SYNOPSIS

Felix stumbles upon a helmet and does what he does best- he steals it. After doing so he is taken by someone who is amazed by his ability to do so and propositions Felix to utilize the helmet. Felix runs and ends up running into Loren, who is haunted by his presence.

What could happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

Thank you NetGalley, the author, and PeachTree Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a standalone YA, historical fiction, fantasy/mythology told from the first person of Loren and Felix.

I loved the beginning of this book. It gave me what I was looking for in terms of a mythology feel. I didn’t previously know anything about the story of Vesuvius so I didn’t know how this book was going to end.

The characterizations of the leads were interesting to me. Felix is a thief and a wanderer. He falls into the background. He’s no one. Loren has had visions that have haunted him for a long time, and is doing what he can to prevent them from coming into fruition. He is a temple attendant that has aspirations of being a politician.

Somewhere along the way I got a little less invested. There’s a few storylines going on and there were some I liked more than others.

There’s a little bit of romance, but it’s moreso little moments that compile over time.

By the time the climax hit, the story became more faster paced than I wanted.

I did get a few messages from the book though, about fate and choice. I felt like there were a few gems and great one- or two-liners in here. At times it felt poetic.

Read this for:

🗻 Queer Leads

🗻 Mythology/ Historical Fiction

🗻 Visions to decipher

🗻 Secret identities

🗻 A stolen relic

🗻 Power struggles

OVERALL

Overall, I give this a 4 out of 5 stars. I’m glad I read it and if there is another book added I would probably read it. I think mythology/history lovers may enjoy this most.