Mistress of Rome Audiobook By Kate Quinn cover art

Mistress of Rome

Empress of Rome, Book 1

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Mistress of Rome

By: Kate Quinn
Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
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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 Historical Fiction Ancient History Rome Sagas Ancient World Fiction Historical Genre Fiction Romance
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Critic reviews

"This should make a splash among devotees of ancient Rome." ( Publishers Weekly)
Engaging Plot • Unexpected Twists • Varied Voices • Well-developed Characters • Historical Details

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Huge fan of Kate Quinn and Elizabeth Wiley. Love this series! But there is a problem with the recording.

I was wondering why the end of chapters seemed so abrupt, then I compared to to the book, which I've read multiple times. At the end of multiple chapters, it cuts off the last few sentences. Maybe half a minute to a minute? Then it skips to the next one. messes with the flow. Maybe an issue with editing? I'm not terribly fond of this oversight, as you miss some of the best bits. Hope this can be fixed...?

Excellent narration & story, but there are errors.

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The narrator was annoying with some of the characters. I felt like she was reading to 8 year olds. I couldn’t wait for this book to end. Maybe it’s historical fiction but I found it tedious and won’t read the follow up books. I do like Kate Quinn’s more recent books but personally just don’t care about the gladiator era perhaps.

Annoying narration.

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I wish the book was a bit more descriptive but overall a good read. Would definitely recommend to a friend.

Good Read

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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!

Terrible voice!

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… 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 a Romance Novel

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