The Daughters of Palatine Hill

By: Phyllis T. Smith

Narrated by: Joyce Bean, Amy McFadden, Cristina Panfilio

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

Two years after Emperor Augustus's bloody defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, he triumphantly returns to Rome. To his only child, Julia, he brings an unlikely companion - Selene, the daughter of the conquered Egyptian queen and her lover.

Under the watchful eye of Augustus's wife, Livia, Selene struggles to accept her new home among her parents' enemies. Bound together by kinship and spilled blood, these three women - Livia, Selene, and Julia - navigate the dangerous world of Rome's ruling elite, their every move a political strategy, their most intimate decisions in the emperor's hands.

Always suppressing their own desires for the good of Rome, each must fulfill her role. For astute Livia, this means unwavering fidelity to her all-powerful husband; for sensual Julia, surrender to an arranged marriage and denial of her craving for love and the pleasures of the flesh; for orphaned Selene, choosing between loyalty to her family's killers and her wish for revenge.

Can they survive Rome's deadly intrigues, or will they be swept away by the perilous currents of the world's most powerful empire?

©2015 Phyllis T. Smith (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Not much substance

What disappointed you about The Daughters of Palatine Hill?

As historical fiction goers, this one is pretty weak. It's set in Caesar's Rome, but aside from saying so, there are few details of life, environment, history, to support the claim. mostly seems to be about the rules of being a good wife and daughter, over, and over, and over again,

What do you think your next listen will be?

Murphy's Law and the Doll House

How could the performance have been better?

Though there are several narrators, they all speak overly slowly and distinctly, making for a wooden effect.

What character would you cut from The Daughters of Palatine Hill?

The characters are pretty interchangeable.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK!!!

This was so well-written; I was captivated fairly quickly. The book has three voices and each narrator did such a great job that I was frozen in place listening for what came next. The author did a splendid job; great research and fantastic characterizations - it was almost as if the characters were standing in front of me, performing just for me. At the end, my throat swelled up & it was all I could do to not to spill over in tears. This is a fantastic book!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Very Enjoyable....

I have read several different books on these women. This one gave me a different look on each. I very much enjoyed this book and recommend it to all who like this time in history.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Very impressive follow-up to "I am Livia"

When I read/listened to "I am Livia," I was amazed. I had never heard of Phyllis T. Smith, and she may be a bright, new star who is surprisingly not a young woman. She is a mature woman, and her work reflects this in her research and in her complex, believable characters. I started out rather disliking some of the young girls; they were sneaky, or they were spoiled or rather silly; and then Ms. Smith drew me in as she drew her characters with much more intricacy and humanity. They are all quite different from one another, and all different from the minor characters as well. There are triumphs and tragedies, and there is, of course, Livia, from "I am Livia," which I deeply enjoyed. Well worth the reasonable price for both audio and print; though I will mention that one of the narrators of "Daughters" seemed a little bit wooden (in parts). Excellent job. Almost (but not quite) as good as the first book!

Interesting

Not a very good writer. Though intersting historical view. You can tell she reviewed all the history materials, though the book as a novel wasn’t very good.

Interesting Title but really a beach read

I liked the title and the topic but it was really a beach read. Lots of romance and intrigue but no real historical events thrown in. The language was modern day which gave me a chuckle as it was posed in Rome of antiquity. All in all it was a fast read that was amusing and light.

story about Roman times!

loved it. very good read that keeps u returning for more! I liked this read

Unfortunately the narrator's were terrible.

I will just have to read the book, it's a great story. I was excited to listen to more than one narrator in a book they were all terrible and so very robotic ..... i wasn't able to finish. I'll enjoy reading it when I have the time. safely I won't be listening when I go for my morning run.

Awesome - loved it!

Well done and very enjoyable to listen to. I felt like I was there! Highly recommended!

I generally

Enjoy historical fiction but this just didn’t work for me. The narration did not add anything and in fact was confusing at times