Review: An author who isn't afraid to take risks and creates great characters!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2013
Lisa Henry is a fave author of mine for her wonderful settings and gritty characters. There is always a plot as well - and I never find the sex gratuitous although it is often raw, elemental, and rough. I'll admit to being a bit confused in the beginning with all the names but it did force me into the headspace of this book. The language barrier faced by the two MC's actually helped me to keep a perspective on it - oddly it interjected some realism into the story. I'm a fan of Ancient Rome stories like this - almost preferring the older ancient culture to the newer historical ones - and certainly here it gets a lot of mention. I went into this story not believing it to be any sort of romance - more a historical piece with some of the famous Ancient situations like torture, slavery, etc. I still don't see it as a romance although there is a slight romantic element to it. I loved the glimpse in (cannot say to historical accuracy..I'm not a historian) but it did transport me to Nero's time and that made it a win. Fascinating and engrossing!