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There are currently 22 member reviews
for I Am Livia
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Theresa R. (Sierra Madre, CA)
Good Book
I love historical fiction and was looking forward to reading this and I was not disappointed. The author had me hooked from the beginning with the way she described the characters and locations. I look forward to reading other books by this author.
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Elizabeth L. (Beavercreek, OH)
A New Voice in Historical Fiction
Ancient Rome is not an era I normally read but Ms. Smith brought it to life beautifully. The background seemed well researched and the characters felt authentic to the time period. It is a serious irritation to me when authors use inappropriate modern colloquialisms in their writing and there was little if any of that in this book. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Smith.
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Susan B. (Rutledge, MO)
Interesting, if you like ancient times
I love reading about ancient times, have a special fascination with ancient Rome, and like reading women's stories (especially in societies where inequality is so much worse than our own), so I was predisposed to like this book.
I found the writing to be serviceable, of the fairly prosaic "here's what happened next" variety, but as what happened to the narrator in her long life was fascinating to me, I didn't need breathtaking writing.
I refused to look up the actual historical person this is based on until after I finished, and I'm glad I did, as this is a different take on her that I found refreshing in retrospect.
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Maurizio M. (Spokane, WA)
History 101
Really looked forward to sink my teeth into this historical novel which covers fertile ground and ripe (sic) historical figures. The narrator Livia Drusilla, who marries an ancestor of the maligned/notorious Nero of Rome's burning fame, manages to include in the narrative all the illustrious ( and should be famous ) personages of the time...this was a wonderful recap of the history of Ancient Rome during a momentous time in its history, from Caesar's assassination to her marriage to Octavian, the future Caesar Augustus.
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Lea Ann M. (Seattle, WA)
entrancing history
The acknowledgements at the end of this book tell of the research done for it. The author has taken her research and made an outstanding novel, weaving the history and the filled in blanks to create an entrancing read. i like both history and fiction, so enjoyed the mix of the two in this book. We had romance, family dysfunction, war, friendships, enmity..........a wide spectrum of events and emotions; enough to keep this reader eagerly turning the pages. Those who enjoy a rousing tale are encouraged to read this novel. You will not be disappointed.
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Renee P. (Sanford, FL)
Its not Colleen McCullough but it is darn good in its own way
For me Colleen McCullough's Rome series will probably always be the best books about ancient Rome that I have ever read, but this one, in its own way was a very good read.
While not as scholar-oriented as McCullough's, it made up for that with an underlying sense of drama that compelled me to read to the end even though I knew it how would end from other books on this topic. I enjoyed Smith's emotional pitch thoroughly, it was enough to make me almost feel the character's thoughts myself, but not so overblown that I wanted to shut down and distance myself from it. I think that is probably the best selling point for this book. I will definitely look forward to reading her next one.
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Linda M. (Lititz, PA)
I Am Livia
I found this book very interesting but it took me longer than normal to read it. I don't know if it was me or some of the areas to get over wordy and over dialogued about some subjects. I will never give up on a book and after reading through those areas it became interesting from a historical standpoint and some others I found rather humorous.
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