Series: Wolf Den Trilogy

#BookReview The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper @ElodieITV @UnionSqandCo #TheWolfDenTrilogy #TheTempleofFortuna #ElodieHarper #UnionSqandCo

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The Temple of Fortuna by Elodie Harper @ElodieITV @UnionSqandCo #TheWolfDenTrilogy #TheTempleofFortuna #ElodieHarper #UnionSqandCo Title: The Temple of Fortuna

Author: Elodie Harper

Series: Wolf Den Trilogy #3

Published by: Union Square & Co. on Nov. 14, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Union Square & Co.

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Amara’s journey has taken her far; from a slave in Pompeii’s wolf den to a high-powered courtesan in Rome… though her story is not over yet.

While Amara plays for power in Rome’s imperial palace, those dearest to her remain in Pompeii. But it is AD 79, and mighty Mount Vesuvius is about to make itself known…

Review:

Atmospheric, thrilling, and intense!

The Temple of Fortuna is a fascinating, enticing tale that picks up where The House with the Golden Door left off, taking us back into the life of Amara, a young slave who, now living a free, somewhat powerful existence under the protection of her new wealthy patron in Rome, faces her most challenging battle of all when after being drawn back to Pompeii by her family, friends and the daughter she left behind has to find a way to survive the devastation and destruction wreaked by Mount Vesuvius when it’s eruption turns this once vibrant city she once called home into nothing more than a graveyard covered by ash.

The prose is expressive and tight. The characters are selfish, determined, and resilient. And the plot is a riveting tale of life, loss, family, duty, secrets, lies, manipulation, survival, perseverance, hope, love, natural disasters, and female friendships.

Overall, The Temple of Fortuna is a unique, passionate, epic, historical fiction novel by Harper that is full of soul-searching dilemmas, dangerous situations, and complex, intriguing characters, all set during a catastrophic time in history. And while it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to this amazing cast of characters I’ve come to be invested in over these last three novels, it is nevertheless a superb ending to a fabulous series that I highly recommend and will undoubtedly miss.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Union Square & Co. for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elodie Harper

Elodie Harper is a journalist and prize-winning short story writer. Her story 'Wild Swimming' won the 2016 Bazaar of Bad Dreams short story competition, which was judged by Stephen King.

She is currently a reporter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer for Channel 4 News. Her job as a journalist has seen her join one of the most secretive wings of the Church of Scientology and cover the far right hip hop scene in Berlin, as well as crime reporting in Norfolk where her first two novels were set – The Binding Song and The Death Knock.

Elodie studied Latin poetry both in the original and in translation as part of her English Literature degree at Oxford, instilling a lifelong interest in the ancient world. The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels about the lives of women in ancient Pompeii.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper @ElodieITV @UnionSqandCo #TheWolfDenTrilogy #TheHousewiththeGoldenDoor #ElodieHarper #UnionSqandCo

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper @ElodieITV @UnionSqandCo #TheWolfDenTrilogy #TheHousewiththeGoldenDoor #ElodieHarper #UnionSqandCo Title: The House with the Golden Door

Author: Elodie Harper

Series: Wolf Den Trilogy #2

Published by: Union Square & Co. on Sep. 6, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 472

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Union Square & Co.

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The life of a courtesan in Pompeii is glittering, yet precarious…
Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the town’s most notorious brothel, but now her existence depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought.

At night she dreams of the wolf den, still haunted by her past. Amara longs for the women she was forced to leave behind and worse, finds herself pursued by the man who once owned her. In order to be free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is.

Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all.

We return to Pompeii for the second instalment in Elodie Harper’s Wolf Den Trilogy, set in the town’s lupanar and reimagining the lives of women long overlooked.

Review:

Absorbing, enthralling, and atmospheric!

The House with the Golden Door is a dramatic, multilayered tale that picks up right where The Wolf Den left off, taking us back into the life of Amara, who now as a freedwoman and living in the house provided to her by her patron Rufus, must learn how to contain her grief at the loss of her best friend, continue to secretly construct business deals to try and secure an independent future for herself and those she loves, and ultimately confront the heartbreak she faces due to forbidden love, unimaginable betrayals, societal expectations, and weighty ambitions.

