2.5* rounded down to 2 as I really found it hard work to get through.

Written in a second person narrative perspective, Sparrow is the story of a young boy who grows up as a slave within a brothel in Ancient Rome who goes on to become a wolf.

Overall, I found what happens to Sparrow very disturbing. There was an overwhelming amount of graphic description of what young Sparrow endures. Personally, I feel this was unnecessary and detracted from the novel. Probably the reason I won't be recommending it.

There were some interesting explorations of the themes of female friendship, the church and slavery in ancient times.

The last 20% of the story is much better than the first 80% - although in saying that not a flawless finish either: in fact I was left with a few unanswered questions

This reminded me of Elodie Harper's The Wolf Den. However, the latter is a much more polished novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Sparrow.

I loved this book so much. It's beautifully written and it's a story that will stay with me for a long time.

This novel is unlike anything you will have encountered before. It is deeply harrowing, but also humane and even uplifting. It is a powerful account of a unique period of time and it will stay with me for months. Amazing.

Set in a Spanish town in the Roman Empire, Sparrow is the story of a young boy raised in a brothel by the women who lived and worked there, known as wolves.

We see him grow from naivety to knowing in a very graphic depiction of life as a slave. This is however a story of love and although he does not know where he comes from he does know what love is, and isn’t.

I really enjoyed this book, which is in a similar vein but more direct than The Wolf Den and will seek out more of James Hynes’ work as a result. Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unlike anything else I have read. It took a little bit to get into but by about 20% I was totally hooked and immersed in Nova Carthago. This was a graphic and haunting read, full of astounding characterisation.

Set in a Spanish town during the height of the Roman Empire, our story revolves around a slave boy being raised in a brothel. The women working in the brothel are known as wolves, and the wolves raise this young boy to join them in their profession. We are taken on the epic journey of his life, we feel the pain he feels, the love that endures and his mode of survival through the “sparrow”.

A real page turner with vivid descriptions and real emotional vigour, I couldn’t put this down! Would recommend this to fans of immersive historical fiction for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sparrow is a very well written book that took me a bit of time to adjust and understand the language but once I got into it, it was really wonderful.

Sparrow, the protagonist and title character of the book is a young boy (Pusus) with no name, but also a lot of names that different people in the book will refer to him as. It’s told unreliably from Sparrow as an older man, and he writes that not everything is remembered maybe exactly as it happened, but it’s probably not far off either.

Sparrow is a servant in one of the last remaining brothels in Carthago Nova, and his life and character reminded me so much of Paris from Elodie Harper’s ‘The Wolf Den’. However, unlike Paris who held nothing but disdain for the Wolves, Sparrow cared very much for them, especially Euterpe, and it’s this relationship that makes the book very special and where the love through hard times comes from.

This book is graphic, it’s violent, it deals with TW: rape, child abuse, slavery and other hard hitting themes but it’s dealt with well and really gives you a vivid picture of how life for some used to be a long time ago.

The ending left me a little bit irked, and yearning for more, however I’m thinking there could potentially be more stories from Sparrow in the future.

A great read.

An incredibly vivid and powerful novel with a main character who will stay with me for a long time.

Very enjoyable and highly recommended

Sparrow is a stunning book, hard hitting, violent and graphic with a cast of characters that are excellently presented, the good and the downright awful. A nameless boy slave in a Spanish town in the days of the Roman Empire we are treated to the story of his life with all its miseries,savagery and heartbreak but also his uplifting moments. We take this difficult journey as he graduates from kitchen slave, to working in the tavern and the upstairs in the brothel.
A descriptive book that had this the reader thoroughly entertained and engrossed, extremely well written and page turning though at times I dreaded what would happen next. I would of preferred a more conclusive ending but my hope is we’ll be hearing more of ‘Sparrow’
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly

Sparrow by James Hynes is the story of a young slave boy in a Brothel in the city of Carthago Nova during the days of the Roman Empire. The boy doesn't know his birth name, though he is known by various ones given to him by others throughout the book, or where he comes from.His world is the kitchen and garden of the Brothel he lives and works in. As he is given more duties he ventures out into the streets of Nova Carthago and a world of new experiences, sights and people. From kitchen boy he's "promoted" to working in the tavern and eventually "upstairs" where the bedrooms are.

This is a great piece of writing, James Hynes brings the sights,smells and daily life of Nova Carthago to life , from the everyday trades and shops to the slave market which is such a common sight that most don't spare it a second glance in passing and the decaying temples where people still leave offerings for gods denounced by the new Christian church.
The characterisation is excellent and even the most dreadful characters are understood a little,if not liked,when their past lives are revealed. The boy's life is one full of prostitutes, pimps and predators but there are those who love and try to help him.

The book is quite raw and pulls no punches and is quite explicit when difficult subjects are addressed, the language is also "industrial" throughout the book so please be aware if either or both of those things is an issue for you.

Not an easy read but an immersive one and realistic in that there are no neat endings. There is however scope for a sequel ,and this being a book I finished thinking, "that was something special" I really hope there is.

