When you think about Greek myth retellings, I have a feeling that Madeline Miller is the author who comes to mind first. Much like many other readers, The Song of Achilles and Circe were the books that got me into reading Greek myth retellings. I have since discovered that I love it when authors give the female characters from the myths a voice, which is convenient because there are many books like that. If you already love Madeline Miller, these are the books I would recommend checking out next!
I think that Jennifer Saint is an obvious place to go after reading Madeline Miller! Much like Circe, both Ariadne and Elektra center lesser known female characters within Greek Mythology. Ariadne is the Minotaur’s sister, and she actually makes an appearance in Circe, so I feel confident in this recommendation. Elektra is Agamemnon’s daughter, but we also get two other perspectives in this novel- her mother, Clytemnestra and Cassandra, a princess from Troy. I think this is perfect for fans of The Song of Achilles who are interested in the female perspective! Jennifer Saint has another book called Atalanta that comes out in May.
I would actually recommend reading Clytemnestra before picking up Elektra so that you can get the mother’s story first before reading the daughter’s perspective. This is a new release and I think it is perfect if you loved both The Song of Achilles and Circe. It centers around the story from A Song of Achilles but I think the character’s journey is more similar to Circe’s.
I have so many of Natalia Haynes’ books on my TBR, so I think she is an author worth exploring if you love Madeline Miller. A Thousand Ships is the one book I have read by her and it became an instant favourite. It follows many of the women of Troy and I thought it was incredible.
If you have read The Song of Achilles, you are familiar with the character of Briseis. The Silence of the Girls is her story and I actually think it will make you look at The Song of Achilles in a new way.
I think Medusa is a fun book to check out if you enjoyed Circe because their stories definitely parallel one another. This book also has illustrations throughout and they are stunning!
Books on My TBR
I have a ton of Greek myth retellings on my TBR, but these are the four that I have a feeling will work best for lovers of Madeline Miller. Pandora is something a little bit different as it is set in Georgian England and has Greek myth themes. Might be a fun one to check out if you still want something similar to Madeline Miller but are getting burned out in the standard Greek myth retellings.
Ithaca is the newest Greek myth book on my shelves and I am excited about it! This story follows Penelope, who is a popular character in Greek mythology but is someone I know little about, so I am intrigued.
To mix things up, I thought I would include some Norse Mythology. I know very little about The Witch’s Heart but it got a lot of buzz last year!
Psyche and Eros comes out in May and I am so excited about it! If you liked the romance elements of The Song of Achilles, this might me one worth checking out.
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Great recommendations! They sound like fun reads.
Great topic! Here is my post-https://paigesofnovels.com/2023/03/28/top-ten-tuesday-book-recs-for-those-that-enjoy-becky-albertalli/.
The Silence of the Girls sounds really good.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-books-for-people-who-liked-shel-silverstein/
It is!! One of the first Greek Myth retellings I read and still a favourite.
I’ve read or want to read all of these! haha. Great choices!
Same here! I’m a sucker for Greek Myth retellings!
Once upon a time I read The Immortal by Christopher Pike and it was based on Greek mythology and it’s one of my favorite books. The Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon is also based on Greek mythology 👍
These all sound good! I have Ariadne on my TBR, and I’m hoping to get to it sooner rather than later… but we’ll have to see…
I’d love to try pretty much all of these: I did start Ariadne a couple of years ago but I was in a huge reading slump at the time and left off about halfway through, so I’d love to try it again because I think it’s one I would really like if I was in the right mood!
I definitey understand that! I find I really have to be in the mood for all Greek myth retellings!
🙂