Elodie Harper

The Temple of Fortuna

3.75 
don't ask me anything i'm so disappointed

Katie Guo

This is one of the best ancient Roman historical trilogy I’ve ever read. If this genre interests you, this is a must read.

I’m not ready to say goodbye to this trilogy and Amara, but (I think) I’m satisfied with the ending. Caution: minor spoilers throughout. 

First, I think a map would have been helpful. The Temple of Fortuna has a lot more locations than the previous two books, and I was not as familiar with where these cities and towns were located, especially in conjunction with Pompeii. Elodie Harper's trilogy is unlike any historical fiction I've read; namely, because of its setting and time period, which is great. Fabulous idea for a book series, but because there's really nothing like this out there, I'm just not as familiar with first-century Italy as I am with Rome itself, because there are more books written about Rome.

I also wish there was an author's note. I don't think any of the books in the series have one, but if any needed one, it would be The Temple of Fortuna. The Q&A session in the edition I read was nice, but I wanted more insight from the author herself about her creative choices. I mean, you can't drop a bomb about an actual freedwoman named Timarete in one of the chapter openers, and not except me to go crazy with this information! Elodie Harper, please give me all your thoughts and inspirations! Is this the reason you wrote the books in the first place; is this Timarete the inspiration behind our Timarete/Amara? Also, it's super cool that there's graffiti from Pompeii's brothel about a she-wolf named Victoria. This is self-explanatory about her choosing to have a Victoria character I suppose, but I would still like to have had a detailed author's note about the author's decisions and ancient inspirations. 

Another small gripe I have is the length of this book. Why isn't it as long as the first two?! I need more! Harper does not shy from any details, descriptions or scenes in the first two books, so why is this one so condensed? I would have loved if she had expanded on Amara’s time in Rome and her friendship with Queen Berenice, who seems like an awesome character who I also wanted more of. Part of the reason I am so drawn to this series, as I touched on earlier, is it is unique and deals with people, places and a time that no other book (to my knowledge) has before. I think expanding on Berenice would have been a lovely addition and more in keeping with the central theme (in my opinion) of The Wolf Den, the first book. More on that in a bit. Berenice has never been written before in historical fiction that I've read, and I just think we missed out on something here.

I really enjoyed reading about Amara's time in Rome, and I understand the political danger she experienced should set us up to understand why Amara does not choose to go back to that way of life at the end of the book. But it was so fascinating and so well written; I just wanted more. I didn't want the author to hold back, when the first two books are so much longer and more detailed (in a good way!).

I'm still not sure of my thoughts on Amara/Timarete's personal ending, but I certainly wish it would have turned out better for Victoria and Beronice, not to be confused with the Judean Queen. What about the themes of female friendship so prevalent in the first book? Amara's fellow she-wolves deserved better, and I was hoping for a reconciliation. I understand a big part/point of this book is to show the affects and aftermath of the eruption, but why couldn’t all the original (female) characters have a happy ending?  No offense to Menander/Kallias, I'm glad for him I guess but I wasn’t as invested in his happiness as the characters from the Wolf Den itself. Of course I'm happy Felix met his match and his demise, but it seemed predictable that he was going to die. I don't see why we couldn't have a scene later, at least with Victoria having survived, and Amara reconnecting with her first friends in Pompeii. 

I did like the description of the eruption and how the book's tone shifted into almost a post-apocalyptic style of writing. It was very well done, and I felt like I was there, walking through stone and ash and trying to survive along with Amara and the others. 

I think I do not quite like when children are introduced in my historical fiction novels; they always come across as annoying, and I just didn't find myself liking Amara's daughter at all, which is probably more of a reflection against me than anything. I understand she's a crucial plot point, but she took up too much of the book, in my opinion. As did Julia and Livia. I would have liked more of Drusilla and Britannica, though. Britannica is one of the best characters in the series. 

The Wolf Den is still the best in the trilogy. I know in the future I will find myself drawn to that book more than any other in the series. I may even pretend Amara's future turns out different; the end of the first book leaves a lot to the reader's imagination if you want to disregard the others. The fullness and potential of possibility was just so striking, and of course I enjoyed reading the other books to continue Amara's journey, but I don't think those two books were perfect like The Wolf Den.

