REVIEW: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

When offered five thousand dollars to help interpret the writings of an ancient civilization, can a young academic resist the pull of adventure? Especially when this job may prove the existence of the long sought after Amazons? Did this cult of women ever really exist and was her grandmother one of them? History, mythology and contemporary academia combine in an intriguing adventure.

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
Category: Contemporary and Historical, Mythology
Publisher: Ballantine Books (Mar 11, 2014)
ISBN: 978-0345536228
Blue Ribbon Rating: 5 + RR
Format read: print

A fascinating tale, THE LOST SISTERHOOD unites two stories running parallel between an ancient civilization and present day, both on an adventure that promises to solve the mythical mystery of the Amazons. Any strong woman will wonder…what if?

Dr. Diana Morgan, a twenty-eight-year-old philologist is settling in to enjoy academia at Oxford in present day England. Her latest lecture on the fate of the Amazon women warriors, which have always been rumored as myth, has yet to convince her male colleagues of any truth to her outlandish theories. But Diana is convinced, not only are they real, but her Granny was one of them.

After her unsuccessful lecture to her peers, where she is left to feel like a fool, Diana is approached by a mysterious stranger who tempts her with photos to prove that the Amazons really do exist. All she needs to do is get on a plane to Amsterdam and decipher some script on a wall at a secret archeological dig. Once she agrees to accept the job and the five thousand dollars they’ll pay her to do it, she will be told more about the location. Dare she leave the safety of academia, a budding relationship and her students to fend for themselves, all for a promise from a man she barely knows?

As we’re left to wonder what Diana will do, we’re introduced to Myrina and Lilli, two sisters forced to cross a desert alone after a terrible illness kills their mother and fellow villagers in the late Bronze Age. Lilli is blinded by the illness during their journey which leaves Myrina not just concerned for herself but more than anything, anxious about her sister’s future and safety wherever they settle. A fierce female hunter, Myrina is strong enough to survive, but what about her younger sister? Can they find the temple of the Moon Goddess where their mother has always told them they’ll be safe? And if they arrive alive after forging through wasteland conditions, what will be their reception?

I love nothing better than an adventure evolving around an archaeological dig and the aura it illuminates. Add in the rumor of an ancient cult of woman warriors and those who wish to destroy them and I’m enthralled. Throw in artifacts for money and the danger that entails and I can’t stop reading. Give me smart women doing what they love and I’m captivated. But that’s only part of this novel and why it’s so fascinating. The two stories that flow back and forth between the Bronze Age and present day kept me mesmerized and sometimes about to scream when I was left hanging by one scenario while presented with another. This back and forth tug of war was maddening and it is also what made the book deliciously addictive because I loved the pacing. The historical portion of the novel was magnetic, adding more depth and excitement to the contemporary story. Of all the places visited historically in this novel, I especially loved imagining Troy. Myrina and Paris were such a poignant couple.

This novel is exactly the type of book I love to read. There is nothing I can imagine being done to it that would have increased my enjoyment. I loved every word, every descriptive clause, the ebb and flow of the two worlds colliding, knowing that eventually I would know the truth. And wow — what a story! Of course, there is a romance, more than one, actually, and they’re also part of the adventure. Not like a suspense type of romance but an inevitable outcome of being in danger together. You just know these couples will be explosive together but can they trust one another?

At over 580 pages, this book could have easily slogged on and become boring, but it never did. There weren’t over-descriptive sections that slowed the story down at all. I appreciated every bit of it and relished the content. This epic novel is the type of book that beckons reading from cover to cover, in a reading marathon if at all possible, for the pure joy of it. I’m mourning the loss, having finished and left wanting more of this world. It entertained me for days, left me wondering about it when I wasn’t reading it. It sort of consumed my every waking thought, made me talk about it with friends and family, enfolding me within its pages, imagining what will happen next.

Anne Fortier creates a distinctive, addictive narrative that makes this novel impossible to put down. THE LOST SISTERHOOD is such a fun book to read, which earns it Romance Junkies’ 5 Blue Ribbons, plus, the honor of a Recommended Read status for its imaginative, well-balanced story. THE LOST SISTERHOOD is epic adventure romance that will become your next obsession.

Reviewed by Dorine, courtesy of Romance Junkies.

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