Welcome to Litsy!

Can't believe we've gone from snow and freezing rain to a random day at 20 Celsius!! Heading back down to colder temperatures tonight though ☹️. Staring this one for #authoramonth . I enjoyed the first book in this series so thought I'd give book 2 a read. Looking forward to journeying into Ancient Rome! @Soubhiville

Here‘s the map showing the Roman names of places in Great Britain. #authoramonth #litsyatoz #letterY @Soubhiville

This will be my first book for #authoramonth (Kate Quinn wrote Part 6) and #litsyatoz #letterY. @Soubhiville

The narrator of this edition has a very nice voice - relaxing but not sleep inducing. I don‘t want to hold this book to modern expectations- it‘s two hundred years old. I appreciated learning more about important female figures such as Xenobia, even if the writing was condescending. I think the author had the empire last longer in his history than it actually did.
2/5 stars listen rather than read this for a classic historical work

3.75/5 🌕🌕🌕🌖🌑

#history #nonfiction #rome #roman #emperor

Who‘s laughing now?…

A survivor‘s story…

Interesting premise and I liked reading how ancient Romans lived, the public baths, the smell (omg, the smell - you could practically experience it coming off the pages with the descriptions), disease and war. Too bad the main character was so unlikeable. She had her own morals, like no drinking, no spanking children, etc., but then would give into them, almost like, “Oh well, when in Rome…” Ending felt flat and predictable too.

I was enjoying this book up to a point, a Gaulish warrior traveling through Caesar's Rome to Persia. The perspective was interesting. I felt like it was going to be a solid rec for people who love Shogun etc.

Then it got to Greece and the portrayal of two young teens sexuality was deeply horrible. It's a subject that takes a delicate hand, but this went somewhere beyond being clumsy, into territory that I found deeply repulsive.

“There is in fact no way of correcting wrongdoing in those who think that the height of virtue consists in the execution of their will.”

"Sovereign power is nothing if it does not care for the welfare of others, and...it is the task of a good ruler to keep his power in check, to resist the passions of unbridled desire and implacable rage."