why I am posting a spotlight
of roma amor in lieu of a review:
It isn’t often I feel out of my depth for a period of History – yet despite my first forays into reading about the Ancient World, this particular piece I think, warrants more readings ahead of it’s consumption than I alone have read previously. I felt a bit lost to understand where we were in the timeline of the story – I understood the premise of the plot, but when I went to ‘walk inside’ the novel itself, I felt I was missing information – key information to pick up the thread of narrative and re-assert myself into this illuminated world Ms Christie has presented to us to become engaged in.
Therefore, in lieu of a review at this point in time, I am posting a spotlight to help ‘announce’ it’s arrival in the world of literature surrounding Ancient Rome. I love the inclusions in this novel – the maps, hierarchy of ancestral data and the appendixes which give out even more information including the typed cast of characters which helps align ‘who is whom’ inside the story itself. I presume this cast is included in other editions, as I found it most helpful to have handy to better understand how everyone is connected.
I’d like to take some time to do a bit of further reading – as a method of aligning myself into this time, era and setting; to where I can best re-alight back into the novel, picking up the momentum of what Ms Christie has presented and better understand ‘where I am in history’ as for some particular reason I just felt a bit lost! I am new to reading stories of the Ancient World, as I have only a handful I’ve picked up to read – my curiosity of course is what propelled me forward to seek them, but this is one instance where I think previous readings would aide the reader! As not even my readings of Julius Caesar the play by Shakespeare is helping me find traction!
Whilst I will be gathering a few resources to read about Ancient Rome through my local library, I also found an incredible resource to help me find a passageway back into this world via the History Channel’s Ancient Rome Page. If anyone has further reading suggestions, I’d love to hear from you, as I would like to re-tackle this before the end of the year.
One beautiful compliment I can give to Ms Christie is that she’s written an incredible volume of a saga on Ancient Rome and captured a plot that I know I will one day enjoy reading once I find a way to alight within this timescape properly. I’ve struggled a bit with the Trojan Wars recently and prior to that I couldn’t quite get excited about another story-line of the Ancient World but did dig heartily inside Daughter of the Gods, which gives me hope this new novel will one day be a wicked good read of mine, too!
Roma Amor
Subtitle: A novel of Caligula's Rome
Marcus Carinna hears a voice whisper, “Your turn,” as he rides past his family tomb. An unseen presence also startles the Germanic priestess Aurima, whom he is bringing to Rome. But hardheaded Romans scoff at ghosts, and Marcus can’t believe it’s a warning from his brother, who killed himself three years earlier.
37 AD: To great acclaim, 25-year-old Caligula Caesar has become Rome’s new master. No one is more pleased than Senator Titus Carinna, who helped him succeed to the throne. It’s a shame the Senator’s older son–Caligula’s closest friend–committed suicide after being charged with treason. But that still leaves Marcus, his second son.
Headstrong and hot-tempered, Marcus would rather prove his courage by leading legions against Rome’s enemies than take his brother’s place. Yet when his father orders him to befriend Caligula, he has no choice.
Caught in a web of deceit, conspiracy, and betrayal, he will uncover a secret that threatens his family, the woman he desires, even his life… and may bring chaos to the young Roman Empire.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780692596326
on 15th April, 2016
Published By: Bexley House Books
Available Formats: Paperback
Converse via: #HistFic, #AncientRome
About Sherry Christie
After earning a Phi Beta Kappa creative award in college for an early draft about a nobly born charioteer, Sherry Christie spent many years of research and revision developing ROMA AMOR into the story about fathers and sons that it wanted to be. It’s a joy to immerse myself in the lives of first-century Romans–and a distinct change from my day job. In addition to writing, Sherry is a professional copywriter. She lives on the coast of Maine with a native-born Viking and two cats.
This blog tour is courtesy of: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
I’d like to apologise to the author for forgetting to send in my interview questions on time – when I had my last batch of migraines, I had forgotten about the interview completely. By the time I realised my error in this regard the blog tour was in progress and there wasn’t enough days ahead of my tour stop to submit the questions in order to give plenty of time for response. Normally I am quite on top of these things as I love guest features; I regret I missed the opportunity.
What do you appreciate about reading about the Ancient World? What do you enjoy the most by this kind of historical fiction? Do you have any stories you’d recommend to me as a segue into this part of Ancient History? Fiction or Non-Fiction or even short stories!?
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{SOURCES: Cover art of “Roma Amor”, book synopsis, author biography, autho photograph of Sherry Christie, and the tour badge were all provided by HFVBTs (Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours) and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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