Hera

A Novel

By: Jennifer Saint

Narrated by: Naomi Frederick

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of Ariadne, Elektra, and Atalanta, a propulsive, empowering retelling of Hera, reclaiming her as a feminist hero

Even the gods must have their queen.

When the immortal goddess Hera and her brother Zeus overthrow their tyrannical father, she dreams of ruling at his side. But as they establish their reign on Mount Olympus, Hera begins to see that Zeus is just as ruthless and cruel as the father they betrayed. While Zeus ascends, Hera is relegated to the role of wife and mother, a role she never wanted. She was always born to rule, but must she lose herself in perpetuating this cycle of violence and cruelty? Or can she find a way to forge a better world?

In this enthralling retelling, Greek mythology’s most famous and maligned goddess finally tells her own story, as power, passion, and divine strength collide in the heart of Olympus.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2024 Jennifer Saint (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

A Goodreads Readers’ Most Anticipated Book for Summer

“In Hera, Saint recasts the goddess as a powerful, cunning deity in her own right, rather than just the petty, jealous wife of Zeus…Feels like a necessary and overdue corrective.”—The New York Times

“The gods of Olympus deliver Real Housewives-level drama in this juicy interpretation of Greek myth from bestseller Saint…As Hera strives to outmaneuver her self-obsessed, rage-filled husband, the unruly pantheon surrounding her engage in Machiavellian power plays, one-upmanship, and petty vendettas. Readers will savor the theatrics.”—Publishers Weekly

“Jennifer Saint has such a distinctive stamp on the genre of Greek mythological retellings—the narratives are captivating and choose interesting new takes on familiar stories. Saint turns her eye to the Queen of the Gods in this nuanced take on misdirected wrath and humanizing a complex, otherworldly figure…Hera is another marvel of a mythological retelling.”—The Nerd Daily

Lost potential

This book suffers from too many characters and concept. I love jennifer saint but this wasn’t my favourite. Also: can we talk about the weird pronunciation of Ares and Athena by the narrator? What was that?

Jennifer Saint does it again!

I loved this retelling of Hera’s story. I like that the author gave us the story from her perspective but didn’t gloss over the bad things Hera does in the stories. A complicated but still admirable MC!

A well woven compendium of Olympian myths

As an avid lover of Greek mythology, I found great joy in this novel. The story was very interesting on its own, but the navigation through the limitless myths was so smooth. The author included great explanations of how things change and evolve amongst the gods and their roles. Explanations were provided that reconciled differing versions of the same myth. Just sorting out the order of such a complicated story is an accomplishment. I would even recommend this book as a beginner’s guide to Greek mythology. I can only think of one mistake (Prometheus instead Hephaestus freeing Athena from Zeus’ head), but it is forgiven when so many other common mistakes were remedied. Very impressed. This is my favorite book by Saint.

Such an interesting book

An incredible novel, quite enjoyable ! The narration was well suited to the book and the author did a great job reimagining Hera

Astonishing Journey

This book was a beautiful depiction of of a powerful woman who persevered through everything she was forced to endure and changed immensely over and over throughout the eons. The journey of Hera was one that evoked sadness, infuriation, joy, and excitement. Despite being queen of the gods, time and time again she found herself powerless but despite everything she found a way back to herself. This is a story that can be an inspiration to anyone who finds themselves trapped and powerless and won’t leave a single dry eye in any reader. This book was more beautiful than I can find words to describe. Thank you Jennifer Saint.

This was Everything I wanted it to be!

incredible. heartbreaking. beautiful. infuriating. thank you for writing this. all women need to find Hera in in souls. she will keep us going. 5 stars.

A great book for a nuanced character

Most myths portray Hera as a petty being, and while this book doesn't stray away from that it is not the definincharacteristics. It does a lot for my 'female rage' craving I've been having too. Hera is all the things people say, but more. And the motivations aren't the flimsy ones people usually attribute to her.

Beautiful retelling

I loved the unique takes on the myths. The author did a beautiful job weaving new life into these stories.

Jennifer saints best work

I have always really loved this authors novels. But Hera is by far my favorite. I really enjoyed an interesting new side of this timeless character. Saints really does a great job captivating the reader interest in following Hera life. I also loved the narrator!

Amazing, haunting story

I couldn’t stop listening to this one. Hera will stick with me for a long time.