EnixamYram

Now because it's usually a debatable feature in any retelling, the first thing I'll say is that if you're a BIG (and I mean obsessively so) Greek Mythology nerd who is extremely strict on differing interpretations of characters, then this may not be the book for you.

Aphrodite obviously gets the majority of attention and in this story she is very soft and sweet, just bordering the line of being too much so (though never crossing it). Her character is in love with love and only wants to match people with their perfect someone and cares for all the mortals greatly. If you know of the stories of her in mythology, then this is definitely a much more goodie version of her. Zeus is somewhat a one-note asshole. It's not completely wrong but also not complete accurate either. He's clearly the tyrannical leader in this story and doesn't really have anything else to him. Hephaestus is also pretty simplistic in the sense that he's the soft nice guy everyone looks down on but is still so kind to everyone despite that. It's not over the top or too terribly written or anything, but I feel that if you're very into these characters for the complex depth, this book doesn't really do either of them justice. Otherwise I think everyone else is handled quite well. The story is from Aphrodite's point of view but the author still manages to nicely show a deeper layer to other Gods like Hera and Artemis in subtle ways that I really appreciate! There are very small scenes that blend with the rest of the story that had me quite giddy because those are two of my personal favourite Gods (along with Ares) and I really liked the way they were written in this. Even Poseidon, who is clearly another asshole villain, has some nice emotional layers towards the end that shine through just right.

With that long ramble out of the way, I just wanted to share that I thought it was SO damn good! I genuinely enjoyed it so much, I could barely put it down towards the last few chapters! I would definitely recommend it for anyone who loves Aphrodite and Ares as they're easily the best part of the story (which is good since the story is literally all about them).

I can't say it was completely perfect, but only in the sense that even I prefer some tiny features in the mythologies that this story changed up a bit. I won't say what, cause spoilers, but they really are tiny features, things I think "I prefer the other version" before shrugging it off and going back to enjoying this story for what it is.

I feel like Ares was brilliantly written as well. Where the writing for Zeus might not go into the complexity of his character, it dazzles with how it does for Ares. Same with the romance between Aphrodite and Ares. I normally hate hetero-couples-drama and maybe it's my softness for Aphrodite and Ares as a couple but I genuinely enjoyed their drama. It was soft and sweet, heart-breaking and painful but also hopeful and inspiring, everything you want from a romance story.

https://www.tumblr.com/sarafangirlart/765972320470876160/a-review-of-hera-by-jennifer-saint

So, either that post has been deleted or the author has me blocked or something... No idea why but I think the latter cause I couldn't even search their name.

But if you are still interested! I will add, these are based on my opinions and how I personally feel and if you or anyone enjoyed the hunger games stage show or disagree with me, that's totally fair.

1st - While we were sat in District sections, the actors very much treated us like Capitol. We were encouraged and sometimes even directed to cheer and clap at certain points that were frankly inappropriate. There was a brilliant moment of choreography for the initial bloodbath but it was followed by a weird dance number that made no sense and felt very performative and silly. Even during Rue's death, the actress was very over dramatic (I mean scream crying the entire time right up until she very suddenly went silent) and the moment was broken up repeatedly with Capitol citizens partying around them. This could have been a good commentary except Rue's actress being so over the top and frankly feeling more like a SNL skit, made it come across like it was meant to be a comedy. All these things were ignoring the serious tones of the children dying and instead came across like a big party play that we were meant to be laughing and dancing along with. Even smaller things like Haymitch being drunk on the train and falling over constantly, the audience all laughed at again and again. This was right after Effie tells them they're basically dead without his help - why are we laughing at an alcoholic and children who will be relying on him to survive?!

2nd - More specific things like Cinna. Katniss makes a point of saying he's a very simple man, which makes him stand out amongst the Capitol extravagance. In the show they had him very flamboyant - not an issue on its own except in the books Katniss makes a point of saying she expected that and so was surprised by Cinna. He also wore outlandish clothing that was sometimes even more than the Capitol background actors. Again, complete opposite of who Cinna was and thus taking away a massive part of why Katniss trusted him so quickly. Cinna was a branch character: Showing Katniss Capitol citizens that she deems normal and thus can help her connect with and see them in a more human light. It's one of the reasons she doesn't turn out as extreme as Gale and will defend Capitol citizens and District 2 enemies. Making Cinna act and look just like Capitol citizens really kills that.

3rd - Ignoring how Snow's actor was awful (getting a celebrity to record his lines might not have been bad on its own by Malkovich sounded like an AI bot), there was also some strangeness of having Snow decide right after the bloodbath that he wanted Katniss gone. She hadn't done anything yet! There were other scenes undermining Capitol control by having them constantly beating District 12 residence for no real reason - like for using the hand sign during the Reaping even though it wasn't a symbol for rebellion yet, but rather a way to say goodbye to someone. They also randomly tased Gale during his goodbye to Katniss, again, for no reason! The whole point of Snow was that he carefully controlled the chaos of the Districts because if you go too far one way or another it would lead to their fighting back.

4th - Having Gale give Katniss the Mockingjay pin, whether intentional or not, completely changes its meaning. Originally it was given to her by Madge, niece of someone who died in the games, and in the movie it still came from the District 12 market. By having Gale be the one to give it to her, it makes it no longer a symbol of the District and people within but a love symbol from one of her maybe-boyfriends. (This is not helped by Katniss' actress being odd with line delivery, often making herself sound more like a swooning girl in love with Gale right from the start.)