I, Medusa by Ayana Gray

-


🐍 I, Medusa by Ayana Gray – A Monster Reclaimed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 Stars)

Okay. WOW. This was so good. Like, “why have I been sleeping on Greek mythology retellings?” good.

You know I usually struggle with Greek mythology and I struggle even more with retellings. Half the time I feel like I accidentally skipped a prerequisite class. Authors assume you already know the lore, the gods, the politics, the vibes. I’m just sitting there like… am I supposed to remember who everyone is? 😅

Not here. Not this time.

I, Medusa flows beautifully. It’s accessible, immersive, and emotionally devastating in all the right ways. I was hooked from page one.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning

This review contains FULL PLOT SPOILERS, including the ending. Proceed only if you’ve read the book or don’t mind knowing everything.

⚠️ Content & Trigger Warnings

This story deals with extremely heavy themes:

  • Rape and sexual assault

  • Sexual harassment

  • Domestic violence

  • Emotional and physical abuse

  • Child sexual abuse

  • Racism

  • Enslavement

  • Gender discrimination

  • Pregnancy termination

  • Graphic violence

Please take care of yourself before diving in. 💔

📖 Overview: A Feminist Reimagining of Medusa

In I, Medusa (2025), Ayana Gray retells the myth from Medusa’s own perspective.

Instead of a monster, we get a survivor.
Instead of a cautionary tale, we get a story about power, manipulation, and silencing women.

The novel explores:

  • How society constructs “monsters” to silence survivors

  • The insidious manipulation of powerful men

  • Survival as resistance

  • Identity forged through trauma and strength

And yes. It absolutely delivers.

🐚 Plot Summary (FULL SPOILERS)

🌊 Life Before the Curse

Seventeen-year-old Medusa (“Meddy”) lives on an isolated island with her sisters, Stheno and Euryale, and their parents, the sea deities Phorcys and Ceto.

Their power has waned under Olympian rule, particularly under Poseidon.

Meddy feels trapped:

  • She’s mortal.

  • She’s young.

  • She’s sheltered.

  • She’s constantly under patriarchal control.

Her safe spaces?
Her sisters and her best friend Theo. 💙

🍷 The Banquet & First Signs of Danger

Phorcys hosts a banquet to attract suitors.

Enter:

  • Poseidon – married, much older, interested.

  • Maheer, son of Ares – cruel and violent.

Maheer chooses Euryale as his bride and immediately reveals himself to be abusive. When Meddy tries to bribe him to leave, he attempts to assault her. In the chaos, he falls, hits his head, and dies.

Already we see a pattern:
Men who feel entitled to women’s bodies.
Men who react violently when denied.

Athena arrives to investigate.

Instead of punishing Meddy, Athena is impressed by her courage and invites her to train as an acolyte in Athens.

🚩 Ceto warns Meddy: Do not trust the Olympians.

She’s right.

🏛️ Athens & The Illusion of Safety

In Athens, Meddy befriends Appolonia. Meddy also experiences racism and bullying for being a foreigner and for her locs.

Then she meets a mysterious young man who appears whenever she’s in trouble.

Guess who?

Yep. Poseidon.

He disguises himself as someone her age.
He gains her trust.
He listens.
He flatters.
He isolates.

This is manipulation 101.

Meanwhile, Appolonia is gang-raped by soldiers. Instead of justice, she’s blamed and expelled from the temple.

Athena chooses reputation over righteousness.

Let that sink in.

🐍 The Assault & The Betrayal

Meddy becomes a high priestess, vows chastity, gains fame for her kindness.

Athena grows jealous.

Poseidon claims credit for her “miracles” and confesses his attraction. Meddy refuses him.

Later, at a feast, Meddy is intoxicated. Poseidon seizes the opportunity and rapes her.

She tells him to stop.
He doesn’t.

Athena drags her before Zeus. Poseidon claims Meddy seduced him.

Zeus believes Poseidon.

Because of course he does.

Athena curses Meddy:

  • Her locs become snakes.

  • Her gaze turns men to stone.

She accidentally petrifies Theo.

Her sisters are cursed too for defending her.

And just like that, a survivor becomes a monster.

