Amazon Editorial Review

"An exciting debut: a vivid, richly imagined saga of ancient Rome from a masterful new voice in historical fiction"

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress's rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life-that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

As Lepida goes on to wreak havoc in the life of a new husband and his family, Thea remakes herself as a polished singer for Rome's aristocrats. Unwittingly, she attracts another admirer in the charismatic Emperor of Rome. But Domitian's games have a darker side, and Thea finds herself fighting for both soul and sanity. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of the brilliant and paranoid Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor's mistress.

Ring Participants: (please use this list rather than the Forum thread one!)
1. mafarrimond (In UK / pref EU post)
2. ReetPetite (In UK / post anywhere)
3. sorcha-sidhe (In Australia / post int if needed)
4. Dancesports (In Australia / post anywhere)<---- Here as of 19/11/10
5. marijketje (In Netherlands / post EU)
6. Sardonyx (In UK / post anywhere)
7. Appelsiini (In Finland / post anywhere)
8. Bookstogive (In US/Can / post US/Can)
9. kiyoteefoxx (In US / post US)
10. BethaniekayBethaniekay (In US / post anywhere)
11. Esme-Weatherwax (In Ireland / post Ireland & UK)
12. Then back to me!

** Please make sure the next person along is still active/interested before posting!**

Forum Topic: http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/437215

The ring has officially started!

Posted to mafarrimond this morning =]
It might be a wee bit dusty (we're having mega roof work done on an old house and I'm in the loft room lol), sorry about that!
I hope everyone enjoys the book =]

Lemon
xx

The book has arrived safely. I will read as soon as I can.

Having studied the Roman Empire, the book was interesting to read. I liked the author's note at the end outlining what was fact and what was fiction. Thanks for sharing.

Posting to ReetPetite. Hope you enjoy the bbok.

Thanks for sending this mafarrimond. Next on my TBR.

Very entertaining story that keeps you enthralled. I wanted to see how the story would bring Thea & Arius back together against all the odds. Some very good characters both good & bad.
Thanks for sharing Lemon-Crisis.

I've PMed sorcha-sidhe because elidanora asked to be skipped.

Posted to sorcha-sidhe.

Arrived in the post 15/9/10. Will start once I've finished my current read - can't wait! :)

It's ancient Rome, and a Jewish slave falls in love with a Gladiator from Britannia. This begins the story of Thea & Arius, and their savage existence under Emperor Domitian's rule.

Sounds intriguing, right? If you believe the reviews it should be, but unfortunately for me, I could not get into this story. One hundred pages from the finish and I had to stop: It was impossible for me to continue reading, even after I had subjected myself to 300+ pages.

I don't know how to categorise this novel: Is it hist-fic? Romance? Something else? Perhaps I have become too much of a history snob, but I did not feel the story centered around Domitian enough to be based on his life, especially considering that most of the characters and events in the story are entirely fictional. For me, the story lacked historical substance, and that was the greatest disappointment.

Another major issue I had with this novel was that not one of the central characters was likeable, nor could I relate to or connect with any of them: I could not care less what happened to them in the end, hence the reason for my not bothering to find out.

The purpose of many of the minor characters I simply couldn't comprehend: There's nothing more annoying than to have a character appear seemingly out of nowhere, and have the author try and establish their background and purpose to the story in a single, random paragraph. At times I was close to pulling hairs!

I also didn't like the repetitive use of full names: It was unnecessary and added nothing to the story. Also, too many characters were inter-connected in too many ways. For example, why did all the characters have to have had sex with one another to be known to each other? I just didn't get it.

All in all, a disappointing read and not at all what I had expected.

On its way to Dancesports in Tasmania. :)

book has arrived in Tasmania safely. I'll read it as soon as I can but I do have a few other bookrings in front.

I loved this book - thank you for sharing with me and thank you for your patience too. I have pm'ed the next reader

Sent on to the next reader - had to go seamail though.

The book has arrived. I have a couple of bookrings I need to read first. I just finished a class about ancient Rome, so it will be interesting to read.

It wasn't what I was expecting. Bit less predictable and less historical. But I got more and more into it and by the end I could hardly put it down, because I wanted to know how it ended. So all in all I enjoyed reading it.

This one arrived today! Thanks! :)

What an awesome book! I simply loved it! The story is so gripping, I was so disappointed every time when I had to stop reading and do something else, like work! I will definitely get this one into my PC! Thanks for sharing this wonderful book! And thanks for being so patient with me!

As Bookstogive and kiyoteefoxx both asked to be skipped, I'm sending this to Bethaniekay.

And it's on its way to the US! Travel safe! The lady in post office said it should be there before X-mas, we'll see...

Received in the mail today. I'm in the middle of another book right now, but I'm a fast reader, and this one will be next -- so shouldn't take too long :)

I didn't love this book, but I liked much of it. The premise of the story was intriguing, and I was drawn into it because of the relationship between Thea and Arius. However, after they are separated, I became totally bored and the book seemed to really draw out. I was extremely annoyed by Lepida (I'm sure the author wants the reader to hate her), and thought the middle of the book really dragged on, especially where she was involved. I could've done without much of the middle of the book. Once Thea and Arius were back in the story again, and once Vix got to be a little more interesting (and central to the plot), the story became intriguing again. I thought the latter part of the book was the best, and the ending left me feeling satisfied.

I think the book was a little too G-rated; there could have been some more description of the sex and romance between some of the key characters. It would've made the passionate relationships that were obviously occuring everywhere on a regular basis more believable.

The author's writing style was pleasant, but the changing narratives really irritated me. Not so much the different POV's, that's fine -- but it was really annoying that Thea and Lepida's sections were in first person, but all the others were in third person. I'd rather have it all one or the other. And, why bother having headings on some of the chapers listing the name of the person 'speaking', when it would switch to someone else within that same chapter? Again, just odd and unnecessary.

Overall, though, a decent read. Thanks for letting me join!

I've PMd Esme-Weatherwax in Ireland, just waiting for an addy then will send along in the mail.

Book is on its way to Esme-Weatherwax in Ireland. Sent via USPS Airmail today, should arrive in about 10 days.