What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?
Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.
But then comes a day when Hermes, one of the few friends she still has and the only deity she trusts, petitions the rest of the gods and goddesses to reverse the curse. Thus begins a journey toward healing and redemption, of reclaiming a life after tragedy, and of just how powerful friendship and love can be—because sometimes, you have to sink in the deep end of the sea before you can rise back up again.
Review
*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
We first meet Medusa when she has been living on her Greek island for 2000 years. She is not the monster we've known from the stories, she is a woman filled with self-loathing and guilt over what she's done. Thanks to the goddess Athena, Medusa sees herself as a terrible monster, instead of a woman wrongfully punished and forced to kill. She never means to kill anyone and always tries the hardest to cover up her eyes and snakes, though once in a while someone unexpectedly gets beyond her defences and it always ends up badly.
To make things even more clear, Medusa had her innocence forcefully taken from her by a god in disguise, then punished by Athena for what happened. So Medusa is the victim, but because she was punished it makes it hard to hold on to that thought, that she did nothing wrong. The injustice of it all made me so mad throughout the story!
Luckily in those years of exile, Medusa has been able to make some friends. One is a blind man named Mikkos and the god Hermes is the second. She needs those friendships, as they are one of the only things that can bring her happiness in her current existence. Mikkos is a local fisherman and he always brings small gifts to her, including this adorable little blind kitten.
Mikkos is human, so they've only been friends for sixty years or something, but Hermes is a god. Though it took him a couple of hundred years before Medusa started to trust him. Now she can not imagine her life without him. He is always so kind to her and whenever she is putting herself down, he makes sure she understands that she isn't the monster she thinks she is. Since he is such a good friend, he is outraged by what his sister (Athena) has done to her and finally convinces Medusa to let him speak at the Assembly to get her sentence revoked.
I love that friendship between these two. Hermes is so patient and sweet with her. He may look like a surf beach bum, but there is definitely more than meets the eye with this god. Throughout the story Medusa slowly realises that her feelings for him might be more than just friendship, though she is afraid that if she says something she might loose him. Medusa still sees herself as a monster and is convinced no one could want her. Silly her of course because it is obvious Hermes has been in love with her forever even when she still had the snakes and everything. I really like, that he was able to see beyond the curse and find this beautiful sweet woman.
The strength of Hermes feelings get shown quite a lot. He is willing to do anything to protect her from those who want to harm her. This is a side you do not expect immediately from him, since he always seems so relaxed. He can get intense fast and it is totally swoon worthy!
I do have to say I've never come across such overall friendly Greek gods. Usually they are very vindictive and like to scheme more. Except for Athena and Poseidon, they were all very nice towards Medusa. All were helping her transition and so supportive, making them seem more human than gods.
After I finished the story I kept thinking that the fact this involved Greek gods and Medusa, was really only a side note. If you strip that away, it is a story of a woman who got violated, was punished for that fact and not the one who hurt her. She lived with that shame and guilt for so long, not daring to speak about it, even isolating herself and keeping everyone at arm's length. Then slowly thanks to the help of friends, she starts opening up, becoming stronger and pushing away that shame and guilt.
The way Heather Lyons approached this difficult subject was superb. By using this story of Medusa and involving the Greek gods, she also shows that this can happen to anyone. She did a fantastic job writing this beautiful story of strength, friendship, love and hope.
Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.
I love that friendship between these two. Hermes is so patient and sweet with her. He may look like a surf beach bum, but there is definitely more than meets the eye with this god. Throughout the story Medusa slowly realises that her feelings for him might be more than just friendship, though she is afraid that if she says something she might loose him. Medusa still sees herself as a monster and is convinced no one could want her. Silly her of course because it is obvious Hermes has been in love with her forever even when she still had the snakes and everything. I really like, that he was able to see beyond the curse and find this beautiful sweet woman.
The strength of Hermes feelings get shown quite a lot. He is willing to do anything to protect her from those who want to harm her. This is a side you do not expect immediately from him, since he always seems so relaxed. He can get intense fast and it is totally swoon worthy!
I do have to say I've never come across such overall friendly Greek gods. Usually they are very vindictive and like to scheme more. Except for Athena and Poseidon, they were all very nice towards Medusa. All were helping her transition and so supportive, making them seem more human than gods.
After I finished the story I kept thinking that the fact this involved Greek gods and Medusa, was really only a side note. If you strip that away, it is a story of a woman who got violated, was punished for that fact and not the one who hurt her. She lived with that shame and guilt for so long, not daring to speak about it, even isolating herself and keeping everyone at arm's length. Then slowly thanks to the help of friends, she starts opening up, becoming stronger and pushing away that shame and guilt.
The way Heather Lyons approached this difficult subject was superb. By using this story of Medusa and involving the Greek gods, she also shows that this can happen to anyone. She did a fantastic job writing this beautiful story of strength, friendship, love and hope.
The Author
Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.
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