I’m well excited to be hosting a stop on the From The Ashes by Melissa Addey book tour. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Melissa Addey for my place on the tour and the kindly gifted ebook for my honest review.
They called it the Flavian Amphitheatre. We call it the Colosseum. Let the Games begin.
Rome, 80AD. A gigantic new amphitheatre is being built. The Emperor has plans for gladiatorial Games on a scale no-one has ever seen before. But the Games don’t just happen by themselves. They must be made. And Marcus, the man in charge of creating them, has just lost everything he held dear when Pompeii disappeared under the searing wrath of Vesuvius.
Now it will fall to Althea, the slave woman who serves as his scribe, to ensure the Colosseum is inaugurated on time – and that Marcus makes his way out of the darkness that calls to him.
Can a motley crew comprising a retired centurion, slaves, a prostitute and an ex Vestal Virgin pull off the greatest gladiatorial Games ever seen? Or will they fail and find themselves in the arena as punishment? Time is running out to deliver an unforgettable spectacle.
From the Ashes is the first, fast-paced novel in the gripping new Colosseum series. Follow the quick-witted and fiercely loyal backstage team of the Colosseum through the devastation of Pompeii, plague and fire.
This is historical fiction at its most captivating: both action-packed and tender.
Take a front row seat at the Colosseum’s inaugural gladiatorial Games. Buy From the Ashes today.
One of my favourite subjects is history, it always has been. I find myself fascinated by any period of history. From The Ashes promised me some time deep in the past. In fact, all the way back to 80AD and Ancient Rome. I was raring to sit down and read. I love me a bit of time travel!
I was so interested in the characters, Althea is a slave who is given the job of scribe to a new master, Marcus. He has to organise and coordinate the 100 days of games for the soon to be inaugurated Colosseum. They find they work well together and from there become close friends too.
Melissa Addey creates such an immersive experience with this book. She goes into intricate details that show the reader just how complicated the gladiator games of the time actually were. All the small things and large things as well that wouldn’t even enter your head. Right down to clearing the bodies of the gladiators that had died during the games.
The fact and fiction are so tightly woven that you can’t distinguish between the two. Believe me. I was so enthralled with the story. I felt I was there. The details were so vivid, the extravagance the Romans were famous for, the blatant I don’t care about the attitude of the people, especially the rich!
Then there was Vesuvius. The volcanic eruption and the destruction of Pompeii. Marcus has the tragedy of losing his entire family to this horrific event, and we experience the horror from the survivors. The pure terror was pouring from the pages as I read. I felt every emotion that the characters did. From The Ashes definitely made me feel like I could have been watching it all play out in front of me.
Melissa Addey has succeeded in writing a story that most definitely educated and entertained me at the same time. This is the type of book that makes me glad I have an interest in history. I may just have missed an excellent story if I hadn’t.
I didn’t want to finish From The Ashes. The characters felt like a part of me, I was that deep into the world of Ancient Rome, with its tragedies and brutalities of the time. This is the start of a new series, so I hope I get to read the next book and return to the characters that I missed after I had turned the last page.
Trailer Link – https://youtu.be/CbM54gjiT20
Purchase Link
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ashes-Colosseum-Book-1-ebook/dp/B08W1TJWXH
https://www.amazon.com/ashes-colosseum-book-1-ebook/dp/B08W1TJWXH
Author Bio
Melissa Addey writes historical fiction set in Ancient Rome, medieval Morocco and 18th century China. She is a fulltime self-published author and runs workshops for authors wanting to be entrepreneurial. Her books have been selected for Editor’s Choice by the Historical Novel Society and won the inaugural Novel London award. She has been the Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library, has a PhD in Creative Writing and works with the Alliance of Independent Authors on their campaigns.
If you’d like to try her writing, visit http://www.melissaaddey.com to pick up a free novella, The Cup.
Social Media Links
https://www.melissaaddey.com where readers can get a free novella that starts another series (medieval Morocco).
https://www.facebook.com/MelissaAddeyAuthor
https://twitter.com/MelissaAddey
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/melissaaddey/
Purchase link (universal)
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 