City on Fire

City on Fire

City on Fire
Tracy Higley
Thomas Nelson

As Vesuvius churns, a slave girl-turned-gladiator joins forces with an unlikely source to seek justice.
In the coastal town of Pompeii, a new gladiator prepares to fight. But this gladiator hides a deadly secret: she’s a runaway Jewish slave girl named Ariella, disguised as a young boy. A savvy fighter, Ariella determines to triumph in the arena, knowing her life will be forfeit should anyone uncover the truth.
Cato, a wealthy politician, moved to Pompeii after tiring of the corruption in Rome. But he soon learns that Pompeii is just as corrupt, and if he doesn’t play the game, his family could pay the price. Determined to bring about justice for the citizens of Pompeii, Cato searches for allies. But what he discovers instead is a confounding group of Christians . . . and a young female gladiator whose fame is growing daily.
Political unrest reaches a boiling point as Christians are jailed and executed, and the mountain in the distance threatens to destroy the city with its river of fire. Cato and Ariella must act quickly and courageously to save their loved ones before all is lost.
     In some ways, this book wasn't what I was expecting. This is the fourth book by the author that I've read, and so far I've really enjoyed her books. However, City on Fire had more problems than her others.

      I will say, though I thought the idea of a female gladiator far-fetched, she did carry it off more believably than I thought she would. On the other hand, there were a lot of awkward parts with her trying to disguise herself as a man (often ending up with people implying they thought her homosexual) There was actually a lot more objectionable content in this book than in her others, because ancient Rome was just so immoral. I would NOT recommend this book to younger readers, even though I could tell the author tried to be as tactful as she could with the subjects.

      The novel did drag at times, although scattered through it were some exciting or interesting scenes that I really liked- especially when the volcano began to erupt. However, City of Fire isn't in my top favorites list

 Rating: 7
I received this book for free from booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review.

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