Book Review-The Book of Helen by Sherry Antonetti

What do you get when you cross a dethroned demi-goddess with a childhood rival?  (And , no.  This isn't the beginning of a bad joke!)  You get scandal, jealousy, strategy, survival, redemption, retribution, and intrigue all wrapped in one.

If you consider mythology a type of history then The Book of Helen is a great example of historical fiction.  If you don't, then it's just great fiction.  Sherry Antonetti had her work cut out for her when she decided to write about Helen of Troy.  Sorting through the many myths that surround Helen and compiling them into one comprehensive character would scare most writers off but not this one.  Antonetti artfully created a three-dimensional character out of a mythical demi-goddess.  This story is the fruit of her research and her imagination.

I have to admit that it took me a while to get into this book but once I did, I was hooked.  The Book of Helen tells what happened to Helen at the age of sixty-five after her husband, Menelaus, died.  Not only does she lose her power, she also loses her home and what is left of her family.  In the style of a true survivor, Helen travels to Rhodes to live out her exile with her childhood friend and the sitting Queen of Rhodes, Polyoxo.  Unfortunately for Helen, Queen Polyoxo is not the friend that Helen thinks she is. 

What follows is a story of survival, redemption, intrigue, revenge, and festering wounds that are constantly fed by resentment and the stories of the court poets.  The Book of Helen is a book that will affect your heart, your mind, your curiosity, and your fascination with mythology.  The Book of Helen is available on Amazon Kindle and from Muse It Up Publishing in ebook format.

Enjoy!

Laura

Sherry Antonetti is a Catholic writer, happily married, and mother to ten children. Past publications include the Catholic Digest, Faith and Family Live, National Catholic Register, the Catholic Standard, East Texas Catholic and the Washington Post. The Book of Helen via Museitup Publishing, is her first foray into the world of Historical Fiction. You can email her at sherryantonettiwrites@yahoo.com.