I was viscerally – emotionally – affected by this book. A novel I picked up for the pleasure of reading it and not for the purpose of reviewing, I was completely blown away by the power packed into this debut novel. The story of a preacher’s wife who becomes the preacher’s widow left me with emot...
Felicissimus paced the library with the chip on his shoulder that he’d worn since Cyprian dismissed him at the arena. “Why not stage a rebellion? Have Cyprian publicly proclaim his allegiance to Christ, and storm the proconsul’s palace? War seems a better plan than this marriage.”“For whom? Do yo...
After a few close brushes with several soldier patrols, Cyprian had reconsidered the wisdom of that decision and waited for nightfall before attempting a return to the villa. They’d located the slave trader in his holding cell near the docks. The plan they worked out was simple. Cyprian gave Feli...
Shopkeepers, fresh from their afternoon naps, had pulled back the shutters and set their wares out for the onslaught of cruise ship tourists who frequented the cafés and shops in the cool of the evening.As she neared the Tophet, the crowds thinned to a trickle, then vanished altogether. The growi...
He was a man never to be the same.Caecilianus plunged a wooden paddle into the horrendous stench of the dead snails he had returned to the vat. His stirring fouled the air the same way his lack of self-control had fouled their friendship. What had he been thinking? It would be far easier to coax ...
If she didn’t hurry, the sun would break over the horizon before they had Quinta safely delivered. She had to get this right if she wanted to see her grandparents. That run-in with the soldiers had made Mom really jumpy. She never would have agreed to Maggie’s suggestion that she go for help if t...