Empress of the Seven Hills

Starred review from February 6, 2012
In Quinn’s epic, sexy romp—the long-awaited sequel to Daughters of Rome—young, gruff, and cunning Vix has returned to Rome to set about making a name for himself, beginning as a guard in the home of Senator Marcus Norbanus. Meanwhile, Norbanus’s intellectual and independent daughter, Sabina, falls into a heated love affair with Vix, though Sabina eventually chooses to marry Hadrian, the tribune detested by Emperor Trajan but beloved by the emperor’s wife, Plotina. Vix quickly rises in the ranks, finds favor in the eyes of Trajan after killing the king of Dacia, and marries, though the sexual tension between Vix and Sabina remains. After Trajan suffers a stroke, Plotina’s manipulations secure Hadrian’s ascension to the throne, making Sabina the reluctant empress. Despite their past quarrels, Hadrian makes Vix his personal guard, and he and Sabina resolve to defy the new emperor, the foreshadowed consequences of which point to the continuation of the series. Readers will delight in the depictions of historical figures like Hadrian and Trajan, as well as the engrossing and dramatic relationships that drive this entertaining story. Agent: Pam Strickler, Pam Strickler Author Management.