Mistress of Rome

Empress of Rome, Book 1

De: Kate Quinn

Narrado por: Elizabeth Wiley

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress' rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life, but that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

As Lepida goes on to wreak havoc in the lives of a new husband and his family, Thea remakes herself as a polished singer for Rome's aristocrats. Unwittingly she attracts another admirer in the charismatic emperor of Rome. But Domitian's games have a darker side, and Thea finds herself fighting for both soul and sanity. Many have tried to destroy the emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of the brilliant and paranoid Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the emperor's mistress.

©2010 Kate Quinn (P)2015 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"This should make a splash among devotees of ancient Rome." ( Publishers Weekly)

Excellent narration & story, but there are errors.

Huge fan of Kate Quinn and Elizabeth Wiley. Love this series! But there is a problem with the recording.

I was wondering why the end of chapters seemed so abrupt, then I compared to to the book, which I've read multiple times. At the end of multiple chapters, it cuts off the last few sentences. Maybe half a minute to a minute? Then it skips to the next one. messes with the flow. Maybe an issue with editing? I'm not terribly fond of this oversight, as you miss some of the best bits. Hope this can be fixed...?

Annoying narration.

The narrator was annoying with some of the characters. I felt like she was reading to 8 year olds. I couldn’t wait for this book to end. Maybe it’s historical fiction but I found it tedious and won’t read the follow up books. I do like Kate Quinn’s more recent books but personally just don’t care about the gladiator era perhaps.

Good Read

I wish the book was a bit more descriptive but overall a good read. Would definitely recommend to a friend.

Missing paragraphs

The audiobook is good but when you follow along with the book I have noticed the audiobook leaves out the last paragraph of every chapter.

I love this author!!! I keep buying her books!

I really enjoyed this book! I think that this is the fourth or fifth book by this author that I have read / listened to. not at all the type of book I usually go for, but I cannot put hers down! the beginning of this book I had a difficult time with and wasn't sure why, looking back I'm guessing it was because I had just finished two books of this authors and now i had a whole new set of somewhat unfamiliar names to memorize. so glad I stuck with it and better yet... there's a book 2 and 3!!! whoop whoop!!

Great book

The narration was excellent and the story had unexpected turns. It really brought the time period alive. I’m looking forward to the series. I am a fan of Kate Quinn’s writing.

I’m have to stop listening and switch to the Kindle version.

The narration is just too much. I think the story is probably better than my rating, but I keep losing track because my brain keeps to tuning out to prevent annoyance. If there’s any chance of me finishing this book, or reading the next books in the series since they have the same narrator, it will have to be the Kindle versions.

Couldn’t recommend more

Amazing story that made my stomach twist and drop and then give me butterflies. Wonderful conclusion as well.

Terrible voice!

I couldn’t finish because of the narrator’s irritating voice. I got about halfway through. The story just wasn’t compelling enough to continue to listen to the voice!

Not a Romance Novel

… but there is still plenty of romance. Good read, one I had on my wish list for a while, but that I was unsure about purchasing for a while. I finally read a review and clarified it wasn’t a romance, so I took the dive. A nice piece of historical fiction that takes you from the gore of the gladiatorial games, to palace intrigues, loves lost and found again, and many fights for survival.