Daughters of Sparta

Title: Daughters of Sparta
Author: Claire Heywood

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Year: July 2021
Pages: 334
Genre: Retelling/Mythology
Reading Time: 12 - 14 July
Binding: NetGalley arc

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb:

 As princesses of Sparta, Helen and Klytemnestra have known nothing but luxury and plenty. With their high birth and unrivalled beauty, they are the envy of all of Greece.
 Such privilege comes at a high price, though, and their destinies are not theirs to command. While still only girls they are separated and married off to legendary foreign kings Agamemnon and Menelaos, never to meet again. Their duty is now to give birth to the heirs society demands and be the meek, submissive queens their men expect.
 But when the weight of their husbands' neglect, cruelty and ambition becomes too heavy to bear, they must push against the constraints of their sex to carve new lives for themselves - and in doing so make waves that will ripple throughout the next three thousand years.

Review:

 Well that is one way of kicking myself out of a reading slump, find a book I'm extremely biased to like given that I'm a woman with a love of Greek mythology stemming from childhood. Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an early copy of this book via NetGalley, I truly appreciate it!

 The majority of us know the story of Helen of Troy, the Trojan War etc. I was first introduced to the story in primary school around the age of 9 or 10 when it was the base of our school play. I always take up on books, tv or fil on Greek mythology with great interest and as with all childhood obsessions some of the details have slipped away in the past few years despite the love still being there. What a book to reignite my fire of love for these myths!

 It's been lost to my memory or was just omitted from the stories I learned that Helen of Troy ever had a sister. It completely escaped my notice that she had as equally an interesting story. Over the course of this book we explore the minds of Helen and her older sister Klytemnestra over the course of their early lives. It's not a side of the story I've seen explored before and I feel it's a side that everyone should be given and suggested to think about more openly. These women weren't the villains some of the stories lead us to believe. They were women suffering under the rulings of cruel men and suffocating times that is accurate for so many until recent years. You can't help but sympathise and feel angered by the usual focus of these stories is on the bloody Trojan war. But I digress. . . 

 As I said, following the two sisters. The sharing of perspectives through the story and over the years provides a good balance. As much as I can empathise and change my opinion of Helen she is still vain and selfish whilst her sister is more considerate. You see them grow from childhood to womanhood, motherhood and then the stories we all know. I completely forgot Helen of Troy was supposed to be a mother but her story and how that develops in to the myth we all know is just so incredibly relatable. It's not a new issue and yet women are still met with scorn and judgement for it. Motherhood has a high price to pay and yet we see Klytemnestra pay it again and again. The contrast of their personalities and stories as they become mothers is so refreshing and mind opening as you work your way through the book. I imagine everyone will feel they relate to one more than the other but I can tell you this made me understand more from the other side than ever before.

 I suppose I'm being a bit cryptic given it's a story we largely know. I'm talking about childbirth and being a mother. How cut out for it different women are. Unfortunately all women in the past were really considered good for many years ago and that still enrages me. But also, what else was there we had to do? Women's lives were so controlled by the whims of men. I wouldn't have survived it and it makes me think women before had the strength of patience that ascended what any of us do now. That and fear, I suppose.

 I'm getting very held up on the reality of women. Don't get me wrong, this book is supposed to have us thinking about the perspective we don't see to often. It was perfect for that. The story telling is well paced, moving across years as needed and looking in on some of the less action filled moments to give you a feel of what more normal life was like for Helen and Klytemnestra and how even that could be trying. I think the dialogue fits well for the time period, though I'm obviously no expert and the writing fit as well. Good descriptions and insights to Helen and Klytemnestra's thoughts.

 There is not a lot else to say. It is the story we know, told from the women's perspectives. It is going to challenge how you've thought about it before whilst also confirming the same story you already knew. It was wonderful, captivating and stimulating. I have a rush of want to pick up some more Greek mythology and find some more women of history to look in to. A must read for any fan of Greek mythology, I want all and any special editions!

The Colours of Death

Title: The Colours of Death
Author: Patricia Marques
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Year: June 2021
Pages: 372
Genre: Thriller/Fantasy
Reading Time: 19 June - 11 July
Binding: NetGalley arc

Stars:
★★★★☆

Blurb:

The Murder
In the Gare do Oriente, a body sits, slumped, in a stationary train. A high-profile man appears to have died by throwing himself repeatedly against the glass. But according to witnesses, he may not have done this of his own accord.
The City
Lisbon 2021. A small percentage of the population are diagnosed as Gifted. Along with the power comes stigma and suspicion.
The Detective
In a prejudiced city, Gifted Inspector Isabel Reis is hiding her own secrets while putting her life on the line to stop an ingenious killer.
A violent and mysterious crime. Suspected Gifted involvement. A city baying for blood. And a killer who has only just begun . . .

Review:

 I haven't delved in to a thriller in some time and this book has just served to remind me why I really, really enjoy the occasions I do pick one up. Not to mentioned this mystery is edged with fantasy elements, such a wonderful blend of my favourite genre in here. The fantastical element is a real stroke of genius worldbuilding, I'd liken it to the X-Men with fewer variations of types of mutants but all the same prejudices and attempts to even the playing field. It's always an interesting concept to explore what happens to those that develop in to more than just human and how those of us previously at the top of the food chain will react to that position being threatened. It creates a tensely loaded environment which is perfect for a thriller/mystery set in modern day Lisbon.

 Adding in our main character as a detective, what more could you ask for? Taking me back to my CSI watching days we follow Isabel as she delves in to a more complex job than she's ever had before with added complications of her own life. As a Gifted investigator she's paired with a new Regular partner, to keep her in check or cause her more trouble? All part of the fun and a relationship I very much enjoyed seeing develop. There isn't an awful lot to say about many of the characters, they all strike me as what you'd expect and I enjoy there's not an attempt to overcomplicate or move away from the real story by having too many twists and turns.

 It looks as though this is Marques' debut and even with an arc version I really enjoyed the writing, a good balance of description and story progression. As I usually note, if I don't notice it then it's working well. There weren't any actions that didn't end up with a point and other actions were that of making us understand a character's habits as we should in a detective story where we need to see the finer details.

 I really thought at one point I had the whodunnit nailed but nope! Relatively close but not the full picture, another win for Marques.

 Another point I noted, very little or no romance. I have predominantly read YA over the last few years and it practically always involves some romance. This was refreshingly free but gave us some interesting little spats and teasers with old and new relationships. Don't expect anything.

 I really, really enjoyed this book. My only complaint is a sharp ending that didn't allow me tie some loose ends I'd like to have seen. One very pointedly not revealed and some others just left in the past. I wanted that satisfaction though!