Empress of the Seven Hills by Kate Quinn

Talk about a punch to the gut! Of course if I knew my Roman history better it wouldn't have been. And just so I'm not leaving you completely in the dark, I am referring to the ending of this book. And that's all I'm saying on that matter.

It's been a few years since "The Mistress of Rome" and Vercingetorix (Vix) is now an ornery boy of eighteen. He leaves the safety of his parents home for Rome where he wants to join the army and make something of himself. He quickly learns that a role there is a long time though and as he makes his decision, takes a job as a guard for an old friend of his parents. There though is the intelligent and intriguing Sabina, daughter of the household, who quickly uses Vix to her own ends. After feeling betrayed he does go and join up to fight and starts making his career on the battlefield while Sabina marries for adventure. Under the rule of Emperor Trajan, a beloved Emperor of the people, they set out on their own destinies, despite a few enemies who would like to see them fall.

Vix is very brash. I was glad to see some growth and mellowing of him in the book but he always is very hard headed and at times weak in his actions. I enjoy reading about him, but sometimes I have to shake my head at some of the things he does. Sabina though, while I admired her for being adventurous, I can honestly say I didn't really like her. She seemed very selfish in some ways and not caring of other people's feelings. Still, I'd rather root for her than some of the antagonists in this story, which was really the whole point of things. I just wish I had felt more connected to her since she was a main character. I much prefer her sister as she grows up, who isn't as adventurous but appears to have a whole lot of heart. I also enjoyed the character Titus who was just self-deprecating enough to be lovable. You could only hope good things for him and I'm eager to find out what happens in his story.

I thought the plot was pretty good. It spanned quite a bit of history and while not entirely accurate (as Quinn admits and gives reasoning for) it does have a lot of good research that went into it. I tired a little of the war scenes, but the character development and non-war scenes made up for it. I guess I'm just cut out for campaigns. And it was nice to see a lot of the characters come back from the previous book. I will warn that there is violence, sex, and other such things in this book. If you don't like that sort of thing, don't read it. I personally think it makes things realistic. The writing style too is more modern, not written in an authentic voice, and rather than it detracting from historical aspects of the book, I feel that it makes it more approachable for the average reader. I will warn that the ending on this book is a cliffhanger, so readers should approach it with caution if they are reading it with still a good chunk of time left waiting for the next one to come out.

A very good book and while I didn't quite enjoy it nearly as much as Mistress of Rome, it was still entertaining. I would definitely recommend Quinn to any historical fiction fan and plan to read her next book when it comes out.

Empress of the Seven Hills
Copyright 2012
486 pages

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn

I had read "Daughters of Rome" before reading this book and enjoyed it.  This one was just as good.  Quinn has a beautiful way of writing history.

Thea is a slave girl and has been one for quite some time.  Captured from a defeated city, she has worked for many people until her pre-teens when she is bought to be a maid for a spoiled girl named Lepida.  Lepida resents Thea's intelligence and when she finds Thea with a gladiator that she would like to have as well, Thea is sold to a brothel.  While Thea struggles out of the brothel and into a role as a famous musician, her Gladiator must fight countless battles, surviving against all odds, and her foe Lepida, is slowly coming up the ranks in Roman society.

Thea is an interesting character.  She has many personality quirks and really isn't afraid of too much, which is sometimes a flaw for her.  She's not afraid to say what she thinks as well, and that also gets her into trouble.  But she's a likable character, and you can feel yourself sympathizing with her over her plight.  Her Gladiator I didn't care for as much.  He's a little rough and while I can understand her wanting freedom with anything, he just isn't as relatable of a character to me.  Lepida is downright annoying and you can't help but wish she'll meet a horrible demise even when she is a pre-teen.  There are plenty of other characters of course, from the kindly father of Lepida to the stern and slightly deranged Emperor.  And they all have their place.  I can't say that this book had any unnecessary characters.

The plot was well done.  I can't comment on how accurate this is for Roman history, certainly quite a few of the characters are made up, but Quinn is able to present it in a way that if this history is true, it is memorable.  It's written with a modern tone too, so if you're expecting authentic voice in this book, it's not here.  Some of the writing is rather brutal.  There's violence, abuse, self-mutilation, sex, and many other mature topics.  It's all done as tastefully as it can be, but still might not be appropriate for readers who don't handle reading those types of things well.  But the story is magnetic and I stayed up far too late on a work night to read it through.  I just had a hard time putting it down.

I'd give this book 4.5 stars.  Very imaginative, compelling characters, and a bleary eyed morning from staying up all night reading it; it has all the right components.

Mistress of Rome
Copyright 2010
468 pages

Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn

I found this book pretty entertaining. I haven't read any of Quinn's other works, but based on this one, I probably will. And since it's considered the prequel to the others, it's as good as any to start with.

Cornelia, Marcella, Lollia and Diana are cousins in a turbulent time. Brought up together closely, they have been there through marriages (mostly Lollia's) and the horrific events of the upheaval in Rome as it goes through four emperors in a year. Cornelia just had dreams of being the perfect wife until that hope is dashed away from her. Marcelle wants to be left to her histories, until even that isn't enough excitement for her. Lollia enjoys her dalliances, but has a good heart, and goes through her many marriages as a result. And Diana is only concerned with her horses and chariot racing and can't be convinced to care for anything otherwise. With war going on, these seem like small matters, but to the women, they have to struggle to hold on to what ever kind of life they can.

There were a lot of characters in this book. So much that it was hard to keep track of them once in awhile. Eventually you can get it sorted out, but it does take some time. Cornelia, I started out disliking her to liking her and Marcella went the opposite. In fact, I'm not sure what happened to Marcella, it's like she became a completely different person with the turn of a page. Same with one of the men she was associated with. Lollia I found amusing and endearing and really enjoyed her character. She knew how to have a good time! And Diana, I didn't care for either way. She could have been written out of the story and I wouldn't have noticed.

The plot was mostly interesting. A lot of intrigue and some romance, and a smattering of adventure. It told a lot of stories so it was jumpy, but that didn't bother me too much. I should say that if you're looking for an accurate accounting of history, this probably isn't it. The base facts are true (and at the end she explains why she added certain things) but even the voice of her characters is really modern. No women would have spoke and I suspect act like they did in the book in real life. Otherwise there is a little violence and a little sex in the book, but nothing that overwhelms it. The main focus is the four cousins and their adventures.

I look forward to reading the other books in this series. They are well written and fun to read. And this one was a good accompaniment to a cold winters day and fireside couch.

Daughters of Rome
Copyright 2011
367 pages