Nice twist on the Helen story, written from her perspective. ( )

I thought was really different. I enjoyed it. ( )

This is a novel about earlier life of Helen. I enjoyed the fact that someone finally take initiative to give Helen a voice and perspective. History or Greek mythology only mentioned Helen in a one dimensional way, the focus were solely on the male figures, while we pondered the question of who Helen is that could cause 10 years Trojan war. ( )

Amalia Carosella's Helen of Sparta gives an interesting spin on the pre-Trojan War Helen. When I initially read this I didn't notice any indication that this was not a standalone book, so what was at first an extremely abrupt ending became a cliffhanger. Since I really don't like being coerced into reading another book it did not help my opinion of the book. So before reading be aware that this is the beginning of a series.

For the most part I liked the presentation of a less passive Helen, one trying to exert her autonomy. Unfortunately there were some places where it seemed a little illogical or contrived for the sake of the story rather than keeping the character true and adjusting the story to the character. This will likely be of little or no concern to many readers since it doesn't really disrupt the flow but some readers will notice and be a bit annoyed.

I know I sound negative thus far yet gave it 4 stars, maybe I'm the illogical one, right? Well, this book had a lot more going for it than it did flaws. The prose is very good and I was largely able to relate to the characters. This is no small feat when talking about both the cultural and historical gaps between that period and my own. Additionally, though I hate surprise cliffhangers, I believe this will be a very engaging series.

I would recommend this for readers of historical fiction and historical romance (in fact, I was a bit surprised and disappointed it had as much of the romance as it did). For people who simply like a good well-written story I would recommend it as well but with the reminder that this is not a standalone.

Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

I'm fine with historical anachronism in works of fiction if it improves the narrative, i.e., creates strong female characters that take charge of their fate to press against the social constraints that surround them. But Helen of Sparta's titular character is a shallow, whiny child-woman with paper-thin characterization and no agency. Coupled with the supporting cast filled with romance novel caricatures and near complete lack of anything resembling believable characterization, the historical anachronism here is just distracting. Helen of Sparta works fine as a standard romance novel hung on a mythology clothes hanger, but there's not much to recommend it to anyone looking for good historical fiction, versus a romance beach read. ( )