The Maiden's Court: In-Progress Book Review: Lady of the Eternal City by Kate Quinn

Lady of the Eternal City by Kate Quinn
Book 4 in The Empress of Rome series
ARC, e-book, 528 pages
Berkley
March 3, 2015

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from the publisher for review with HFVBT

National bestselling author Kate Quinn returns with the long-awaited fourth volume in the Empress of Rome series, an unforgettable new tale of the politics, power, and passion that defined ancient Rome.

Elegant, secretive Sabina may be Empress of Rome, but she still stands poised on a knife’s edge. She must keep the peace between two deadly enemies: her husband Hadrian, Rome’s brilliant and sinister Emperor; and battered warrior Vix, who is her first love. But Sabina is guardian of a deadly secret: Vix’s beautiful son Antinous has become the Emperor’s latest obsession.

Empress and Emperor, father and son will spin in a deadly dance of passion, betrayal, conspiracy, and war. As tragedy sends Hadrian spiraling into madness, Vix and Sabina form a last desperate pact to save the Empire. But ultimately, the fate of Rome lies with an untried girl, a spirited redhead who may just be the next Lady of the Eternal City…

Please note, this review is an “in-progress” review as I only had 2 days between receiving the book and the date of my tour stop. I crammed in as much reading as I could over those two days, but at 528 pages, I have only made it 20% of the way through it (which I think is actually pretty darn good). A full and complete review will be forthcoming.

Additionally, I have only read a fraction of book 3 in the series, Empress of the Seven Hills, so I’m essentially jumping in to the middle of Vix and Sabina’s story. This is one of those series where I highly advocate reading the volumes in order – or at least books 1, 3, and 4 (as book 2 is slightly along a different story line – comprised of an entirely different cast of characters). That being said, I still find that I am able to follow along with their story as there is enough background information to fill in some of the gaps (although I get the feeling that reading book 3 now will be a little less exciting). There even is enough reference to remind me of what happened in the first book, Mistress of Rome, which I read quite a while ago.

So far I think there have been four characters who point of view we see the story from: Vix, Sabina, Antinous, and Annia. So far, I’m enjoying the Vix and Sabina perspectives most, by I feel that Antinous and Annia will grow into more important characters as the book progresses. Kate Quinn’s signature style is here in full force – the wit and charisma of the characters just shines through the pages. I can’t wait to have the opportunity to read more!

Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Kate Quinn:

Mistress of Rome series