The Wolf Den: Volume 1

I found this book because of tik tok and decided to buy it because of the recommendations and because I love a historical fiction novel. This book was really good. I loved all the characters, especially the main character Amara. She has great character development through the book and figures out the best way to get what she wants. She’s a great character, who also isn’t perfect.

This was a lovely novel.The story unfolded in an easy to follow and very engaging way. The main characters were captivating and interesting. Loved the concept of this book, and the richness of themes presented within it. Highly recommend.

I haven’t read many, if any, historical fiction set in ancient times. So I was excited when I was invited to participate in a book tour for the second book in this series. I was fortunate enough to receive The Wolf Den as well. Thank you to Turn The Page Tours , Elodie Harper, and Union Square & Co. for inviting me along and for the gifted books.This book feels much bigger than the words on these pages. I guess that’s as it should be since the story is one about an ancient city, in an ancient time. that is destined for total destruction in the very near future from when it begins. While the subject matter is hard to read about, the way Elodie writes gives it a tenderness.I love Amara’s story. It is a tragic one, to be sure, but it is also one of strength and resilience. She never lets her life as a slave in a brothel break her spirit. I’m not sure I would’ve lasted as long as she does nor would I have been strong enough to make the plans she does. Her will to survive and to win back her freedom is amazingly strong considering her circumstances.Dido is my favorite character. She becomes Amara’s closest friend and also the one that keeps her from giving in to her rage. If not for Dido’s reining-in, Amara would have likely met a tortuous end. Dido is a sweet and tender person and Amara loves her deeply. They became more than friends, they became as sisters. She was the one person, other than Amara, that I hoped for her dreams of a life outside the brothel to come true.There are many villains in this story. Some are plain to see…Felix and his men, for sure. If there was ever a character that I hate more, I don’t remember who. This guy, even though he’s a product of his upbringing, is a vile and cruel man. I hope he gets what he deserves in the end. But there are other villains that aren’t so obvious and that will surprise you.It is still jarring to read how badly men treated women. It wasn’t just the men who sold women into slavery, the men who ran the brothels, or the men who frequented them. The higher class men treated women just as badly, like they’re invisible unless they were using them in some way or just property to do with as they saw fit. To see these women paraded around, passed around, exploited, abused, and treated with total disregard brought me to tears…angry tears. By the luck of the Universe I was brought into a world where things were changing for women. Slavery was no longer allowed (in my country anyway). Brothels were no more (except in one state). Even so, women are treated like second class citizens at times. And, the mindset of generations of men hasn’t changed completely. But reading this book made me realize that it takes strength and steadfastness to overcome. And when you make your own situation better, you indirectly do so for others you may never know. Amara’s story does this, even though she is a fictional character.I thoroughly enjoyed The Wolf Den, even if the final chapters are heart-wrenching. I sobbed out loud during one particular scene. I can’t wait to read the entire series.I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction, ancient historical fiction, stories about women trying to overcome against unthinkable odds, found family, and forbidden love.

”Either we choose to stay alive, or we give up. And if it's living we choose, then we do whatever it takes.”One woman’s life whose future depends on her ability to perform, act, and use her mind and resourcefulness to ultimately free herself from slavery. A life she is forced to live, after the death of her esteemed father, where women are dehumanised and seen as objects of pleasure until their usefulness ceases, but more importantly a life with no way out for the ‘she wolves’.The Wolf Den is the ultimate story of survival in an unforgiving and rigid world for those in service, oppressed and enslaved. Powerful, evocative and sometimes graphic but ultimately rewarding in some ways.Tethered to the Lupanar in Pompeii, a brothel or in translation the ‘wolf-den’, Amara is a prostitute and one of the ‘she wolves’ owned by a harsh master, Felix. A man sculpted by his violent past, but underneath the brutality there is something almost human about him as he struggles to suppress his emotions because the wolf den is no place for romanticism or sentiment.Amara’s life is shaped by misfortune. Her father, a doctor, dies prematurely and so she is sold by her widowed mother who can no longer afford to keep her. Amara’s value rests with how many customers she can satisfy and how much money she can generate but her real worth sits within her head.A great mind, a woman different from the others who understands finance, who can read and is intelligent and resourceful. Ultimately, she needs to develop a plan and strategy to free herself from a life of slavery but at a cost.Things I liked about this book. First of all, Wolf Den is a perfect combination of tragedy, hope and intrigue as Amara must learn to balance her desire to gain her freedom with the need to keep her pimp and her band of friends on side. I found the story thrilling as Amara navigated her way through the intricacies and complexities of her position in the Wolf Den to secure her independence. The tension held through the book because you felt at any moment any progress could be undone in a minute and for most of the story freedom never felt achievable.The setting was also excellent. The vivid descriptions of Pompeii conjured up the images of an era with so much mystery, mystic, and history, with its ancient walls and cobbled streets creating the perfect ambiance for a book of this nature.The unapologetic language of the brutality and abuse that the women were subjected to made for uncomfortable reading at times but credible and authentic. The author also did well to highlight the vast differences in this society between the ‘have’s and the have-nots’ and the distribution of wealth between the lives of the rich and those in a life of servitude tending to their every needs.Whilst the setting was excellent, I felt the author could have added more layers to the story and woven the historical context into the narrative a lot more. Instead, it was used to create the backdrop rather than historical events being integral to the story.If you want a story of courage, determination, friendship, and a book that is evenly paced and intriguing then this might be for you. I thoroughly enjoyed.

This is part of a trilogy, so be sure to obtain the whole set before starting the first book, reading reason being, it is impossible not to keep reading until you finish the whole set !! Also, I would advise you to read it alone. I say this because my verbal reactions whilst reading these disturbed people around me, especially when on an aeroplane !I had to buy the set for my special friend's.