I've loved this trilogy. Temple of Fortuna was a satisfying conclusion but I wanted more. I felt it could have been longer and that the peril for the characters was thrown away a little. But I'd still massively recommend this series - it's in my top 10 of the year. ( )

I have a feeling this poor author got signed onto a trilogy and had no idea how to end it. I loved the first novel so much, the second one was still pretty entertaining... but man...

The Temple of Fortuna ends not with a bang but with an overwrought, rushed, and meandering whimper. The story was either a few hundred pages too short or ludicrously overwritten, I just can't tell. I understand that the framing of Vesuvius would impact a lot of the story from the beginning, and as with any disaster, rend a lot of the previous drama into something "smaller" for our characters—but not by this much! Ultimately, Harper's decisions have left me wondering why I would even recommend this series to others, and certainly not without the caveat that maybe it's worth just reading the first or second one. As others have written in their reviews, the first 2/3 of the novel simply waste away in the last 1/3; they have so little impact on the rest of the story I'm just at a loss as to why I even read it. Also, the last 30 pages were just so, so unnecessary. I was so bored. I missed my thick 500-page novel I could get lost in and where everything felt driving towards something amazing.

Anyway, this was a sadly disappointing end for one of my favorite contemporary stories and I have decided to rewrite the ending in my head for myself to get over it. I've never been one for sappy romantic novels so the romance of this entire series has always been a bit grating, and it's turned up to 100 in this one. The stakes I always felt in the first two novels seemed to waver and finally die in this one, in service to some grand romantic story I never signed up for to begin with.

If you're looking for a gritty, realistic portrayal of Roman life in sex slavery, just stick to Sparrow. ( )

Amara is living in luxury in Rome. She is a free woman and courtesan to a powerful politician. even though her heart and her daughter remain in Pompeii. When her protector asks her to find out information from the lover of the Emperor's brother, the woman is found dead and Amara threatened so Demetrius proposes marriage and Amara returns to Pompeii. There she reconnects with friends and enemies but dark clouds are forming over the mountain behind the city.
This has been the most terrific series to read, the story of a prostitute slave and how she claws her way upwards with the shadow of the eruption of Vesuvius looming large. At times this is not easy reading but the detailed research into the lives of women at various levels of roman society is wonderful and the violence visceral and realistic. Although there is ostensively a happy ending the journey is fraught with drama. I really recommend these novels to anyone who enjoys reading! ( )

4.5⭐️

The final installment in author Elodie Harper’s Wolf Den Trilogy opens in Rome in 79 AD. Amara is now a courtesan under the patronage of an influential man who is close to the ruling Emperor. She leads an affluent life surrounded by powerful men and their politics but misses her daughter Rufina, whom she left behind in Pompeii in the care of Philos. Amara often reflects on her past, the people she has lost and the events that brought her to the present day. When a twist of fate brings Amara back to Pompeii, amid friends and foes, it is up to her to protect her dear ones from those who wish to harm them and destroy the life that Amara had so painstakingly built for herself. Unbeknownst to her, old enemies aren’t the only threats to her life, as a catastrophic event is about to wreak havoc on Pompeii.

“Even the most powerful woman can be broken by love.”

Heartbreaking yet hopeful, inspiring and immersive The Temple of Fortuna is a worthy conclusion to the Wolf Den Trilogy. The author combines fact and fiction (referencing real-life characters and epigraphs from written accounts of Roman history from multiple sources at the beginning of each chapter) to weave an engaging narrative that will keep you engaged until the very last page. The mythological references woven into the story, and the descriptions of the traditions and rituals from that era truly enrich the narrative. The pacing of the novel was a tad slow in the first half and I would have enjoyed this book more had Amara’s life after her return to Pompeii from Rome had been given more space in the narrative but this does not detract from the overall reading experience. I loved how the author chose to end the series. I enjoyed following Amara’s journey throughout the series - from an enslaved woman forced to work in a brothel to a freedwoman determined to make a better life for herself in a world where women had no agency. While we may not always agree with her decisions, she is a survivor and her intelligence, courage and resilience render her an admirable protagonist whose story will stay with you long after you have finished reading.

The strength of the Wolf Den series lies in the author’s masterful storytelling, exquisite writing and superb characterizations. Overall, I loved this trilogy and am eager to read more from the author in the future!

(4.5⭐ for the final installment but 5⭐ for the trilogy!)

Many thanks to Union Square & Co. and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ( )

Thanks to Edelweiss/Above the Tree Line and Union Square & Co. for sending me this book to me for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

In THE TEMPLE OF FORTUNA, Amara has come to Rome as the courtesan of a very powerful and wealthy man. Having risen in status nearly as far as a woman sold into slavery can go, Amara gets a cautionary tale straight from history as Emperor Titus banishes his mistress Bernice.

No matter how far a woman manages to rise, she can still fall at a man's whim.

After working at a brothel for the evil Felix, the villain of the trilogy, Amara is freed by Pliny the Elder, then becomes the courtesan of Rufus, which brings us up to the events in THE TEMPLE OF FORTUNA, but it's only through attaching herself to a series of increasingly powerful men that Amara can secure her future.

Amara is nothing if not a survivor. Even while enjoying the luxury of the Roman court, Amara's heart is still in Pompeii with those she loves best. The eruption of Vesuvius will test Amara's survival instincts to the limit, and Vesuvius is not the most terrifying threat looming over Amara. ( )