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A review by bealmg
The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for the e-ARC.
The Wolf Den, the first of a trilogy by Elodie Harper, follows the story of Amara, a Greek woman sold into slavery after her father dies and her mother struggles with paying his debts. She is brought to Pompeii where she becomes an enslaved sex worker in one of the city's most infamous brothels, The Wolf Den.
Although this is historical fiction set in the Roman Empire, the writing was surprisingly modern and easy to read. While it took me by surprise at first, I found myself enjoying this modern spin. The descriptions of ancient Pompeii are beautifully vivid, from the narrow roads to the graffiti adorning the walls of the houses. Although this book is about the lives of enslaved sex workers, I thought the author did an incredible job at showing the cruelty of the pain and violence these women go through without too many explicit and graphic details. She showed just enough for us readers to get the picture and still feel for these characters.
I really enjoyed how nuanced most of the characters were, particularly the women. I also liked how nobody, not even the protagonist, is shown as inherently good or bad - although there are clearly evil characters in the book who are not, and rightfully so, redeemed, you see how every character tries to do whatever they can to survive. Harper slowly tells you about their backstories and it adds so much rich detail to the dynamics of the relationships in this novel, especially the friendships between the women.
The pacing of this book is quite slow, but I thought it was necessary to fully explore these characters. The only thing I thought could have been better was the plot - there's no problem with it per se, but sometimes I felt that the main plot (Amara trying to become a free woman) was overshadowed by the everyday lives of these characters, which, although I really liked reading that, eventually led to a very rushed ending, in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the themes it explored, which are still incredibly important and relevant nowadays. I'm interested to see where the story goes next!
The Wolf Den, the first of a trilogy by Elodie Harper, follows the story of Amara, a Greek woman sold into slavery after her father dies and her mother struggles with paying his debts. She is brought to Pompeii where she becomes an enslaved sex worker in one of the city's most infamous brothels, The Wolf Den.
Although this is historical fiction set in the Roman Empire, the writing was surprisingly modern and easy to read. While it took me by surprise at first, I found myself enjoying this modern spin. The descriptions of ancient Pompeii are beautifully vivid, from the narrow roads to the graffiti adorning the walls of the houses. Although this book is about the lives of enslaved sex workers, I thought the author did an incredible job at showing the cruelty of the pain and violence these women go through without too many explicit and graphic details. She showed just enough for us readers to get the picture and still feel for these characters.
I really enjoyed how nuanced most of the characters were, particularly the women. I also liked how nobody, not even the protagonist, is shown as inherently good or bad - although there are clearly evil characters in the book who are not, and rightfully so, redeemed, you see how every character tries to do whatever they can to survive. Harper slowly tells you about their backstories and it adds so much rich detail to the dynamics of the relationships in this novel, especially the friendships between the women.
The pacing of this book is quite slow, but I thought it was necessary to fully explore these characters. The only thing I thought could have been better was the plot - there's no problem with it per se, but sometimes I felt that the main plot (Amara trying to become a free woman) was overshadowed by the everyday lives of these characters, which, although I really liked reading that, eventually led to a very rushed ending, in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and the themes it explored, which are still incredibly important and relevant nowadays. I'm interested to see where the story goes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Rape, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Trafficking