As a lover of
historical fiction, I was thrilled when I discovered my writing colleague
Caroline Storer had released a work in this genre.
And I was curious too. Well, I
wasn’t disappointed.
Caroline has a perfect
voice for the historical genre and has the unique ability to create authentic
historical characters to whom the modern reader can relate. Not at all easy.
The ancient Roman
empire was renowned for making advances in western civilization, carrying on
from the legacy of the ancient Greeks.
But unfortunately, compassion and tolerance seem to have been virtues foreign
to the Roman way of thinking, which celebrated glory, victory, success and
achievement. Marsallas and Justina, the
two main characters in this romance, are high achievers. She in the area of art, creating beautiful
images and he in the area of sport, becoming a celebrated sportsman, gaining
wealth enough to become a businessman/farmer.
When they lost each other, they both threw themselves into developing
their talents and both achieved measures of success. But their innocent, teenage affair, so pure
and intense, had been spoiled by Marsallas’ evil uncle Quintus had inflicted
terrible cruelty on the two of them. But
after the death of their enemy, they find themselves face to face again. The question is, has everything been ruined
between the two of them? Or can their
love be rescued from the damage which has been inflicted upon it?
I was very happy to
see that Christianity in the Roman Empire was depicted as a force for healing
and hope.
Marsallas and Justina
have a strong chemistry and things get a little hot around them at times – so
if you like it hot when it comes to romance, you won’t be disappointed with
this one. But honestly speaking, the
story was so well written and interesting that even if it had been ‘sweet’ (i.e.
no sex scenes) I don’t think any reader could possibly feel disappointed.
I want to read more
and more from this talented author. It’s
hard to believe this is only her first published novel.
I received a review copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.