I was really excited to read this sequel to The Wolf Den and learn more about Amara's story. I found the first book a well-researched albeit gruelling read and was curious to see where the story would go now that Amara has gained at least a little agency. We find her in the eponymous 'House with the Golden Door' where she is being kept as a concubine for her patron Rufus.

I didn't find this book as difficult to read as the first one as Amara is an undoubtedly better position. however she faces struggles of a different kind and still has to try to outfox her old master Felix.

The story itself is good but what really brings Pompeii alive in these books is the author's attention to detail and understanding of Ancient Rome. I'm a Classics teacher and Classicist and the detail is really spot on. If the content wasn't so adult I would definitely recommend it for my pupils studying Pompeii.

I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series and can only hope Amara finally gets a chance to stab Felix in the face.

This was a totally epic book 2! I couldn't put it down and read this in 24 hours.
The blurb tells you what you need to know but I'd recommend going into it blind for all the surprises, twists and turns.
I can't wait for book 3!!! Or anything else the author is going to write in the future.

If you like roman/Greek historical fiction with strong female characters that's not slow paced, you gotta pick this one up for sure.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“There is always a price to pay for underestimating a woman.”


Thank you so so much to Amy over at @headofzeus for including me on the #blogtour for this incredible book and for my #gifted copy!
The wolf den was a top fave of mine from last year so I was beyond excited to read this one … and it did not disappoint.

"Freed from Pompeii's brothel. Owned as a courtesan. Determined to have her revenge. Her name is Amara. What will she risk for power?"

The house with the golden door was just as captivating, powerful and moving as the first and Elodie’s writing just as beautiful, evocative and immersive as ever! The attention to detail in these books is outstanding! The characters will take you hold, the story will grip you and you will feel like you are walking through the streets of Pompeii yourself!

No words will do this book or this series justice so I will just say, if you loved The wolf den, you will love this! If you haven’t picked this series up yet and it sounds like your kinda thing then I can’t recommend you pick it up soon enough. If it doesn’t, honestly still give it a go!

I also just need to mention my absolute love for Brittanica 💪🏼💖
I just loved her development throughout this book .. she is strong, loyal and murderous! Her friendship with Amara was one of my favourite parts of this whole book! Love her!

"Death is nature's gift. It's better to know that suffering ends. Once we accept this life is all we have, we can make better use of it'

“Lovers, like bees, live a honeyed life” (Graffiti, Pompeii)

Warning! There are some spoilers ahead for The Wolf Den, one of my favourite books of 2021, so if you’ve not read it yet then you might want to skip this

The House with the Golden Door continues the story of Amara who has escaped Pompeii’s infamous Lupanar brothel in A.D. 75. Freed from slavery by Admiral Pliny, she now has a rich patron, Rufus, who likes his “little bird” to be slim and fragile

Despite being a freedwoman, Amara’s life and financial security depend on Rufus remaining infatuated. Knowing his ardour will wane and being in considerable debt, Amara starts to make some dangerous business decisions that pull her back into the orbit of Felix, pimp and owner of the Lupanar. I read the final two thirds of the book with a sense of impending doom, worrying that everything that Amara had worked for was about to be taken away

What I love about both of these books is how they bring Pompeii to life. Each chapter starts with a quote or graffiti from the town walls. We see inside bath houses, villas and temples and parade the streets for the festivals of Floralia and Saturnalia. Elodie Harper not only brings the town to life, but also the lives of its enslaved women, who are trying to survive in a patriarchal society that endorses the ownership of their names, their bodes and their futures…..Amara it seems has exchanged one type of slavery for another, but she is nothing if not a survivor, a hope that I’m holding onto for book 3

As the second book in the trilogy, this novel begins with Amara settling in to life as a freedwoman - and what that truly entails -
in the house with the golden door. Following straight on from The Wolf Den, we see Amara struggling to come to terms with her friend's murder, intent on revenge and determined for justice - but this ends up being served with some (major) consequences.

