HFVBT Review: The Conqueror's Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great by Stephanie Thornton

Publication Date: December 1, 2015

NAL/Penguin Group LLC.

eBook, Paperback; 496 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

A novel from the acclaimed author of The Tiger Queens, for readers looking for “strong and determined female protagonists” (Historical Novel Society) and “a sprawling historical saga” (Renee Rosen)...

We are the women who loved Alexander the Great. We were lovers and murderers, innocents and soldiers.

And without us, Alexander would have been only a man.

Instead he was a god.

330s, B.C.E., Greece: Alexander, a handsome young warrior of Macedon, begins his quest to conquer the ancient world. But he cannot ascend to power, and keep it, without the women who help to shape his destiny.

His spirited younger half-sister, Thessalonike, yearns to join her brother and see the world. Instead, it is Alexander's boyhood companion who rides with him into war while Thessalonike remains behind. Far away, crafty princess Drypetis will not stand idly by as Alexander topples her father from Persia's throne. And after Alexander conquers her tiny kingdom, Roxana, the beautiful and cunning daughter of a minor noble, wins Alexander’s heart…and will commit any crime to secure her place at his side.

Within a few short years, Alexander controls an empire more vast than the civilized world has ever known. But his victories are tarnished by losses on the battlefield and treachery among his inner circle. And long after Alexander is gone, the women who are his champions, wives, and enemies will fight to claim his legacy…

REVIEW

Mass murder, betrayal, brutal and tragic deaths, scheming, love, comic relief, warrior women... a true Greek tragedy.

The title is a little misleading, as Alexander the Great had three wives, all featured in this novel, and also because the tale is told from several points of view. However, the only wife whose point of view we get to read about is Roxana's, so I suppose she is the wife of the book's title, and yet in many ways she is an antagonist in the story. There's lots of complex characters and it's less about Alexander than it is about all of the people in his life, their relationships with each other, and how that influences the future of his empire. In fact, Alexander himself is not a likable character and at times seemed almost like a sociopath, but since it's not really about him anyway, that wasn't a big deal.

With so many characters, it's not surprising that the multiple plots move along steadily. The first half focuses more on character development, so it is slower paced compared to the second half when all hell breaks loose. In some ways I actually felt like the second half was a little too rushed, as the focus turns to the series of events rather than on the characters. But there's no denying that this Greek tragedy is very well told with strong characters and a compelling plot that will keep you saying, "just one more chapter..."

AMAZON (KINDLE) | AMAZON (PAPERBACK) | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | INDIEBOUND

About the Author

Stephanie Thornton is a writer and history teacher who has been obsessed with infamous women from ancient history since she was twelve. She lives with her husband and daughter in Alaska, where she is at work on her next novel.

"The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora," "Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt," and "The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan" are available now. "The Conqueror's Wife: A Novel of Alexander the Great" will hit the shelves in December 2015.

For more information please visit Stephanie Thornton’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, November 23
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, November 24
Review at Layered Pages
Interview & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair
Spotlight & Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Wednesday, November 25
Review at A Bookish Affair
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Thursday, November 26
Review at Historical Readings & Reviews

Friday, November 27
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Monday, November 30
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Review & Giveaway at 100 Pages a Day

Tuesday, December 1
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Guest Post at Book Lovers Paradise

Wednesday, December 2
Review at leeanna.me
Review & Giveaway at A Literary Vacation

Thursday, December 3
Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway at Just One More Chapter
Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway at Unshelfish
Excerpt at A Literary Vacation
Spotlight at The Reading Queen

Friday, December 4
Review & Giveaway at The True Book Addict

Monday, December 7
Review at The Maiden's Court

Tuesday, December 8
Review at Reading the Past
Review at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, December 9
Review at CelticLady's Reviews

Thursday, December 10
Review at The Lit Bitch
Interview & Giveaway at Reading Lark
Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

Friday, December 11
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views

Saturday, December 12
Review & Giveaway at Genre Queen

Monday, December 14
Review at Book Babe
Reivew, Excerpt, & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick

Tuesday, December 15
Review at Bookramblings

Wednesday, December 16
Review at Book Nerd

Thursday, December 17
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Friday, December 18
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Blog Tour Hosted By

Review: HFVBT Presents Amalia Carosella’s Helen of Sparta Blog Tour, April 1-22

Please join author Amalia Carosella as she tours the blogosphere with HF Virtual Book Tours for Helen of Sparta, from April 1-22.

Publication Date: April 1, 2015
Lake Union Publishing
Formats: eBook, Paperback
ISBN-10: 1477821384

Genre: Historical Fiction



Long before she ran away with Paris to Troy, Helen of Sparta was haunted by nightmares of a burning city under siege. These dreams foretold impending war—a war that only Helen has the power to avert. To do so, she must defy her family and betray her betrothed by fleeing the palace in the dead of night. In need of protection, she finds shelter and comfort in the arms of Theseus, son of Poseidon. With Theseus at her side, she believes she can escape her destiny. But at every turn, new dangers—violence, betrayal, extortion, threat of war—thwart Helen’s plans and bar her path. Still, she refuses to bend to the will of the gods.

A new take on an ancient myth, Helen of Sparta is the story of one woman determined to decide her own fate.

My Review

In Greek mythology, before the infamous Trojan War, Helen of Sparta was abducted by Theseus, King of Athens. Based in legend, this novel approaches Helen's 'abduction' with a new take on it, with Helen as a willing participant.

