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tashabye's review against another edition
3.0
A fun read but not as strong as [b:Mistress of Rome|6581303|Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome, #1)|Kate Quinn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440986423s/6581303.jpg|6774744]. I'll be moving on to the next as I'm definitely curious how things are going turn out. I have a feeling this next one will be even better.
jresendez610's review against another edition
4.0
Very good historical fiction! I was drawn into the world of Sabina and Vix. If only we could know the real story of these characters and how true all the rumors are!
laraiswrite's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
beaconhillbooks's review against another edition
5.0
This is what historical fiction should be like. A brilliant addition to the series and all hail Kate Quinn!
lunaphorie's review against another edition
5.0
This has been my favorite of the Mistress of Rome-series so far! Mainly it's because of Vix - his voice and the way he mixes humor with raw feelings is really perfect for a book like this. Vix's way of telling his story is so intense that I read this book faster than I imagined.
The switch in POVs was also well done, just like in the other books before. But where Thea had a certain sadness, Vix has only rage and ambition, and the ability to love all the wrong people. Incredible how he does it.
So the story follows his journey through Rome and his quest for a glorious destiny. It shows us Sabina's path, hunting for adventures - which she somehow manages to find. It also has Titus, a very loveable character who is the voice of reason - the only one in the whole book, to be honest. Trajan, the Empreor which everyone loves, who was a bit too cheerful for my taste. Plotina, the most horrible villain ever who only loses to Lepida. And Hadrian, that son of a bitch. You see how Vix really molded my views. Sabina found good in Hadrian, but I was already on Vix's side and couldn't bring myself to feel any type of sympathy towards Hadrian.
All these people meet throughout the book, fall in love and end up hating each other, become friends who then become enemies, try to outwit each other and plot against each other, or outright punches them in Vix's case. It's a very wild ride, this book.
Vix and Sabina is such an incredible love/hate story. It has to be one of my favorites now, out all the many, many love stories I read. I loved Sabina, but was somehow very irritated by her sometimes, just like Vix. I'm sure I would never have felt irritated towards her had the book been told more in her POV, but Vix kind of influenced me. Because, let's be real, Sabina is badass and she was badass from the start. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it; how to manipulate bad people into being a bit better, how to help the ones who most needed her help (and a total feminist too). But I also really waited for a scene where she would crack and be heartbroken over Vix, just like he waited for it and IT NEVER CAME 'cause she is just a real badass girl who doesn't get her heart broken by anyone, not even the love of her life. I questioned it so many times while reading it - does she even love him? I guess she does, but she loves herself, too.
I was pretty much obsessed with the book. The pace is great, the war and soldier scenes are told in a way that doesn't get boring, it's a perfect mix of politics, emotions, humor and suspense. Man, I loved it.
The switch in POVs was also well done, just like in the other books before. But where Thea had a certain sadness, Vix has only rage and ambition, and the ability to love all the wrong people. Incredible how he does it.
So the story follows his journey through Rome and his quest for a glorious destiny. It shows us Sabina's path, hunting for adventures - which she somehow manages to find. It also has Titus, a very loveable character who is the voice of reason - the only one in the whole book, to be honest. Trajan, the Empreor which everyone loves, who was a bit too cheerful for my taste. Plotina, the most horrible villain ever who only loses to Lepida. And Hadrian, that son of a bitch. You see how Vix really molded my views. Sabina found good in Hadrian, but I was already on Vix's side and couldn't bring myself to feel any type of sympathy towards Hadrian.
All these people meet throughout the book, fall in love and end up hating each other, become friends who then become enemies, try to outwit each other and plot against each other, or outright punches them in Vix's case. It's a very wild ride, this book.
Vix and Sabina is such an incredible love/hate story. It has to be one of my favorites now, out all the many, many love stories I read. I loved Sabina, but was somehow very irritated by her sometimes, just like Vix. I'm sure I would never have felt irritated towards her had the book been told more in her POV, but Vix kind of influenced me. Because, let's be real, Sabina is badass and she was badass from the start. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it; how to manipulate bad people into being a bit better, how to help the ones who most needed her help (and a total feminist too). But I also really waited for a scene where she would crack and be heartbroken over Vix, just like he waited for it and IT NEVER CAME 'cause she is just a real badass girl who doesn't get her heart broken by anyone, not even the love of her life. I questioned it so many times while reading it - does she even love him? I guess she does, but she loves herself, too.