I didn't think it was possible for me to love this book more than The Wolf Den but this book took what that one did so well and just elevated it: a setting that is so transportive it is the perfect form of escapism; characters you grow to love and root for; a tension and foreboding that grows throughout and which doesn't let you out of its brutal grip until the final pages - and, by that point, you're pretty much ready to have your heart broken all over again.
Fantastic read!

This is a sequel, and it is useful to have read the original - The Wolf Den - as it sets the scene to introduce Amara, the former whore who has escaped from the brothel and is building a more respectable life for herself in Pompeii. However, her efforts to buy and then free some of her former friends causes her unexpected difficulties. And can she ever fall in love, having serviced so many men and learned to mask her true feelings.

The book made me sad, as we learn what it really means to be a Roman slave, owned by another person, and how it impacts life from every angle. Amara is a brave woman, although Britannica is a real heroine and a great character.

Its a great read, as good as the first book and taking us deep into a period in history. Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Wolf Den and was intrigued to find out how Amara and the other girls lives would play out and I wasn't disappointed. Once again you feel the grittiness of life at this time and also sadly the value of lives and I love that Elodie Harper keeps you guessing on the fortunes of her characters.

A really good read, can't wait for the final book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read The House with the Golden Door

Just as beautifully heartbreaking, powerful and emotional as the first instalment, Elodie Harper has absolutely smashed it with this stunning sequel.

I loved reading about Amara’s life after the first book - I won’t say too much as I don’t want to give away any plot points from the first book. I did find the plot a tiny bit slow in the beginning but it definitely ramped up a few gears and was very exciting as it went on.

I love Elodie’s writing and the research she puts into these books is incredible. I can’t wait for the third and final instalment next year!

Amara is now a free woman and the kept concubine of a rich young man. However she is not truly free from the brothel, her former pimp threatens her and she worries about her fellow whores. What Amara does not bargain on is falling in love with a slave. In order to protect her new life Amara must use all her wits and her friends but can she ever escape her past.
This is such a terrific book! Harper introduced the reader to the life of a prostitute slave in Pompeii in her first novel and now she has taken her characters further. the sense of time and place is wonderful, I especially like the little references to known facts about Pompeii eg the grafitti on walls. The subject matter is unusual and original and the writing is fantastic, I eagerly await the final installment.

Really enjoyed this sequel and second in the Wolf Den trilogy. I read this book not long after the first, but even so the writing easily transported you back to ancient Pompeii and into the lives of Amara and the other she-wolves.

Elodie Harper is a great storyteller and I found myself racing through the book and feeling tense throughout. The character development is excellent, Amara is quite a flawed and dark character who makes many questionable choices, however you can understand why she does what she has to in order to survive and protect those she cares about. Britannica is my favourite character who has come a long way since the first book and I really hope features heavily in the third too.

Shortly after finishing this book I was lucky enough to visit Pompeii and I have to say Elodie Harper really helped the place come alive for me, particularly when visiting the infamous brothel itself. Clearly a lot of research went into the history and detail, an immersive read.

Amara is now a freed concubine of Rufus and bears the name of Pliny the Elder. But for this to achieve she had to leave her old friends from the Wolf’s Nest behind. At night she still has nightmares about her pimp Felix. During the day she tries to make sure that Rufus doesn’t get tired of her. Because if she loses her patron, the future may yet look very gloom.

This is the second book in a trilogy set in Pompeii and focusing on the hard lives of women. The house with the golden door is as strong as the first part The wolf den, which is not always easy for an author. I really recommend to read ‘The wolf den’ first as the plot builds on the events and relationships from that book.

Amara is a strong woman facing difficult choices. Her relationship with Felix is complex and at times I could not always understand it. But emotions are not always rational. You can see this in the character of Victoria. Britannica’s character development is great and I also liked Julia and Drusilla, who have become Amara’s new friends.

