Review: Lily of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter #1) by Stephanie Dray

Selene, the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony struggles with the complexity of her relationships with her parent's enemies, and her loyalty to her home and religion after she and her brothers are orphaned and held captive in Rome.

In the past, I've been known criticize books that are heavy handed with magic and mysticism, but in truth, I don't mind magic being used in the novels I read, I just want it to make sense and not come across as contrived just for the sake of it. In Lily of the Nile, although magic was frequently involved, I didn't mind it since it did not feel contrived. The plot did not rely too heavily on magic, but Selene's relationships and religion did, which is what this novel is all about.

I'm looking forward to completing this series and seeing how Selene uses her power and influence as a queen in a new land.

Review: Mistress of Rome (Empress of Rome #1) by Kate Quinn

A Jewish slave and a troubled gladiator fight for their lives and happiness against all the odds and more than one enemy who would bring them down.

I felt like this had a little bit of a slow start - not that it was boring, I just thought it took a little while for the plot to really kick in. But once it did... wow, did it kick in! Kate Quinn is one of those authors who can master both compelling characterization and thrilling plots.

There's so much going on, the plot takes a couple turns I wasn't really expecting, and there's so many interesting characters that you'll either love to love, or love to hate.

I definitely can't wait to read the rest of this series. I don't know why I waited so long to pick this one up (oh, yes, I do - it's because there's too many books in the world, not enough time!).

Review: Blood Debts (Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries) by Ashley Gardner

Retired gladiator and his slave investigate the murder of a money-changer in ancient Rome.

The time period is certainly a change of pace for this author. I enjoyed it, and I think the new series has definite potential, but I'm not looking forward to it quite as much as I am the Kat Holloway series, another new mystery series from the same author. I'll certainly be reading both though!

One thing I noticed though, I don't think time keeping in ancient Rome was as precise as down to the half hour, or even hour. But I liked the characters and the plot, even though it was only a short novella. I normally feel like they don't allow for enough character development, but I am finding that's not the case with this author.

Review: HFVBT Blog Tour for A Year of Ravens: a novel of Boudica's Rebellion by the H Team

A Year of Ravens: A Novel of Boudica's Rebellion

by Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, E. Knight, Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S.J.A. Turney, and Russell Whitfield

Publication Date: November 13, 2015

Knight Media LLC

eBook & Paperback; 440 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Britannia: land of mist and magic clinging to the western edge of the Roman Empire. A red-haired queen named Boudica led her people in a desperate rebellion against the might of Rome, an epic struggle destined to consume heroes and cowards, young and old, Roman and Celt . . . and these are their stories.

A calculating queen sees the sparks of revolt in a king’s death.

A neglected slave girl seizes her own courage as Boudica calls for war.

An idealistic tribune finds manhood in a brutal baptism of blood and slaughter.

A conflicted warrior hovers between loyalty to tribe and loyalty to Rome.

A death-haunted Druid challenges the gods themselves to ensure victory for his people.

An old champion struggles for everlasting glory in the final battle against the legions.

A fiery princess fights to salvage the pieces of her mother’s dream as the ravens circle.

A novel in seven parts, overlapping stories of warriors and peacemakers, queens and slaves, Romans and Celts who cross paths during Boudica’s epic rebellion. But who will survive to see the dawn of a new Britannia, and who will fall to feed the ravens?

REVIEW

The dream team are back! Okay, it's not exactly the same team of authors that produced A Day of Fire: a novel of Pompeii, but some of the same authors are involved and it's the same concept. They are calling themselves The H Team on Facebook.

Just like A Day of Fire, each author tells an individual story with different yet overlapping characters which are woven together to tell a greater story, that of a monumentally tragic event in history. In this case, A Year of Ravens is about the Celtic rebellion against the Romans, lead by Queen of the Iceni, Boudica.

Told from all different view points on both the Celtic and Roman sides, it gives the reader a rounded perspective of the series of events and the people involved in, from the lowliest of slaves to the highest of leaders. The characters are so well fleshed out despite there being so many of them, and despite each chapter focusing on new points of view.

