About the Book
In this “stunning novel” (bestselling author Alison Weir), Annelise Freisenbruch presents the great new heroine of Roman historical fiction, who must navigate the male dominated courts of law in her quest to uncover a sinister plot to overthrow the Republic.
As Rivals of the Republic begins, Roman high society is humming with gossip about the sudden, suspicious suicide of a Roman senator. Shortly afterwards, the body of a Vestal Virgin is discovered in the river Tiber. When the Roman authorities turn a strangely blind eye, Hortensia, the daughter of the capital’s most celebrated lawyer, begins investigating a trail of murders that leads straight into the dark heart of Rome.
Defying her husband and her father and rebelling against the constraints imposed upon her sex, Hortensia plunges deeper into the corrupt underworld that lurks in the shadows cast by the city’s all-powerful elite. When more key witnesses are silenced by an unknown mastermind, Hortensia is forced to seek an unconventional ally: Lucrio, an ex-gladiator with secrets of his own.
Using her supreme knowledge of the period and drawing from historical accounts of the daughter of famed Roman orator Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, Annelise Freisenbruch delivers a meticulously accurate and suspenseful story that will have readers gripped until the final, harrowing pages.
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this political thriller set in Ancient Rome. Although it started off slowly setting the scene, it picked up speed with plot twists and unsavoury characters. The author’s descriptions of everyday life, for both rich and poor were wonderful, enabling me to feel as though I was there wandering down the streets with the different characters.
I really liked Hortensia. I admired her independence and bravery whilst facing the different situations she found herself in.
I must confess, I did get confused by similar sounding names at times, so I was relieved that the author had provided a cast of characters at the beginning of the book, to remind me who was who, throughout.
I look forward to reading more in this new series, and definitely recommend this if you enjoy historical fiction, mystery and thrillers.
Thanks so much to Duckworth Overlook for my copy.
From the present day . . . 
! These older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere. If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board, you’re welcome to use Renee’s pic as well. If you’d just link back to her @ 
“In this novel authorized by the Little House estate, Sarah Miller vividly recreates the beauty, hardship, and joys of the frontier in a dazzling work of historical fiction, a captivating story that illuminates one courageous, resilient, and loving pioneer woman as never before—Caroline Ingalls, “Ma” in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House books.
The boom years immediately after the Great War bring nothing but happiness for wealthy industrialist Wigmore Stratfield-Whyte and his wife Clarissa – until tragedy robs them of their greatest treasure.
2014. Sensible Nora has always taken success for granted, until suddenly her life begins to fall apart. Troubled by anxiety and nightmares, she finds herself drawn to the sweeping beaches of Tenby, a place she’s only been once before. Together with a local girl she rents a beautiful townhouse and slowly begins to settle in to her new life. But Tenby hides a secret, and Nora will soon discover that this little town by the sea has the power to heal even the most painful memories.
When Christian learns his great-grandfather helped build the A-bombs dropped on Japan, he wants to make amends…somehow.
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men.
1905, India.
The Lighterman is the third book in the bestselling series of legal thrillers starring barrister Charles Holborne. Simon Michael’s follow up to the bestselling The Brief and An Honest Man, continues the adventures of criminal barrister Charles Holborne.
‘Make a difference in the world, ‘ are the last words Maggie Gilligan’s father ever says to her. They form a legacy that she carries in her heart, years later when, at the age of fifteen, she tries to better the lives of Dublin’s largely forgotten poor. ‘Don’t go getting distracted, now, ‘ is what Daniel Healy’s father says to him after seeing him talking to the same Maggie Gilligan. Daniel is more than distracted. He is intrigued. Never has he met anyone as dismissive, argumentative . . . as downright infuriating. A dare from Maggie is all it takes. Daniel volunteers at a food kitchen. There, his eyes are opened to the plight of the poor. It is 1913 and Dublin’s striking workers have been locked out of their jobs. Their families are going hungry. Daniel and Maggie do what they can. Soon, however, Maggie realises that the only way to make a difference is to take up arms. The story of Maggie and Daniel is one of friendship, love, war and revolution, of two people prepared to sacrifice their lives: Maggie for her country, Daniel for Maggie. Their mutual sacrifices put them on opposite sides of a revolution. Can their love survive?
Sometimes a glimpse into the past can help make sense of the future …
Cuba, 1958. Elisa is only sixteen years old when she meets Duardo and she knows he’s the love of her life from the moment they first dance the rumba together in downtown Havana. But Duardo is a rebel, determined to fight in Castro’s army, and Elisa is forced to leave behind her homeland and rebuild her life in distant England. But how can she stop longing for the warmth of Havana, when the music of the rumba still calls to her?
A cultured city scarred by war. . . . An eastern émigré with scars and secrets of her own. . . . A young woman claiming to be a Russian grand duchess. . . . A brazen killer, as vicious as he is clever. . . . A detective driven by decency and the desire for justice.
Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep empathy for her patients is starting to impede her work. So when her beloved brother passes away, she welcomes the unexpected trip to the Tuscan city of Siena to resolve his estate, even as she wrestles with grief. But as she delves deeper into her brother’s affairs, she discovers intrigue she never imagined—a 700-year-old conspiracy to decimate the city.
Will loving two men tear your heart apart?