First, I think it should be noted that in my opinion, this is more like historical fantasy than straight up historical fiction. While it's not being marketed that way, there's several usages of magical or mystical powers, and actual Greek gods and goddesses play large roles in the storyline. Not as the characters' belief system, but as the gods and goddesses making actual appearances and interacting with the mortal characters. While that in itself didn't bother me, I felt as though there was too much being explained away by these influences, rather than by providing the characters with good reasons for their choices..

I really wanted to like this tale of the face that launched a thousand ships, because it focused on a less infamous period of Helen's life and I thought it would allow for more character development and let us get to know Helen and other characters and what would motivate their later choices. While it is well written with good descriptions, unfortunately, the characters are rather flat and there were too many times when I felt like their behavior or decisions just didn't make any sense. For example, Helen is worried that Menelaus will rape her and then she'll be forced to marry him - this part didn't bother me since it's true in history that a violated woman would be forced to marry her rapist to save her "honor". What troubled me was that if Helen was so desperate to escape marrying Menelaus, and so prepared to run away with Theseus, why not just claim Theseus raped her (or better yet, sleep with him and then claim it was rape) so then they would be "forced" to marry? As escape plans go, wouldn't this be a lot easier than an elaborate plan to slip away in the night, hid her on his ship, and then come up with a fake identity once in Athens? I understand the whole premise of the story is a twist on Helen's abduction so she needed some reason to run away with Theseus, but if you can't explain why the characters didn't chose a different, more logical, seemingly easier route, the whole concept falls apart.

I also struggled to understand why a princess was so often alone, or wandering the palace unescorted especially when it was full of suitors lusting after her. More than once she is told off for it yet she keeps doing it, even after experiencing unwanted attention when caught out on her own. The one time she does attempt to avoid crossing the palace alone at night, instead of just finding someone to escort her back to her quarters, she stays with her guests until so late at night she is literally nodding off. She has maids and servants, and there's no reason she wouldn't have one with her to see her back to her room.

I could go on with more, greater examples of such illogical behavior but I don't wish to add spoilers. Suffice to say, there was too much in this that didn't make sense or felt contrived for the sake of the plot or scene.

On top of that, I did not find the characters inspiring. Theseus has little depth and serves only as protector, while Helen defines the role of damsel in distress. Though it took guts to abandon and leave behind her whole world, she spends half the time in fearful frets and collapsing into Theseus's arms.

The biggest criticism I'm seeing from other reviews is that the ending is something of a cliffhanger, that it ends too suddenly without closure. I did not feel this to be the case because if you are familiar with the legend of the Trojan War and Helen's story, you know what comes next. The ending was supposed to show the reader why Helen later makes the fateful choice she does, igniting the Trojan War, which it does do. Perhaps it wasn't wise for the author to write a novel that, in the end, only suited people who are already familiar with Helen's story, but that doesn't mean I would say the ending is poor.

So there's definitely some good elements to the story since I was compelled to see the story through to the end, and it's well written, but unfortunately the characters let it down.

Buy the Book

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About the Author

Amalia Carosella graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelors degree in Classical Studies and English. An avid reader and former bookseller, she writes about old heroes and older gods. She lives with her husband in upstate New York and dreams of the day she will own goats (and maybe even a horse, too). For more information, visit her blog at www.amaliacarosella.com. She also writes fantasy and paranormal romance as Amalia Dillin. You can also connect with Amalia on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter here and here.

Helen of Sparta Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, April 1
Review at Unshelfish
Review at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, April 2
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Friday, April 3
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Saturday, April 4
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Monday, April 6
Review at Curling Up By the Fire
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, April 7
Spotlight at leeanna.com

Wednesday, April 8
Review at Historical Readings and Reviews

Thursday, April 9
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Friday, April 10
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, April 13
Interview at Book Babe
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Obsession

Tuesday, April 14
Review at Forever Ashley

Wednesday, April 15
Review at Just One More Chapter
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Thursday, April 16
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, April 17
Review at Impressions in Ink

Saturday, April 18
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Monday, April 20
Review at Book Lovers Paradise
Interview at The Maiden's Court

Tuesday, April 21
Review at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, April 22
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Review: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

Received ARC from publisher via NetGalley.
Release date: March 11, 2014

Philologist Diana Morgan has always had a fascination with the legend of the Amazons from the time her supposedly mentally ill grandmother claimed to be one and even gave her a notebook with a dictionary of a strange, unknown language. So when Diana is approached by a mysterious man with a photograph of an archaeological site covered in the very same language (which I suspect is supposed to be the language from the Phaistos Disc), she can’t resist the offer to investigate.

Running parallel to her story is that of Myrina, a young woman struggling to survive within classic tales from Greek mythology and Homer's Troy, who will stop at nothing to protect her younger sister. But Fortier's retelling is anything but traditional and manages to put realistic spins on The Iliad that link several elements from history and mythology. Though the premise of novels like this can sometimes be a little far-fetched, this was one of the more believable ones.

I love a good treasure hunt/archaeological mystery and the fact that it was based on Greek mythology intrigued me more. From the time I was 12, when I first learned about classical mythology, I've been fascinated by it so this was right up my alley. There's lots of action and adventure as Diana follows clues taking her in Myrina's footsteps across the Mediterranean but the character development isn't neglected either and the personal journeys that both the main characters go through make it difficult to put down. 608 pages may be longish for an action novel but they flew by. The feminism could be a little heavy handed at times but that's to be expected from a novel about a sisterhood and it's important to remember the brutal world the Amazons lived in and particularly how women were often treated.

While Diana's chapters are told in first person, Myrina's are told in third person, which is not normally something I'm fond of but it works well to distinguish the different time periods. Despite being split over thousands of years, the book flows between the two worlds effortlessly.