I have to say though, if you're looking for a book about Boudica herself, this is not it. As the title suggests, it is really about the rebellion, and not necessarily Boudica herself. She is featured in several chapters to varying degrees, but in others, she is barely even mentioned. It is an excellent novel, regardless, and will pull you in from the very beginning.

Stephanie Dray and Ruth Downie's chapters were my favorite. I think that Russell Whitfield's chapter was the weakest of the bunch, because I felt it took too long to get going and show just how it would move the story forward (this is the chapter were Boudica is hardly even mentioned), but once it did it was clear how it fit into the novel.

I don't know how so many established authors are able to work together to form such a cohesive novel for a second time, in addition to their individual work, but I hope they continue to do so.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | ITUNES

A Year of Ravens Authors

Ruth Downie, Stephanie Dray, E. Knight, Kate Quinn, Vicky Alvear Shecter, S.J.A. Turney, & Russell Whitfield

Blog Tour Schedule

Friday, November 13
Kick Off at Passages to the Past

Saturday, November 14
Guest Post at A Bookish Affair
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection

Sunday, November 15
Review at Book Babe

Monday, November 16
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, November 17
Review at Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, November 18
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books
Interview at Unabridged Chick

Thursday, November 19
Review at Kinx's Book Nook
Review at A Bookish Affair

Friday, November 20
Review at Leeanna.me

Monday, November 23
Review at Bibliophilia, Please

Tuesday, November 24
Review at The Maiden's Court

Wednesday, November 25
Review at A Book Drunkard

Friday, November 27
Review & Excerpt at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, November 30
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Tuesday, December 1
Review at Griperang's Bookmarks

Wednesday, December 2
Interview at Griperang's Bookmarks

Thursday, December 3
Review at Book Nerd

Friday, December 4
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Saturday, December 5
Review at Bookramblings

Monday, December 7
Review at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, December 8
Review at Book Lovers Paradise

Wednesday, December 9
Review at I'm Shelfish

Thursday, December 10
Review at Boom Baby Reviews

Friday, December 11
Review at Historical Readings & Reviews

Monday, December 14
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Tuesday, December 15
Review at CelticLady's Reviews

Wednesday, December 16
Review at A Literary Vacation
Guest Post at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Thursday, December 17
Review at The True Book Addict
Review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Friday, December 18
Review at Broken Teepee
Review, Excerpt, & Interview at Unshelfish

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a Celtic inspired set of silver tone metal and red Swarovski crystal beads, including a necklace, bracelet, and earrings inspired by the setting of A Year of Ravens! Please enter the giveaway via the GLEAM form below.

Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 18th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to residents in the US and UK.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

A Year of Ravens

Spotlight: HFVBT Presents Kate Quinn’s Lady of the Eternal City Blog Tour, March 2-27

Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Berkley Trade
Formats: eBook, Paperback
528 Pages

Series: Empress of Rome Series, Book Four
Genre: Historical Fiction





National bestselling author Kate Quinn returns with the long-awaited fourth volume in the Empress of Rome series, an unforgettable new tale of the politics, power, and passion that defined ancient Rome.

Elegant, secretive Sabina may be Empress of Rome, but she still stands poised on a knife’s edge. She must keep the peace between two deadly enemies: her husband Hadrian, Rome’s brilliant and sinister Emperor; and battered warrior Vix, who is her first love. But Sabina is guardian of a deadly secret: Vix’s beautiful son Antinous has become the Emperor’s latest obsession.

Empress and Emperor, father and son will spin in a deadly dance of passion, betrayal, conspiracy, and war. As tragedy sends Hadrian spiraling into madness, Vix and Sabina form a last desperate pact to save the Empire. But ultimately, the fate of Rome lies with an untried girl, a spirited redhead who may just be the next Lady of the Eternal City...

