Review - The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Trilogy, #1) by Elodie Harper

 

 

Title: The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Trilogy, #1)

Author: Elodie Harper

Pages: 408

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Release Date: 13th May 2021

 

Blurb:

Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den...

Amara was once a beloved daughter, until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others.

But Amara's spirit is far from broken.

By day, she walks the streets with her fellow she-wolves, finding comfort in the laughter and dreams they share. For the streets of Pompeii are alive with opportunity. Out here, even the lowest slave can secure a reversal in fortune. Amara has learnt that everything in this city has its price. But how much is her freedom going to cost her?

Set in Pompeii's lupanar, The Wolf Den reimagines the lives of women who have long been overlooked.

 

 

 Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley*

 

 

Amara once lived a comfortable life as the daughter of a doctor, but when her father died, she ended up being sold to a brothel in Pompeii.

Now a slave and owned by the cold and violent Felix, Amara's life is very different.

Amara is determined to escape Felix somehow and will have to use every chance she can to either earn her freedom or convince someone to buy her from Felix.

Can Amara escape slavery?

 

Before hearing of this book, I hadn't heard of the Lupanar, the famous brothel of Pompeii. The premise of the book intrigued me, even though I knew it would probably be a tough read, given the setting.

Amara was a likeable protagonist. I can't imagine how hard life must have been for Amara and her friends and I was rooting for them all to escape from the brothel.

Out of the other characters, I liked Dido, Cressa and Philos the most, but found all the characters to be well-written and interesting.

The plot was interesting and held my attention throughout. While I wasn't gripped or particularly shocked by anything that happened, I did enjoy reading as Amara found herself in different situations.

The setting of Pompeii was unique and interesting.

I thought the themes were handled well by the author.

 

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books On My Autumn 2022 To-Read List

 

 Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week the topic is 

Books On My Autumn 2022 To-Read List

 

 

Here they are . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What books are you planning to read in autumn?

 

Review - The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) by Olivie Blake

 

 

Title: The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1)

Author: Olivie Blake

Pages: 384

Publisher: Tor

Release Date: 28th September 2021

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.

Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.

Most of them.

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

My Review:

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley*

 

 Every ten years, six talented magicians are hand-picked for the chance to be initiated into the secretive Alexandrian Society.

The Society guards knowledge that cannot be found anywhere else, and offers its members the chance to develop their abilities.

The new candidates include Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, who are physicists able to affect the world around them; Parisa Kamali, a powerful telepath; Reina Mori, a naturalist able to grow and understand plants; Tristan Caine, able to see through illusions; and Callum Nova, an empath with the dangerous power to persuade people to do what he wants.

All six of the candidates were chosen by Atlas Blakely, the Caretaker of the Society. He has given them one year before five of them will be initiated, and one eliminated.

Is the Society all that it seems?

Who will be eliminated?

 

Having heard a lot of hype around this book, I was very excited to read it. Unfortunately, I ended up being disappointed.

The characters were an interesting mix, with Nico and Reina being my favourites. Their chapters were the ones I looked forward to the most. There weren't any characters that I particularly disliked, but Callum was my least favourite of the main characters.

The abilities of the characters, and the concepts in the book were interesting and unique.

The plot was slow, and for me it felt like not very much actually happened and that the book could have been a lot shorter. I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second half, which I found rather boring. I even contemplated DNFing the book but kept on reading in the hopes it would pick up.

I think this was an occasion where the writing style just didn't work for me, as it meant the book was very character-focused (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and I struggled to gel with it, not really caring what happened to the characters.

It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity as I liked the concept, but I seem to be in the minority with most readers enjoying this book. I'm disappointed that this didn't live up to my hopes.

 

Overall, this was a mixed read.

 

September TBR

 

 

Here are the books I'm planning to read this month:

The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) by Olivie Blake

 

The Wolf Den (Wolf Den Trilogy, #1) by Elodie Harper

 

 

 

 

A Snowfall of Silver by Laura Wood

It's Not OK to Feel Blue (and Other Lies) edited by Scarlett Curtis

 

What are you planning to read in September?