The Heir of Venus is a story that follows the experiences of different women in the lives of Aneas, the Prince who escaped Troy as it fell and was destined to be the founder of a new city, by his mother, the Goddess Aphrodite/Venus.  We hear from his first wife Creusa, his lover Dido and her sister Ana and his future and last wife, Lavinia. As they walk us through the events of his life.

I enjoyed the structure of this story, the change in protagonists and the jumping between timelines was a great way of reshaping a story I knew well and keeping things fresh and engaging.  The wholly feminine perspective was a fun spin on the Aeneid and a different way of communicating the facts.  Unfortunately, the characters, particularly Creusa and Dido’s motivations seemed to hinge on Aneas in an obsessive almost worshipful manner that I thought was a little outdated and adhered quite strongly to masculine retellings of the story, to the point where they happily accepted death.  Lavinia showed a lot of agency and promise and she was quite enjoyable to read from the perspective of.  While I know it is true of these stories, I found the experiences and endings of the women extremely violent.

There were small deviations from the standard myths that didn’t bother me and that should be expected from historical fiction and mythology retellings.  However, there was one that was so unnecessary and obvious (even the most novice of Trojan War enthusiasts would be able to identify) relating to Hector, that I became quite frustrated.  It is especially disappointing as it occurred around 80% of the way in and to that point had been really enjoying the story.  I felt that certain elements weren’t communicated or glossed over, because that certain protagonist didn’t see them.

I enjoyed the narration, there was some differentiation in the voices and tones of the different protagonists.  Some of the pronunciation of names in particular deviated from what I am used to and I found that to be a little jarring, especially at the beginning of the story.  The pacing was appropriate and there was inflections in tone that helped set the scene and keep things engaging.  If I am being really picky, I felt that the voice sounded a lot more mature/older than Lavinia was meant to be.

Thank you to Natgalley and Dreamscape Media for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review, these thoughts are all my own.

While I enjoyed this book and enjoyed the story, there are some issues that need to be addressed. 

For starters, there are quite a few editorial errors in this book. There are grammatical and spelling errors that could have easily been fixed during the copy-editing process. There are words misspelled in various places and some sentences are scrambled or have phrases repeated that make you have to reread them to understand.

That aside, the story is solid. I took many notes on the narration and found myself interested in the stories of the characters. However, there are plot holes in spots and some characters simply disappear even though they help push the story forward (Anna seems to just leave without it being addressed anymore in the rest of the novel)... 

While this is supposed to be a "feminist retelling" (according to the reviews and synopsis on the back of the novel), there weren't much of any feminist feelings about the read besides the fact that all of the narrators are women. 

The voice of each narrator is both distinctive yet streamline - which is really nice. It allows you to experience each character's feelings and emotions without losing your reader in the different voices/styles. I enjoy the popcorn narration and the fact that we bounce from the past back to the 'present' depending on the actions or emotions of the present character (Lavinia). I love that we get to meet the different women who affect our male main character's (Aeneas) actions and emotions. 

Despite a few editorial and plot issues, I really enjoyed this book.