I've read fantasy based in many different time periods and locations, but this was my first set in ancient Rome. The world setup is very familiar to anyone who's learnt about 'the Romans'... just with dragon shifters as the ruling class.

We have Malina, a Dacian witch who has spent her whole life trying to avoid the horrors of the Roman Empire. And we have Julian, nephew of the emperor himself and known as the most cold-hearted of the Roman generals. After a chance meeting years earlier, the two are reunited when Julian saves Malina's life on the battle field and takes her back to Rome to be his slave.

I really liked the main characters - both individually and together. Each had been through their own struggles and experienced very different horrors day-to-day. Be aware that this is a fated mates book, and so a certain amount of attraction is always going to happen quickly - although there's build up it's not one for fans of slow burn.

The world these characters live in is brutal. There is no glamour put on the reality of the conquering empire's wars, and the emperor himself is truly truly horrible. This is absolutely right for the story, and the setting of ancient Rome, but is worth being aware of before going in.

It took me a little while to get into this, but once I did get into it I struggled to put the book down. Very much anticipating the release of the next book in the series - particularly after that epilogue!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free digital copy. All thoughts are my own.