Synopsis:
Aurelia has always valued love and happiness over titles and power. Though her kind-hearted father has allowed her to turn away suitor after suitor in pursuit of a love she cannot yet define, when he dies her choices die with him. Knowing that marrying the elderly governor of a neighboring province can secure her mentally challenged brother’s safety, she gives up on her dream of finding love in return for his protection. Cassius is the ill-fated captain of the governor’s guard tasked with escorting the Lady Aurelia and her unpleasant aunt to the governor’s estate. Since the soothsayer Tullia foretold an early death for him, Cassius wants nothing more than to keep his hands busy with labor and his heart free from any connections to the world he believes he will be leaving soon. As they work through a series of misfortunes on the road to the governor’s province, the words of the soothsayer start to make sense, and together they find the courage to allow their true destiny to unfold.
Favorite Lines:
“But that is the way with great love—there is great sadness when it is gone.”
“I wonder if sometimes our understanding of a thing is based on our own notion of what that thing should mean, rather than what it truly does mean.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
Soothsayer follows Aurelia, a woman of a relatively high position who was never forced into marriage by her father and was allowed to wait for love. That is, until her father dies, and it is up to her to keep her brother with special-needs safe. Aurelia agrees to a marriage with the governor of a neighboring province who is 40-something years her senior to protect her brother. Aurelia realizes she will be in a marriage with someone she doesn’t love and all her time waiting was for nothing…until she meets Cassius. Cassius is the captain of the governor’s guard and while he and Aurelia are first at odds with each other, they soon develop a bond and feelings that inspires them to fight for their love.
I haven’t read a historical romance novel in ages, and I have never read one that was set in ancient Rome. The story was actually very cute, and I found myself staying up until 3am to finish it in one sitting. I was flipping through page after page just waiting for more of Cassius with Aurelia. This story was so unique and utterly its own, I really commend Amurra for being able to create a refreshing novel and to really be able to showcase her voice through her writing.
We get PoV changes right off the bat, which I loved. That being said, I don’t know if it was the formatting of my .mobi file or not but the PoV changes weren’t announced and happened in the middle of the chapters for me so sometimes I had to figure out who’s mind I was suddenly seeing events from.
Summary:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am so grateful to Amurra for allowing me to read and review it for her. If you love historical romances, action, and adventure then this book is for you.
Likely Story 