using her track talents to escape her father’s plans to marry her off, but Atalanta covers her entire history, including her early years with Artemis and her adventures on the Argo.

I loved this book and thought Saint gave Atalanta depth as a character, especially with her interactions with and thoughts about the other women she encounters in her life. Atalanta’s encounter with Medea during her time as an Argonaut was the most thought-provoking for me. Fiercely independent (and physically strong), Atalanta is disappointed in Medea’s choice to betray her family and marry Jason, but Medea points out that they have a lot in common. Atalanta thinks Medea is shrinking herself into the shape of a “wife” even though she is smart and tenacious (like Atalanta, herself) enough to make it on her own. Their marriage takes place in Aeaea, home to Circe, Medea’s paternal aunt, which again makes me think that Jennifer Saint and Madeleine Miller are sister novelists. I wish there had been more Circe in this book because she is my very favorite character of the Greek myths, but she has already had her book and it is Atalanta’s turn.

All that being said, I loved Ariadne and Elektra more (in that order), so I rated it four stars. Atalanta filled the Jennifer-Saint-shaped hole in my heart that I had since finishing her other two books and now I am in desperate need of even more of her books! I hope she focuses on Medea next.