Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Le lupe di Pompei by Elodie Harper

201 reviews

jaduxenn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

jsurasky's review against another edition

This book is beautifully written but the content was just too heavy for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Slavery

directorpurry's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child death

angelalibrosymiscelaneas's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.25

 The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper takes place in a Pompeii's brothel where our main character, Amara, works as a sex slave. Having lost everything as a young woman, even her own freedom, Amara tries to survive in the hell she ended up living in, looking for a way of escaping his cruel master and the harsh life of a sexual worker in ancient Rome.

I have to expose myself, and my literal reading comprehension, here. If I have to confess why I pick this book... I must say I thought it was a historical urban fantasy of some sort...HEAR ME OUT, AMARA AND HER COWORKERS/FRIENDS ARE DESCRIBED AS SHE-WOLVES. Okay? I took it literally. I thought she was a sex worker at Pompeii AND a lycanthrope. It made sense to me. Don't ask me why, It just did.

"By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share."

This line on the blurb to me said: Paranormal fantasy with, possibly, sapphic representation. Inside my head it made total sense, and sounded interesting, so I requested the ARC. Could I be farther from the truth? ... I guess, but hardly. Luckily, I took note of my misinterpretation quite early, when I realized they were referenced as she-wolves because of the term "Lupanar". I'm not quite sure if this misconception came from my lack of knowledge since I'm not a English native speaker, but I feel so embarrassed... So let me get this straight. Werewolves and lesbians: No. Pompeii and historical fiction: Yes.

So, obviously, my initial expectation was quite far from the truth, but thankfully I notice my error early, and I would say that my opinion on this novel was not affected by this misconception.

I sadly found this novel boring and pointless, rather than plotless. It felt like Elodie Harper was writing without a clear direction. For a book with 400 pages, it felt longer, due to its reiterative narration and the weakness of the plot. I would say this novel was more character-driven, if it was true. But it didn't come out as that. The writing style, with a narration in present tense, remarked this conflicting flaw: This style is highly action-oriented. It helps move the story with a quick pace, but it has less room for reflection and the expression of the deepest character's thoughts. So, as the book plot didn't move forward and was almost nonexistent, we were left with an endless routine of Amara going to the tavern, having to pleasure man, having conflict with Felix, and walking around with Dido.
I could understand why people may love this book, but to me, it read too juvenile for such a harsh topic and the period it was developed was almost irrelevant. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse and Abortion

lisa_m's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, and Pregnancy

mokiethe_dog34's review against another edition

Lovely writing, but didn’t really interest me in terms of plot. I really liked the characters but not much was going in with them plot wise. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, and Slavery

thereshegoesagain's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book and trilogy are going to stick with me for a while. Elodie Harper does such a good job handling such difficult subject matter in a way that’s not too graphic but also doesn’t gloss over the horrors of being a brothel slave.

Amara’s journey trying to get out of her brothel life is both really hard to watch but also so, so hopeful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

obliteraturebygaytorayd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Really enjoyed and excited for the next ones. I anticipate interesting character growth in the upcoming novel, whereas this one laid the foundations for the main character’s growth and set parameters for expectations of the archetypal men in her life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Abortion, and Alcohol

emshany's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

It’s an amazing book but it is about prostitution so if that would bother you, maybe not for you

elisacarlene's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury