Elodie Harper

The House with the Golden Door

Chloe Heisserer

“Because in the end, it's two people in bed together. And when you are this close, it's impossible not to notice another's distress. It's not a difficult thing to see. He cannot have been unaware.”

The life of a courtesan in Pompeii is glittering, yet precarious... Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the town's most notorious brothel, but now her existence depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought. At night she dreams of the wolf den, still haunted by her past. Amara longs for the women she was forced to leave behind and worse, finds herself pursued by the man who once owned her. In order to be free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is. Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all. We return to Pompeii for the second instalment in Elodie Harper's Wolf Den Trilogy, set in the town's lupanar and reimagining the lives of women long overlooked. Praise for The Wolf Den: 'Utterly spellbinding' Woman & Home 'I couldn't put it down' Claire Douglas 'Deeply moving' William Ryan

the characters got on my nerves so much, both them and the story broke me, mended me and then left me broken again, I loved it

The life of a courtesan in Pompeli is glittering, yet precarious… Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the town's most notorious brothel, but now her existence depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought. At night she dreams of the wolf den, still haunted by her past. Amara longs for the women she was forced to leave behind and worse, finds herself pursued by the man who once owned her. In order to be free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is. Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all. We return to Pompeii for the second instalment in Elodie Harper's Wolf Den Trilogy, set in the town's lupanar and reimagining the lives of women long overlooked.

Louise 

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.


This is the second instalment in The Wolf Den Trilogy. Following Amara's journey as she becomes the mistress of The House with The Golden Door.

This book was absolutely incredible, I knew about 25% in that this was a 5* read and the more I read the better it got. I feel like this story never took a misstep. The pacing, plot, character development and writing is faultless.
No, I don't think you understand, I am OBSESSED!🖐️

The tension throughout this book is palpable. It is a white-knuckle ride to find out where her story is going and I loved every bit of it.

A still relevant look at the way in which woman and people of a lower class are treated in society and the tight-rope on which we walk daily for our own safety against a system that wants to take everything it can get.

This story is so compelling, I didn't want it to end but couldnt read it fast enough. Such an incredible and poignant story told from the POV of the most overlooked people of society. I adore this trilogy and am counting down the days until book #3 release!!!

Thank you, Turn the Page Tours, for the chance to read and review The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper. I also want to thank them for their patience, because I managed to mix up my tour date and I'm very late!

Not gonna lie to you; at one point, I wanted to put the book down just because I was so worried for Amara and didn't know if I could handle it. Elodie Harper doesn't fall into the trap of having a first book that's better than the second. 

There are many things Elodie Harper does really well in this book! The PTSD and how Amara is tormented by dreams and past events. The weird dynamic with Felix, whom she hates but also wants to conquer and be respected by. The change in dynamics between her and the other women from the brothel. The way people don't have the privilege of being good all the time; how survival means looking out for yourself more than anything. I was also heartbroken to see what happened between the women, who for so long protected each other!

Some parts of this were odd to me, and I don't know how I feel about them in this book, which is why it's at 4 stars instead of five. 

Amara does some idiotic things in this book. She purchases her friend for significantly more than she can afford without telling the man she's very dependent on and her relationship with Philos. Both of these things were stupid and reckless, and I didn't like Philos. I don't like that he just assumed Amara knew everything instead of telling her something about the contract she had with Rufus and her child's status. 

I'm looking forward to the third book and how the series ends! I would love to see novellas based on some of the other women to get an even better sense of who they are and how they came to be (just dropping a hint, Elodie!).

Seher Mohsin

Thank you, Turn the Page Tours, for the chance to read and review The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper. I also want to thank them for their patience, because I managed to mix up my tour date and I'm very late!

Not gonna lie to you; at one point, I wanted to put the book down just because I was so worried for Amara and didn't know if I could handle it. Elodie Harper doesn't fall into the trap of having a first book that's better than the second. 

There are many things Elodie Harper does really well in this book! The PTSD and how Amara is tormented by dreams and past events. The weird dynamic with Felix, whom she hates but also wants to conquer and be respected by. The change in dynamics between her and the other women from the brothel. The way people don't have the privilege of being good all the time; how survival means looking out for yourself more than anything. I was also heartbroken to see what happened between the women, who for so long protected each other!

Some parts of this were odd to me, and I don't know how I feel about them in this book, which is why it's at 4 stars instead of five. 

Amara does some idiotic things in this book. She purchases her friend for significantly more than she can afford without telling the man she's very dependent on and her relationship with Philos. Both of these things were stupid and reckless, and I didn't like Philos. I don't like that he just assumed Amara knew everything instead of telling her something about the contract she had with Rufus and her child's status. 

I'm looking forward to the third book and how the series ends! I would love to see novellas based on some of the other women to get an even better sense of who they are and how they came to be (just dropping a hint, Elodie!).

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Recommended For...: historical fiction, romance, tragedy, Italian, adult

Age Relevance: 18+ (slavery, rape, sexual content, romance, cursing, death, grief, domestic violence, violence, gore, fatphobia, pregnancy, childbirth)

Explanation of Above: The book discusses characters who live in brothels or are contractually bound to other people and also people who are just outright slaves in slavery positions. There is some slight romance, a lot of sexual content, and rape is mentioned. There is a lot of cursing and grief is shown and mentioned. There is some death mentioned. There is one scene of domestic violence, where a character is grabbed by the throat by another character, and there is some violence shown in the book and mentioned. There is also some gore with blood. There is one instance of fatphobic comments about a character being made. There is a pregnancy in the book shown a lot and there is a childbirth scene as well.

Synopsis: The life of a courtesan in Pompeii is glittering, yet precarious...

Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the town's most notorious brothel, but now her existence depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought.

