Tag: Italy

I Am Rome (Julius Caesar: Book 1) by Santiago Posteguillo

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: March 5th, 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Novels, Italy, Roman, Literature, Ancient History

Series: Julius Caesar

I Am Rome—Book 1

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

The runaway international bestseller–part sweeping historical epic, part legal thriller–following the trial that shaped the life of the young Julius Caesar and gave root to an immortal legacy.

Every legend has a beginning.

Rome, 77 B.C. Senator Dolabella, known for using violence against anyone who opposes him, is going on trial for corruption and has already hired the best lawyers and even bought the jury. No man dares accept the role of prosecutor–until, against all odds, an unknown twenty-three-year-old steps out to lead the case, defend the people of Rome, and defy the power of the elite class. This lawyer’s name is Caius Julius Caesar.

Masterfully combining exhaustive historical rigor with extraordinary narrative skills, Santiago Posteguillo shows us the man behind the myth of Caesar as never before, taking us to the dangerous streets of Rome where the Senate’s henchmen lurk on every corner, submerging us in the thick of battle, and letting us live the great love story of Julius Caesar and his wife, Cornelia. 

After Julius Caesar, the world was never the same. I Am Rome tells the tale of the early events that shaped this extraordinary man’s fate–and changed the course of history itself.

First Line

The woman spoke quietly to her baby as she rocked him.

I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo

Important details about I Am Rome

Pace:  Slow

POV: 3rd person (numerous people but mainly from Julius Caeser)

Trigger Warnings: I Am Rome contains themes that include rape, sexual assault, slavery, torture, war, classism, arranged marriage, divorce, alcohol consumption, childbirth, pregnancy, teen pregnancy, blood & gore depiction, body horror, dead bodies & body parts, knife and sword violence, murder & attempted murder, whipping, massacres, military service, and military violence.

Language: I Am Rome contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in I Am Rome.

Setting: I Am Rome is set in and around Rome, Italy.

My Review

Julius Caesar is one of those historical figures that have fascinated me ever since I could remember. But, when I tried to read books (mainly nonfiction) that described his reign over the Roman Empire, it would bore me. I also couldn’t find a historical fiction that stuck to the facts. Because of that, I was hesitant to accept the widget when Random House sent me it. But I did, and oh boy, I am glad that I did. This book was fantastic.

I Am Rome is well-written, well-researched historical fiction that captivated me from the prologue. This book is over 600 pages long, and its length can be slow. I normally cannot deal with a slow, long book, but in this case, it worked. I could process the different parts of Julius Caesar’s life without getting overwhelmed by the information given.

The story of Julius Caesar is told in two storylines. The first storyline revolves around Julius Caesar and the trial where he prosecuted Senator Dolabella, a morally and politically corrupt politician. The second storyline follows Julius Caesar from birth to the years before he took the Senator Dolabella case. I was interested in the trial storyline (I liked how Caesar pleaded his case and presented the witnesses/evidence against Dolabella), but it was a little dry. The second storyline explained almost everything brought up in the first storyline. Yes, I know that what I said is phrased awkwardly, but it will make sense if you read the book.

What I loved about this book is that the author included footnotes at the end of each chapter. He also gave direct quotes about where cities would be in the present day and other interesting tidbits of information, so I was not left wondering about anything.

The undercurrent of I Am Rome is a love story between Cornelia and Caesar. I don’t know if Caesar truly loved Cornelia in real life, but he adored her in this book. And she returned his feelings. They did run up against a few obstacles, but love trumped everything. I adored reading their interactions because Caesar truly seemed to consider what Cornelia said.

I Am Rome is violent and bloody. The author didn’t attempt to sugarcoat the violence. He laid it all out there. Some scenes made me retch, and others made me furious. But, I kept in the back of my mind that it was in context with the period in which it was written. I did provide a list of trigger warnings above.

The end of I Am Rome was very suspenseful. The author merged the two storylines at the perfect moment. While the trial ended in a way that I expected, I was not expecting what happened after. The author left the book open for book 2; I can’t wait to read it!!