Wow, this was a brutal and graphic novel set in a brothel in the Roman Empire where the lives of the masters and the slaves are vividly portrayed. Some of the scenes are very graphic and may disturb some readers but others are tender and loving and that is what makes this such a well rounded and thrilling read. I would love to have seen the loose ends at the end of the book explained in a bit more detail or maybe there will be a sequel coming?
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e- advance review copy.

A well written book, one I was completely engrossed in from the first page. I found it to be impossible to put it down. Sparrow is the story of a boy with no name growing up in a Spanish brothel in Roman times. His story takes you back to the savagery of the Romans and the plight of ancient slaves.
Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, Picador for the opportunity to read and reviewed this gripping ARC.

Gosh this takes you through such a range of emotions!!!
Quite a raw story exploring slavery in the Roman Empire. So well written and transports you back to the brutality of the Romans and the experiences of slaves in ancient times.
Love fiction set in the ancient world and this was such a great example!

The premise and setting really appealed but this didn’t hold my interest. I feel it needs more pace and/or more distinctive characters. DNF

A boy with no name, but many nicknames, of no known origin, is growing up in a Spanish brothel in Roman times. The story is told by him when he is an old man:
“(…) memory is a shell game. The indelible image in my mind might have originally been placed under the cup of truth, but it might also have been placed under the cup of mistake, or the cup of fantasy, and over the years the cups have shifted places so swiftly under the conjuror’s hands that finally even the conjuror himself no longer knows which is which.”
During the atrocities that he endures in his early childhood as a slave, he pictures himself as a sparrow, soaring high above his cruel fate - his only coping mechanism.
With prose so rich you can cut it with a knife, Jacob’s tale will reel you in, make you fear for him, be furious with the many that abuse him and grateful to those few that show him kindness.
It might come as no surprise, given the setting in a brothel, but be prepared for graphic descriptions of both violence and scenes of a sexual nature.
A pulsating, threatening, lurid world of smells, sights and noises - an utterly gripping insight into the sordidness of a vast empire in its last throes.

I was chosen to read this book, so many thanks to the publisher and the author.

This book took me on a wild ride, through heartbreak, shock and surprise. Beautifully written and thoroughly descriptive, I felt myself putting myself in the shoes of the characters and I connected with them (or, detested them in terms of the bad characters).

Truly a beautiful written work, and would love to own a physical copy for my bookshelf, so will be waiting for the release!

Are you ready for a good cry? I loved every minute of this book. I have never heard of James Hynes and there was a talk on twitter about how good the book is, and that's why I requested and I am glad I did. It is
about Jacob, son of no one! He was raised in a brothel in a Spanish coastal town. He's such a beautiful and memorable character. I hope many people would read this when it is published next year.

This was such a good read that had me engaged right from the start, I genuinely couldn't put this book down it was absolutely captivating.

I have to be honest, I felt I'd read too many books set in ancient times, and really was giving them a miss, so I'm not clear on how this came into my hands.
I'm so glad it did though.
The writing was had me flying through the book.
It went from graphic, to heartbreaking in seconds.
The tales of how a slave was treated, mixed so well with those of the bonds they form together, so that it was never overwhelmingly dark.
I enjoyed this one very much

This book immediately reminded me of a more elevated version of The Wolf Den, though this book fulfilled my desire for more in-depth, well-rounded characters, and it has such rich world-building to boot!

As a reader, I got a sense of the place and time that the book is set in, largely due to the rich writing. Each time Sparrow ran to the fountain to fill the buckets, went to the marketplace, or ran his errands, I could very clearly envision the streets of Carthago Nova. I also felt the odd dynamic as the paganic Roman Empire started to crumble as it transitioned towards Christianity. While Hynes was successful at crafting a rich, lifelike world, I did feel that his descriptive writing slowed the pace down in certain areas, particularly at the start of the book where it took a while for the story to get going.

Hynes did a wonderful job at fleshing out the main cast of characters. Sparrow and the Wolves felt complex and lifelike. I even had a very small soft spot for Audo -well until that awful scene where he was initiating Sparrow. into his new role. The book is not a light read, which isn't entirely unexpected given that it's set in a brothel, but I wasn't expecting it to be as graphic as it was at certain points. I understood why it had to be done -although set in the final days of the Roman Empire, the plight of Sparrow and the Wolves is reminiscent of modern-day trafficking victims. Also, without the graphic scenes, it's unlikely that Sparrow's disassociation would have come across as believable (and Hynes did a great job at realistically depicting a trauma response).

As the book drew to a close, my heart broke for all of the characters, and I wanted to give them all a better outcome. With that said, I was conflicted by the ending and was ready to rate the book down for it. Given what the elder Sparrow tells us about his future circumstances, we get very little information on how he actually got there. We don't even know how he learns to read and write! On reflection, I wouldn't necessarily change the ending, but I would let the elder Sparrow pepper us with more information throughout the book on how he got to a place in life where he could write his life story. After getting to know the younger Sparrow so well, I would have liked a more definitive sense of closure.

Ultimately, this was a beautifully written character-driven plot, and I look forward to its release next year.

I have reviewed Sparrow for online book recommendation site LoveReading. I’ve chosen it as both a Star Book and Liz Pick for its month of publication. Please see the link to the site for the full review.