DAUGHTER OF RUINS by Yvette Manessis Corporon

Narration by Alex Sarrigeorgiou was throughly enjoyable and very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks

This is set in Corfu and Cephalonia with a bit set in America. A beautifully written and deeply moving story that follows three women whose lives are intertwined, as they endeavor to control their destinies through sacrifices and struggles. Demitra’s mother died in America in the 1930s when Demitra was three years old. Her father took her to the Greek island of, Cephalonia, to live. Demitra is lonely and dreams her dead mother watches over her. When she is of age, she refuses to marry the man her father has chosen for her. She knew what her father expected of her, that marriage and motherhood were her predestined fate. Demitra falls in love with painting and soon begins an affair with a forbidden man. We meet Elena, a beautiful Italian woman who has dreamed of a life away from the brothels where she was raised. Maria lives in a poor mountain village in 1921 and at the age of eighteen, is sent by her father to America as a picture bride to marry a stranger.

It is a riveting and inspiring tale about the power of family, friendship, and ultimately, the power of women to change their own destinies. In this gripping historical women’s fiction read spanning from the 1020s-1950s from the Greek island of Cephalonia to New York City; tells the tale of three strong Mediterranean women and the descendant who uncovers their secrets while forging her own path.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this skilled writer. I was fully invested in these memorable characters from the beginning to end.

I really enjoyed Daughter of Ruins! The rich history and beautiful settings Yvette Manessis Corporon takes us through were stunning. I did have a bit of trouble following all the characters in the audiobook at first, but as I became familiar with the characters, the story unfolded beautifully. The journeys of these compelling women are captivating, and the mix of Greek culture and mythology added a special touch. A lovely read overall!

Review as posted to my Instagram today:

PUB DAY REVIEW

Thank you #partners @booksparks @harpermuse for my #gifted physical and audio copies #frc2024 #fallpagesandprints

Daughter of Ruins
Yvette Manessis Corporon
Available now

📖 Daughter of Ruins is a sweeping historical fiction novel following three women as they struggle to control their destinies, fighting to become the women they were meant to be.

💭 I really, really enjoyed my time reading Daughter of Ruins. While the story mostly centers around the main protagonist, Demitra, in the mid 1900s, it also includes two other perspectives and timelines (earlier 1900s). The women's stories are all different, but have multiple overlapping themes, as Greek women — like many women of the past — were subjected to horrible mistreatment and oppression.

Steeped in the rich history, culture, and myths of Greece, Daughter of Ruins is a poignant, captivating story that is simultaneously sorrowful and optimistic. I always love learning from fiction, and I'm certainly leaving this novel with a wealth of knowledge about Greek history.

🎧 The audiobook is narrated by Alex Sarrigeorgio. She does a wonderful job in her performance, and really captures the emotional resonance of the novel. That said, as there are three women's perspectives here, I think it may have benefited from multiple narrators. That's a minor complaint though, as I did absolutely enjoy it!

📌 Available now!

4.5 stars.

This is a powerful, melancholic, harrowing story that sprinkles the reader with hope throughout and closes with some merited peace.

True to most historical fiction featuring women, the atrocities committed against these women are stomach-churning, and there are few men without a penchant for barbarism toward women. The few who are humane and respectful are anomalous, sometimes reviled by other men. The themes of motherhood, motherlessness, and childlessness prevail with the protagonists yearning for that person in palpable and excruciating ways. They also become motherly to those without their moms. Every woman in the book is maternal, and every story is as tragic and empowering as the Greek goddesses Demitra shares.

My favorite character was Stella -- her relationship with Demitra made my heart ache. In a book where everyone seems damaged and hardened by trauma, Stella loves so wholly and freely that she is a bastion of grace and fortitude in dark times for many. I absolutely loved her.

This story will disturb and dispirit, and then rebuild the reader's emotions from the ashes of what survives, daring us to dream and believe in one another again.

*P.S. The narration was wonderful.

Daughter of Ruins is a dual timeline novel that follows three women whose fates mirror those of the women in ancient Greek myth—out of their control.

Demetria is coming of age in a post WWII Greece after Italian and German occupation, struggling to connect with her father who gets more and more closed off from her emotionally with each passing day. When a forbidden love changes her perspective, and she refuses an arranged marriage, Demetria returns home to make peace with her father and instead faces an earthquake that changes not only her future, but that of her beloved Cephalonia.

