Soothsayer’s Path, Book #2
Review of Soothsayer’s Path, Book #1
Heat Factor: It’s more tender and sweeping romance than it is ripped bodices and handsy stuff
Character Chemistry: So, I feel like it was obvious Sabina would like a wholehearted and upstanding person like Lucius after reading about her first marriage. Some people just have their heads on straight.
Plot: Sabina chooses a life of silence after she believes she’s responsible for her husband’s murder. But when she meets Lucius, her vow of solitude and silence is tested on all fronts.
Overall: I was actually riveted by the second Soothsayer book—the plot is really carefully unraveled and I loved the sweetness and maturity of Sabina and Lucius’ love for one another.
First off, this is a bang-on follow up to Soothsayer—I loved that one, and I find the setting and time period of this series to be fresh and engaging, especially since these are more closed-door (and in my experience a lot of the Roman romance novels tend to be pretty heavy on the petting—which, like, isn’t the WORST thing either). What can I say, I like a wide variety?
Anyway, this one had a truly well thought out plot of suspense and intrigue—basically, Sabina starts out as a cursed and sort of half-shunned woman because she “loses” her voice after the untimely death of her husband. But in reality, she willingly enters into a life of silence and solitude because she believes the Soothsayer warned her that her voice would be the cause of her husband’s demise. So, that’s one layer of tension. Then, she’s got a very young and kind of silly little sister who plays fast and loose with the attentions of a seemingly “love ‘em and leave ‘em” type politician, who just so happens to be friends with Lucius. Almost immediately upon meeting Lucius, Sabina realizes her silence is going to be a lot harder than she anticipated—Lucius awakens her to the life and intimacy she’s been missing, and only her absolute belief that she must remain quiet keeps them apart.
What I absolutely LOVED about this book is that Cyprian (the playboy) only unfolds as a “bad guy” very slowly. I did not know for SURE how I was going to feel about him until things really started unfolding. I knew he was kind of a naughty one and not remotely as upstanding as Lucius, but hey, sometimes the rakes end up being reformed, right? Well…not in this case.
I also loved how each Soothsayer premonition absolutely comes true—but in absolutely surprising ways. It’s in the back of your mind the whole time you’re reading, and you keep thinking you know what’s going to happen but then when everything falls apart it happens really fast and really dramatically. While the romance is kind of a “slow and steady wins the race” type situation, the intrigue is a slow burn and then it really blows up in everyone’s faces.
This is one you could EASILY recommend to anyone—I wouldn’t think twice about recommending it to my grandma, for example. (See, romance is for everyone! Wink, wink.)
Buy Now: Amazon
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