The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper
Length: 464 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Rape, Slavery, Violence and Gore, Prostitution, and Suicide

"'What do you we ask for?' Dido whispers.

Amara looks up at Venus. It's the closet she has been to the statue. Those painted eyes, so black and wide apart, don't just look watchful, but angry. She is not only the goddess of love, Amara thinks, this is a deity who drives men to madness, a destroyer of warriors, author of the fall of Troy.

'We ask for power over men.'"

One of my first loves as a child (aside from Egyptology) was Greek mythology, which eventually transformed into a love of Roman mythology as well, seeing as so much of it is borrowed from the Greeks. Now, I'm fascinated with anything to do with Ancient Rome/Greece, and have recently been interested specifically in Pompeii and Pliny the Elder, who tragically died during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. So I was absolutely thrilled to be allowed to review an ARC for Elodie Harper's novel about a brothel in Pompeii!

The Wolf Den's main character is Amara, a Grecian woman who was the daughter of a doctor and forced by poverty to be sold as a slave by her mother, but all of the women shine in this novel. From strong Victoria, to caring Cressa, to the Egyptian Beronice, and the Punic slave Dido, Amara's best friend, each and every one of them have strong personalities and hopes beyond the bare stone walls of the brothel. And each of them live in fear of their pimp, a brutal man by the name of Felix. Amara knows her only chance of ever escaping is to become a mistress to a powerful man, and hopes that, if she plays her cards right, he might free her.

But it is a dream that seems impossible. It is a life of pleasuring men, not just at night but at every hour, always fishing for the next customer, of starvation and stone cells and the constant loom of death and growing old, unattractive, and thus, useless. Felix even tells them "a whore grows old twice as fast"; an omen of all their futures, should they not change their fortunes.

Amara, using her skill on the lyre, wins herself and Dido a place performing at parties. And perhaps, an opportunity for more. But can she leave her friends behind, if it means never having to go back to The Wolf Den? Can she abandon a quickly growing love for another Grecian slave, Menander, for a rich patron?

Equal parts brutal and moving, The Wolf Den is a story of the women forgotten by time and reviled during their own, women who had nothing but each other, and the one constant of their lives -- servitude. A must read for lovers of the period, who want to move past the poetry and the pomp, and experience the lives of those who made the Roman world turn.

Book Review: The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
Length: 346 Pages
Genres: Historical Romance, LGBTQ, Sapphic Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

My sister, who got an early copy of this when it first released, has been begging me to read this, and I finally acquiesced! She knew I love historical romance, and recently one of my favorite shows has been Gentleman Jack, which centers on the real-life love story between Anne Lister and Ann Walker during the 1830s, and I felt this would be similar to that. I'm so glad to have finally gotten to read this book, which comes with the rush and delight of tucking into a particularly sugary confection!

Thomasina "Tommy" Wynchester is a master of disguise who can play anywhere from a convincing foreign baron to a crotchety old woman to a footman, but her biggest dream is to be loved for the person beneath the makeup and wigs. For over a year, she has admired the bluestocking, Philippa York, and has secretly been attending her private reading circle. As a challenge set forth by her many adopted siblings, Tommy must talk to the object of her affection for a full twenty minutes. Luckily, she has the perfect disguise in the form of the fictitious heir to their adopted father, the new Baron Vanderbean.

Philippa is afraid there is something very, very wrong with her. Her parents have decreed that she most find a husband within the next season in the fear she will be forced from lifetime wallflower to lifetime spinster. But Philippa feels nothing for the men that suit her, not a racing heart, nor a fluttering in her stomach. She is no stranger to kissing, but it's always been more a chore than a pleasure. Yet somehow, this new Baron Vanderbean has piqued her interest, and even though it's not exactly love she feels, she feels...something.

When her mother decides the Baron will be a perfect stepping stone to an even better match, Philippa balks at the idea of having to string along a perfectly nice man. In a moment of privacy, however, she comes to find out that Baron Vanderbean is actually just Tommy Wynchester, a child from the streets brought up in a large and scandalous adopted family, and even more importantly, a woman. It seems perfect, especially now that Tommy is in on the ruse, and now Philippa won't have to feel guilty. But what happens when Philippa decides that she more than likes brash, brave but sensitive Tommy -- she loves her.

What I loved most about this book was that it wasn't just about the beautiful love story between Tommy and Philippa, but about the love and support of the Wynchester family, who welcomes Philippa into the fold, and goes out of their way to make sure Tommy gets some alone time with her. They are each unique in their own way, from Elizabeth who requires a cane to walk, with the secret her cane conceals a rapier which she is excellent with, to Jacob who is obsessed with animals, and has trained the calico Tiglet to be a "homing kitten". Another wonderful aspect was Philippa and Tommy's understanding of one another. Even if they have an argument, they resolved it quite quickly, and always talked it out, which is more than can be said for most romance protagonists!

If you're looking for something joyous, a little bit like Gentleman Jack but without all the heartrending, then this is the book you've after!

Book Review: The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso

The Ikessar Falcon
Length: 640 Pages
Genres: High Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Gore, Death and Threats of Rape (That of a Child)

"I knew I was doomed to pay for them for the rest of time. For if Yeshin's sons had not been killed and he had not been  made to march to civil war, I wouldn't have been raised the way I was -- the bearer of everything, his in every way, both sword arm and womb. I would never have been betrothed to Rayyel, never been born. I could deny my shackles, but they would always be a part of who I am. If I had known from the beginning, I would've let them smother me."