Maria is a mail order bride who is essentially sold by her father to a new life in America after WWI when his funds to support his family run low. Alone in a country where she has no family, no friends, and does not know the language life is cruel. It is only her daughter who keeps her sane, until her husband threatens her fragile balance, and her life is never the same again.

Elena’s mother is an Italian prostitute, and she has hopes of a better future for herself but finds no one wants to hire anyone with her family history to do anything other than follow in “the business”. Alone in Greece, she reluctantly befriends a young Demetria and her stepmother Stella, who try to help Elena find a better path forward, despite a cruel man who robs her of her most prized possession.

Though the majority of the book follows Demetria, all three women work to find out who they are in a world where men rule their lives, leaving them with little personal freedom. Each woman faces unimaginable heartbreak and comes out stronger despite their suffering. Like most historical fiction, this novel takes a bit of time to “get into” but knowledge gained is worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse, and author Yvette Manessis Corporon for the advanced copy of the book. Daughter of Ruins is out on October 8th! All opinions are my own.

There's so much to unpack with this one! All of the heartbreak and missed opportunities mixed with resiliency. The women of this book face challenge after challenge from the men in their lives with such inspirational strength. It's wonderful to see how their stories tie into one another. This book definitely leaves you wondering how each of their lives may have been if not for the perils each woman faced. The villains each woman encountered through marriage, profession or happenstance.

Thank You, NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to Daughter of Ruins by Yvette Manessis Corporon.

I'm glad I found this gem.

This is the story of the resilience of a woman who overcomes her circumstances and makes a life of her own choosing, despite the setbacks and obstacles.

So, I would definitely recommend this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but it did take me until about the halfway point to get in to the story. And even after that, the story wavered in keeping me engaged. I also did not like that the female characters seemed to be dumbed down. But other than that, the overall story is good.

Between the well developed characters, the family secrets, and the story detail, this was an amazing novel.

Three women. Three broken hearts. One story of their connection and similarities.

Demitra is the main protagonist. She was born in America, but when her mother died when she was three years old, her father returned to Greece to raise her. We follow her life from the 1940s onward, through decades of heartbreaks and successes.
Elena is an Italian woman living near Demitra. As a child, Demitra things she is so beautiful. It is later discovered that she is a prostitute. Over the decades, she goes from being young, happy, and beautiful to broken once the German's arrive in WWII. She is never the same.
Maria's timeline is in the 1920s and 1930s. She is a Greek Picture Bride (essentially a mail order bride). Her family sold her to a man in America and she is sent off to live with him.

This is a tragic story with a lot of loss. It highlights resiliency in these women, as they are bound by that and loss. While their paths are different, they are also similar.

The Greek culture is not one that I know a whole lot about. I obviously studied the mythology in school, so I knew those aspects. And as a midwesterner, I am very familiar with Greek diners. So I had that connection. So this book was a learning opportunity for me as well.

Alex Sarrigeorgiou narrates the audiobook and does a fabulous job.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Historical fiction isn't something I read often. Not unlike sci-fi/fantasy novels, it requires a higher level of effort from the reader than other genres. It can be slower to suck you in, demanding patience as the story threads weave themselves together. But if you're lucky, as the pieces dance and settle into their places, you'll be left with an intricate tapestry that takes your breath away. Daughter of Ruins stands in testament of that truth. It serves as a beacon to how powerful the genre can be.

Demitra is a motherless daughter brought back to her father's home country of Greece after losing his wife in America. She uses drawing as a coping mechanism in her childhood loneliness, sketching Italian soldiers of the World Wars where they find leisure on the Greek beaches. Then the war takes a turn and the once lithe and eager bodies are piled high and lifeless. There are many hard lessons like this one in store for Demitra as she navigates the world, and this book follows her through many trials and tribulations through her life, though it is not all hardship. Her journey takes her from Greece to America and back again, and all the while she is developing into the woman she was destined to be.

I think the story captured the life of a young woman so well. It was a difficult time in Greece, and a difficult time for women. Though she had no direct maternal influence, there were many strong women mentors in Demitra's life. With an artist's curiosity she observed the world around her, turning her wisdom and unique understanding into art.

