The House With the Golden Door Hardcover – Big Book, 12 May 2022

I read and loved The Wolf Den; this is the follow up. Can't wait for the final part of the trilogy!The story centres around the residents of a brothel in Pompeii shortly before the volcanic explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. The central character is Amara, sold into slavery, but determined to escape it. How she, and her fellow slaves fare, is the theme of the books.In this one, the second in the series, Amara has managed to escape the brothel. She is no longer a slave, but she is in the keeping of a young man, her patron - and her wellbeing depends on keeping his affections. At the same time, she longs for revenge on the harsh brothel keeper who made her life a misery......and he hasn't forgotten about her either.....Really excellent story telling, believable characters, and a great historical background that is absolutely unflinching. Highly recommended.

Ugh, Can Felix just go away already?I like how we get more development in all the characters, see more of their daily lives and get to know them better.I wasn't attached to Philos and Amara's romance but I see why they loved each other. Trying to create something stable and loving amid the chaos of everything.This one ends on a cliffhanger but luckily the third book is out next month!

I didn’t like this book as well as the first one. I feel like the story wrapped up well at the end of the first book. I felt like this one didn’t have a great direction and the main character Amara “lost herself” a bit. She seemed very different from the person she was in the first book. The book did have some really good revelations toward the end but overall not as good as the first book.

If you like ancient Rome with a twist, this is a lovely book to lose yourself in. All three are a must.

I didn’t like this installment as much as the first. It was a very long read and I gave up on it towards the end. The characters weren’t as compelling and I wasn’t invested in their stories. For me that was the biggest disappointment. I skimmed the last 50 or so pages to see what happened since I didn’t want to read it.