Praise for Lady of the Eternal City

“Quinn specializes in bringing the splendor of Britannia and Rome to readers. The tangled lives of her three-dimensional characters represent the entanglements of the Empire. She cleverly pulls readers into the complex relationships, and even more complicated history, while bouncing back and forth between viewpoints. This is a feast for historical readers.” - Romantic Times Book Reviews

Buy the Book

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Books-a-Million
iTunes
IndieBound

Titles in The Empress of Rome Series

Book One: Mistress of Rome
Book Two: Daughters of Rome
Book Three: Empress of the Seven Hills
Book Four: Lady of the Eternal City

Praise for The Empress of Rome Series

“Gorgeously wrought.”— C. W. Gortner, author of The Queen’s Vow

“Deeply passionate.”—Kate Furnivall, author of Shadows on the Nile

“[An] epic, sexy romp.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About the Author

Kate Quinn is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance detailing the early years of the infamous Borgia clan. All have been translated into multiple languages.

Kate has succumbed to the blogging bug, and keeps a blog filled with trivia, pet peeves, and interesting facts about historical fiction. She and her husband now live in Maryland with a small black dog named Caesar, and her interests include opera, action movies, cooking, and the Boston Red Sox.

For more information visit Kate Quinn's website and blog. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Lady of the Eternal City Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 2
Spotlight at Broken Teepee

Tuesday, March 3
Spotlight at Historical Readings and Reviews

Wednesday, March 4
Review at Back Porchervations

Thursday, March 5
Review at The Maiden's Court

Friday, March 6
Spotlight at Caroline Wilson Writes

Monday, March 9
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective
Review at The Mad Reviewer

Wednesday, March 11
Review at Peeking Between the Pages

Thursday, March 12
Spotlight at The Lit Bitch

Sunday, March 15
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, March 16
Review at Just One More Chapter
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Tuesday, March 17
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views

Wednesday, March 18
Review at Book Lovers Paradise

Monday, March 23
Review at A Literary Vacation

Thursday, March 26
Review at Book Nerd

Friday, March 27
Review at Unshelfish
Review at Genre Queen
Review at Let Them Read Books
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession

Review: A Day of Fire: a novel of Pompeii

You might think "a novel of Pompeii" is a little misleading, since this is not a full length novel but rather a collection of six short stories or novelettes, all set in the days leading up to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. But this is more than just a bunch of independent tales, each story is pulled together by overlapping characters. A side character in one story might wind up being a main character in another, so you're not left wondering what happened to this person or that (except Ben Kane's characters, of course), their story picks again up later on. This gave it more of a novel-feel, just as it's claimed to be. It also gave the reader more time to emotionally attach to certain characters, unlike most short stories, making it a much more powerful book.

At first, I was concerned that these stories would all wind up being more like young adult romance because the first two stories reminded me of this. A young man falls in love with a prostitute and is willing to sacrifice his integrity to win her. A young woman is in love with a man below her station while betrothed to an older man who practically repulses her. Such stereotypical tales, especially in young adult romance, are what greet you with the first two chapters. It occurred to me that one of the first two stories is indeed written by a young adult author though so I guess it's not surprising.

But the first two chapters wound up being more like a lead up. Unlike other short story compilations where each story may be set in totally different years, these tales are told chronologically so the first two stories are mostly set in the days before the eruption and the latter stories start at the beginning or in the middle of the destruction falling around everyone. The built up carries through the whole book, rather than there being a build up in each story. This too gave it more of a novel-feel than a collection of short stories.

It's also very impressive that this many established authors were able to collaborate to come up with overlapping characters and well written, interwoven stories. It was much more than I expected it to be.

Review: Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

Egypt and it's heirs are in the hands of Rome, the hands of their enemy Octavian. Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ancient Egypt is dead, along with her husband, Marc Antony. But they leave behind their children, Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios, and this is the story of what becomes of them after they have lost their family, their home, and everything they ever knew and loved.

I wondered how the life of Cleopatra's daughter after the fall of Alexandria could be eventful enough to fill a novel. All I really knew about Selene was that after her parent's deaths, she was taken to Rome where she live with Octavian's sister, her father's former wife, until she was married to Juba II of Numidia and became Queen of Mauretania. While the emotional turmoil of living with the "enemy" might be ripe for a novel, there's only so much that will fill. But Michelle Moran really knows how to weave an intriguing story. Both eventful and with great character development, Selene's story comes to life along side the time period she lived in. Several times I found myself reading passed the point I'd planned to stop for the night - I literally could not put it down. My only complaint is that the Afterward made me want to read a sequel novel!