My Favorite Reads: June Edition

I love to read. Love. Almost every night before I fall asleep I try to read at least a chapter in whatever I’m book I have at the time. Over the past 11 years I’ve kept a little journal of all the books I have read. Although I’ve forgotten to put a few in the journal (it’s been 11 years! Cut me some slack), I’ve read at least 40 books since then! That’s a lot of books to get through, especially since the older I get the less time I actually have to sit down and read.

I, also, don’t normally have time to go to the bookstore and browse through the shelves searching for my next victim like I did in middle school and high school. I received my Kindle Fire as a Christmas gift from BF which made the anxiety of not knowing when I’d be able to get a new book disappear. With a Kindle, buying books is a heck of a lot more convenient. I love that thing! It allows me to download a new book in less than 30 seconds. It just takes one click!

“So what do you read on your Kindle Fire,” you might be wondering. Well, my favorite genre is historical fiction, although I enjoy a good romance or biography now and then. My favorite time period to read about is Ancient Rome. I think I lived there in a past life. I find the history so interesting!

I always love it when people suggest books to me because I obviously haven’t read them all. I figured I’d share my top five favorite historical fiction books I’ve read so far this year with you all if you are looking for something enjoyable to read on your free time. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do. I consider these books “too good to put down”.

In no particular order:

1. Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran. Set in the period right after Cleopatra and Antony committed suicide at the hands of Octavian, this book follows the children of the famous duo as they are taken back to Rome to live as Octavian’s war prisoners. Very riveting story about family, perseverance, and self-preservation.
2. Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn. If you like sex, lies, and violence, then you will definitely enjoy this novel. It follows the life of a slave girl who moves from house to house only to end up catching the eye of the Emperor himself. Really hard to put down.
   

   Photo courtesy of goodreads.com

3. Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn. This book takes place during the period of time in Roman history known as the Year of the Four Emperors. It follows four cousins as they manipulate their way through the Roman upper class. Some of the girls end up taking it a little to far. Juicy stuff.
4. Empress of the Seven Hills by Kate Quinn. This is the sequel to Mistress of Rome. The main characters in this novel were minor characters in the Mistress of Rome. You’ll never guess who they are and how they cross paths again.
5. Vestal Virgins by Suzanne Tyrpak. We all know Emperor Nero was one crazy mo-fo. This book follows the life of a young Vestal Virgin, a highly respected religious figure in Ancient Rome, who catches the eye of Nero, but for all the wrong reasons. Dun, dun, Dun.

I realize that 3 of the 5 books I listed were all written by the same author: Kate Quinn. She is one of the best historical fiction authors I’ve found so far. She really does her research before she writes the books, and brings these infamous historical figures to life. You really feel, and sometimes hope, that these people were actually how she describes them.

Enjoy the books! And if you have any favorite books of your own, let me know. I’m always looking for a great read.

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Tags: Ancient Rome, books, Cleopatra's daughter, daughters of rome, fiction, historical fiction, mistress of rome, new books, novel, opinion, reading, reading at night, review, roman empire, the empress of the seven hills, top five favorite books, vestal virgins