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Vows of Revenge
Amid pirates, godfathers, and forbidden love, vows of revenge are made in the unforgiving world of ancient Rome. Aelia Sabina, a patrician's daughter, and Martino Lucianus Drusus- a simple plebe rise like phoenixes from the ashes of their lives. Aelia's abusive husband vows to finally destroy this plebe in Rome's court where patricians rule and plebeians grovel. But will Lucianus grovel? Don't count on it
372 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
J.F. Ridgley
11 books59 followersLife is an adventure not a destination. I truly believe this. I never expected to become a writer. Reader yes? I've always loved reading. I still do when I get the chance but writing is very time consuming.
Once upon a time I trained, showed, cared for two wonderful American Saddlebred horses because I love horses and always have. They taught me a lot. Never give up. Never give in. I discovered writing by way of King Arthur who I learned was not a king but a Celtic chief. Then, I learned you don't meet a Celt that you don't run into a Roman soldier. I am now stuck in that quicksand, hoping never to get out. And I love just writing whatever story comes to my mind. It's a crazy life but I love it
Once upon a time I trained, showed, cared for two wonderful American Saddlebred horses because I love horses and always have. They taught me a lot. Never give up. Never give in. I discovered writing by way of King Arthur who I learned was not a king but a Celtic chief. Then, I learned you don't meet a Celt that you don't run into a Roman soldier. I am now stuck in that quicksand, hoping never to get out. And I love just writing whatever story comes to my mind. It's a crazy life but I love it
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 28, 2013
I don't think I've ever read a book this long that held my attention like this one did. It is among the best books I've read all year. Ridgley is excellent! While some books are like Twinkies, this one is like Thanksgiving dinner. This one is close to perfection. Read it!
December 1, 2018
Historical fiction in the vein of Phillipa Gregory, just not quite as richly crafted and located in Rome. A good entry, with historical elements, layered characters, and engaging events. There were some grammatical issues (missing words, or duplicate word options) that were missed in editing and made me pull out of my mentally created book world to decipher and make certain I knew what was being conveyed, but otherwise, a really engrossing read.
March 21, 2017
I just finished "Vows of Revenge" by J.F. Ridgley, and I LOVED it! The plot was very interesting, all of the characters were multi-faceted and layered with emotional growth, change, and hope, or just genuine evil. It was riveting, I couldn't put it down!! Aelia's character had so much depth and feeling I felt like I was the one stomping the grapes in Amalfi, and then sitting in the Roman courts awaiting my fate. This author is amazingly talented and I learned a great deal about ancient Rome while enjoying the book.
July 29, 2016
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from J. F. Ridgley in exchange for an honest review.]
To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big fan of romance in general. Especially when a book focuses on the romance. However, I am a big fan of historical fiction that’s accurate and well-researched, which is why I agreed to read Vows of Revenge. After all, I’m generally open-minded when it comes to what I read. Once again, I’m glad my open mind led me to another great read.
As I said, I’m not a big fan of romance; my regular readers know this all too well. However, I really liked the romance between Aelia and Lucianus in this book. Yes, it’s a stereotypical forbidden love on the surface (pleb loves patrician), but there’s so much more to it than that. There’s Aelia’s abuse-ridden past, societal expectations and the novel’s villains trying to get in the way of their relationship. It’s definitely a struggle and it doesn’t feel contrived at all.
I wouldn’t call Vows of Revenge a fast-paced book because it’s more character-focused, but it’s far from boring. Aelia’s character arc is fantastic and seeing things from Lucianus’ point of view keeps things moving constantly. There’s something in here for both romance-lovers and history buffs because Ridgley has done an incredible amount of research. For once, I can say with complete confidence that this book is historically accurate. Yes, the characters are made up. But the details of Roman life, from the background war in Samnia and the severe patrician-pleb divide are accurate. There’s even an historical note at the end of the book for the curious.
Vows of Revenge is written extremely well and is generally free of the typos that you typically find in self-published books. There are a few minor ones such as a missing letter or a quotation mark that faces the wrong way, but nothing blatantly obvious. Certainly not that many to have an effect on the quality of the writing or story and not enough to annoy this picky grammarian.
Even if you don’t generally read romance or historical fiction, I’d highly recommend Vows of Revenge. It’s definitely a worthwhile read.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big fan of romance in general. Especially when a book focuses on the romance. However, I am a big fan of historical fiction that’s accurate and well-researched, which is why I agreed to read Vows of Revenge. After all, I’m generally open-minded when it comes to what I read. Once again, I’m glad my open mind led me to another great read.
As I said, I’m not a big fan of romance; my regular readers know this all too well. However, I really liked the romance between Aelia and Lucianus in this book. Yes, it’s a stereotypical forbidden love on the surface (pleb loves patrician), but there’s so much more to it than that. There’s Aelia’s abuse-ridden past, societal expectations and the novel’s villains trying to get in the way of their relationship. It’s definitely a struggle and it doesn’t feel contrived at all.
