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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aivan uskomaton kirja!! Pakko ruveta heti kuuntelemaan seuraavaa osaa…
Rating: 3.25-3.5⭐️
I sat on this review for so long because I wasn’t really sure how to capture my thoughts. A candid and hard look at brothels in ancient Pompeii and while it was a well told story, something was missing for me to make me fall in love with this story. Knowing this is part one of three also gives me pause but I don’t want to say it was bad at all, cause it wasn’t! I never got bored but I do think it was a tad too long and idk if I was captivated enough to continue on with this trilogy.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Less myth retellings and more Roman historical fiction like this, please! I do love a good classical setting, but a fresh, real story like this was so much more appealing to me than yet another feminist rehashing of an Ovidian myth.
Harper clearly did her research here, which, in my opinion, is always the key to good historical fiction. Given that this is about the lives of sex workers in ancient Pompeii, this wasn't always the easiest reading, but its frankness about the lives of enslaved people and enslaved women especially is thoughtfully depicted. On my own visit to Pompeii in 2017, I remember very clearly seeing the lurid murals above the doorways in a brothel and the penises carved into the streets, but without really thinking about the women who worked in those brothels and the kinds of lives they might have led.
I also appreciated the way Harper explores the relationships between the women of the Wolf Den. Their ties to each other are more familial than friendly, born out of survival in a way that makes them incredibly deep but also deeply complex. This was again explored very thoughtfully. I thought at first that it would be difficult to keep track of who was whom, but within the first 50 pages, that concern was easily dissipated.
All of that being said, while I found this utterly fascinating, I don't know if I feel strongly enough about the characters, Amara especially, to continue with the series, though I'm tempted to skip to the final book to find out how Harper handles the lead-up to the eruption. She truly brings the ancient world into sharp focus here in a way that, again going back to myth retellings, is often glazed over in favor of florid, literary writing. Harper instead foregrounds some of those very human, everyday details which I love to see in any kind of fiction. Makes me want to go back to Pompeii!
Harper clearly did her research here, which, in my opinion, is always the key to good historical fiction. Given that this is about the lives of sex workers in ancient Pompeii, this wasn't always the easiest reading, but its frankness about the lives of enslaved people and enslaved women especially is thoughtfully depicted. On my own visit to Pompeii in 2017, I remember very clearly seeing the lurid murals above the doorways in a brothel and the penises carved into the streets, but without really thinking about the women who worked in those brothels and the kinds of lives they might have led.
I also appreciated the way Harper explores the relationships between the women of the Wolf Den. Their ties to each other are more familial than friendly, born out of survival in a way that makes them incredibly deep but also deeply complex. This was again explored very thoughtfully. I thought at first that it would be difficult to keep track of who was whom, but within the first 50 pages, that concern was easily dissipated.
All of that being said, while I found this utterly fascinating, I don't know if I feel strongly enough about the characters, Amara especially, to continue with the series, though I'm tempted to skip to the final book to find out how Harper handles the lead-up to the eruption. She truly brings the ancient world into sharp focus here in a way that, again going back to myth retellings, is often glazed over in favor of florid, literary writing. Harper instead foregrounds some of those very human, everyday details which I love to see in any kind of fiction. Makes me want to go back to Pompeii!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced