He is Sparrow, who sings without reason and can fly from trouble. His world is a kitchen, a herb-scented garden, a loud and dangerous tavern, and the mysterious upstairs where the ‘wolves’ – prostitutes and slaves from every corner of the empire – conduct their business.

When not being told stories by his beloved ‘mother’ Euterpe, he runs errands for her lover the cook, dodging the blows of their brutal overseer or the machinations of the chief wolf, Melpomene.

A hard fate awaits Sparrow, one that involves suffering, murder, mayhem, and the scattering of the women who have been his whole world.

Through meticulous research and bold imagination, James Hynes brings the entirety of the Roman city of Carthago Nova – its markets, temples, taverns of the lowly and mansions of the rich – to vivid, brutal life.

An amazing book. Wonderfully crafted and constructed by the author. A disturbing and upsetting story but one that should be read. Highly recommended.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Not for the faint hearted!!

This is the story of a young slave boy raised in a brothel in the Spanish Town of Nova Carthago at the height of the Roman Empire

The women working in the brothel are known as wolves, and the wolves raise this young boy to join them in their profession. The boy's means of mental escape is to be "sparrow".

This is so vividly depicted and graphic at times, it's almost hard to read, but well written at the same time. This will no doubt draw comparison to Wolf Den by Elodie Harper, written in a different style and both have their place.

This was a beautifully written novel. It was such an emotional story about a young slave and how things were for him.
There were lots of triggers in this book so please check them before reading but it was definitely worth reading

Interesting, shocking, heartbreaking, and very well written. The story of a slave boy in Roman times, being raised by "wolves" (prostitutes) and ultimately being forced into prostitution himself - his story and that of the women who raise him is both devastatingly sad and heartwarming, as we glimpses of good in people in even the worst situations. It's nice to have some redemption at the end, though we don't know exactly how he comes to that point, so perhaps there will be a sequel that fleshes out the rest of his story.

Disclaimer - if you are easily shocked or offended this book isn't for you! However if you want a thought provoking and authentic feeling story following a slave in the Roman empire then this is going to drag you into that world and show you it's dark underbelly.

Set in a brothel we follow a slave boy as he grows, from kitchen hand, to dogsbody to Wolf. He has no name and instead is known by different things by all those around him, whether that be Pusus/Antiochus/Little One/Mouse/Antinous. Of all his names he most associates with Sparrow.

The setting of the story is very rich and feels so well researched without drowning you in facts. Sparrow's naivety is so endearing, and it is heart breaking that you can see where his story is going long before he can. And even more heartbreaking as that naivety is broken.

As you would expect with brothel life large portions of the story are really quite graphic once Sparrow takes on roles upstairs. There is no cutting away at the bedroom door (or more aptly cell curtain) and leaving the audience to imagine what may be happening. We are made to care about the characters and then see them defiled and used by all those around them. Despite this we also get to see how they care for, and love, one another and the lengths they will go to in order to protect those they care about.

I think this book is going to stay with me for a long time.

I was given an ARC by the publisher (Picador) in return for an honest review.

Sparrow is the name the young slave names himself, a name known to him alone and how he sees the world through a sparrow's eyes when he is unable to cope with the abuse.

He goes by many other names, Pusus and Mouse amongst others. Brought by ship from his, unknown, birth place to Carthago Nova as very young boy he is sold into a brothel. This is the story of his time there. The two women who become his 'mothers', the other wolves (prostitutes) and the townspeople who he interacts with when he is out on errands.

The author has certainly done his research, although as he states himself, this is a work of fiction and a piece of hard hitting fiction. Although graphic at times, at least the author did not describe each and every time Sparrow was abused.

It is a descriptive book that takes you into the heart of the brothel and surrounding town. The sights, smells and sounds are described, sometimes repeatedly although this gets less the further into the book you go.

I have given it 4* as I felt the ending was rushed. I was left wondering what happened to him. There are clues to the end of his life through the book, but to be honest I am unsure whether or not Sparrow was suffering from what we would now call PTSD and the finish was his imagination.

Maybe the author has plans to write a sequel and my question can be answered.

A powerful ,but at times, very uncomfortable read. The graphic scenes being very difficult to read. The story was strong and full of interesting characters and emotion ran high. The description of being a slave during the Roman empire was fascinating.

Sparrow, for me, was rather overlong - or at least the pace was off so that it took a long time to get interesting. I’d not recently read the blurb so hadn’t appreciated that the whole novel, apart from the narrative concept of looking back towards the end of his life, was going to be his time at the brothel. I’d been impatient for things to get started as a result - I assumed we had a lot of life to get through yet.

Sparrow’s story itself is quite hard work given the subject matter - I’m not easily offended but a combination of early naivety on the character’s part and then later the sexually explicit content involving the young slave boy was a bit repetitive and didn’t drive the narrative as much as it needed to. I also didn’t feel the cast of wolves / prostitutes was as fleshed out as they could have been to withstand the length of the novel.

Overall, It lacked the poetry and characterisation of, say, Mary Renault in telling of the ancient world and drawing the parallels without being ‘clunky’. It would be a decent enough beach read I think, but I don’t expect I’ll pick up any sequels.

This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Raised by Wolves

Sparrow is raised in a brothel in a Roman coastal town. The slaves around him are his only family, though his days are hard he manages to find some happiness in his work and with his ‘mother’ who is one of the enslaved prostitutes (known as ‘wolves’). Then the day comes where Sparrow becomes a wolf himself…

Written as his memoir from Britannia at the end of the Roman empire, you are constantly reminded that this story is not one with a happy end. It is unflinching in describing the despicable treatment slaves endure, I definitely wouldn’t recommend this as an uplifting read! The description of Roman society, customs, religious changes in a newly Christian empire, prostitution and slavery was completely immersive to me.

I hope we get to hear more of Sparrow’s life story, though knowing how little control he and his family have over their own lives I don’t hold out much hope of it being a happy one or that he will ever reunite with his mother. I wish Sparrows ending was as it was written. It probably wasn’t, but as Euterpe says, stories bring hope.

This book follows the early life of a young boy slave in a Taberna which is also a brothel, in Roman Carthago Nova which is modern day Cartagena in the Murcia region of Spain. It follows the life, trials and tribulations of a group of slaves who have little to no control over their lives and have to deal with anything that comes their way. It is a very raw book with some extremely explicit scenes so I would definitely be warned about that. I don't think it is the most amazing book, I didn't feel fully absorbed into the story and characters as I felt the pacing was a little off but overall it does take you through a wide range of emotions and is written very well.

The book narrative starts off introducing the protagonist as Jacob, and then it goes right to the early years of his life as a young boy.
Pusus, which means little boy, is what the others call him. He is a slave, and he lives in the kitchen of a Taberna brothel, with Focaria the cook, also a slave.
Reading about Pusus, Focaria, and the prostitutes who are called the wolves, also slaves, is quite the read.
I found the descriptions of the place they lived in called Carthago Nova very descriptive and well written. It is in the times of the Roman Empire. I have been to Cartagena in Spain, which it is now known as, so it was also very easy for me to picture the amphitheatre and quayside.
I found the book to be a warts and all story. Some extremely very explicit, sexually graphic parts, which leads to some unsettling, uncomfortable reading. A bit of a shame for me personally, as I would still have felt the impact of the storyline, without it being so graphic.. A hint at the details in my opinion would have been better, so the reader themselves could work it out what had happened.
The story itself weaved a tale of probability of how life would have been during that era, and I found it very interesting, a bit heart pounding near the end of the book as I was racing along wondering how it would end.
It wasn’t exactly how I visualised the ending to be, but I thought it drew it to an understandable conclusion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e- book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

This book follows the early life of a young boy slave in a Taberna which is also a brothel, in Roman Carthago Nova which is modern day Cartegena in the Murcia region of Spain.
It follows the life and tribulations of a group of slaves who have little control over their lives.
Enjoyed it as it was an unusual setting and group of characters. Very believable except for the ending which I felt wasn't quite as creditable and unlikely given the circumstances.
Worth a read though.

Brutal, raw and beautifully told, this is the story of a nameless boy - a slave, a little mouse, a wolf, a sparrow.
Set during Roman times, it very much reminded me of Elodie Harper’s Wolf Den, which I absolutely loved too.
As he reflects on his life, the book mainly details his early years, with the ending suggesting it could lead to a sequel - let’s hope so.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I must say this is the first book that I struggled to read some parts. There should be a trigger warning as one episode is very upsetting. Otherwise, it was a story of a servant with many names who went through many episodes of violence and mistreatment at the hands of owners and fellow servants. He would imagine he was a sparrow flying out of his body to switch off from what he was enduring. He does have some happy moments with his mother figure called Euterpe, who he's closest to amongst all the other female servants in his "family".
The story plodded along , got more interesting and then ended. It's worth a read. Not really my cup of tea though, so sorry to say.
I received this free ARC book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #panmacmillan, #jameshynes.

Gritty, unflinching and hugely vivid the author takes us on a very descriptive journey of Carthage and Sparrow’s life there. I loved it.

A very raw and unflinching tale of life in Roman times of a young slave boy. It’s a hard read in parts but there is some kindness and the tale is well told.

This book was sooo atmospheric. James Hynes writing was pure bliss!!

I had heard a lot about this book, but wasn't 100% convinced it would be my cup of tea, I thought it may be a bit too literary for me. I could not have been more wrong. I was super wrapped up in the characters from the very beginning.
Hyne's writing was so spot on - it felt like I was right there. But without the faff that some books have when descriptive writing - none of it felt like waffle. Everything added something and added to the atmosphere.

This was not the happiest of books - its incredibly downbeat but there is so much hope and fight, that you just want the characters to get out of the life they are living. You feel like they should, and you feel like they can. Never once do the characters feel sorry for themselves, they are fighters. This makes the sad and dark subject matter easier to read.

This was the most atmospheric book I have read for a long long time. Definitely recommend if you want to be swept up into a completely different world!

On one hand I loved this book yet on the other I hated it. The book deals with horrific subjects such as slavery, rape, and child abuse, and they are dealt with in such graphic ways that it was awful to read (as it should be I suppose). I nearly had to stop reading but I am glad I didn’t as the overall story is worth it (but prepare yourself to read that section).

The character of Sparrow was so likeable and by heart broke for him so many times. The world he lives in as vividly brought to life and why I loved this book.

The ending was in some ways disappointing, I think it was Sparrow’s ending not Pusus’, and while this was meaningful on some level, I think I would have preferred to know what happened to Pusus (and the other Wolves).

A gritty and harrowing look at Roman life, which is well worth a read. But please prepare yourself for the graphic descriptions of child abuse which are contained in this book.

Great characters and amazing imagery.