Protogenesis by Alysia Helming and Kostas Martakis

Author Alysia Helming’s debut novel, Protogenesis—the first installment in a seven-novel YA series, the “Protegena Chronicles”—hit number one on Amazon.  Protogenesis chronicles the story of a young girl, Helene Crawford, whose entire life is uprooted upon her mother’s sudden, tragic disappearance.

Helene moves to Greece to live with a godfather she has never met, and a mission to investigate her mother’s mysterious disappearance and what role the Greek mafia played.  There, she finds herself faced with all the usual travails of being a teenager: adjusting to a new school, learning and fitting into a new culture, and navigating her love life.

Soon, she finds herself ensnared in a love triangle, but that is the least of her problems: she finds a mystical portal into a world where Greek mythology and the roots of modern civilization converge.  Helene hopes the portal will help her find out what happened to her mother, but whether the Greek gods and goddesses are on her side remains to be seen.

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The 411

Helene's mother is missing and someone is trying to kill her. She is told to trust no one as she makes her trek to Greece to stay with a Godfather named Janus she doesn't know while she tries to figure out what happened to her mother.  Janus is an eccentric character who is as confused that she has arrived in Greece as she is that he and her mother were friends.  With glowing stones, a magic cat, a and mirror that becomes a portal another planet while she tries to balance out her potential boyfriend's Ever and Nick and figure out the mystery surrounding her mother's disappearance Helene certainly has her work cut out for her.

A truly great read. Alysia mixes culture, mystery, Greek mythology, romance and fantasy into a wonderful story that will have fans of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter loving each magical chapter except this time we have a female heroine with male sidekicks. Hooray! Girl Power.