The author helps us out by putting the cast of characters and the sects they fall into on the last page of the book, and it’s interesting that some of the characters were real people.

This book was basically a soap opera set in ancient Rome. That envy only grows exponentially when Domitian, the emperor, becomes enamored of Thea to the point that he makes her his mistress. So now Thea has come back into Lepida’s circle, and Lepida’s envy of Thea hasn’t ceased one iota in the time that’s passed. She catches the eye of Paulinus, son of Marcus Norbanus, who married Lepida Pollia after the death of Paulinus’s mother. He names her Athena, and she becomes the most sought-after singer for the season. Thea then gets purchased by a benevolent master who trains her in the art of singing and entertaining. When Lepida realizes that Thea has ‘stolen’ her gladiator, she abandons Thea to the streets. Except that Arius falls for Thea, and their romance blooms over the course of the season. One day, the family goes to watch the gladiators, and Lepida uses Thea to bring love notes to the reigning champion gladiator, Arius.

Thea is the personal slave to Lepida Pollia, the spoiled daughter of the house. The main character is Thea, a slave in the Pollia household in Rome. This title is the first in a series named on Goodreads as The Empress of Rome series – so, spoiler alert for who survives, I guess? After the much-welcomed violence break that was The Intern’s Handbook, I found myself picking up Mistress of Rome, another book I had purchased at that trip to Barnes & Noble.

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn