The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Trilogy, #1)

4.75/5✨

This is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time

Un libro che parla di Pompei, per me che letteralmente ci abito, era un must read. E sono felice di averlo letto. Appena l’ho cominciato mi ha subito catturata e non sono più riuscita a metterlo giù. La storia è, ovviamente, cruda, violenta, drammatica. Ma c’è da aspettarselo da un libro ambientato in un bordello dell’antica Roma.
La protagonista, Amara, ha diverse sfaccettature e alterna momenti in cui tifi per lei a momenti in cui la prenderesti a schiaffi in faccia, ma la maggior parte delle protagoniste femminili fanno questo effetto.
Questa è una storia di amicizia, di solidarietà femminile, di female rage, di voglia di riscatto e di vendetta.
Sicuramente non è un libro per tutti, sia per la violenza che per molte altre motivazioni.
In conclusione il libro mi è piaciuto, ho voglia di leggere il secondo e aspetto con ansia il terzo volume.

4,5

This book had some really impactful moments, and then moments that shoulf have been impactful but didnt quite hit. The characters were amazingly distinct, the pacing nice and slow and allowing me to really enter the world, but it felt as though dire dramatic moments occasionally fell short. For example, the death of Dido seemed to be ENTIRELY unecessary, especially after Cressa had already died. I feel like there was enough ammunition for Amara to go after Felix without that. And Rufus is gonna turn into an interesting one, hopefully, as I wasn't too into him in the first place (as a character) but the lack of excitement by him seems intentional. Despite any complaints, I adored it! I cannot wait to read the sequel. And perhaps a future re-read.

Amara is a slave working at Pompeii’s town brothel (aka The Wolf Den) for Felix, a man she both despises and admires. After her father (a doctor) dies, Amara’s family falls into destitution and her mother is eventually forced to sell her to a wealthy man in their town, who in turn, eventually sells her as a slave. She spends most of her time with her friends (also slaves at the brothel), day dreaming about escaping into a better life while using her wits to prove “value” to Felix and keep her from their worst customers. As the story progresses, we follow Amara as she works her way towards freedom using her intelligence and resourcefulness.

Oh, I adored this. Is it historically accurate? I have no idea, but I am a sucker for historical fiction about women set in the roman empire. I loved reading about what the day-to-day life would be life for Amara, and rooted for her from the start. It’s fairly frank about physical/sexual violence without being graphic (instead, mostly cruel), which lent a sort of realness to the whole thing (but again, unsure of historical accuracy). Not for everyone, but definitely for me.