Aphrodite’s Tears

Author/Guide: Hannah Fielding

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2000s: The investigation of an ancient shipwreck, becomes a web of dark obsession, mystery and seduction

ISBN: 978-0995566767
Genre: Fiction, Romance

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What you need to know before your trail

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 Theodorakis.

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 Theodorakis 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?

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Travel Guide

Greece

The author used two very real sites as inspiration for her story of underwater intrigue

Helios is a fictional island created purely for the author to merge two real stories and a fictional plot based on this inspiration.

The first is a famous wreck of a Roman Galleon, first explored in the early fifties, by Jacques Cousteau and his team. It had been discovered by a lobster gatherer near a small island, Le Grand Congloue situated across the water from Marseilles on the southern French coast, The galleon had been carrying a mixed cargo, including amphorae filled with wine, still sealed in one of the earthenware pots his team brought to the surface, although it had lost its alcohol content.

The owner’s trademark SES identified the cargo as having belong to the Roman shipping manage Marcus Sestius in 3rd century BC Sestius had been a exporter on the greek island of Delos. A group of ruined Roman villas on the magical island of Delos today includes The House of the Trident with a mosaic floor which depicts a trident and possibly Sestius’s insignia

Helice, (Helike)

This port was still thought to be located under 10 metres of mud in the Gulf of Corinth. This Greek city was mentioned by Homer when he listed the powerful cities which assembled against Troy. It’s thought that here, the city still exists and explorers across the years have tried to find it and its ruins

In 2001, the city was found, buried in an ancient lagoon near the village of Rizomylos and not in the Gulf of Corinth after all.

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

There is a lot going on in this novel to enjoy and the historical angle was really interesting. Sunken treasure and lost cities? Well that had me very alert. There was a lot of sensual encounters as with her other books and I admit I skipped over these as I was much more interested in the boats! Not sure what that says about me, but let’s just say Oriel is a fast worker and I was amused rather than interested in her romantic entanglements. The mystery of the sunken treasure is very unique and even the author note had me googling and looking things up to explore more!

Oriel gets involved and immersed in her own story very quickly and the romantic entanglements are fraught with danger and intrigue. Once again, Hannah Fielding brings her characters and immerses them into some of the most fascinating locations in fiction. This story for me has a very unique premise and the mystery was nicely done.