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christianyaple's Reviews (43)
A thorough, yet fast paced, journey through the decline of the Roman Republic.
Strauss takes 10 of imperial Rome’s leaders, the Julio-Claudian emperors (blood relatives of Julius Caesar) and later emperors who adopted the Caesar name, and explains the history and impacts of their reign. It’s well researched and written, as all Strauss titles seem to be, however, something about this title I couldn’t fully dive into. It didn’t seem like there were many new ideas or thoughts, leaving a feeling that it’s just an updated and giant rehash of previously known information.
If you aren’t familiar with the subject matter, however, this book would be exactly what you’re looking for. A zoomed out look of imperial Rome, that occasionally zooms in on specific Romans. Despite my minor gripe, I really enjoyed reading it. Strauss is definitely one of the better modern historical authors.
If you aren’t familiar with the subject matter, however, this book would be exactly what you’re looking for. A zoomed out look of imperial Rome, that occasionally zooms in on specific Romans. Despite my minor gripe, I really enjoyed reading it. Strauss is definitely one of the better modern historical authors.
What could have easily been a quickly made and cheaply produced cookbook to seize on an IP’s audience for easy money is instead a collection of hilarious, in-character recipe introductions and thoughtful recipes. Flameo, hotman!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed Mother of Rome. Typically, I don’t read a lot of fiction. Being a lover of history, especially the bronze and iron ages, I usually live on a steady diet of non-fiction or texts contemporaneously written. But this is 2025 and Im intentionally taking time to read books I wouldn’t normally.
MOR was a great book for transitioning to fiction. I’ll admit, the first 40-50 pages were difficult for me. I really enjoyed the writing, but the difficulties lied in my own reading predisposition to non-fiction. The problem I have with reading about historical antiquity is how male dominated the field of authors is. I have read Mary Beard (who gets untold amounts of crap because she calls a spade a spade, which makes insecure men feel insecure), but there aren’t many other female authors in this space - at least not with the recognition of Beard. All of this is to say that style of fiction took me some time to get acclimated to. Especially written by a female author.
I am so glad I took this plunge. Lauren JA Bear did a truly wonderful job creating a story within what we know about the mythological founding of Rome. The story had a great pace, moments of fear and love that were equally beautiful if not haunting. As a parent, the parts on parenting (often on motherhood, but that’s in the title) were profound to me. I’m unaware if Bear is a parent herself. The way she writes about parenting and the relationships between parents and their children lead me to believe she is, or is a great listener if she is not a parent.
As admitted to earlier, this is essentially my first foray into female written fiction (does reading three Harry Potter books 25 years ago count?). I’m excited to find more books like this, and I also hope to expand my comfort zone outside of antiquity.
My last thought is that while I’m unsure if I’ll read it again, I will keep the book forever. The art on the jacket is absolutely stunning and will be a very proud display on my bookshelf.
MOR was a great book for transitioning to fiction. I’ll admit, the first 40-50 pages were difficult for me. I really enjoyed the writing, but the difficulties lied in my own reading predisposition to non-fiction. The problem I have with reading about historical antiquity is how male dominated the field of authors is. I have read Mary Beard (who gets untold amounts of crap because she calls a spade a spade, which makes insecure men feel insecure), but there aren’t many other female authors in this space - at least not with the recognition of Beard. All of this is to say that style of fiction took me some time to get acclimated to. Especially written by a female author.
I am so glad I took this plunge. Lauren JA Bear did a truly wonderful job creating a story within what we know about the mythological founding of Rome. The story had a great pace, moments of fear and love that were equally beautiful if not haunting. As a parent, the parts on parenting (often on motherhood, but that’s in the title) were profound to me. I’m unaware if Bear is a parent herself. The way she writes about parenting and the relationships between parents and their children lead me to believe she is, or is a great listener if she is not a parent.
As admitted to earlier, this is essentially my first foray into female written fiction (does reading three Harry Potter books 25 years ago count?). I’m excited to find more books like this, and I also hope to expand my comfort zone outside of antiquity.
My last thought is that while I’m unsure if I’ll read it again, I will keep the book forever. The art on the jacket is absolutely stunning and will be a very proud display on my bookshelf.
