This book starts us off with before the Trojan war; Helen is in Sparta looking for a suitor and men from all over Greece have heard of her beauty and want her for a wife… apart from Agamemnon who meets Clytemnestra (and Odysseus, who finds interest in Penelope, Helens cousin). We witness Clytemnestra’s journey to Mycenae, the birth of their children… and of course the start of the Trojan war, as well as many more events that take place. I shook my head. “I’ve heard stories about the family. The same ones as you. The curse of their ancestors, fathers killing their sons and brothers turning on each other. It’s all in the past, though, isn’t it?”

A brilliant read’ Women & Home | ‘A spirited retelling’ Times | ‘ Beautiful and absorbing’ Fabulous | ‘A vivid reimagining of Greek mythology’Harper’s Bazaar | ‘Jennifer Saint has done an incredible job’ Red interest was also mainly in the second half of the book, and completely absorbed me at the end with a more than satisfying ending as the characters wrestle with their moral dilemma and thirst for revenge because that was what tradition dictated. Helen raised an eyebrow. “And let him grow up like they did? Nurturing the same dreams that they did? Agamemnon won’t want to risk it.” She then spends the next 10 years planning to murder her husband when he comes home from Mycenae and see her trying to hold power in court. But we also get to see her as a mother before Troy and after, providing Cassandra with death to escape her torment (this scene was wrote really beautifully too despite it being about death).The story itself was familiar to me, and yet I felt engaged from start to finish. I have always seen Clytemnestra as a victim, Agamemnon as a monster, and so this version of the story appealed to me. I don't want to give anything away fro the readers who are unfamiliar with the story, but I felt for all the characters, so many women who were used as pawns in the games of men and gods and suffered for it. The writing flowed well, and there was no choppiness when Saint switched from one POV to another, though the most compelling chapters for me were the ones told by Clytemnestra.

Cassandra is a princess of Troy and priestess to Apollo, cursed to see the future and never be believed. I shuddered. “He won’t want to kill a little boy, though, surely?” I could understand the brutal logic of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to picture the young men I’d seen in that hall plunging a sword into a weeping child. Three women. Three different stories. In Elektra, the author weaves the stories of Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and Elektra together, allowing us to witness events during the Trojan War from their perspective. Life is rarely kind to the women in Greek tragedies as they live in fear of either the whims of the gods or of men. Cassandra, is the daughter of King Priam. A priestess of Apollo who is blessed with the power of foresight but cursed for these visions never to be believed. Her predictions have branded her a Madwoman, and she is a Trojan pariah, even amongst her own royal family. So, Menelaus would get the prize of Helen and Agamemnon would have the city. No doubt that seemed a fair bargain to them both.

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Jennifer Saint has breathed new life into this myth and put her own stamp on it' REAL READER REVIEW I listened to Elektra on audiobook and liked this version quite well. I only have one small issue. I wished the chapters were given headings with the name of the speaker. I found that I had no problem discerning Clytemnestra’s voice as it is the voice of a mature woman. I did however have a fair amount of difficulty, in the beginning, determining which character was speaking Cassandra or Electra. I had to wait until enough narrative was given to identify which. I feel the voices of the two women were just too alike, both being young and having a similar tone to their voices. It is about the effect and consequences the Trojan War has on these women. How it affects them and their lives personally, during and after the war. i think because there have been sooo many greek mythology retellings over the past couple of years, especially when it comes to the illiad, my enjoyment has become a little diminished due to how similar they are all.