I wouldn’t call Vows of Revenge a fast-paced book because it’s more character-focused, but it’s far from boring. Aelia’s character arc is fantastic and seeing things from Lucianus’ point of view keeps things moving constantly. There’s something in here for both romance-lovers and history buffs because Ridgley has done an incredible amount of research. For once, I can say with complete confidence that this book is historically accurate. Yes, the characters are made up. But the details of Roman life, from the background war in Samnia and the severe patrician-pleb divide are accurate. There’s even an historical note at the end of the book for the curious.
Vows of Revenge is written extremely well and is generally free of the typos that you typically find in self-published books. There are a few minor ones such as a missing letter or a quotation mark that faces the wrong way, but nothing blatantly obvious. Certainly not that many to have an effect on the quality of the writing or story and not enough to annoy this picky grammarian.
Even if you don’t generally read romance or historical fiction, I’d highly recommend Vows of Revenge. It’s definitely a worthwhile read.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
January 6, 2013
I loved the premise of this book and the story itself was really good, but I had a few problems with the execution that brought this down a star for me.
At times the writing was a bit unclear which pulled me out of the story. For example, at one point I literally though two chapters had gotten switched around because there was a jump in time and there was no explanation of what happened in between. One chapter ended with Lucianus arriving in Amalfi and reconnecting with an old friend of his father and then the next chapter he is back on the ship that brought him to Amalfi. I had no idea why he was suddenly on the ship again. I could have used a little more explanation as to what his plan was or there needed to be a bit of a buffer between where the chapter left of with him and where it picked back up again.
I also felt some of the initial character and plot development was lacking a bit. The second half of the book got better, but I felt there was so much potential for exploring the emotional transformation of Aelia as she goes from being an abused wife, to sold to a brothel and then rescued and healed by Lucianus. Her emotional turmoil after she was rescued particularly could have been a wonderful character study, but I felt the author didn't go deep enough into that, which would have helped me to connect with the character even more.
The last issue I had was with the cursing. Don't get me wrong, I like to throw around some good profanity as much as the next person, but it was anachronistic. I just couldn't imagine an Ancient Roman screaming c***-sucker. It took me out of the period each time and there was a fair amount of it so it happened quite a bit.
Lucianus was a pretty swoon-worthy hero the way he treated Aelia. He was incredibly understanding and gentle with her as she healed. It was very touching.
All in all this was a very good debut for this author. I would definitely give her next book a look to see how she matures as a writer.
At times the writing was a bit unclear which pulled me out of the story. For example, at one point I literally though two chapters had gotten switched around because there was a jump in time and there was no explanation of what happened in between. One chapter ended with Lucianus arriving in Amalfi and reconnecting with an old friend of his father and then the next chapter he is back on the ship that brought him to Amalfi. I had no idea why he was suddenly on the ship again. I could have used a little more explanation as to what his plan was or there needed to be a bit of a buffer between where the chapter left of with him and where it picked back up again.
I also felt some of the initial character and plot development was lacking a bit. The second half of the book got better, but I felt there was so much potential for exploring the emotional transformation of Aelia as she goes from being an abused wife, to sold to a brothel and then rescued and healed by Lucianus. Her emotional turmoil after she was rescued particularly could have been a wonderful character study, but I felt the author didn't go deep enough into that, which would have helped me to connect with the character even more.
The last issue I had was with the cursing. Don't get me wrong, I like to throw around some good profanity as much as the next person, but it was anachronistic. I just couldn't imagine an Ancient Roman screaming c***-sucker. It took me out of the period each time and there was a fair amount of it so it happened quite a bit.
Lucianus was a pretty swoon-worthy hero the way he treated Aelia. He was incredibly understanding and gentle with her as she healed. It was very touching.
All in all this was a very good debut for this author. I would definitely give her next book a look to see how she matures as a writer.
January 1, 2016
I loved the first half of this novel set in Pompeii, Rome and Almalfi in 295BC. The author did a great job of describing the fashions, food, and customs of the times. It was interesting to read about female obligations and expectations (wife to husband, and daughter to parents).
Even the storyline was good, it just got very repetitive with too many pages devoted to Aelia obsessing over her husband and his behavior. It was monotonous to see her worrying about Cassius all the time.
Even the storyline was good, it just got very repetitive with too many pages devoted to Aelia obsessing over her husband and his behavior. It was monotonous to see her worrying about Cassius all the time.
September 23, 2015
I loved writing this book and still am in love with Lucianus. I believe he's even telling me another story. I think you will love him too and want his next story
Merged review:
It's a great read if you love ancient Rome
Merged review:
It's a great read if you love ancient Rome
February 10, 2016
Mildly interesting historical romance/adventure novel set at Ancient Rome. The state of women's nonexistent rights in Ancient Rome, the class difference and struggle between the Patricis and the Plebes are some of the threads in this novel. Not very original, but readable.
October 20, 2015
Loved it, it gave me an insight on the life of s woman thousands of years ago.. Held my attention the whole time.
December 16, 2015
We are proud to announce that VOWS OF REVENGE by J.F. Ridgley is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells a reader that this book is well worth their time and money!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews