As always with all Hannah Lynn books, I was instantly hooked. I’m a huge fan of anything that has to do with Greek mythology; or Greece in general and this book/story is no exception. A Spartan’s Sorrow* is the second in Lynn’s The Grecian Women Trilogy series and tells the story of Clytemnestra. If you are not familiar (I was not before reading this book) with her story, she was the wife of Agamemnon and queen of Mycenae. She was originally from Sparta, hence the title.
I think the most important thing about her is that she (and is the most pertinent to the plot of this book) was a very protective mother. She had lost a son previous to her other children and then while in Mycenae lost a daughter, Iphigenia, at the hands of Agamemnon. From them on, she vowed to protect her three other children from their father. One of her daughters, Electra, did not like this overprotectiveness but her other children, Chrysothemis and Orestes, didn’t seem to mind.
Ten years later, Agamemnon returns from war and Clytemnestra is still trying to protect her children. She does this by committing a heinous crime that shapes the rest of her life as well as her son’s, Orestes. The rest of the story tells of this journey they take. I didn’t want to give away too much of the plot. You’ll have to go read this book yourself 🙂
I personally love a retelling of Greek mythology, but sometimes I find that authors don’t always know how to write in that genre or style. Therefore, it’s hard to read if you’re not used to this style. There are so many names and locations to remember and take in. Lynn does an excellent job at this style. You find yourself instantly hooked. Like I said before, I did! She also makes it easy to digest all of the story and understand and keep straight all the terms and names. I’m not gonna lie though, I did find myself looking up some of the names.
Check out my other reviews of Hannah’s books here and here.
Let me know if you have already read this book (or any of Hannah’s other books) and your thoughts in the comments below!
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