🐍 Becoming the “Monster”

Here’s where the book becomes powerful beyond words.

Her sisters help her understand:
It wasn’t love.
It wasn’t romance.
It was manipulation.
It was coercion.
It was abuse of power.

The three sisters take control of their island. They petrify opportunistic men who try to claim it.

When Appolonia returns—enslaved and discarded by her own family—Meddy reunites with her. Their relationship becomes romantic. 💕

Yes. Medusa finds love.
Yes. It’s with a woman.
Yes. It’s beautiful.

They attempt to start a new life in Cyrene, but when Meddy discovers a priest exploiting young girls, she kills him.

She refuses to stay silent.

⚔️ Athena’s Final Move

Athena later offers Meddy an alliance—she wants to weaponize her.

Meddy refuses.

So Athena sends a champion.

In the epilogue, Stheno and Euryale discover Meddy beheaded in her sleep.

They watch as millennia pass.
Gods fade.
Empires crumble.

History remembers Medusa as a monster.

But her sisters remember her as she truly was.

And that… gutted me. 💔

💬 My Thoughts

Let’s address the elephant in the room.

This book does not portray most men in a positive light.

I’m not a “men hater.” I’m married to a wonderful man. I know there are exceptions. There are good men. Of course there are.

But many men abuse power.
Many men manipulate.
Many men feel entitled.

And because men are often physically stronger, the danger is real. Young women especially deserve to understand that danger.

This book showcases that reality unflinchingly.

It’s not anti-men.
It’s anti-abuse.
It’s anti-manipulation.
It’s anti-silencing.

And I appreciated that so much.

Also? The pacing was excellent. The emotional beats hit hard. I never felt lost in mythology jargon. It was accessible and gripping the entire way through.

Five stars. Without hesitation. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 If You Loved I, Medusa, Try These:

  • Circe by Madeline Miller – A lyrical feminist retelling about isolation and power.

  • Ariadne by Jennifer Saint – The women behind the heroes finally get their say.

  • The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec – A mother, a prophecy, and a god who cannot be trusted.

  • The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker – The Trojan War from the perspective of enslaved women.

  • Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes – Another brilliant Medusa retelling with sharp wit.

🐍 Final Verdict

Accessible. Powerful. Furious. Heartbreaking.

This is how you do a myth retelling.

Medusa was never the monster.
She was the warning.

⭐ 5 out of 5 stars.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts This Week!

Audition by Katie Kitamura

-
Image
🎭 Audition by Katie Kitamura — ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5) 🛒 Buy Audition on Amazon (affiliate link) ⚠️ Trigger Warnings Pregnancy loss, abortion, emotional abuse, elder abuse, relationship tension, and grief. 💬 My Thoughts Some books feel like entertainment. Others feel like an experience . Audition falls firmly into the second category. Katie Kitamura writes in a way that’s hard to describe — it’s controlled, elegant, and quietly unsettling. The story moves slowly, but it absorbs you. You don’t just read it — you live inside it for a while. The premise sounds deceptively simple: an actress preparing for a new stage role meets a young man named Xavier, who claims to be her son. From there, the story morphs into something much stranger and deeper — about identity, performance, and the thin line between truth and illusion. I can’t say I fully understood it, and I’m not even sure it’s meant to be fully understood. It’s layered and cerebral, and at times it felt a little too “hig...
Read more

That's Not My Name by Megan Lally

-
Image
⭐ 2.5/5 Book Review: That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally 👉 Grab That’s Not My Name on Amazon here 🚨 Trigger Warnings Kidnapping / Abduction Amnesia Murder & Violence Religious Control / Manipulation Teen pregnancy mentioned Death of side characters First Impressions 🧐 This book started out so strong . The opening had me glued to the pages — creepy cabin, mysterious “dad,” small-town vibes. But unfortunately, the second half of the book… let’s just say the wheels came off the bus. 🚍💨 Plot holes galore, an ending that wasn’t really a twist, and a villain who made choices so dumb that I was laughing instead of biting my nails. (Like — would a seasoned abductor/serial killer just casually walk into a police station?? Really??) Spoiler-Filled Plot Summary 📖⚠️ We meet a young woman (later revealed to be Madison Perkins) who wakes up on the side of the road in Oregon with amnesia. Officer Bowman finds her and takes her to the station. Enter Wayne Boon...
Read more

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea

-
Image
🔪 GUESS AGAIN: When a Thriller Actually Delivers (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) Every once in a while, a book comes along that makes me sit back and think: “Wow. I did not see that coming. At all. And I am thrilled to be wrong.” GUESS AGAIN by Charlie Donlea is one of those rare, beautiful surprises. I went in with moderate expectations at best (thanks, Those Empty Eyes ), and this book didn’t just clear the bar — it pole-vaulted over it and kept running . This is what a psychological thriller is supposed to feel like. ⚠️ TRIGGER WARNINGS (PLEASE READ) This book contains depictions of: Child abuse & child sexual abuse Sexual violence & rape Child death Kidnapping Graphic violence Death by suicide Pregnancy termination Substance use Illness & death Strong language 🚨 Proceed carefully. 🧠 Quick Setup (Minimal, I Promise) At the center of GUESS AGAIN is Ethan Hall , a former investigator for crimes against children who has since retired and become an ER physician. He’s brilliant, haunted,...
Read more

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

-
Image
📖 Review: Cloud Cuckoo Land — Beautiful Words, But Where’s the Plot? ⭐1.5/5 Welcome back, bookish friends! ☕️ Today, we are diving into a book that is the literary equivalent of a 10-course meal where every dish is just a different, very expensive-looking garnish. 🌿 I’m talking about Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr . Now, before the “But it’s a masterpiece!” crowd comes for me with their quill pens, hear me out. I know Doerr won a Pulitzer for All the Light We Cannot See . I know he writes prose so beautiful it makes my grocery list look like trash. But y’all… I need a story. 😴 ⚠️ Content & Trigger Warnings Before we get into the weeds, here are some triggers to be aware of: Animal death (specifically an owl — RIP Trustyfriend 🦉) War and violence (siege of Constantinople, Korean War) Terrorism / Bombing Child endangerment Death of a parent Pandemic / Illness 🧐 The “I’m So Confused” Plot Summary (SPOILERS AHEAD! 🚨) Let’s break down these five timelines that somehow take...
Read more

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

-
Image
⭐ 3/5 Review: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall 📚 Grab it on Amazon here ⚠️ Trigger Warnings Death (including child death) Animal death Graphic violence Suicidal ideation Addiction & substance use Sexual content 💭 My Thoughts This was a total page-turner — the kind of book you blow through just to see how it all plays out. The mystery here isn’t “thrilling” in the edge-of-your-seat sense, but it is compulsively readable. Still, I landed on a 3/5 rating . Why? Because while the storytelling is exciting, I couldn’t quite buy into the characters’ choices — especially the men being so obsessed with Beth, who honestly comes across as self-doubting, unbendable, and not particularly likeable. (And yes, she secretly stops using her diaphragm to get pregnant with Grace. Who does that? 😳) And don’t even get me started on the rationalizing of cheating. This may have worked for me as a teenager, but as an adult reader, it’s a hard pass. 📝 Spoiler-Packed ...
Read more

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

-
Image
⭐ 4.5/5 STARS: Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman — A Hilarious, Heartfelt, and Dangerously Fun Cruise Down the Seine 🛳️💎💋 📖 Buy Murder Takes a Vacation on Amazon (affiliate link) ⚠️ Trigger Warnings Substance use Emotional and physical abuse Disordered eating Gender discrimination & ageism Death and murder 💬 My Reading Experience Here’s something you probably didn’t know about me — I love to travel. 🌍✈️ So when I find a mystery that also lets me travel vicariously? I’m ALL IN. Murder Takes a Vacation checks every single box: a European setting, eccentric fellow travelers, a touch of romance, and of course… murder. I laughed out loud so many times thanks to Mrs. Muriel Blossom , the 68-year-old widow at the heart of this story. She’s charmingly clueless in one moment and sharply observant the next. I’d 100% share a cruise cabin (and a cocktail) with her. 🍸 The mystery is layered and genuinely interesting, but what kept me turning pages w...
Read more