The Heir of Venus: A Novel

The Heir of Venus: A Novel by Laura Shepperson is rather a slow mover. Another retelling of ancient myths from the perspectives of the women, it portrays the story of Aeneas as seen through the lens of the women who loved him.

The concept of this story is amazing. All the retellings of the heroic epics are bold and innovative, bringing fresh perspectives to centuries-old stories. This one could have used more attention to character development, as they all feel one-dimensional, the interest lying more with what the reader knows of their mythological selves than in their actual presence on the page. Issues with narrative tension are solved through artificial means, such as the character Anna, who strings things along by doling out only small amounts of information at a time. Lavinia, as a protagonist, lacks concrete goals and may irritate some readers with her modern speech patterns and mindset, more suited to a Regency romance than to a Greco-Roman tragedy.

That being said, the novel as a whole is reasonably entertaining and by no means unreadable. It offers new perspectives of Aeneas and works as an easy weekend binge read.