The duology Horses of Fire and Daughters of Bronze, by childhood friends Ashlee Cowles and Danielle Stinson, under the pseudonym A.D. Rhine, details the events of the Trojan war through the eyes of women living it, as opposed to the men fighting in it.

The first book, Horses of Fire, follows the lives of three misunderstood women during the Trojan War. Andromache is the undermined, underestimated wife of Prince  Hector, who desires to be perceived as more than just his trophy. Rhea is the refugee of unwanted conflict and an unlikely ally in, not just the stables, but also in the tricks of war. Helen is blamed for a war she had no part in and is forced to hide behind a veil of lies created by the people closest to her. 

The greatest conflict of the Bronze Age unfolding around them forces their lives to connect and intertwine in unlikely ways. Relationships are both built and destroyed throughout the course of this novella. However,  history only ever has one ending, no matter the storyteller.  

The second book, Daughters of Bronze, continues to follow the same women, with the addition of one new character. The second book is mostly  a continuation of the first. This book leads the reader to the end of the war and gives an ambiguous ending to the lives of the women followed throughout the novel. 

As for my opinion, I loved this book. I have previously read a few other books set during the Trojan War, but what I found most compelling about this book was that it was told through the perspective of the women, rather than the men. This meant that the normal aspects of a book about war, i.e., death, fighting, etc., were all told through a new lens that I had never read before. I personally loved this aspect of the book because it makes the characters more relatable to me. It also gives a new and exciting point of view making it more interesting.

I also found that this book, unlike most that I read about this topic, did not have a strong focus on the Greek mythology aspect of the Trojan War. While this book did occasionally mention the Gods, it was only ever in passing and was often brief. Greek mythology was not a main element of this book, because that is typically uncommon for a book about Greek history.  

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction and/or mythology, specifically Greek, but there are aspects of other mythologies. I would say that it is more for older readers, as opposed to younger readers, because it deals with romance between some characters and is about a battle that was historically gruesome and violent. 

Overall, I loved this duology, and I would even venture to say that it has been one of my favorite books I have read in the last few years. It is a must-read for anyone who likes historical fiction. I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.