This book reads like a fictionalized memoir, told from the perspective of Fulvia herself. I have only recently discovered Fulvia as a figure of interest, and I love the amount of care and research that clearly went into writing this novel.

This novel follows Fulvia's journey from a young girl who is new to Rome to a figure of immense power and influence. I found myself rooting for her the whole time. I would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in ancient Rome and strong female figures!

Fulvia has quickly trumped Agrippina the Younger as my favourite woman in Roman history. Actually, I think that Fulvia might be my favourite woman ever - and this book has cemented this for me.

Occasionally, with historical fiction the plot can feel very formulaic - especially if you are familiar with the history. This book is not one of those books: the love that Kaarina has for Fulvia, and for the ancient world, radiates from each line.

If you want to go in blind - all I will say is that this book was incredible. Regardless of your knowledge of ancient history, or specifically of Roman history, you will find that this book tells a brilliant and captivating story.

—- Spoiler warning —-

“I was a Roman. This is my story.”

Fulvia was one of the most notorious women in the history of the Roman republic - most famously married to Marc Antony, but that is not where her story begins.

Extremely wealthy and ambitious, Fulvia was not content with the constraints of being a Roman woman. She knew that - in order to live the life she wanted - she needed to marry an ambitious man, or give birth to one. Not content to wait that long, Fulvia sets her sights on Clodius Pulcher - a man whose charisma was second only to his ambition.

They were a perfect match.

——

Upon opening this book, I never thought that I would fall in love with Clodius Pulcher of all historical figures but I did - Kaarina is just that brilliant.

The setting of this book was alive - I could see the opulent parties, taste the bitter wine, smell the bustle of Rome. I feared for Fulvia, her opponents felt as real to me as the people sitting next to me on the train while I devoured this novel.

I cannot express enough my delight in this book, it was everything I have been looking for in the genre of historical fiction - I hope that anyone fascinated by Fulvia will read this book and adore it as much as I have.

100/10 - Kaarina I am going to need like 20 more of these books please and thank you :)

If there is one thing I am guaranteed to read, it’s a book that tells the story of an ancient woman. I was so happy to get an eARC of Fulvia - usually my reading of the ancients skews Greek, but I love the Romans too. I knew very little about Fulvia, and mostly about her part in Cleopatra’s story, so this was a very education and entertaining read. We follow the life of Fulvia from her arrival in Rome through her first marriage, seeing events unfold through her eyes as she aspires for power and influence. While typically these stories focus on the powerful men - Caesar, Clodius, etc - it’s interesting to see things from the female point of view, especially through their social activities and events.

If, like me, you love books that focus on untold women’s perspectives, the ancient world, or just powerful women - this is a great book to pick up.

This book reads like a memoir of Fulvia, telling the story of her arrival in Rome as a young woman and how she came to grapple with the politics of the city through her marriage.

History comes to life through Fulvia's eyes and I was gripped along the way by the political drama and the characters' loves and feuds. I really enjoyed seeing Fulvia's acumen and influence develop as she played the games of power and politics.

Definitely one to read if you like to imagine the human lives behind famous figures.

This was written beautifully with an interesting plot and a strong female character at the forefront
The pacing was even and the story flowed well with lots of interesting characters and vivid descriptions of place and time. The length of the book was just right and I enjoyed this immensely

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc