The Figurine by Victoria Hislop was a beautifully written book from start to finish with a eye catching book cover that was just beautiful as well, Victoria has away of writing all her books from the heart and once you start to read from the first few pages, you will be taken in time of the book you are reading and will become apart of her story.

I can not recommend her books enough. They have all been a wonderful and beautiful read. The Figurine was no different. It was Just Magical, it just took my breath away!

So open your kindle or book and fly away with the story......

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Publishers for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another intriguing story from Victoria Hislop that does not disappoint. We are treated to family feuds, romance and disappointments against a fascinating backdrop of Greek culture and history as Helena seeks to make amends for her cruel grandfather's past actions.

Immaculately researched and knowledgeably written, through the medium of a novel this author deals with the tricky subject of the illegal acquisition of historical artefacts. The central character is Helena, who inherits her grandparents flat in Athens and finds herself faced with a moral dilemma and challenges she was not expecting. We go with her as she uncovers evidence of her grandfather's history and finds her own sense of place in Greece. Another thought provoking novel from this respected author.

Brilliant book set in Greece. I loved the story and how it told of the story of Helena, an anglo greek main character. I felt like we grew up with her as she changed from a child to a young woman. I too visited that part of Greece when I was a teenager and the description of the streets and the large apartments brought back many memories.
Another great Victoria Hislop story.

This is classic Hislop. Set primarily in Greece, the story develops from a time when Helena (half-Greek, half-Scottish) first comes to Athens alone to meet and stay with her grandparents, to the later period post University when she comes to work on an archeological dig and her encounters with various others along the way. There were elements which didn't seem quite believable and at times it did feel there was an element of 'preaching' about how collectors/museums/the British have taken Greek antiquities, but the story itself was a good one - perfect for a summer beach holiday. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC

Apologies for the delay in reviewing.
Another thought provoking book from Victoria Hislop, teaching the reader about the recent history of Greece mixed with a fictional story about a young girl growing up to discover the real facts about her Greek family
Happy to recommend

Despite looking forward to this book I found it over long and rather boring. It read like teen novel with a bit of Greek history thrown in. Deeply disappointing as I have enjoyed the author’s early books.

Again a magnificent saga mixing past and present in the life of Helen born to a Scottish Doctor father and a Greek teacher mother.. Though Helen’s mother is Greek she allows her daughter to spent summers with her distant Grandfather who dominates her kindly Grandmother. In this time we are made aware of her Grandfather’s role as a general in the Junta under the dictatorship that ruled Greece. She spends one last summer with her parents, before her mother dies and she goes to university exploring the heritage of the Greek islands visiting museums. Later she falls for a charismatic lead in uni plays and follows him to Greece on an archaeological dig. But all is not as it seems and added to that she inherits her grandparents apartment after a seemingly ten year legal case and there she finds in her grandfather’s study a multitude of archeological artifacts. With the help of a band of friends both from uni and from her Greek stays she unravels corruption that has lasted from the past to the present.
Another beautiful crafted novel that brings to life the magical country of Greece with its fascinating facts, scenery and history. Victoria has obviously expressed her love for the country and it’s complicated history from classical times to the present day.

What a beautiful story. It is extremely well written and the story flows along like a lovely little stream.
The story was not rushed and kept my interest all the way through despite spanning over decades.
I loved learning about Greek history and antiquities in the process.
The story is about Helen, the daughter of a Scottish father and Greek mother. In her formative years when she starts visiting her grandparents in Athens as a young girl to spending the summer on a Greek Island on an archeological dig. Her first love and friends she met on the way.
I would totally recommend this book and I will be looking out for other Victoria Hislop books.

This was a great novel. I loved its Classical setting, reading about Greek history. I enjoyed the characters within the story and although I could predict the ending it didn't detract me from the story. I enjoyed Helena's story and empathised with her life's ups and downs. Another amazing Victoria Hislop novel.

Helena starts to visit Greece when she is eight years old. She travels over on her summer holidays, her Greek mother keen to ensure her daughter has some connection with her home country, and a fluency with the language. Helena loves her summers in Greece, falls in love with the country, the food, the language and the sights. She is too young to realise her idyllic time spent in Greece was while the country was under the rule of a cruel dictator. Her grandfather is distant and as Helena gets older, his cold and remoteness becomes more disturbing. Helena begins to realise he is a cruel man.

Tensions flare in Greece, with the dictatorship overthrown, meaning Helena can’t return for a few years. Her grandfather passes, and a few years later, her grandmother passes, and she discovers that she has been left the apartment in Athens. When she returns to Athens, she is clearing the apartment and discovers a large number of antiquities. Things that should never have been removed from dig sites in Greece, or that belong in museums. What was her grandfather involved in? As she investigates, she discovers that her grandfather was one of the old regime's cruelest generals, and was involved in some terrible practices.

Helena had spent some time as a volunteer on an archaeology dig, and her passion to save her heritage, while finding out more about it drives her to learn more. She works with some new found friends to discover just how deep the corruption goes, and to make amends for some of her fathers horrific actions.

This story was beautifully written. I felt like I was transported to Greece. The country, the food, the landscape, it was all right in front of me. The passion of the writer shone, and the research was amazing. The book was very long however. As interesting a story as this was, I feel that in places it could have been shorter, and more succinct in places. It dragged at times, and I felt my attention wandering. When I was engaged and interested I loved it. But at times it was a bit tedious to get through sections. But overall, an excellent read which will make you want to travel to Greece!

*I received this copy from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

Victoria Hislop is one of my favourite authors. This appealed to me because we have recently had a few holidays in Greece, and there is something special about the islands. This book centres around Helena, a young child who spends her summers with her Grandparents in Athens.

As an adult, she inherits the flat and its contents. Intertwined with the story is one of love, as she joins her boyfriend on an archaeological dig on a small Aegean Island. The book introduced me to a period of Greece that I never really knew about and the country's complexities of the country. The story is beautiful, intriguing and deeply moving. I would recommend this.

I requested this book because I thought the author was the one who had written The Secret River (who turned out to be Kate Greville), a mistake I regretted. This, sadly, was just chick lit and not an especially engaging example of the genre. The quite serious topic of illicit theft of archaeological remains is just used as background to a simplistic treatment of Greece’s complicated recent history, which in turn is just used as background for a tale of a naive young woman’s revenge on an ex-lover. The writing is pedestrian, the plotting stretches credulity, and the main character is not especially likeable. Don’t bother - I wish I hadn’t.

I felt like I was in Greece myself with the fabulous descriptions. Family, history, intrigue and romance everything I love in a book and Victoria Hislop didn't dissapoint.

I have previously really enjoyed Victoria Hislop's books, but I found this one harder to get into than most. I enjoyed the storyline overall, and liked the characters, but I felt there was quite a lot of unnecessary detail that didn't add to the plot. I did enjoy this book, but not as much as some of Hislop's other novels.

A fantastic read.A really interesting story as we follow Helena's journey from her first visit to Athens as a young girl, where she visits her grandparents and soon realises her grandfather has many secrets and is not nice man and he's the reason her mother left home as soon as she could and never returned to eventually discovering the truth about him many years later. Loved the location and all the interesting historical fiction that makes this a perfect read

I found the story very slow in the beginning- it didn’t really grab my interest until half way through. That said, I enjoyed the subject and found the descriptions of Athens and the smaller Greek islands really interesting. The historical element and the descriptions of archaeology and the trade in stolen artifacts was fascinating. Overall I would recommend this book.

Such an engaging read from the get go!

I honestly loved this one! I loved the writing style and the characters!

In this story, we meet Helena when she is 8 years old. She begins visiting her grandparents every summer in Greece. As each year passes, she begins to learn more about her family history and the troubles in Greece. As Helena grows up, she begins to put the wrongs of certain people in her life right.

It was lovely to read the descriptions of Greece while here on holiday. I loved all the threads in this story and how they connected. I also loved learning about the history (clearly well researched). For me, the story was quite long and at times felt padded out. I wasn’t overly keen on Helena and the way dialogue was written for her. She came across too perfect at times.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, it’s worth a read but for me it’s not Hislop’s best book. I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this, it’s out now!

I enjoyed the latest novel from Victoria Hislop and savoured her beautiful descriptions of life in Greece. I felt at times as if I was in Athens, having coffee or wine with friends. It was a really immersive read.

It was interesting to follow Helena’s journey. As a child she visits her grandparents in Athens and although she enjoys most of her holidays there, there are sinister happenings which she doesn’t at first understand. Later she returns and tries to right the wrongs of her grandfather. The narrative flows at a steady pace, allowing us to experience Greece with Helena and meet some wonderful characters. The Figurine is a very interesting and well-researched novel. It has made me want to return to Greece as soon as I can!