I loved this book from the opening pages.
Lots of twists and turns and plotting going on.
A good way of learning a bit more about Roman times too ( )

I enjoyed this book, it had well-developed characters that behaved believably, and a really interesting story. I was a bit worried midway through when the main character got on a bit of a religion kick, but it turned out okay, just another facet in a compelling story. ( )

This book is a fictionalised/alternative history telling of the story of Theodora (as Simonis/Callidora) and Justinian (as Maxentius) and their Byzantine (as Visant). I really enjoyed the chapters of the early years of both, the later chapters of Callidora and Maxentius as the emperor and empresses weren't quite as compelling to me. On the whole, an imaginative retelling of fascinating characters. ( )

Enjoyable historical fiction with believable characters and plot twists that keep you reading quickly.
Follow the life of a girl who began the fearless daughter of a bear trainer and who rose through the ranks of being used to a true leader of a nation. Her journey includes a parallel of the One God's involvement in her life.
I found it interesting that leadership was the main focus to the detriment of her only child who is hardly mentioned. The author puts priority on love, rising above the hardships of life and destiny in the hands of One God.
I received a complimentary book from Library Thing and Book View Café in exchange for my honest review. ( )

This novel is loosely based on the Byzantine emperor Justinian and his wife, Theordora.

Simona is the daughter of a bear keeper recently appointed to the hippodrome in the capital city of Visant. (the location of all manner of public entertainment, including animal fights and chariot races). When her father takes ill and dies, the wife and two daughters left behind are left to fend for themselves in a world not kind to single women and girls. Her mother immediately takes up with her father's replacement, Simona becomes a street urchin who eventually is recruited to be a courtesan and spy. After running off with a john who was appointed governor of a remote province, she gets knocked up and is summarily cast aside. After a perilous journey back to Visant, she catches the eye of young Maxentius, whose tale is told in parallel.

Maxentius is the adopted son of Leontines, a smart boy who contrives to position his adoptive father as successor to the dying emperor. Soon after hooking hooking up with Simonis (who, after marriage, changes her name to Callidora to help break the connection with her whorish past), Leontines dies, and they become Emperor and Empress.

This book is more like a biography than anything. Action is mostly passive, and the result was a ponderous story that was as slow to read as the action in the book. A few events defined their reign, a plague and an uprising. There was also a diplomatic issue involving a kingdom at the far border of the empire. In between, there's a lot of "yadda yadda."

The setting was well done, the characters believable, but overall just too mundane to make a compelling tale. ( )