MISTRESS OF ROME by Kate Quinn was read for the Chunkster Challenge 2011.From the back of the book:
First-century Rome: A world of depravity, blood and secrets. The ruthless and enigmatic Emperor Dominitian watches over all, fearing assassination from every direction...but not from the woman who fascinates him most.
Passionate, musical, and guarded, Thea is a slave girl from Judaea. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea becomes 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 - but their affair ends quickly 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 capricious and charismatic emperor of Rome. But Domitians'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 streetwise child, 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.
I loved this book! It reminded me of a soap opera - it had love, hate, bad marriages, affairs, secrets, treachery, revenge plus a lot of blood and gore thrown in. It had characters I loved and some I hated. There were good guys and bad guys. Some fantastic put-downs and some funny scenes.
The ending of the book left the field wide open for a sequel. While hoping and waiting for that, I'm planning to read Ms. Quinn's latest book, DAUGHTERS OF ROME.
3 comments:
You finished already?!! I read your line "I loved this book!" and then stopped because I'm only on page 101. I have a feeling I won't be able to put it down very soon but I have family in town this weekend so it may take me longer to read than you. So far, it's a good story :)
I keep reading good things about this book, but I'm not sure it's for me.
I have this in my tbr pile. Time to pull it out. I loved your description of it being like a soap opera. I must get to this very soon!
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