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Reviews
Dead Boy's Game and the Broken Vow (Magical Rome Universe Book 1) by A. David Singh, Swati Chavda
lollalong's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.75
3.75 stars
I was gifted this book from the author in exchange for a review. However, this has not affected the integrity of my thoughts and opinions.
Three people want to become a Roman Senator: Calpurnia, a young woman and daughter to a Senator; Gaius Julius, a Centurion who wishes to stabilise his life for his daughter; and Villius, an apprentice to one of the Censors.
The is mention of death, infant death, blood, violence, and war.
If you love historical fiction, with a focus on the Roman Republic, and fantasy fiction, this will be a good read for you.
I really loved the magic system that was hinted at in this book. It felt new and different, and I really wanted to know more about how this was used and its purpose within this alternate timeline. I feel like this may have some basis in some elements of witchcraft, but that may be a bias based on the character "The Banished Druid".
I loved the setting. This book made me realise that I really want to read more fiction that has a roman setting to it. I'd missed my foray into this world, and now I need all the books in this setting.
The main thing, and the main reason this doesn't get quite a 4 star rating from me, that I disliked was how this story developed. It felt like a lot of backstory with the main inciting incident happening right at the end of this book. We are given glimpses into two of the main characters, Calpurnia was sidelined quite a bit, but the start of what I feel is their adventure was only just starting as we got closer to the end. This was a little disappointing as I was waiting for more use of the magic, and more understanding of their journey to senatorship. I know this is the start of series, but it just didn't seem to fit in that area well.
I was gifted this book from the author in exchange for a review. However, this has not affected the integrity of my thoughts and opinions.
Three people want to become a Roman Senator: Calpurnia, a young woman and daughter to a Senator; Gaius Julius, a Centurion who wishes to stabilise his life for his daughter; and Villius, an apprentice to one of the Censors.
The is mention of death, infant death, blood, violence, and war.
If you love historical fiction, with a focus on the Roman Republic, and fantasy fiction, this will be a good read for you.
I really loved the magic system that was hinted at in this book. It felt new and different, and I really wanted to know more about how this was used and its purpose within this alternate timeline. I feel like this may have some basis in some elements of witchcraft, but that may be a bias based on the character "The Banished Druid".
I loved the setting. This book made me realise that I really want to read more fiction that has a roman setting to it. I'd missed my foray into this world, and now I need all the books in this setting.
The main thing, and the main reason this doesn't get quite a 4 star rating from me, that I disliked was how this story developed. It felt like a lot of backstory with the main inciting incident happening right at the end of this book. We are given glimpses into two of the main characters, Calpurnia was sidelined quite a bit, but the start of what I feel is their adventure was only just starting as we got closer to the end. This was a little disappointing as I was waiting for more use of the magic, and more understanding of their journey to senatorship. I know this is the start of series, but it just didn't seem to fit in that area well.
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