Amanda

I’m not ready to say goodbye to this trilogy and Amara, but (I think) I’m satisfied with the ending. Caution: minor spoilers throughout. 

First, I think a map would have been helpful. The Temple of Fortuna has a lot more locations than the previous two books, and I was not as familiar with where these cities and towns were located, especially in conjunction with Pompeii. Elodie Harper's trilogy is unlike any historical fiction I've read; namely, because of its setting and time period, which is great. Fabulous idea for a book series, but because there's really nothing like this out there, I'm just not as familiar with first-century Italy as I am with Rome itself, because there are more books written about Rome.

I also wish there was an author's note. I don't think any of the books in the series have one, but if any needed one, it would be The Temple of Fortuna. The Q&A session in the edition I read was nice, but I wanted more insight from the author herself about her creative choices. I mean, you can't drop a bomb about an actual freedwoman named Timarete in one of the chapter openers, and not except me to go crazy with this information! Elodie Harper, please give me all your thoughts and inspirations! Is this the reason you wrote the books in the first place; is this Timarete the inspiration behind our Timarete/Amara? Also, it's super cool that there's graffiti from Pompeii's brothel about a she-wolf named Victoria. This is self-explanatory about her choosing to have a Victoria character I suppose, but I would still like to have had a detailed author's note about the author's decisions and ancient inspirations. 

Another small gripe I have is the length of this book. Why isn't it as long as the first two?! I need more! Harper does not shy from any details, descriptions or scenes in the first two books, so why is this one so condensed? I would have loved if she had expanded on Amara’s time in Rome and her friendship with Queen Berenice, who seems like an awesome character who I also wanted more of. Part of the reason I am so drawn to this series, as I touched on earlier, is it is unique and deals with people, places and a time that no other book (to my knowledge) has before. I think expanding on Berenice would have been a lovely addition and more in keeping with the central theme (in my opinion) of The Wolf Den, the first book. More on that in a bit. Berenice has never been written before in historical fiction that I've read, and I just think we missed out on something here.

I really enjoyed reading about Amara's time in Rome, and I understand the political danger she experienced should set us up to understand why Amara does not choose to go back to that way of life at the end of the book. But it was so fascinating and so well written; I just wanted more. I didn't want the author to hold back, when the first two books are so much longer and more detailed (in a good way!).

I'm still not sure of my thoughts on Amara/Timarete's personal ending, but I certainly wish it would have turned out better for Victoria and Beronice, not to be confused with the Judean Queen. What about the themes of female friendship so prevalent in the first book? Amara's fellow she-wolves deserved better, and I was hoping for a reconciliation. I understand a big part/point of this book is to show the affects and aftermath of the eruption, but why couldn’t all the original (female) characters have a happy ending?  No offense to Menander/Kallias, I'm glad for him I guess but I wasn’t as invested in his happiness as the characters from the Wolf Den itself. Of course I'm happy Felix met his match and his demise, but it seemed predictable that he was going to die. I don't see why we couldn't have a scene later, at least with Victoria having survived, and Amara reconnecting with her first friends in Pompeii. 

I did like the description of the eruption and how the book's tone shifted into almost a post-apocalyptic style of writing. It was very well done, and I felt like I was there, walking through stone and ash and trying to survive along with Amara and the others. 

I think I do not quite like when children are introduced in my historical fiction novels; they always come across as annoying, and I just didn't find myself liking Amara's daughter at all, which is probably more of a reflection against me than anything. I understand she's a crucial plot point, but she took up too much of the book, in my opinion. As did Julia and Livia. I would have liked more of Drusilla and Britannica, though. Britannica is one of the best characters in the series. 

The Wolf Den is still the best in the trilogy. I know in the future I will find myself drawn to that book more than any other in the series. I may even pretend Amara's future turns out different; the end of the first book leaves a lot to the reader's imagination if you want to disregard the others. The fullness and potential of possibility was just so striking, and of course I enjoyed reading the other books to continue Amara's journey, but I don't think those two books were perfect like The Wolf Den.

The Temple of Fortuna

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