Phaedra

By: Laura Shepperson

Narrated by: Jade Wheeler, Mary Helen Gallucci, Julia Atwood, Mark Owen, Erin DeWard, Leon Nixon, Nicky Endres

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Phaedra has been cast to the side all her life: daughter of an adulteress, sister of a monster, and now unwilling bride to the much-older, power-hungry Theseus. Young, naïve, and idealistic, she has accepted her lot in life, resigned to existing under the sinister weight of Theseus’s control and the constant watchful eye of her handsome stepson Hippolytus.

When supposedly pious Hippolytus assaults her, Phaedra’s world is darkened in the face of untouchable, prideful power. In the face of injustice, Phaedra refuses to remain quiet any longer: such an awful truth demands to be brought to light. When Phaedra publicly accuses Hippolytus of rape, she sparks an overdue reckoning. The men of Athens gather to determine the truth. Meanwhile, the women of the city, who have no vote, are gathering in the shadows. The women know truth is a slippery thing in the hands of men. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard—until now.

Timely, unflinching, and transportive, Laura Shepperson’s Phaedra carves open long-accepted wounds to give voice to one of the most maligned figures of mythology and offers a stunning story of how truth bends under the weight of patriarchy but can be broken open by the force of one woman’s bravery.

©2023 Laura Shepperson (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

mother f***ing Thesus

Boy did this book get my blood boiling! If I had been in a more private place while reading & listening to this book, I would've screamed with rage at some of the scenes & dialogue. I listened to the audiobook which had a cast of narrators. The bard... man. I hated him but thankfully his scene is short. There are many pronunciations in here that are way different than any I have ever heard. They are jarring and take you out of the story. At the time of this review, I have not looked up the reason why they went with them. The Night Chorus is done so beautifully. I loved how that was executed. Anyways, I thought the author did a great job of making this myth relatable to the modern day. It's really, really sad women are still having this fight. You'll see what I mean when you read this and you should. I've read any of these mythology retellings and this one is just as good as all of the previous ones I've read. It did take a minute to get invested in the story (side eye that freakin bard) but don't give up on it. I would most definitely read more from this author.
TRIGGER WARNING violent sexual assault and rape

New Perspective

I really liked this story! Each time I listen to a new Greek fiction retelling, I have to remind myself that each author takes their own spin on the original story. Shepperson took a completely new approach to this story and I personally really liked it. Theseus is, of course, incredibly unlikable which follows other stories I’ve read. Hippolytus was told from a new perspective from what I’m used too. He is normally portrayed as a shy, zealous boy who actively avoids women, but this story calls bs on that idea and I really liked it. I wouldn’t recommend if you don’t want to hear a story from the perspective of female empowerment — but I found it to be a great read and very powerful! Kandake — just wow, not what I expected at all. Overall, great story if you’re willing to hear a new perspective!

Female empowerment

I love books that have the females point of you hear the stories for males, but it is so empowering to hear it from the female point of you

Love the story, hate the narrators.

I loved this story. It’s heartbreaking and a true testament of female revenge and how women have been treated through the ages. However I loathed the majority of the voice actors on this audio book. It took me so long to finish because I hated listening so much but didn’t want to waste the credit.

Does Anyone Proof Listen??

This story is okay, but like others have said, the mispronunciation of names is incredibly distracting and it almost feels like the narrators are intentionally trying to be different—trying waaay to hard, that is.
For example, Theseus = thee-SAY-oos,
Poseidon = po-SAY-don,
Minos = mee-nos,
Pasiphae = pas-iph-aeee, etc.

The only name they seem to get right is Phaedra’s. It’s incredibly annoying and I just keep asking myself why? Why didn’t anyone proof the narration? The bard is also SUPER annoying. I don’t recommend this story and would return it if I could. Save your credits for Greek tragedies by Pat Barker, Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes, and Jennifer Saint.

Short, bland story & annoying narrators

This was a "me too" movement book which I didn't realize before beginning to read. This retelling of the story supposes that Phaedra was SA'd and disgustingly mistreated. The different perspectives of narrators was odd and distracting. The night time chorus was hoaky and the whole story seemed to try to capitalize on the me too movement which I think is kind of wrong. The narrator doing the men's voices has a distracting southern American lilt to his voice that seems out of place in a historical drama. The only saving grace was that this was an extremely short story, but also what a waste of money.

I read this because I enjoyed books like Circe, Ariadne, Song of Achilles, etc. but PHAEDRA IS NOT IT.