I’m very curious to see how this story will end. We are close to the known disaster so I suspect the third book will build to a climax. This is an interesting series that can attract a wide audience. And those covers are beautiful.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m definitely on a book roll this weekend 🤩 Harper has written a brilliant sequel to Wolf Den as Amara’s story continues. She may have escaped the brothel, but her future is by no means secure. This is a tale of love, sex, violence and the fight for freedom and it’s a great read! Now to wait for book 3 🙂

The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper

The Roman city of Pompeii is enjoying its heydey and life is looking good for Amara, who once worked as a prostitute in the city’s most infamous and famous brother, the Wolf Den. She has been rescued by a wealthy man and he is now the only man she serves as one of Pompeii’s most glamorous courtesans. But she can’t leave her friends there behind. She is haunted by their continued suffering while being all too well that her own good fortune is transient. And so Amara sets out to help them, especially her closest friend Victoria, and that means she must go back into the wolf’s lair.

The Wolf Den was my favourite novel of 2021. It brought the streets and houses of Pompeii to life for me in a way no other book has done. I’ve visited the place often and I’ll never see it with the same eyes again thanks to the power of Elodie Harper’s prose and research. I was so pleased that there is more and so I couldn’t wait for The House with the Golden Door. Even before I started reading, I was stunned by the beauty of the cover. These are seriously gorgeous books!

The novels are set during the few years leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius. The fact that we know what lies in store adds such a sense of foreboding and I can’t help hoping that the author takes us right up to these events. But the novels don’t miss the drama of the eruption. Instead, the focus is on the daily lives of these damaged women, as well as on the men who own them, the men who love them and all of the other people who tread these streets as shop workers, slaves, business men, courtesans, inn keepers. I love it.

I think any novel is bound to suffer by comparison with The Wolf Den which, to my mind, is nigh on perfect. The fact that Amara has been removed from that awful brothel of the first novel, a major character in its own right, detracts a little from the power of the second. I also found the storyline involving Victoria difficult. Nevertheless, The House with the Golden Door is an excellent novel and once more it is filled with the details that make these novels stand out. There are so few good novels about Roman women or society in general. This was indeed a man’s world. And it is wonderful to immerse oneself in their stories, although everything about Amara’s life and her past is so hard. But there are moments of joy and happiness and I feel like we’re there with her for it all.

Once more, I should point out that these novels are not salacious or erotic. These might be courtesans and prostitutes but they’re also enslaved women living in a city full of life and colour as well as violence and threat. I can’t wait for the third book. I need to know what happens to Amara next. I’m hoping that in the meantime I can return to this incredible place in person myself.

Other review
The Wolf Den

This book picks up right where The Wolf Den picked up which I loved. I always try to not give any spoilers, so I’ll just say I was shook with the way book one ended - and book two was equally as great. These books hit the spot on everything I love to learn about ancient history and Pompeii! Amara is so smart and ruthless when she needs to be (which I adore), Elodie really had me hooked the whole way through. Now I’ll just be here waiting impatiently for book three! Thank you Amy at @headofzeus for sending me a copy early to review, I absolutely loved it! ❤️

First I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange of an honest opinion.

I absolutely loved the first book of this trilogy, The Wolf Den, and had high hopes for this sequel. The way Elodie Harper describes her characters make you relate to them, even when you don't agree with their choices. All the characters have a great backstory and a strong personality, capturing the difficulties of women and slaves in ancient Pompeii.

I'll try and keep this review spoiler free: I love Amara, I love her spirit and that whatever hardship she faces, she picks herself up and does whatever she can to ensure her safety and the safety of her loved ones, even at her own expense at times. She sees the good in people, even when others warn her not to. This book made me happy and hopeful, and at times sad and helpless. I can't wait to read the third book and see more of Amara's adventures (and hopefully see even more of Britannica!!)

