Jennifer Saint is a modern-day mythologist. She takes a new (and intensely researched) look at the possibilities of the gods --- in particular, the goddesses of Greek mythology. As a novelist, she takes a swing at the heavily masculinized tropes found in mythic tales from ancient Greece and gives them a new flourish that sends us reeling onto a new trajectory with them. 

“Mythology arises from the tradition of oral storytelling,” Saint explains in her Author’s Note, “and there are as many versions of a myth as there are tellers.” THIS IMMORTAL HEART is subtitled “A Novel of Aphrodite,” and so she begins the story of a Goddess of Love who makes a bold heart-centric choice and finds herself in the battle of her life.

"THIS IMMORTAL HEART is a perfect summer read --- the heat of this season’s best days matches the fervor of interpersonal fire leaping off its pages --- and a prime example of Saint’s literary gifts."

Aphrodite rises mightily from the wild waves of the sea, ready to help mere mortals rediscover their own hearts amidst some fairly frothy romances. However, it’s not all fun and games in Aphrodite’s world. Although her general vibe is chill, the situations that touch her soul and help guide others are full of risk and love that come at a cost, regardless of a successful pairing or not. Her influence over the lonely hearts of the ancient lands is always well-considered and empathetic. She herself enjoys trysts with gods young and old, male and female. But when she meets her heart’s desire, she is not quite ready for the consequences that will shape the rest of her life.

Aphrodite is called to Zeus so that she may bring him a charioteer who is looking to lock in a lost love. Successful, she spends some time in Zeus’ palace and, in turn, comes face to face with the god of war, Ares, whose good looks and warrior vision make her world more complex than she likes it. 

“Ares was born furious, the wrathful eldest son of Zeus and Hera, and his swift growth to full-fledged godhood was tumultuous. Now he’s rarely on Olympus, preferring to spend that wrath in mortal battles…. I remember him…not [as] this powerful god who holds an entire army in his thrall, the depths of his eyes lethal and hypnotic, the ferocity of his howl rousing them to holler back with all their might.” 

When Aphrodite returns to her world as Ares unleashes an unprovoked attack, the mortal she succeeded in bringing to Zeus is destroyed. Aphrodite is sickened by Ares’ anger and how it is hurting innocent people. Yet there is a strange pull between them.

Saint writes in lilting but comprehensible prose, in which the cadences of classic mythology and god/goddess speak seem more modern yet respectful. THIS IMMORTAL HEART takes my favorite romantic trope (haters becoming lovers over time) and uses it to great advantage to explain Aphrodite’s gentle rousing from her free-willed world to something that seems destined in the stars. 

Romance does take a central place in her story, but there is also a lot of fantastic passages between Aphrodite and her handmaidens and other goddesses that belie the classical myths’ suggestions that goddesses never changed and were always considered attached to their male counterparts. That’s hardly likely in Saint’s hands as she allows Aphrodite all the freedoms, wiles and guiles of the modern woman wrapped up in loose robes and long hair wreathed in flowers.

THIS IMMORTAL HEART is a perfect summer read --- the heat of this season’s best days matches the fervor of interpersonal fire leaping off its pages --- and a prime example of Saint’s literary gifts.