"Xerxes, the Great King of Persia, invades Greece in 480 B.C. at the head of a massive army. Three hundred Spartans and King Leonidas die heroically blocking the Persian advance at the pass of Thermopylae.
The Persians are poised to conquer all of Greece. The only one standing in their way is a woman – Gorgo, Queen of Sparta.
Though history has relegated her role to that of a bystander, what if she played a central role in the Greek resistance to the Persian invasion. What if she kept her true role a secret in order to play it more effectively? What if she was hiding other secrets too – dark secrets of murder and vengeance? What if the only person who truly appreciated her genius was an enemy prisoner whom she has vowed to kill? What if after their victory, the Greeks start to turn on each other? What if, eventually, Gorgo has to choose between the security of Sparta and safety of her son? And what if the only one who could find a way out is the same prisoner who had once fought against the Spartans?" - Authoramp.com
This a review for Authoramp.com, which this happens to be my second authoramp review. I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. It was good, but I had some troubles getting through it. One of the reasons I had trouble getting through it was because of the slow pace it had or at least that is how it felt to me. Another reason would be that this is the first historical fiction book I have ever read. Also I think it was very heavy in detail, so much that it felt like a lecture. Also I would have liked more of Gorgo and not as much about everyone else. I liked the flash backs a lot and wished there were more, especially between her and her father. I also liked the concept that Alexander was reading a manuscript of what happened to Gorgo and the people of her time. The novel had good character development, but there were a lot of characters and it could get hard to keep track of. I wish there had been more detail on the parts where Gorgo had to "choose between the security of Sparta and the safety of her son." Overall it was an okay book, but I would not read it again.
Just because I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would does not mean you guys won't enjoy it because everyone has different preferences. Maybe this just is not the right genre for me? So if you enjoy historical fiction, try this book. It cannot hurt. Also if you're into great descriptive scenes of war then it might be a good choice for you. This book definitely has a lot of great descriptive scenes of war! I will leave the link for anyone who is interested in buying the book below.
Have a Wonderful Night!,
--Ashley <3
Amazon(Paperback):http://www.amazon.com/The-Queen-Sparta-Ancient-Greece/dp/1782797505
AuthorAmp: www.authoramp.com