A Spellbinding Tale of the Women Who Mothered an Empire
Mother of Rome
Greek & Roman Myth and Legend, Historical Fantasy, Folklore
Ace
January 7, 2025
Ebook, Audio, Hardcover
400
A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history’s greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible.
The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children.
But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story.
Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir.
Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.
Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land.
To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight.
All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.
“You will be a mother, and to be a mother is to be the most alive.”
Lauren J.A. Bear’s Mother of Rome had me spellbound from the beginning. I am a fan of mythology, folklore, and fairytale retellings. This story of Rhea Silvia, the mother of the twins founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, elevated the genre of retellings to a whole new level for me. It is an absolutely stunning book.
Rhea is the princess of Alba Longa (in what is modern-day Italy). Her world is upended when her brother is killed and her father’s kingship is overthrown. She is disgraced and discarded. “But then the institutions she’d been raised to honor — the thrones and the altars — betrayed her humanity and hid her away like an unwelcome thought. Buried her like a burden.”
Rhea’s story is a feminine and feral response to the need to survive. It shows what happens when women are backed into the corners of their own lives by the men who dare to take their right to choose.
Alongside Rhea, we meet her cousin, Antho. She is a gentle soul but kindred spirit to the fiery and passionate Rhea. She stands at the other side of the overthrown kingdom and thrust into the political games of her father and mother, the new king and queen. Antho learns how to sacrifice in public in order to protect what she holds most dear in private.
The women in this story are two sides of the same coin: obedient and irreverent, gentle and fierce, wild and composed. They dance with immortals, choose their own lovers, and birth greatness from their wombs.
This is the first lesson, Rhea. Men think they create the empires, but both are born of women.
You will be a mother of kings.
This review doesn’t hold enough space for me to sing all the praises I have for this book. The imagery, the writing, the folklore, the characters — they all inspire. I was changed by reading this book, and I hope you will be too.
Congratulations to Lauren J. A. Bear for a phenomenal new release.
Celeste is a woman who is unwavering about certain things in life; three of those being books, cats, and cold brew coffee. If she can enjoy all three at the same time, it’s going to be a good day. Her favorite genres are fantasy or sci-fi romance, historical romance, and historical fiction but every few books she likes to mix it up with contemporary fiction, a good psychological thriller, or an inspiring memoir. She has a busy schedule working full-time for an online university but she makes sure to unwind each day with stories, either by reading to her elementary school-aged daughter or tucking herself in bed with her Kindle or the latest book she picked up at a local book store.
