📚Some books spark a discussion. Others crack something open and invite everyone at the table to step inside from a different angle. Wearing the Lion did exactly that for our book club.
1️⃣Jess: I came for the mythology and I stayed for the healing.
I love a good Greek myth retelling, but I wasn’t prepared for how emotionally intimate this one would be. This isn’t a story about conquest; it’s about survival after unimaginable loss. Watching Heracles refuse violence and instead choose care felt radical in a genre built on bloodshed. It made me rethink what heroism really means.
2️⃣Alisha: I didn’t expect to feel sympathy for Hera and yet here we are.
Hera has always been a villain in my mental mythology catalog, but Wiswell complicates her in the most human way. Her guilt, denial, and desperate attempts to fix what can’t be undone felt painfully real. I didn’t excuse her actions but I understood her, and that made the story so much richer.
3️⃣Kaci: I was undone by the monsters.
The way Heracles connects with the Nemean lion, the hydra, and the bull absolutely wrecked me in the best way. These scenes were gentle, quiet, and deeply moving. I found myself tearing up over creatures I’d only ever seen as obstacles in other retellings. This book made me ask who we label as monsters and why.
4️⃣Stacey: I saw trauma represented with rare care.
As someone who pays close attention to how trauma is written, I was blown away. Heracles’ avoidance of violence, his emotional shutdown, his slow, uneven healing all of it rang true. This book doesn’t rush recovery or glamorize pain. It lets healing be slow, relational, and imperfect.
5️⃣Lisa: I loved how this story redefines power.
What struck me most was how power shifts throughout the book. Physical strength matters less than emotional honesty, accountability, and connection. Heracles amassing an army not through fear, but through kindness, felt like a quiet revolution against traditional epic narratives.
6️⃣Ashley: I closed the book and immediately wanted to talk about it.
This is a perfect book club pick. The moral gray areas, the reimagining of gods, the question of responsibility versus intention there’s so much here to unpack. I finished the final page feeling tender, thoughtful, and eager to hear how everyone else experienced it.
📬Final Book Club Thoughts! Wearing the Lion is a myth retelling that doesn’t just change how we see Heracles it changes how we think about strength, guilt, healing, and what it means to live with the aftermath of harm. John Wiswell brings a deeply human touch to divine figures and legendary monsters, creating a story that feels both ancient and urgently modern.
If your book club loves character-driven fantasy, emotionally intelligent storytelling, and conversations that linger long after the meeting ends, this one belongs on your list.
✨Bonus for book clubs: A themed Wearing the Lion book club kit is available in The First Editions membership, complete with discussion prompts and extras designed to deepen your reading experience.
❔️Bookish question to leave you with: Do you think a hero can still be heroic if they refuse violence and what does that say about the stories we’ve been telling all along?🦁📚
