#ADGIFTED I am given books in return for a review, I use my own thoughts and opinions on these.

Wrath of Olympus: Ships of Britannia, Book 1 by E. M. Kkoulla

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Book Details


Length: 237 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Adult
Date Published: 09 December 2020
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/5KjlkuN (Canada)
https://a.co/d/h8ANKUo (USA)
https://amzn.eu/d/3UecmE0 (UK)
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56287354-wrath-of-olympus
The StoryGraph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/86c83d93-565a-4d6f-b3ae-97d25b9bc7db?redirect=true




The Roman Empire never fell. The Gods are real. Ships are alive.

In the Province of Britannia, ruled by descendants of King Arthur and on the brink of an industrial revolution, young Maia Abella is on the run.
Something unseen has murdered her cruel mistress and she’s being blamed. The streets and factories of Portus are no place for a friendless girl, trapped in events beyond her control.
The city authorities and the Royal Navy are both desperate to find her – one investigating a killer, the other to recruit her, while the deadly legacy of a tragic past stalks her every step.
Aided by Raven, an ancient, blind Mage with a terrible secret and Milo, Crown Agent and spy, Maia must discover and overcome the fatal consequences of her birth.
Meanwhile, the Gods are making their moves. Not all of them are friendly.

Author Bio
I’m of mixed British/Greek-Cypriot heritage and live with my husband and two feline overlords, Zeus and Hades, in County Durham, UK. After many years of teaching very small children, I decided to put my degree in Classical Studies and long involvement with 17thC re-enactment to good use by combining them in my fantasy adventure series. I love history, reading, gardening and anything with gods and monsters trashing the landscape. You can find me on fb on my Ships of Britannia page and on Twitter @EKkoulla.

My Review Ooooft what a first book, we are world building but the pace feels more like a second or third book, which is fabulous. As notoriously first books can feel super slow and lose the reader. This is bam bam bam with the characters and plot, we have real world issues like over bearing abusive bosses, situations and circumstances we can all relate to at times, so it’s great to see how things pan out. Never before have I ever had a book have living ships, that communicate with telepathy, so unique in its story I make this top of my list of books to read, the bonus of this being book one, means we can all be whisked away in this world more times as the books come out!!!

It’s the New Year and our boxes arrived pretty soon after the start of the year, I believe it arrived on the 3rd? Just what I needed.

Some much needed products in here. Especially as it’s winter and skin, hair and nails take a battering in this weather and temperature.

#Weleda Skin Food 10ml RRP £2.99 – Weleda’s Skin Food treats dry, rough skin to some much-needed TLC. The award-winning cream absorbs deeply into the skin, seeking to provide long-lasting moisture. Suitable for use on the whole body, especially the feet, hands and elbows, the formula is enriched with a blend of wild pansy extract, calendula, rosemary, sunflower seed oil and chamomile, offering a soothing effect. Beeswax works to intensely condition the skin, while the antioxidant-rich cream helps to protect the skin against environmental aggressors. Ideal for cold, winter months, the cream scents the body with a refreshing infusion of sweet orange and lavandula. Top item for me, skin has been craving some extra nourishment. Available here

#NailsInc Get Hard rebuilding nail hardener 14ml RRP £9 – after wearing false nails and using glue my nails are crying out for this, so I was extremely pleased to see it in here. Give your nails a hardening health boost. Powered by naturally nourishing ingredients like biotin, kale, spinach and mushroom, it’s formulated to harden, protect and smoothen your nails in just one week.
Added retinol builds up a chip-proof shield, locking in the hardening goodness, plus it’s the perfect way to get your mani greens!
So here’s the important part – how to use it:
Use as an intense hardening treatment and apply two coats twice weekly. You can also use as a base coat and apply one coat under your favourite polish. Available here

#SoEco Gua Sha Jade Stone RRP £10 – what tired achy skin doesn’t need the cooling calmness of jade to reduce puffiness and helps lymphatic drainage, while soothing skin with a facial oil too. Very happy to see this, and of course you are guaranteed it’s real Jade and not imitation. Really soothes headaches too, the coldness has helped my post steroid side effects. Couldn’t find it on their site alone, but this link is for a rose quartz set Available here

#ThisWorks Stress Check Mood Manager Spray 10ml RRP £10 – I love this brand, I have their pillow spray and I love it, but I think I love this one even more! Before yoga I like to spray my mat, it sets my intention and shifts my mood. This was made for that! This was created using FMRI imaging to relieve feelings of stress. How cool. It’s Ylang Ylang and Patchouli and Neroli. Available here

#DrLipp Tinted Lip Balm Super food Elderberry 8ml RRP £6.99 – can be used on eyelids and cheeks too, due to the slight red tint, it gives a gorgeous colour while giving an intense moisturising balm. Thick and hard for me to get out of the tube, but so needed as my lips are so dry in this weather. Add a subtle hint of ultra-moisturising colour to your pout with the Dr.Lipp 100% Natural Moisturising Colour Lip Tint in Elderberry; a tinted balm made with just four natural ingredients that intensely hydrates lips. Powered by medical grade Lanolin from free-roaming Australian sheep’s wool that’s been refined and cleansed from environmental pollutants, the lip tint gets its subtle colour from edible, GMO-free plant pigments, in this case, from juicy elderberries. Gliding effortlessly and evenly over lips, the natural lip balm promises to nourish dry, chapped lips leaving them soft and kissable.
100% natural. Cruelty-free.
Free from parabens, fragrances, sulphates, mineral oil, petrolatum, colouring agents, T.E.A, D.E.A, and silicones.

#PhilipKingsley Maximizer Spray 60ml RRP £12 – Perfect for revitalising fine, limp and flyaway hair, the Philip Kingsley Maximiser Root Volumising Spray boosts body whilst holding your hair and adding a healthy, glossy shine. The spray packs lasting volume and lift into fine or limp hair with a heat-activated formula that delivers residue-free texture to your roots, leaving your hair looking and feeling naturally fuller and thicker.
A wonderful multi-tasker, the formula is enriched with conditioning agents to keep your hair soft and supple, whilst the anti-static agents fight unruly locks for a smooth and sleek finish. UV protectors shield the hair from sun damage and help to combat colour fade, leaving your hair looking vibrant and healthy. Pump up the volume with this hair boosting spray! Available here I have the thickest of hair do not sure it’s for me, but I will give it a go for sure.

To finish off my little spotlight on mhhsbd members it’s only right I shine the light on the group that’s brought us all together, and the Man behind the directory. Here we have Darren, who after seeing fake reviews everywhere (morphe ones anyone on YouTube??) Or countless ones for Amazon products.

So back in 2017 the website was born, and all reviews are 100 % honest and unbiased. If you Click Here you can see the impressive stats and timeline of products that have been reviewed.

And here is the Small Business Members which explains who they are, what they sell and where to find them.

But what this doesn’t show is, behind the scenes, Darren and Admin run some amazing groups on twitter, and we all support, advise and uplift each other, the friendship groups, the shoulders to lean on, the real sense of community is outstanding.