Mistress of Rome

Empress of Rome, Book 1

By: Kate Quinn

Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

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

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.

Not her best

Hard to finish. Drawn out. Little repetitive. Not characteristic of her work. But I’ll still continue to read her books.

Plenty of Greek tragedy in a Roman themed novel

Lots of plot twists for sure. Engaging novel, and enough to make you really like and dislike certain characters. Interested to hear the next installment of the series.

Not what I wanted from a Kate Quinn book.

I had to double check this was by the same author of rose code. It felt long and I usually don’t think that. It was awful but I usually love Kate Quinn. Listen to the Briar Club or Rose Code those are AMAZING. This book was fine. Also I really didn’t love the narrator, she made some of the unlikable even more obnoxious.

Fantastic! Hope it's a series.

Great story that kept moving along with new twists and turns I didn't always see coming. The trick was that some of the plot WAS just as you'd expect, and just when you think you have it figured out, total surprise plot twist. Exceeded expectations because of expected similarities to other books, but the UNexpected kept me engrossed! Loved it.

Voice actress ruins this Kate Quin novel

Much as i loved the alice network, this kate quin audible is poorly acted. The actress overacts and sounds juvenile. Disappointing

Interesting but dialog pretty heavy handed

I like this author, but in this book it feels like both the character development and some of the dialogue is clunky. The senator’s young wife is a bit over the top as is the gladiator’s son.

The dialogue (in this book and some of the other books) seems too modern. That is jarring and takes you out of the setting. As for narration, the voices for the senators wife was very hard to listen to.

Happy with the ending

For a moment I thought this would have a tragic ending but I was wrong. I could not stop listening from the beginning to the very end.

Good story once you get into it.

I’m glad to I have found books by Kate Quinn. I enjoy stories of strong women and The Mistress of Rome definitely delivers. Clearly the dialog is modern throughout the book which seems out of place/time but if you can get past that, the twists and turns make for an entertaining listen. As others have stated, the narrator is a bit off putting, especially when she is telling Lepida’s story but by the time you get to the end, you realize it was an intentional choice so stick with it.