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A telling / retelling of one of Greek mythologies best known stories - the siege of Troy as the author breathes life, personality and soul into the story of Troy and all the best known characters with a lot of new faces as this particular story focuses on the women of this timeless tale.

Clytemnestra, Cassandra and Elektra are the women bearing the brunt of a war created by men and gods, seemingly over Helen of Troy but also because they thrive on it. Summed up in a conversation with Elektra

“Can’t you see that it just goes on, over and over? The gods demand their justice, but we suffer for it, every time.��

Here we have women who carry the scars of war, seek retribution and in some cases become slaves to the victors, but what features heavily in the book is the relationship within families as sisters turn on sisters, mothers and daughters turn on each other but the more bitter hatred was saved for Agamemnon, by his wife

“Let him come back so that I can see his eyes as the light drains from them. Let him come back and die at the hands of his bitterest enemy. Let him come back so that I can watch him suffer. And let me make it slow.��

What I loved

✨✨✨✨�� Well its Greek mythology and for me that brings its own air of mystery, intrigue and tragedy. A sub-genre I will never tire off.

✨✨✨✨ The story of Troy is fascinating and for those that want to know more of it, this books packs a lot into one novel, although it focuses on the women rather than the main characters like Achilles.

✨✨✨✨It is another feminist story, and these women are by no means shrinking violets. The wives, daughters, and mothers created their own brand of magic and menace as we learned of the dangers and terrible atrocities committed, by them, in the name of love, survival and revenge. Women who carried a grudge: unforgiving and unrelenting. However, I loved the portrayal and depth of Agamemnon’s character in the book �� not likeable but it was great to see more depth and colour to this very powerful character in Greek mythology.

✨✨✨✨✨The book was incredibly well researched and kept true to some parts of the story while embellishing others like some of the marriages that took place and the deaths of some of the key characters.

✨✨✨✨The story telling flows and the author did really well to breathe life into centuries old myths and legends that makes the reader really connected with the story. Then there is a but��

What I didn’t like so much

⚠️I felt there wasn’t enough new material built into the story, so it felt like a ‘telling�� rather than ‘retelling�� of a story I was already very familiar with. If you don’t know much about these legendary tales then this would not be a problem, but for me I wanted a bit more originality in the whole story and I wanted more twists to a story I already knew. This is personal preference not a criticism.

⚠️The criticism I do have however, is that I missed the Greek tragedy and there was plenty of incidents, events, deaths, and curses to create the prefect atmosphere and build new drama, but the author did not quite get it right with the atmosphere, drama and sense of theatre we get from the writing. It felt rushed in places because there was so much to pack into the book. So in this case I would have been happy too read a longer book with detail that added to the story.

⚠️The interest was also mainly in the second half of the book, and completely absorbed me at the end with a more than satisfying ending as the characters wrestle with their moral dilemma and thirst for revenge because that was what tradition dictated.

An extremely compelling novel, particularly if you haven’t read much Greek mythology. However, I wanted a bit more drama and atmosphere to come through in the writing. Other than that, the positives do outweigh the less good parts and at 3.5 stars I am rounding up.

A very good book and a timeless story with fascinating characters.