Bookish Thursday - Hera: Kingdom of Lies by Betsy Ellor

It's time for another book review sponsored by WOW-Women on Writing! And you have until March 15 to hop over and enter to win a copy of the book. 

But, as usual, a bit of the 'business' of the review...

And a few fun facts...

About the author...

And a tiny bit more...

And now for my opinion!

First, I grew up with the standard knowledge of Hera. She was cold, vain, distant - in other words, a real bitch, which is why Zeus was running around with any other female in town. Of course, with Zeus, the female didn't have to be a willing participant. I wasn't really interested in or cared about Hera. However, after reading Hera: Kingdom of Lies I have a new appreciation for Hera. And, what I felt, was a more honest view of her. 

For one thing, I had no idea she had a dragon as a companion. Much less, one with 100 heads and which spoke 100 languages. How handy would that come up when traveling? And for a goddess, Ellor presents her with very real 'human' problems - like what do you do as a female who is trapped in a relationship with an abusive, narcissistic, and controlling husband. Especially when her one true desire is to protect the people she rules over. 

Ellor managed to take an ancient legend and present it in a way which felt very modern in its retelling. I truly enjoyed the book and kept reading to find out how Hera would solve her dilemma. 

There does need to be a trigger warning to anyone picking up the book as there is a lot of spousal abuse, as well as sexual abuse. 

But don't take my word for it, check out the other reviews...