There are so many delicious elements to this book that pulled me in, and so many vivid characters that you will feel are so real - for better or worse. Mistress of Rome follows Thea, a young Jewish slave girl when the story begins, as she meets and falls in love with a gladiator, rises in station, and ultimately ends up attracting the attention of the savagely cunning emperor of Rome. I always recommend this book to people, especially if anyone even hints at any slight interest in HF - I point them straight to this book. Everything that you could want from historical fiction, or a good story, is done flawlessly in this sweeping, thrilling tale.
But in the end, the life of Rome’s most powerful man lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor’s mistress. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But the passions of an all-powerful man come with a heavy price, and Thea finds herself fighting for both her soul and her destiny. As she struggles for success and independence, her nightingale voice attracts a dangerous new admirer: the Emperor himself.
Rome offers many ways for the resourceful to survive, and Thea remakes herself as a singer for the Eternal ’City’s glittering aristocrats. But when Thea wins the love of Rome’s newest and most savage gladiator and dares to dream of a better life, the jealous Lepida tears the lovers apart and casts Thea out. Purchased as a toy for the spoiled heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea evades her mistress’s spite and hones a secret passion for music. Thea, a captive from Judaea, is a clever and determined survivor hiding behind a slave’s docile mask. FROM BARNES AND NOBLE: First-century Rome: One young woman will hold the fate of an empire in her hands.
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