Daughters of Rome

I really enjoyed Kate Quinn's follow-up to Mistress of Rome, but I wish I had read this one first, since it takes place prior to Mistress. The daughters are the four Cornelias - Cornelia, Marcella, Lollia, and Diana - two patrician sisters (Cornelia and Marcella) and their cousins whose lives are entwined with and impacted by the changes that take place in Rome during the year of the four emperors, AD 69.

The novel is based on history, and many of the characters are real, including at least one of the Cornelias. The story is fast-paced and bloody, but also intriguing and fun. The girls couldn't be more different - Cornelia is a proper Roman wife, Marcella is an intellectual, Lollia is an oft-married party girl, and Diana is a beauty who's only interested in horse racing. But four emperors bring many changes, which challenge who the girls are and what they think of themselves and each other (and one of the girls gets a lot more than she bargained for in the end).

This is a fast-paced novel that I found riveting, maybe even more so than Quinn's first book. I'll definitely read more of her work.

Daughters of Rome