I was pretty much obsessed with the book. The pace is great, the war and soldier scenes are told in a way that doesn't get boring, it's a perfect mix of politics, emotions, humor and suspense. Man, I loved it.
life_of_wine_and_books's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, although I read the prequel (Mistress of Rome) two years ago, so my memory was definitely fuzzy (I wouldn't recommend waiting that long to read the books). I loved the characters, and when the book was over, I was upset. I immediately went online to see what happened to all the characters after the book ended, and I certainly hope Kate Quinn writes another one (hint, hint). I do wish Vix's parents had made an appearance of some sort. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book.
linyarai's review against another edition
5.0
I love it, just as much as the other two. The characters are so easy to get drawn into, and the plot is terrific. Can't wait to read more about Vix.
alexis_hookedtobooks's review against another edition
5.0
I love the way Kate Quinn tells these historical tales. We as readers get fully engrossed in the story and feel immersed in the time period. The way she develops characters within these historical times is also amazing.
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This book takes off not quite where the first book left off, but some years later. We have Vix coming back to Rome because he feels bored with his life, and he eventually joins a legion. It was fun to read about life with the legions and their routines and structure when going on a campaign. I also loved the relationship between Vix and Sabina, and their love/hate tension.
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The book does a good job of showing the expansion of the Roman Empire and how difficult it was to maintain power once they had expanded fully. The difficulty in maintaining control at all their borders became difficult and this book really showcased that.
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CW: sexual content, violence, death of a loved one.
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This book takes off not quite where the first book left off, but some years later. We have Vix coming back to Rome because he feels bored with his life, and he eventually joins a legion. It was fun to read about life with the legions and their routines and structure when going on a campaign. I also loved the relationship between Vix and Sabina, and their love/hate tension.
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The book does a good job of showing the expansion of the Roman Empire and how difficult it was to maintain power once they had expanded fully. The difficulty in maintaining control at all their borders became difficult and this book really showcased that.
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CW: sexual content, violence, death of a loved one.
abookishaffair's review against another edition
5.0
How do you know when you have found a really fantastic book? Like this: picture that you are on an airplane. It's a red eye and everyone is sleeping. You aren't sleeping because you are so into this book that you must finish it. You know you are going to be exhausted when you land. You finish the book finally and the ending is both so good and such a cliffhanger that you can't decide what you should do first. Should you throw the book across the plane because you can't believe that you have to wait such a long time for the next book to find out what happens after the cliffhanger? Should you cry quietly to yourself because the book moved you in such a way that you are mourning coming to the end? Should you wake up your dear husband (who is deeply asleep like you are supposed to be on a red-eye) and tell him all about the book? I opted for the last choice because I had to talk about the book to someone Right. That. Very. Second. My husband listened (such a good sport) and then told me to go to sleep (mostly so he could go back to sleep).
"Empress of the Seven Hills" is the third book in Kate Quinn's Rome series. You may want to read the other books before this one (mostly because they are great books, you will still understand this one). This book follows Vix, son of Thea from "Mistress of Rome", and Sabina, a woman who is high-born but wants so much more than what her station in life offers. I love both of these characters so much. Vix is so awesome. He's brash and hard-headed. He seems like he'd be a lot of fun to hang around with. Sabina is fascinating to me because she could lead a very privileged life but she is just not content with that. I love the love story between the two of them and loved following their adventures together. I cannot wait to see what the next book holds for them. These are characters that you are absolutely going to fall in love with. Quinn does a fantastic job of making them feel really real and bringing them to life.
I got sucked into this story. Between the awesome characters, the amazing setting, and the historical detail, I am one satisfied reader!
"Empress of the Seven Hills" is the third book in Kate Quinn's Rome series. You may want to read the other books before this one (mostly because they are great books, you will still understand this one). This book follows Vix, son of Thea from "Mistress of Rome", and Sabina, a woman who is high-born but wants so much more than what her station in life offers. I love both of these characters so much. Vix is so awesome. He's brash and hard-headed. He seems like he'd be a lot of fun to hang around with. Sabina is fascinating to me because she could lead a very privileged life but she is just not content with that. I love the love story between the two of them and loved following their adventures together. I cannot wait to see what the next book holds for them. These are characters that you are absolutely going to fall in love with. Quinn does a fantastic job of making them feel really real and bringing them to life.
I got sucked into this story. Between the awesome characters, the amazing setting, and the historical detail, I am one satisfied reader!
vegancleopatra's review against another edition
3.0
I ended up wanting to like Empress of the Seven Hills more than I actually did. The continuing story of Vix, child of Thea and Arius from Mistress of Rome, felt like it could have been great, especially since I really enjoyed Mistress of Rome. However, while the story was enjoyable it was also frustrating in a number of ways as well.
The first half of the book was better than the second half. I do not know what happened to the pacing or the characters but everything seemed to derail a bit in the second half. Sabina and Titus were my favorite characters. Despite being the lead of the story, Vix was far too frustrating to care about.
