Aphrodite's Tears by Hannah Fielding Blog Tour review

From Goodreads

In Hannah Fielding’s latest novel a young archaeologist who travels to the remote island of Helios to investigate an ancient shipwreck, becomes caught in a web of dark obsession, mystery and seduction.

In ancient Greece, one of the twelve labours of Hercules was to bring back a golden apple from the Garden of Hesperides. To archaeologist Oriel Anderson, joining a team of Greek divers on the island of Helios seems like the golden apple of her dreams.

Yet the dream becomes a nightmare when she meets the devilish owner of the island, Damian Lekkas. In shocked recognition, she is flooded with the memory of a romantic night in a stranger’s arms, six summers ago. A very different man stands before her now, and Oriel senses that the sardonic Greek autocrat is hell-bent on playing a cat and mouse game with her.

As they cross swords and passions mount, Oriel is aware that malevolent eyes watch her from the shadows. Dark rumours are whispered about the Lekkas family. What dangers lie in Helios: a bewitching land where ancient rituals are still enacted to appease the gods, young men risk their lives in the treacherous depths of the Ionian Sea, and the volatile earth can erupt at any moment?

Will Oriel find the hidden treasures she seeks? Or will Damian’s tragic past catch up with them, threatening to engulf them both? 

(Name change from Goodreads Damian Theodorakis, is now Lekkas)

My thoughts

Hannah Fielding has written an epic style love story set around the Greek Island of Helios. It's apparent to see that Hannah Fielding has an affinity with the Island as she writes about the surroundings with a passion for description and while reading the story you feel that you have been transported there. It's a great way to escape from the dreary wintery weather that we are experiencing at the moment.

Oriel Anderson has been employed by Damian Lekkas a wealthy Greek businessman, to head up a team of divers, as they search an old submerged wreck looking for any historical artefacts that may be lurking there. 

What Oriel doesn't realise is that she has met Damian in the past, albeit very briefly. As Oriel takes up residence in the Lekkas property, she begins to realise that not everyone is happy with her being there. The tensions bubbling under the surface can be felt when certain family members are around, making Oriel feel uncomfortable.

As Damian is keen to pursue Oriel romantically, will she surrender to his charms over time or will other people stand in his way? Like a Greek tragedy will Oriel and Damian have a happy ever after or will fate have other plans for them.

I really enjoyed the writing style of this story and found it to be very reminiscent of how love stories used to be written, it felt quite nostalgic in a good way to read it. The descriptions of what the characters were wearing and how the encounters between the characters were handled, feeding you enough description without the graphic at times gratuitous style that we as readers have got used to now was a joy to read. What a lot of Authors forget is that as readers we have got an imagination and we don't always need all the details written on the page to make us see in our heads what is actually happening between the characters. Sometimes less is more and that is certainly the case in this story. I will be reading more books by this Author in due course as this one was a refreshing change.

I was sent an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review. The above opinions are my own. 

The book will be available in e-book, hardback and paperback on 25th January and is published by London Wall Publishing. The paperback will be available at £7.99 on 25th January.

Hannah Fielding has written other books which are all readily available now. If you enjoy Aphrodite's Tears then why not check out one of her others.

Hannah Fielding can be followed on the following social media sites.

Twitter: @fieldinghannah

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