Aurelia by Alison Morton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Aurelia is book #4 in the Roma Nova series of books about an alternative Europe, one where the Roman empire lives on under the rules of the maternal family lines. What if Rome didn’t fall in AD395 and loyal Romans formed a new colony in a mountainous region north of Italy.
This book is set in the 1960’s and is the story of Aurelia, a Praetorian soldier, after her mother has a bad car accident she finds herself head of one of the 12 families, but she finds there are those who wish to undermine everything they have worked for and so she goes to Berlin as a member of a silver delegation, but underneath she works as a spy, to find who is threatening the vital Silver trade of Nova Roma.
I enjoyed this book because I have read others in the series and know the Roma Nova background, I do think readers will benefit from reading the previous books before tackling this one.
Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
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1960s Roma Nova. Retrained as an undercover agent, ex-Praetorian officer Aurelia Mitela is sent to Berlin to investigate silver smuggling, but barely escapes a near-lethal trap. Her lifelong nemesis, Caius Tellus, is determined to eliminate her. When Aurelia is closing in on him, he strikes at her most vulnerable point – her young daughter.
A former military commander, Aurelia is one of Roma Nova’s strong women, but she doubts in her heart and mind that she can overcome her implacable enemy. And what part does the mysterious and attractive Miklós play – a smuggler who knows too much? If you enjoy reading mystery books for women with plenty of twists and a female protagonist driving the action, this is for you!
First in the Aurelia Mitela adventures, where Roman fiction is brought into the 20th century through an alternative history lens. INSURRECTIO and RETALIO follow on.
I haven’t read the earlier novels but I really enjoyed reading Aurelia. The choice of era was interesting. I do now intend to read other books in the series.
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Thanks Liz, starting with Book #1 will bring you much enjoyment of the series, I’m sure.
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I love reading novels that explore the ‘what-ifs’ of history. They give us so much to think about. This one is on my TBR list.
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The series is a fantastic idea Marilyn, do start with book 1 to get the best from it, it’s called Inceptio. Or you can get a box set of the first 3 books.
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This sounds really tempting – I definitely need to give this a look!
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Thanks, Rosie. Pinned & shared. 🙂
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Thanks, Rosie. Sounds like an interesting series.
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They’re great especially if you have an inkling for the Roman ways of life and wonder how they might adjust to the modern world.
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Sounds like an interesting take on the history of the time. 🙂
@dino0726 from
FictionZeal – Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews
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