The first book in this trilogy by K.S. Villoso, The Wolf of Oren-yaro, was one of my favorite fantasy books of 2021, and so I was really excited to sink my teeth into the sequel!

Queen Talyien of Jin-Sayeng can't catch a break. Trapped across the sea in the empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro, where enemies lurk around every corner and are only just too happy to see her suffer, she longs to return home to her son, Thanh. Not even her own people seem to want her back -- not one guard has been sent to retrieve their missing queen, and now, there is an embargo on any ships trying to head back home. Luckily (sometimes), she has her disgraced ex-captain (and one-night stand years ago), Agos, and her current captain, Nor, on her side, along with the conman with a heart of gold, Khine Lamang. Together, they get into unimaginable trouble trying to get back to Jin-Sayeng. It is a journey filled with loss and blood, the sting of love, and...dragons, lots and lots of dragons.

The Chronicles of the Bitch Queen series has one of the most in-depth and amazing fantasy worlds out there. Based heavily on the author's Filipino culture, it is a breath of fresh air, far away from the standard white European and medieval stand-in we're so used to. The first book in the series was more of an adventure tale, full of fighting and near-escapes, and while this one has that too, it is also a story of politics, of royals who don't know much beyond the breath of their castle, and of two Dragonlords, once lovers and now just man and wife in name, who are only too human. It is also very dark, and I can imagine it would be a series that those waiting on the next Game of Thrones installment would enjoy! Queen Talyien ranks, for me, as one of the best and most complex characters in fantasy today, if not all of current literature.

Long may the Bitch Queen reign!

Book Review: A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
Length: 384 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings for Violence, Racism, Blood, Gore, Animal Death (Not Her Dog), Neglect and Emotional Abuse by a Parent, Antisemitism and Xenophobia

I was so excited when I got an ARC of this book, as I've heard nothing but excellent things about it! And now it's my turn to sing its praises.

Margaret Welty has seen the legendary hala in the flesh. It appeared to her, a snow-white fox the size of her dog, Trouble, before anyone else. Now, the Halfmoon Hunt is after it, flooding her small backwater town, Wickdon, with the richest and rowdiest New Albians, all thirsting for the blood of the world's last demiurge. Depending on the religion, demiurges are either demons, gifts from God, or pieces of God himself, but one thing is for sure: they are dangerous, and wherever they show up destruction is left in their wake. Margaret knows firsthand there is only one thing more dangerous -- seeking the philospher's stone, which can only be made out of demiurge's boiled down body. She almost lost her mother, Evelyn, to it. Left alone in a crumbling mansion filled with ghosts of her past, Margaret wants nothing more than for her mother to return home from her obsessive search. And if that means she has to risk her life in the Halfmoon Hunt to win the demiurge for her, she will.

Weston Winters is desperate. He is an alchemist -- or almost one -- who has lost every one of his apprenticeships due to his own folly. He's exhausted every option in his sprawling city of Dunway and being taken on by the mercurial Evelyn Welty is his last option. And it's not just his hopes of changing the world for the better that rest on his shoulders, but the happiness of his mother and four wild sisters. After an accident that cost them their father's life, they struggle to make ends meet. Weston will do anything to make it, even if it means living with Evelyn's daughter, who does little more than seethe at his sunny presence. When she suggests they enter the Halfmoon Hunt -- every team has to consist of one hunter and one alchemist -- he balks at the thought. He's a good Sumic boy and his mother would kill him if he so much as laid a finger on a demiurge. But the victors don't just win the demiurge's body. They win money.

I loved both of the main characters -- Margaret for her practicality and heart, which is soft as clay underneath her armor, and Weston for his positivity and mischievousness! The mythology was fascinating, and I loved especially learning about Weston's Sumic religion. He's Banvish, and this combination is this world's Irish Catholic. His mother, Aoife, has little figures of the demiurges, and sometimes prays to them. He explains they don't worship them, but use them as sort of messengers between them and God, sort of like saints. Margaret herself is half Yu'adir, which is heavily influenced by Judaism. Both of them are the subject of ridicule and hate by the New Albians, and I could totally understand both of their reactions to it. Margaret wants to be forgotten, to blend in with the population, to be safe. Weston is a fighter and can't help but pick at the prejudices in the town, much to Margaret's chagrin.

A big part of this book is the exploration of family dynamics. On one hand, we have the Winters family, who is full of love, despite their differences, and will always protect each other and be there for one another. And on the other we have Margaret's family. Evelyn is gone most of the time, in search of something to make her family real again. Margaret has lost a little brother, and her father left them, so she clings desperately to the memory of her mother before alchemy and grief overtook her life. But the thing she has to learn, no matter how heartbreaking it is, is that she doesn't deserved to be treated this way. She is such a strong character, but is made weak by her controlling and neglectful mother, and I found that so realistic. Because oftentimes it those we love the most that hurt us the most.

My one little qualm about this book is that I sort of wish it had just been Adult instead of Young Adult. The romance is at the forefront of A Far Wilder Magic, and we have some rather explicit and steamy scenes, even a sex scene towards the end. Even though Saft was coy with her words, it's obvious to anyone with an inkling of knowledge about sex what is going on. If it had been adult, maybe we could have explored those themes and scenes even better.

All in all I really loved it. It's full of magic and heartache, love and hope, and will surely bring a smile to your face. Highly recommend!