The prose is eloquent and descriptive. The characters are brave, scarred, and resourceful. And the plot is a gripping tale of life, loss, duty, deception, secrets, lies, manipulation, greed, betrayal, corruption, mayhem, savagery, survival, and love.

Overall, The House with the Golden Door is an immersive, intense, gritty sequel by Harper that has left me counting down the days until the third and final novel in this trilogy becomes available so I can finally discover how this thrilling, historical saga will finally conclude.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Union Square & Co. for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elodie Harper

Elodie Harper is a journalist and prize-winning short story writer. Her story 'Wild Swimming' won the 2016 Bazaar of Bad Dreams short story competition, which was judged by Stephen King.

She is currently a reporter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer for Channel 4 News. Her job as a journalist has seen her join one of the most secretive wings of the Church of Scientology and cover the far right hip hop scene in Berlin, as well as crime reporting in Norfolk where her first two novels were set – The Binding Song and The Death Knock.

Elodie studied Latin poetry both in the original and in translation as part of her English Literature degree at Oxford, instilling a lifelong interest in the ancient world. The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels about the lives of women in ancient Pompeii.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

#BookReview The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper @ElodieITV @UnionSqandCo #TheWolfDen #ElodieHarper #UnionSqandCo

categories: 8.5/10, Book Review, Historical Fiction
#BookReview The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper @ElodieITV @UnionSqandCo #TheWolfDen #ElodieHarper #UnionSqandCo Title: The Wolf Den

Author: Elodie Harper

Series: Wolf Den Trilogy #1

Published by: Union Square & Co. on Mar. 29, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 488

Format: ARC, Paperback

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Sold by her impoverished mother. Enslaved in an infamous brothel in Pompeii. Determined to fight for her freedom at all costs. . . . Enter into the Wolf Den.

Amara was once the beloved daughter of a doctor in Greece, until her father’s sudden death plunged her mother into destitution. Now Amara is a slave and prostitute in Pompeii’s notorious Wolf Den brothel or lupanar, owned by a cruel and ruthless man. Intelligent and resourceful, she is forced to hide her true self. But her spirit is far from broken. Buoyed by the sisterhood she forges with the brothel’s other women, Amara finds solace in the laughter and hopes they all share. For the streets of the city are alive with opportunity—here, even the lowest-born slave can dream of a new beginning. But everything in Pompeii has a price. How much will Amara’s freedom cost her? The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels about the lives of women in ancient Pompeii.

Review:

Fascinating, raw, and alluring!

The Wolf Den is a captivating, immersive, tragic tale that takes you back to Southern Italy during A.D. 74 and to the life of Amara, the educated daughter of a doctor from Greece who, after being sold by her mother and ending up the slave of a barbaric pimp in Pompeii, is determined to do whatever it takes to regain her freedom, body and soul, once and for all.

The prose is rich and vivid. The characters are bold, ambitious, vulnerable, and shrewd. And the plot is an absorbing saga of all the hopes, fears, sacrifices, struggles, treachery and entangled relationships faced by one group of enslaved women.

The Wolf Den is, ultimately, a story about life, loss, love, politics, power, corruption, greed, riches, desires, sacrifice, friendship, savagery, abuse, violence, and early prostitution. It’s an atmospheric, compelling, insightful tale by Harper that does a beautiful job of highlighting her impressive research and considerable knowledge of the Roman city of Pompeii and the lifestyles, hardships, and treatment women most likely endured during that time.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Union Square & Co. for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Elodie Harper

Elodie Harper is a journalist and prize-winning short story writer. Her story 'Wild Swimming' won the 2016 Bazaar of Bad Dreams short story competition, which was judged by Stephen King.

She is currently a reporter at ITV News Anglia, and before that worked as a producer for Channel 4 News. Her job as a journalist has seen her join one of the most secretive wings of the Church of Scientology and cover the far right hip hop scene in Berlin, as well as crime reporting in Norfolk where her first two novels were set – The Binding Song and The Death Knock.

Elodie studied Latin poetry both in the original and in translation as part of her English Literature degree at Oxford, instilling a lifelong interest in the ancient world. The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels about the lives of women in ancient Pompeii.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Twitter | Instagram