Wearing the Lion Review

Hello, all!

I've read a lot of Greek mythology retellings, and Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell is easily one of my new favorites. Big thanks to the publisher for the copy!

Pub Date: 6-17-25
Adult - Fantasy

Growing up, Heracles learned to revere the goddess Hera, or as he called her, "Auntie Hera." Unbeknownst to Heracles, this praise wasn't because his family served the goddess, but because he was another child of Hera's husband, Zeus, had outside their marriage bed, and his mother wanted to avoid Hera's wrath. Hera knows all about her husband's offspring, but something about Heracles rubs her the wrong way. She despises his devotion to her and finally can't take it anymore. She sends a fury down to torment his mind, but unfortunately, in his madness, he kills his children.

When Heracles comes to, his wife convinces him a god had something to do with it and urges him to seek revenge. Heracles continues to pray to Hera, the only god he still trusts to help him, while she is wracked with guilt over what she's done. Intent to mislead him from uncovering the truth, Hera intervenes and sends Heracles on monster-slaying quests. But Heracles has had enough violence and befriends the monsters instead. When Heracles finally discovers the truth about Hera's involvement, she's certain he plans on waging war against Olympos, but what if she's misjudged his character all along?

I've never read anything by this author before, but now I want to read everything. His writing was so engaging and humorous yet emotional when necessary. I also appreciated how this was a fresh take on the story of Heracles. Wiswell managed to take such a well-known story, flip it on its head, and make it unique. I liked how we got to know both Heracles and Hera. I loved reading from both of their perspectives. Heracles usually comes across as all brawn, but we get to see his emotional side; Hera typically gets portrayed as a jealous wife, but she was so layered here. Their characters were so nuanced, and I loved it. The quest element was entertaining as well. I loved seeing Heracles befriend all these beasts and form a little family (and c'mon, 'Purrseus'? Adorable.) I can't quite put my finger on why this wasn't a full five stars, but it came pretty close.

Rating: 4.5/5