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Jean

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Jean is Currently Reading

Jean is currently reading

Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #1)

by Kate Quinn (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, historical-fiction, five-star

Reading for the 2nd time

read in October 2015

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Jean said: " This book came as a great surprise when I was in a desperate need of something pulling myself out of the reading slump. I started university in August and was too overwhelmed by the new experience to have time to enjoy a book. Kate Quinn's amazing st This book came as a great surprise when I was in a desperate need of something pulling myself out of the reading slump. I started university in August and was too overwhelmed by the new experience to have time to enjoy a book. Kate Quinn's amazing story just pulls me right in. I thought it is going to be a romance at first (well, those brain candies are always the ones that successfully push me to read again), but romance fades to the background as Quinn focuses a lot of characters development (it doesn't even seem that important towards the end; I definitely don't get the see the relationship between Thea and Arius as much as I want to).

The story mostly focuses on the life of Thea but is also told by various perspectives. Thea is a slave girl who falls in love with Arius, Rome's most successful gladiator. After the relationship is discovered by Thea's master, Lepida(who is also interested in Arius), the two are separated by Lepida's cruel decision to sell Thea away. Thea later becomes a performer and attracts the attention of the emperor of Rome (hence the title of the book), and she struggles to keep her sanity in the affair because of the emperor strange demand.

I think the story mostly talks about the love story between Arius and Thea while putting the story in the bigger historical picture. The characters are all so fascinating. I absolutely hate Lepida with a passion. She is a cruel girl who thinks her beauty can give her anything she wants, and she won't hesitate for a second to think whom she might harm when she chases after power and wealth. With that said, I do see where she is coming from though. Her father spoils her to no end, so it must be upsetting to see both Arius and the emperor turn to Thea instead of her. Arius is a great character. He has his rough edges but I love seeing his interaction with Thea. Their time together might be relatively short (especially when they first fall in love because Lepida soon discovers the truth and sends Thea away), but their chemistry and sexual tension are extremely believable. I can't really say I deem him book boyfriend material because I really want to see more of him (the book does discusses his time in the Colesseum--really vivid description by the way! But I would love to discover more dimensions of his personality). Thea is fantastic as a main character. She is strong, brave (and many qualities that I wish I have :D). She has been through a lot, and it is amazing to see how she comes up even stronger towards the end.

The book is written beautifully, and I was surprised that I have never heard of her before (not that I have been a huge fan of historical fiction for a long time). I didn't decide to buy the book until I read Diana Gabaldon's review (I adore her outlander series). Quinn drops a few hints here and there about some of the character (spoiler--Justina), and I am kind of mad at myself for not being able to pick them up. She also did an amazing job of weaving imaginary characters with the real historical ones as well. ...more "

Oct 24, 2015 12:31AM · see review