This Immortal Heart

I try to read once retelling of Greek mythology a month, and there is just nobody whose œuvre can hold a candle to Jennifer Saint's. Sure, "This Immortal Heart" is no "Hera", but that was singlehandedly the greatest book in that genre I have come across thus far. "This Immortal Heart" focuses on Aphrodite and her love story with Ares. It is kinder than her previous novels, but what I always love about Saint is how she allows herself to find her own touches within the confines of the well-known stories. Among the Olympians, Aphrodite's closest confidante is Demeter, a connection I would never have thought of, but it makes sense, seeing that they are both nurturing goddesses of sorts. And while the focus is on Aphrodite and Ares (not as much as it could though), I also really enjoy where Saint takes the mandatory connection between Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Aphrodite was never a central deity for me, but when I found out that she was the focus of Saint's current book, I knew that I would appreciate her much more afterwards, and indeed, yes!