This novel, as with Kate Quinn's other novels, has multiple character viewpoints. That writing style was largely successful in Empress but one character felt unnecessary: Plotina. Yes, she was a driving force for the plot and was vital to the ongoing behaviors of certain characters but having her have her own section did not add to the story in my opinion. Why not a viewpoint from Hadrian? That would have been considerably helpful especially since his character shifts so much in the second half of the book. A character change that is only shown through Sabina, who is largely confused by the changes to Hadrian.
The way in which Quinn chose to write the book was a tad confusing. Vix tells the story in first-person while the other characters are in third-person. This is fine but the real problem is how Vix tells his story. Some of Vix's parts are told as flashbacks of sorts with a lot of foreshadowing. The foreshadowing was extremely annoying and did not allow me as the reader to enjoy relationships as they were during the telling. It was pretty much "oh I loved this now but oooooh just wait, I'll hate it". Such things do not allow you to enjoy the moment. Vix would randomly state things in a flashback fashion while largely they were told in present tense. Why was that? Why the need for the flashback additions? They interfered with the flow of the book.
Also, was I supposed to like Vix? Because the way he told the story and his "voice" in general were very grating. He is essentially a womanizer and an annoying one to boot--he certainly was not his father. I still do not understand why he came to dislike Sabina so much. She never made any claims or pretended to be anything but who she was.
Also, the sudden addition of the character Mirah did not allow me as the reader to come to care for her character. I was supposed to considering the situation in the book but I just could not have cared less. Put her in a collapsed building, let her whine about the plight of the Jews etc. etc. but I could not come to care. (Also, the plight of which I speak did not add to the story in my opinion, just felt like a tangent. Will this be important in the next book?) Judging by the ending of the book I do not think the character that was supposed to care really cared at all either!
The plot itself was rather obvious, at least the main points. It felt somewhat formulaic at times, especially after having read the first two from Quinn. I have difficulty distinguishing whether this is Quinn's writing style or Roman politics that makes it so predictable, it is likely a mix.
In the end I did not really care what happened to the characters aside from Sabina and Titus. While large portions of the novel were enjoyable it was simply not as good as it could have been. All in all, Empress of the Seven Hills left me unsatisfied.
The first half of the book was better than the second half. I do not know what happened to the pacing or the characters but everything seemed to derail a bit in the second half. Sabina and Titus were my favorite characters. Despite being the lead of the story, Vix was far too frustrating to care about.
This novel, as with Kate Quinn's other novels, has multiple character viewpoints. That writing style was largely successful in Empress but one character felt unnecessary: Plotina. Yes, she was a driving force for the plot and was vital to the ongoing behaviors of certain characters but having her have her own section did not add to the story in my opinion. Why not a viewpoint from Hadrian? That would have been considerably helpful especially since his character shifts so much in the second half of the book. A character change that is only shown through Sabina, who is largely confused by the changes to Hadrian.
The way in which Quinn chose to write the book was a tad confusing. Vix tells the story in first-person while the other characters are in third-person. This is fine but the real problem is how Vix tells his story. Some of Vix's parts are told as flashbacks of sorts with a lot of foreshadowing. The foreshadowing was extremely annoying and did not allow me as the reader to enjoy relationships as they were during the telling. It was pretty much "oh I loved this now but oooooh just wait, I'll hate it". Such things do not allow you to enjoy the moment. Vix would randomly state things in a flashback fashion while largely they were told in present tense. Why was that? Why the need for the flashback additions? They interfered with the flow of the book.
Also, was I supposed to like Vix? Because the way he told the story and his "voice" in general were very grating. He is essentially a womanizer and an annoying one to boot--he certainly was not his father. I still do not understand why he came to dislike Sabina so much. She never made any claims or pretended to be anything but who she was.
Also, the sudden addition of the character Mirah did not allow me as the reader to come to care for her character. I was supposed to considering the situation in the book but I just could not have cared less. Put her in a collapsed building, let her whine about the plight of the Jews etc. etc. but I could not come to care. (Also, the plight of which I speak did not add to the story in my opinion, just felt like a tangent. Will this be important in the next book?) Judging by the ending of the book I do not think the character that was supposed to care really cared at all either!
The plot itself was rather obvious, at least the main points. It felt somewhat formulaic at times, especially after having read the first two from Quinn. I have difficulty distinguishing whether this is Quinn's writing style or Roman politics that makes it so predictable, it is likely a mix.
In the end I did not really care what happened to the characters aside from Sabina and Titus. While large portions of the novel were enjoyable it was simply not as good as it could have been. All in all, Empress of the Seven Hills left me unsatisfied.