Book Review by Soulla Christodoulou
Hello and welcome to this week’s My Book Love For blog post where I introduce you to the first book in a trilogy by Helena Halme.
I have connected with Helena on Instagram and she has also offered to support my book advertising efforts on Amazon once I get my marketing plan for this year sorted. So she’s not only an author but a great source of support and advice for authors trying to make their mark in this very competitive industry.
So Helena’s book…
Page after page I was pulled into the narrative of The English Heart to see what would happen between Kaisa, a young woman still studying, and Peter, an officer in the Navy.
The story navigates back and forth between their two home countries, Finland and the UK in the 1980s – no mobile phones and not so easy to keep in touch when you’re living in different countries.
I particularly enjoyed the references to Portsmouth where I lived as a student between 1985 and 1989, and really enjoyed the Naval life portrayed here by Helena.
I could also relate to the struggles Kaisa faced, not only at home with her turbulent family life but also in the UK with the sharp contrast in lifestyle and culture. Coming to a new country at such a young age is not easy for anyone but she persevered and I’m glad she did.
The English Heart is a beautiful love story which is written well and at times, made me laugh out loud too!
About Helena:
On her website Helena states that, writing has always been her dream job. It wasn’t until she moved to the UK in her twenties and got a job at the BBC, that the dream came true.
She became a news reporter and translator and can boast breaking the news of the Russian Chernobyl disaster to the Western World.
Still, she dreamt about being able to write and publish her own book.
In 2012 she achieved this goal when she published her first title, The English Heart, a true romance set in the 1980s Finland.
Ten fiction and two nonfiction titles later, and with Masters Degrees in Marketing and Creative Writing, she is a Nordic Ambassador for the Alliance of Independent Authors.
I hope you’ll be encouraged to read Helena’s books after reading this blog!
Until next week, Happy reading, Happy You!
With much love, Soulla xxx
