Sunday, February 5, 2012

Mask of the Gladiator

The Mask of the Gladiator  
   by Georgie Lee
   Released by Carina Press


Rome, 41 AD
Livia Duronius is driven to seek out a gladiator after watching him triumph in the Colosseum. His touch arouses a sense of hope she hasn't felt since Rome fell under the tyrannical rule of Caligula-and her late husband betrayed her. Though in danger of losing more than her heart, she vows to see him again, even after she learns her uncle has arranged her marriage to a senator.
Senator Titus Marius cannot resist indulging in a passionate encounter with the veiled woman who waits for him after the games, though he faces execution if his true identity is discovered. Bound by honor to wed another, and embroiled in a plot to free Rome from madness, he never expects to see the mystery woman again.
When the fates reunite them in the marriage bed, Titus vows to protect Livia at all costs-even from the lecherous eyes of the emperor...


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Mask of the Gladiator, by Georgie Lee, is a very short novella that I found uneventful. It is difficult to come up with the words I need about such a short story without giving the story away... It seemed to me that there was an attempt to pack too much into a small space, and none of it worked. 


We start the story with the wealthy widow, Livia, who was attending a Gladiator match. She becomes enthralled by the victor, and seeks out the slave and ends up having sex.


The masked "slave" gladiator is actually Titus, a member of the Senate who is in disguise. Titus is on the brink of meeting his betrothed, and guess who she happens to be?


Yep.


I really could not find anything I liked about this story. Maybe it is because the heroine jumped right into sex a few minutes after meeting the gladiator? I do not know. The beginning was long, the middle was so-so, and the end was predictable.


I am not saying "Don't read this book," but I am saying that I will not be re-reading this one.

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