At night she dreams of the wolf den, still haunted by her past. Amara longs for the women she was forced to leave behind and worse, finds herself pursued by the man who once owned her. In order to be free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is.

Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all.

We return to Pompeii for the second installment in Elodie Harper's Wolf Den Trilogy, set in the town's lupanar and reimagining the lives of women long overlooked.

Review: Ok this was a wild ride! In this book we got a little more into the thriller/intrigue aspect of this series. Amara is out of the fire for the most part, but still wishes to make right with her blood oath and to help out the girls still at The Wolf Den. Amara is quickly caught up in a new issue though, as our heroine finds herself haunted by old fears and new concerns. I thought the book did well to keep that epic feel to it. It’s kind of like a drama much like the first one, but it also has that epic feel to it much like The Odyssey or The Iliad, which I guess would make this more of a Tragedy. The character development was well done and the world building was great as well. As a final note before the third book is released, I’m wondering if the series will ever explore the fall of Pompeii or if this is set so far before it that it won’t happen. I’m invested and can’t wait for book 3.

The only issue I had with the book is that it felt a little flatter than the first one and a lot of the plot is stretched out, as the timeframe in this book is much shorter than the first one. I also wished that the plot was a bit more sped up, but overall I enjoyed it.

Verdict: It was well done! Highly recommend!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

 

Book: The House With The Golden Door

 

Author: Elodie Harper

 

Book Series: Wolf Den Trilogy Book 2

 

Rating: 5/5

 

Spice: 2.5/5

 

Diversity: Egyptian character

 

Recommended For...: historical fiction, romance, tragedy, Italian, adult

 

Publication Date: May 12, 2022

 

Genre: Historical Fiction Tragedy

 

Age Relevance: 18+ (slavery, rape, sexual content, romance, cursing, death, grief, domestic violence, violence, gore, fatphobia, pregnancy, childbirth)

 

Explanation of Above: The book discusses characters who live in brothels or are contractually bound to other people and also people who are just outright slaves in slavery positions. There is some slight romance, a lot of sexual content, and rape is mentioned. There is a lot of cursing and grief is shown and mentioned. There is some death mentioned. There is one scene of domestic violence, where a character is grabbed by the throat by another character, and there is some violence shown in the book and mentioned. There is also some gore with blood. There is one instance of fatphobic comments about a character being made. There is a pregnancy in the book shown a lot and there is a childbirth scene as well.

 

Publisher: Apollo

 

Pages: 472

 

Synopsis: The life of a courtesan in Pompeii is glittering, yet precarious...

Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the town's most notorious brothel, but now her existence depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought.

 

At night she dreams of the wolf den, still haunted by her past. Amara longs for the women she was forced to leave behind and worse, finds herself pursued by the man who once owned her. In order to be free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is.

 

Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all.

 

We return to Pompeii for the second installment in Elodie Harper's Wolf Den Trilogy, set in the town's lupanar and reimagining the lives of women long overlooked.

 

Review: Ok this was a wild ride! In this book we got a little more into the thriller/intrigue aspect of this series. Amara is out of the fire for the most part, but still wishes to make right with her blood oath and to help out the girls still at The Wolf Den. Amara is quickly caught up in a new issue though, as our heroine finds herself haunted by old fears and new concerns. I thought the book did well to keep that epic feel to it. It’s kind of like a drama much like the first one, but it also has that epic feel to it much like The Odyssey or The Iliad, which I guess would make this more of a Tragedy. The character development was well done and the world building was great as well. As a final note before the third book is released, I’m wondering if the series will ever explore the fall of Pompeii or if this is set so far before it that it won’t happen. I’m invested and can’t wait for book 3.

 

The only issue I had with the book is that it felt a little flatter than the first one and a lot of the plot is stretched out, as the timeframe in this book is much shorter than the first one. I also wished that the plot was a bit more sped up, but overall I enjoyed it.

 

Verdict: It was well done! Highly recommend!

Amanda

The House with the Golden Door is an excellent follow up to The Wolf Den and a continuation of Amara's story. This book was great, but not as good as the first in the series, in my opinion. 

Even though it's historical fiction, Elodie Harper is a master of suspense. I felt on edge at many points reading this book, which kept me hooked. I also think it helps bring Amara and how she is feeling to life. Her anxieties are also the reader's and vise versa. I was just as afraid of Felix and what he might do as Amara was. Though, The Wolf Den captures the suspense a little more than this installment, partly because the dangers in that book were a little more extreme and Amara had less agency.

Speaking of Felix, I think he is one of the scariest literary villains I've ever encountered. It was so interesting as well, thinking of Amara and her similarities to Felix. The House with the Golden Door constantly makes the reader wonder if she is capable of truly turning in to Felix. However, I think love and falling in love are what saves her; this definitely includes her love for Dido. Even though Dido is not in this book, her presence is constantly felt and I love how Amara chose to honor her. Dido was another standout character, though in a different way.

I love the quotes at each chapter. I can see how they could have easily inspired the author and they make me understand how and why this series is often dubbed a reimagining/retelling. It used to bother me so much when other readers tagged Harper's Wolf Den trilogy as retellings, but I took this in the same vein of Greek myth retellings. I think I have a better understanding that Harper is reimagining the lives of these women of Pompeii and the source material is abundant and easy to weave into the story.

I will say, having each section centered around a holiday was a little confusing for me because I am not as familiar with them as other readers or classicists. It took me a bit to become centered around which day/month the setting was, and I believe an index or extended author's note explaining these ancient Roman customs and holidays would have helped.  

Overall, this book was great and I am really looking forward to the final book of the trilogy. I hope the next novel is a little stronger, but I still enjoyed The House with the Golden Door and know it will stick with me.

The House with the Golden Door

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