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine, NetGalley, and Santiago Posteguillo for allowing me to read and review this ARC of I Am Rome. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to I Am Rome, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Santiago Posteguillo

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure by Christina Lynch

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: June 13th, 2023

Genre: Historical Fiction, Italy, Fiction, World War II, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

What if you found yourself in the middle of a war armed only with lipstick and a sense of humor? Abandoned as a child in Los Angeles in 1931, dust bowl refugee Sally Brady convinces a Hollywood movie star to adopt her, and grows up to be an effervescent gossip columnist secretly satirizing Europe’s upper crust. By 1940 saucy Sally is conquering Fascist-era Rome with cheek and charm.

A good deed leaves Sally stranded in wartime Italy, brandishing a biting wit, a fake passport, and an elastic sense of right and wrong. To save her friends and find her way home through a land of besieged castles and villas, Sally must combat tragedy with comedy, tie up pompous bureaucrats in their own red tape, force the cruel to be kind, and unravel the mystery, weight, and meaning of family.

First Line:

“Don’t talk to strangers,” Daddy said when he hoisted me onto the train that moonless night back in Iowa.

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure by Christina Lynch

Sally Brady is used to overcoming the odds. Her parents, having five children, sent Sally to California in 1931. After living on the streets for a while, Sally happens to jump into the car of a Hollywood movie star. That movie star decides to adopt Sally. When the movie star gets divorced, about five years after adopting Sally, she moves to Europe and takes Sally along. That is how Sally ended up in Italy when it closed its borders and detained any press/foreigners that remained. After helping a young Jewish girl escape, Sally is stranded in Italy. Will Sally be able to escape?

I am a sucker for a good World War II story and usually read everything I can about that war. So, when I saw that Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure was up for review, I knew I wanted to read it. And I am glad I did. This book was terrific.

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure is a fast-paced book. The pacing of the storyline was perfect for this book. There was some lag towards the middle of the book (around when Sally was in prison), but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of this book.

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure takes place mainly in Italy. But there are excursions to Prague, Switzerland, and the United States.

The main storyline of Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure is centered around Sally Brady and, you guessed it, her adventures in Italy (and in life). Sally was a larger-than-life character who could think fast and use her wits to keep herself alive in wartime Italy. This storyline captured and kept my attention.

The author featured two other storylines in Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure. They centered around Lapo, an Italian writer and farmer, and Alessandro, Lapo’s son and a soldier. These were the more serious of storylines, and they were the storylines that I enjoyed reading the most. The writer had Lapo and Alessandro witness the horrors of an unstable dictator and a war neither wanted to be involved in. Those two storylines were as well written as Sally’s.

The author told Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure through the 1st person POV of Sally and the 3rd person POV of Lapo and Alessandro. Usually, I’m not too fond of it when there is more than one POV and more than one storyline. But, in this case, I liked it.

I liked Sally. The author did write her, at first, as a silly young girl who didn’t take life seriously. But, as the book went on, I saw glimpses of a more serious Sally. It wasn’t until she met Clio and helped Clio’s granddaughter escape that Sally’s true nature showed through. She was one of the bravest characters in the book.

I liked Lapo. As a parent, I understood why he did what he did. I would do anything to ensure the safety of my children too. I felt awful every time I read his chapters because I could see his prison being more and more constricted by Mussolini.

Alessandro had the most exciting storyline, in my eyes. He was anti-Fascist but had to swallow his beliefs while in the military. Alessandro couldn’t understand, at first, why Lapo was kissing Mussolini’s butt, which made him angry (I would have been too). His time in the military almost destroyed him. The scene where he finally meets Sally is pivotal because it shows how low he was.

The end of Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure was interesting. I felt awful for Sally when she finally went home to her family. Her father was a piece of freaking work, that’s for sure. There was a twist at the end of the book that surprised me. I was with Sally when I thought a certain someone had died. To have him pop up like that had me react as Sally did.

I recommend Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure to anyone over 16. There is mild language, fade to black sexual situations, and moderate to graphic violence.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Christina Lynch for allowing me to read and review Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure.

If you enjoyed reading this review of Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Christina Lynch