Review of 'The necklace of Goddess Athena'

About the author

Effrosyni Moschoudi was born and brought up in Athens, Greece. She has a BSc in Computer Science and has worked for large companies for twenty years, mainly in the hotel and airline business. Her work background has been diverse and has involved among other things computer support, customer care, office management, aircraft material purchasing, logistics as well as translations of airline magazines. Effrosyni has been writing since childhood, starting with rhymes and poems and moving on gradually to short stories, articles and novels. Recently, she discovered the joys of blogging. Her future plans for her blog involve hosting fellow authors with interviews and reviews of their books. She lives in a quaint seaside town near Athens, Greece with her husband Andy and a naughty cat called Felix. She is passionate about books and movies and suffers from a strange fixation on Twilight and Robert Pattinson.

About the book

Efimios is an ancient Greek and an unsung hero of Athens. He has saved the city countless times by undertaking time-travelling missions as instructed by Goddess Athena herself. Now an elderly man, he sends his son Phevos and his adopted daughter Daphne on a time-travelling quest to modern-day Athens. Mysterious as always, he only advises his children to look out for the signs without offering any explanations. Mystified, yet eager to obey their father’s will, Phevos and Daphne settle down in this new world, having been offered assistance by two orphaned siblings: Ksenia and Manos. New friendships and romantic love change their lives while their father’s covert purpose is gradually revealed. As the youngsters continue to unravel the secrets of their family past, inevitably they get caught up in the ongoing conflict between two Gods, one of which becomes their protector and the other, their worst nemesis. Who will prevail when the rival Gods meet again and will the mortal bystanders survive to tell the tale?

Links

Blog: www.effrosinimoss.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Necklaceathena

Twitter: https://twitter.com/frostiemoss

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7362780.Effrosyni_Moschoudi

My review

I was thrilled when I came across this book, having ‘friended’ the author, Effrosyni Moschoudi on Twitter. It attracted me immediately being set in Athens, a city I know and love. Moreover it has a fascinating storyline which involves time travel from ancient Greece to the present day when Efimos sends his son Phevos and his adopted daughter Daphne on a quest to Athens.

I really enjoyed the modern day story too of their friendship with orphaned brother and sister, Ksenia and Manos.

As their father’s purpose is gradually revealed throughout the book, the author brings the two stories together. Added to the mix is a little classical history and I loved the rivalry between the gods, Poseidon and his niece Athena.

The ending is superbly constructed and I only wish I had half the imagination of this talented new writer who manages to combine a good story, romance, time travel and classical history. My only regret is that there isn’t more of the story set in ancient Athens. The author gives us a tantalizing glimpse and then it’s back to the present day. Maybe this is something we can look forward to in the next book?  Having said that, this story kept me riveted and although I really wanted to know how it ended; at the same time I didn’t want it to end- a remarkable achievement!

Best for – anyone who enjoys a romantic story with a difference – you won’t be disappointed.

My rating

4.5/5