May 21st, 2017

I was so excited for this one - female gladiators right! I was sorely disappointed. We first meet Fallon in her home in Prydain (Britain as Caesar calls it). It starts off well, the setting is interesting, the characters interesting. Then she gets captured and the story goes downhill from there. There are far too many coincidences and there are one too many stretches of moral character. I mean this was Ancient Rome - home of brutal gladiator matches and Caesar laying havoc wherever he went. It was a dog eat dog world. The first thing we see is a kind slave catcher. I mean he's a slaver people - there is no kindness in people who kidnap those unfortunate enough to stray a little too far from their villages and then sold for profit. From there the coincidences and kindnesses just snowplowed and then there was the insta-love. 

The premise was great. The story started off strong, and was interesting. The writing isn't bad - perhaps a bit too descriptive in places. But the overall problem are the plot holes, and the fact that the story wasn't quite developed enough. I knew before I finished that there would be another story, because the ending felt too rushed. 

This would have been fantastic with better editing. But I think those who like romance in the guise of historical fiction will enjoy it. 

Ages: 12 and up

---