Published By: Scotland Street Press
Pages: 260
Released On: 01/05/2023
Seventeen-year-old Thekla needs her quick wits and knife to track down her betrothed, a soldier who has left her at the altar for the third time. Elias the monk travels with her to Constantinople where she meets Irini of Athens, an extraordinarily beautiful orphan who has been brought by powerful Emperor Constantine to marry his son, Co-Emperor Leon. The two women join forces to survive this vigorous, glittering capital of the East, rocked by division and strife. But will Thekla help the ambitious and ruthless Irini of Athens find the power that she craves?
*****
Thanks to The Write Reads for the gifted copy of this title in return for an honest review and spot on the book tour.
I do love a book with maps at the front. I can’t explain why, they just promise a bit of mystery and adventure. I also love that there’s illustrations; not many, but they’re there. Very rarely do we get adult books with illustrations which frankly I think is a missed trick. I love them. Why can’t adults enjoy fun drawings? I often think they add to the reading of the prose too. It’s like a little extra gift. And the illustrations in this book come courtesy of Harry Pizzey.
Janet certainly got the ‘betrayal’ bit of the title right! If anything it should be called betrothal, betrayal, some more betrayal, and even more betrayal. It is a BIG theme.
My main thought when I received the book was that it was another mythological retelling, and I’ve never been shy to admit I’m not the biggest fan of them. However for me, this wasn’t very myth heavy or anything, it felt like contemporary people in an ancient world, and I thought it was pitched well.
I admit, I thought it was a little slow to begin with, and a bit complicated. With names of various characters and locations thrown about, and I had a hard time confidently understanding where we were and who was talking. Having said that, it did lead into the main crux of the story well, setting up the main players, the setting, and the aim of the plot.
Janet is very good at world building. The description of locations, buildings, clothing, of sights, smells and sounds; it really does envelop you into this world, which gives more strength to the story.
Upon reading the synopsis, it sounded like it was going to be a story about a woman who is searching for her betrothed to marry, and it was going to be a road trip of sorts. Which I suppose it was in parts. And whilst that is the story on the surface, there is so much more underneath and it has lots to get your teeth into.
There are many, many characters – I think possibly too many to keep on top of – but there are some important ones. Firstly we have Thekla, our main protagonist. She’s a young girl who knows her own mind. She seemed quite ahead of her time in this book, unwilling to bow down to female expectations. She travels alone, she reads and writes, and she wants to find her man. I really enjoyed reading about her. And then you have Elias, who I would say is the main male character and I really liked him from the off and would gladly have read more of his story. There are of course others, including Irini of Athens mentioned in the synopsis, who are great in their own way, but for me, this was Thekla and Elias’ story through and through.
This is the first book in a four book series (Poison is a Woman’s Weapon is out now; Seizing Power out February 2024, and The Price of Eyes out October 2024). A fairly strong start with some things that needed ironing out for me. I’m not completely sure I’ll read the rest of the series. It was an interesting read and I’m glad to have read it, but it didn’t capture me wholly. But who knows, maybe it’s just getting started and I will enjoy the next books more, who knows. But definitely a strong start for a new historical series.
Overall, it’s well written, with an interesting premise, a low page count (I dislike overly long books), nice illustrations – all good things for me, but I wasn’t captivated fully by the story. But I have seen lots of 4-5 star reviews for it and the things that may not be for me are certainly for others. So in the end, I would definitely recommend it as a fun and interesting historical read.
Books By Your Bedside 