A great sequel to The Wolf Den; fast-paced and thrilling, Amara’s fortune constantly teetering on the edge of a blade. The story reeks with vengeance and the threat of betrayal, and I’m more than a little rattled that I have to wait for the third book to discover the consequences of the turn in Amara’s fate.
Britannica’s character also sees some fantastic growth over the course of this story, as she moves closer towards her destiny and true power.
The loathsome Felix hovers like a dark cloud, his presence a constant threat, like the volcano that towers over the outskirts of Pompeii.
I can’t wait to follow Amara’s story to Rome, and to find out what happens to the people she’s left behind in the fated city.

The difference between freedom and slavery is precarious, and freedom comes with a price.

Amara has gained her freedom, and is no longer a slave in a brothel. But she remains a courtesan for the patron who freed her, and keeping his affection and loyalty is tense and stressful work. Nearly everything she owns comes from him, including a house and her own slaves, conditional on her continuing to please him. So she looks for a greater security by earning her own money, from hiring out musicians and lending money. There are other debts she cannot ignore, and so she plans to buy the freedom of some of her fellow slaves from the brothel. It′s a generous but not a wise move since it puts her under obligation to the brothel owner, who is a dangerous man.
She has friends inside and outside the house, other women who like her try to take charge of their own destiny, and a tentative connection to the slaves under her. Her life is so much better than it has been since she was a free girl in Greece, but fighting to keep it will need her to draw on all her strength, and love and kindness are only weaknesses.

This was a fascinating book in how it described all the variations of slavery and being free in the Roman Empire. It seems like a concrete demarcation between free and non-free, but it′s possible to slip between the two states so easily. And the relationships between the different levels of society is fraught with complexities, some of which parallel the minutiae of class, but others are a matter of life and death. The book involves many of the characters from the first one, bringing some minor ones to the fore and introducing new ones who all add to the story. It′s an involving read where I ended up rooting for Amara even as you realise that her own struggle for survival and liberty may make her as calculating and pitiless as her masters.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

Amara has done the near-impossible, escaping life in the brothel and more importantly Felix, the pimp. But… has she? Is her new patron’s infatuation enough to keep her free? Should she try to help her former friends? And although this new life is so much better, is it really enough?

Despite the darkness of the themes, I was utterly swept up following Amara’s struggles in book one, so it’s great to be able to rejoin her story plus several of the characters we already know and a few new faces. However, it seems the balance to starting with better circumstances in book two is even darker themes, so much danger and tension, it was almost difficult to read this.

Although the writing remains excellent, I was a little less fond of this compared to the first book. In The Wolf Den, the situation is awful but there is a sense of hope. Here I feel we’ve swapped the hope for fear; Amara’s situation is so precarious, every step seems to be fraught with danger. And I just couldn’t agree with most of her choices – yes, emotionally they make sense, but she’s so often more logical that it hurt to see her take so many awful risks. It’s a tough one – she isn’t a robot, but then to almost literally hurl herself down the most dangerous routes – argh!

I did enjoy seeing Amara able to befriend other women and to be accepted by a ‘better class’ than the friends she perhaps should have left behind, but it remains horribly difficult to read about the realities of a society where women can have almost nothing without men giving it, and slavery is the norm. Digging even deeper into those themes here is both eye-opening and uncomfortable. I’m still glad I read it, but oy, the emotional strain! Still – roll on book 3! I absolutely need to know where Amara’s story will take her, and hopefully the stories of a few more of the She-Wolves.

The Wolf Den blew my socks off so I was so grateful to get the chance to read The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper.

Following on from Amara becoming a freed woman, we follow the next stage of her journey living with her patron Rufus. She makes a few risky decisions that I questioned, after having put up with so much in The Wolf Den however this portrays her strength and fighting spirit. There is still a strong sense of female power as Amara longs to help those she left behind however for me, it lacked the smattering of warmth and hope that the first novel had. It is a much slower paced novel but the second half speeds up and I whizzed through to the end.

I did enjoy it, just not as much as the first but I would like to read the final installment when it comes out.

Note - this is the second in a series and you would need to read them in order.

The House with the Golden Door is one of those rare books that evokes a vanished world in every detail.