I am still quite stunned by the intricate structure of this novel. Demitra uses many figures of Greek mythology to analogize the human lives around her and translates them into her art. She dives deep into her understanding of the gods before she draws them, and though they are done with simple materials, her art has a depth that is undeniable by those who witness it.

This is an emotional book. There is grief and sorrow and growth and healing and hope and faith and passion and curiosity and pain and confusion and determination and love. There is tenderness and betrayal. There is scheming and outsmarting and deceit and compassion. There is everything under the umbrella of human emotion, because this is a human story.

I will not soon forget this story. Demitra and Maria and Elena and Aphrodite and all of those who weave in and out of these pages. I listened to this as an advanced listeners copy from netgalley and the publisher and I have nothing but great things to say about the incredible narrator Alex Sarrigeorgiou. Phenomenal work. There is something special about the story of a woman coming into her own. I hope you will read it.

4 ☆
-
This story is tragically beautiful. I don't even know what to say about this story except READ! That's the review!
The audiobook is chef's kiss; the narrator did a great job telling the story. She was extremely easy to listen to.
-
Thank you, Netgalley, Harper Muse, and Harper Collins for the eBook and audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was a heartfelt, emotional, and captivating journey through the lives of three courageous women who faced numerous challenges. I was unable to put this novel down and read it in one sitting. I highly recommend this remarkable novel to everyone.

Thank you for this ARC #HarperCollins,#Netgalley, #DaughterofRuins

I couldn't stop listening to this one. I got this as an audiobook ARC (thanks, netgalley) and just lost myself in this beautifully realistic story.

This story mainly takes place in Greece during the time between 1920 and 1953. It follows the life of Dimitra, a young girl whose mother died when Dimitra was very young. Dimitra lives a fairly lonely life with her father, who expects her to behave like a traditional Greek girl where her only value is in that of a wife and mother. When her father eventually remarries, Dimitra learns the value of authentic female companionship. Women lifting up other women and women celebrating women is a reoccurring theme in this story, but it's subtle. As Dimitra gets older, her father's desire to marry her off increases, but Dimitra wants more than to be someone's betrothed. She wants love.

Elena is a prostitute from Italy. Her mother was a prostitute too. She is beautiful and caring. The Italian soldiers she services on the Greek island are kind and gentle, but things change with the German occupation.

Maria is from a small Greek town. Her family gets by, but barely. To make ends meet, her father decides to turn her into a mail-order-bride. She embarks on a journey from Greece to America where she finds that the American Dream looks different for everyone.

These three women have lives that entwine with each other, and Corporon has done a marvelous job at crafting their stories together seamlessly. I want to add all her books to my cart and go lose myself in them. This is a book for the readers who love a good historical fiction novel. There is love, female empowerment, poverty, destitution, character development, found family, and mythology all in a story that centers around three strong women forging their way in life.

The story took me through so many emotions. I laughed, got angry, and cried. I was reminded of my own life and how love looks different for everyone.

I listened to the audiobook put out by Harper Muse Audiobooks and narrated by Alex Sarrigeorgiou. The narrator's use of accents and her clear voice made this a pleasure to listen to. I was fully immersed in my "reading" experience with her as my guide. I would absolutely listen to another audio that she narrates.

Daughter of Ruins is a captivating journey through the lives of generations of Greek women, intertwining past and present in a beautifully woven narrative. Yvette Manessis Corporon crafts a story that effortlessly tugs at the reader’s emotions, ranging from joyful nostalgia to deep sorrow. The characters are wonderfully relatable, with rich development that draws you into their personal struggles, hopes, and dreams.

The emotional depth of the story is further enhanced by the beautiful narration of Alex Sarrigeorgiou, whose tone, annunciation, and character depth bring this multi-generational tale to life. Her performance pulled me into the story, making every character feel vivid and real.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy family sagas, historical fiction, or those with a deep appreciation for stories that explore the complexities of heritage, identity, and the bonds between women across generations. If you’re drawn to narratives that evoke a wide range of emotions and transport you across time and place, Daughter of Ruins will not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley, Yvette Manessis Corporon, and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for the opportunity to listen and review Daughter of Ruins.