Mistress of Rome | 
pickThea, a Jewish slave, falls in love with a gladiator, Arius, but is then sold. She later catches the eye of the emperor Domitian.
The author appreciates the complexities of Domitian's character so he is not just a cardboard villain. The central romance between Arius and Thea was fun, watching to see how they would get re-united. The only thing that I wondered about was whether Christianity was quite so developed by then as is made out.
pickI‘m used to her more recent work like The Alice Network, but this story of the Roman Empire was a good read. Emperors, royalty, slaves, gladiators…and all the ways their lives are intertwined.
pickA provocative and nail biting story that will keep you hooked until the very last page. A look into lifestyles from royalty, gladiators and servants, this book does an amazing job with character development. I found myself loathing lady Lepida and rooting for The Barbarian and Thea. Surprises, romance and historical references make for a superb read!
so-soGreat story, with depth of character & strong sense of place but was it ever graphic. It‘s to be expected, since it's Ancient Rome and all - and I appreciate that Quinn didn't pretend it didn‘t happen. The violence isn't limited to the Colosseum or the battlefield - there's a lot of abuse of women. I'm quite torn on continuing the series. I want to know what happens but I'm not sure I'm interested enough if the level of violence is the same.
#JulyJourneys #Rome
I have read The Alice Network and The Huntress and loved both. I look forward to exploring her other books one day including those set in Rome.
#LitsySpringBreak #rome
@alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @thekidsupstair
These two are on my tbr
#march #litsyfun #historicalfiction
pickI loved this book. I enjoyed The Alice Network but Mistress of Rome is a top pick for me. It is brutal - Gladiators and games, war, slaves, the treatment of women and a paranoid Emperor of Rome. The characters are well defined, the story is well written and I was glued until the very end. Definitely not a book I'd want to put down for a while and pick back up because of all the characters. I look forward to reading more Kate Quinn books.
Well, without the NFL having a late game tonight it looks like it's going to be book and a beer. Going to get started on the tagged book and I'm very excited. I never read books based in Ancient Rome but as a child I was fascinated by both Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. I enjoyed The Alice Network so hopefully this book is good as well!
Side note: I really don't like this cover!
#BeerAndABook #UglyCover #LibraryBook #FeastMode
@Hestapleton
pick4⭐
I enjoyed reading about Domitians reign from the perspective of a slave who became his mistress. He was loved by the army, but he was a very cruel ruler. I see the fascination with the Coliseum games reflected in the fascination in todays world with violence on tv and in video games. Things don't change
Looking forward to digging into this series.
bailedMaybe it's me. But I couldn't get into this audio book because the narrator's voice got on my nerves, so I sent it back. Now I'm trying to listen to Where the Crawdads Sing and I'm finding it boring. It got such rave reviews! Does it get better? I'm an hour in.
Can anyone recommend a truly spectacular audio book for someone in a slump please?
pickI‘m a huge fan on historical fiction. This was my first HF I‘ve read that takes place in Ancient Rome and it was such a fun read. It‘s a very steamy intense story with a variety of complex characters. It had everything you would want in a novel about the scandals in Rome.
You guys! How have I not heard of Kate Quinn up until now??? I read a blurb about The Huntress and did some research and stumbled on these books and I‘m OBSESSED. So happy it‘s a series.
so-soBook 11 is a historical fiction novel set in Rome by Kate Quinn. I found parts of it fascinating and evocative of the era, but I didn't like how rapidly the perspectives kept changing (sometimes it would swap characters after a paragraph or two) because I found it hard to track or stay in the flow. I might check out the rest of the series sometime, however. 3 🌟. #LitsyAtoZ (Q) #popsugarreadingchallenge (multiPOV) #readingwomenchallenge (series)
pickGreat story and characters. I just struggled with the violence of the Gladiators and all if the sexual content.
pickThis was a very good book. I love historical fictions evolving Ancient Rome. I can't wait to read the next book.
#historicalfiction
so-soI‘d give this book 3 1/2!stars. It‘s not one of her best. I‘ve read her other books and they drew me in better than this one. I don‘t know if this book is one of her earliest works or not. I was not too familiar with this style of writing like the other books. Maybe it‘s just me. It really threw me off. Other than it was okay but not the greatest.
Hopefully it‘ll be better than the last book I read.
Giving this book a try. I typically judge books by their covers and avoid any that have people on them. Is that weird? I don't want someone trying to tell me what a character looks like! Anyway, the book is interesting so far.
bailedYeah I've just read some books set in Rome in the last few months that we're better and I have other books Seth in Rome in my TBR to get to. Just not for me. DNF @ 3 hours into audiobook
Started this eAudiobook on the last leg of my flights
pickThis book was great! Mistress of Rome was so compelling, had a passionate love story with all the dangers of Ancient Rome tied in. I couldn‘t put it down.
I‘m back from my birthday bookstore trip! Here‘s my haul!
