Review: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Juliet comes a mesmerizing novel about a young scholar who risks her reputation—and her life—on a thrilling journey to prove that the legendary warrior women known as the Amazons actually existed.

Oxford lecturer Diana Morgan is an expert on Greek mythology. Her obsession with the Amazons started in childhood when her eccentric grandmother claimed to be one herself—before vanishing without a trace. Diana’s colleagues shake their heads at her Amazon fixation. But then a mysterious, well-financed foundation makes Diana an offer she cannot refuse.

Traveling to North Africa, Diana teams up with Nick Barran, an enigmatic Middle Eastern guide, and begins deciphering an unusual inscription on the wall of a recently unearthed temple. There she discovers the name of the first Amazon queen, Myrina, who crossed the Mediterranean in a heroic attempt to liberate her kidnapped sisters from Greek pirates, only to become embroiled in the most famous conflict of the ancient world—the Trojan War. Taking their cue from the inscription, Diana and Nick set out to find the fabled treasure that Myrina and her Amazon sisters salvaged from the embattled city of Troy so long ago. Diana doesn’t know the nature of the treasure, but she does know that someone is shadowing her, and that Nick has a sinister agenda of his own. With danger lurking at every turn, and unsure of whom to trust, Diana finds herself on a daring and dangerous quest for truth that will forever change her world.

Sweeping from England to North Africa to Greece and the ruins of ancient Troy, and navigating between present and past, The Lost Sisterhood is a breathtaking, passionate adventure of two women on parallel journeys, separated by time, who must fight to keep the lives and legacy of the Amazons from being lost forever.

Kindle Edition, 608 pages

Expected publication: March 11th 2014 by Ballantine Books (first published 2013) 

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Kristine's Thoughts:

 

* I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.*

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of historical fiction and an even bigger fan when there are parallel stories between past and present. This book showed great promise from the very first page. The synopsis is very detailed for this book so I won't spend too much time re-creating the story, instead I will try to put into words how I felt about it.

Basically, Diana has always been obsessed with the Amazons because of her Grandmother and due to unusual circumstances she finds herself on an adventure of mystery, danger and intrigue as she follows the long lost trail of them. Her motivating factor is to learn more about her Grandmother as well as the ancient Amazons.  Armed with her Grandmother's stories, notebook and a bracelet she begins an incredible journey to find the answers only to find more questions and a whole lot of danger.

Initially I was drawn to Myrina's story in the past more than Diana's in the present. This is usually the case for me whenever I read a book that alternates between past and present. I wasn't surprised that I was enjoying it more. I didn't know a whole lot about Greek Mythology or the Amazons and I found myself totally submersed. I loved the Myrina/Paris part of the story. However, it didn't take long for Diana's present day story to pick up the pace and I found myself enjoying it equally. With everything that happens within the pages I could not figure out the connection or how it would play out which was wonderful. All too often I have a story figured out too fast which can sometimes take away from my enjoyment. Was Nick a good guy or a bad guy? I just didn't know and the more that happened the more I couldn't wait to find out.

Fortier does a remarkably detailed job in her writing of the past and it is very obvious that she knows her stuff. Her writing style is not "stuffy" and her facts were written in a way that were interesting and easy to understand. There are many characters and landscapes within this book that she writes flawlessly. I was really blown away by the story which is a good thing seeing as how the book is over 600 pages long!

If you are a fan of historical fiction and stories that weave between past and present, this book is just the book for you. It was the first book by Anne Fortier for me but after reading it I have added Juliet (her first novel) to my "to be read" list. I loved every minute of it.

About the Author

Anne Fortier grew up in Denmark, but immigrated to the United States in 2002. She holds a Ph.D. in the History of Ideas and co-produced the Emmy-winning documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia (2005). Her first novel in English, JULIET (2010), was published in over 30 countries and became a New York Times bestseller. Her next book, THE LOST SISTERHOOD, will be out on March 11, 2014. 

Website-http://www.annefortier.com/
Twitter-AnneFortier