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The Gladiator's Honor
by Michelle Styles
Passionate
thrilling Roman romance
The year is 65 B.C. and Aedile Julius
Caear is assembling the largest troop of gladiators Rome has ever
seen. Julia Antonia couldn't help but look at heart-stopping sexy
man standing in the portico of the baths. A Roman matron she
might be, a woman not caught up in the gladiator cult like her friends,
but some men are more than eye candy. Even before they meet, the
pure maculinity of this man awakens the woman in Julia, inspiring her
to act in ways she never has before. Valens the Thracian, a
hardened gladiator survivor, is accustomed to the idolization of women
everywhere he goes. One sentence spoken by Julia, however,
unnerves him more than the mist strenuous gladiator match. With
scandal from her past already threatening Julia's position in upper
eschelons of Roman society, Julia nevertheless feels irrestibly drawn
to this man, a man considered no better than a slave by the
Romans. Sold into slavery, Valens left all his past behind when
he was initiated into the Strabo school of gladiators. Determined
to finally win his freedom and gain the rudius, a wooden sword with all
its rights and priviledges, Valens cannot afford the distraction of the
passion he feels for Julia or the sedrets of his past her presence
threatens to unveil. To claim her as his own, he must risk his
very life in a test that will challenge body and mind alike.
THE GLADIATOR'S HONOR is a wonderfully intense romance! Michelle Styles
takes the reader right up to the edge until the very last pages.
The passion between Julia and Valens runs so deep that both are drawn
to each other despite the inner and outer obstacles in their
path. As magnetic chemistry draws Julia and Valens together, the
political undercurrents and inner wounds of these two characters add
several intriguing twists to their romance. For those put off by
the bloody noisy gladiator movies, Michelle Styles' THE GLADIATOR'S
HONOR is a refreshing look into the culture and politics of the time
without the assault on the ears. Michelle Styles does not gloss
over the realities of the gladiator life. Indeed, she does an excellent
job at delving into the reality of that job from the politics, to the
entertainment value, to the social place to the games within Roman
society. Hearing the crowds within the imagination is entirely
different in THE GLADIATOR'S HONOR than the gladiator movies that make
me reach for the mute button. THE GLADIATOR'S HONOR is the
perfect example how books can be more satisying than television at
times. Indeed, Michelle Styles well researched historical details
instill a curiosity to learn more about a culture whose distance in
time often feels alien and remote. Michelle Styles does an
excellent job at detailing the differences in Roman society while also
making the period accessible to modern readers by showing the
similarities that transcend time. For example, the dog Bato is an
integral part of both her plot, the character building, the emotion and
even a bit of the humor. In addition, Bato creates a connection
with readers who live in a very different world and time by
allowing today's readers to see the
common loves and concerns people share throughout the ages.
In her debut romance, Michelle Styles' THE GLADIATOR'S HONOR
foreshadows some of the trademarks that readers will discover in some
of her later romances --- a deep understanding of the peiod in which
she writes, romance that reaches into the darker areas of family
and the heart, truly wicked villains who raise the danger level, and a
special place for pets within the families of her characters.
Moments of tenderness and riveting dark danger combine to make THE
GLADIATOR'S HONOR a deeply emotional romance. In THE GLADIATOR'S
HONOR, Michelle Styles keeps the reader in suspense until the very last
page as the final gladiator games have several surprising twists.
No skimming over those last pages because the resolution is lackluster
with this romance! Fantastic!
Publisher: Harlequin Historical (September
2006)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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