Linz The Bookworm

Goodreads Summary: 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.

Goodreads Rating: 4.34 stars with over 1,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Mythology, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Retellings, Fiction, Historical Fantasy

Goodreads/Storygraph Challenge: 19/30

2025 Reading Challenge: 19. Read a book by an author who shares your initials (see the whole challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I wanted to briefly review Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear. This book tells the story of Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. It's an interesting story that gives Red Tent by Anita Diamant vibes. It's very pro-sisterhood and shows the strength in women and their bonds.

I really enjoyed Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear. I found Rhea to be a fierce character with a strong survival instinct and internal power that allowed her to do whatever she needed to protect those she loved. Mothers will especially enjoy this book as it shows Rhea's tenacity in securing her children's future. It was a little lost on me since I have no desire to be a mother, but I can definitely see my friends who are moms liking them.

The mythology in this book was interesting. I'm familiar with Greek Mythology, but I always assumed that Roman Mythology was just the same gods but with different names. Mother of Rome discusses both, but shows the differences between the Greek and Roman myths. I also really enjoyed hearing about the older deities in the story. My favorite character in the story is Lupa, the wolf who watches over the twins. She's ferocious and threatens to eat those who displease her. I don't know what that says about me as a person.

Overall, I loved this book. I highly recommend it for Historical Fiction, Mythology, Fantasy readers, or anyone who wants a strong female heroine.

Haven't read The Scorpion Queen yet. Just loved this picture I took of flowers and books I bought myself.

Hello, Readers! I hope everyone is doing well! I'm long overdue for a full challenge update. I was doing well with getting back to a blog post for each book, but life is hectic. I'll do an overview of each book I've read thus far this year that doesn't have its own post. I've provided a link to each of the ones that do have reviews below.

I'll do a few life updates once I get through all the book stuff. Anyway, here's the update thus far. Here's a link to the initial challenge post, where you can find a PDF.

Reading Challenge Update

Level 1: Book of the Month Club

1 Read a book you got for free - Dune by Frank Herbert

I've watched both of the Dune movies, but I had never read any of the books. I really liked the voices that the audiobook provided. Having watched the movies first helped me follow along with the story. I did notice the movie had a lot of changes in the timeline. Once I got to the book's third part, I found it much harder to follow along. - 4 stars

2 Read a book that is under 350 pages- The Rule of Three by Sam Ripley

3 Read or reread a book you consider to be an 'easy read'- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my favorite movies. I've read the book before, and it's just a lot of fun. The audiobook version was equally fun. Always a good read/listen/watch. - 4 stars

4 Read a book with a green cover

5 Read a cozy mystery

6 Read a book that was recommended to you on social media/by a friend- Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

7 Read a book with a person's name in the title - Pushing Daisy by Scott Baron

8 Read a book that takes place in the future- Daisy's War by Scott Baron

9 Read a book published in 2020 (5 years ago)

10 A book suggested by https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

11 Read a book by Jules Verne

12 Free Space! Pick any book- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I've been getting really into Science Fiction lately, especially Space Operas. This was an entertaining book with a lot of detail on the alien species in its universe. Highly recommend. 5 stars

Level 2: Casual Reader Club

13 Read a book listed on The Greatest Books of All Time List https://thegreatestbooks.org

14 Read the book that's been on your TBR the longest- The Lines We Leave Behind by Eliza Graham

15 Read a Young Adult novel

16 Read a book with a three-word title- Garden of Sanctuary by Pirateaba

The latest book in the Wandering Inn Series, and I loved it. This has easily become my favorite series. It's just so fun. I can't get enough. - 5 stars

17 Read a book with a cantankerous main character

18 Read a book that has books on the cover

19 Read a book by an author who shares your initials

20 Read a Standalone Novel

21 Read a book involving a detective or police officer

22 Read a self-published book

23 Read a book that takes place somewhere warm

24 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 3: Dedicated Reader Club

25 Read book 1 in a trilogy

26 Read book 2 in the same trilogy

27 Read book 3 in the same trilogy

28 Read a book you meant to read on last year's challenge - Scyth by Neal Shusterman (Meant to use for a reread prompt)

Scyth is one of my favorite books. I meant to reread it last year, but didn't get a chance. As always, it was a great read.

29 Read a book by an author named Joe/Joseph/Josephine or a variant

30 Read a romance novel

31 A book that you judged by its cover (either positively or negatively)

32 Read a book set in a country you've been to

33 Read a book with a title that starts with the letter "N."

34 Read a book that has a war or battle in it - Daisy's Gambit by Scott Baron

35 A book from Publisher's Weekly's Best Books of 2024 https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2024

36 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 4: Speed Reader Club

37 A book with the word "song" in the title - Huntsong by Pirateaba

Huntsong is the second book in the Wandering Inn spinoff series, which introduces a different set of characters in the universe. It's a lot of fun. Highly recommend the whole Wandering Inn universe. - 4 stars

38 The Great Taylor Swift Category - read a book about Taylor Swift *or* a book with the same title as one of her songs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_by_Taylor_Swift

39 Read a book by an author you've met or spoken to online

40 Read a book with an animal in the title

41 Read a book written from the villain/antagonist's perspective - The Asylum Confessions: Patient 974 by Jack Steen

I just finished this one, but I didn't feel like having the challenge be through the first week of May. This book is just a short story. I listened to the audiobook, which is about an hour long. It's a fucked up short story, and I highly recommend for horror/true crime/serial killer lovers. Part of it is told from the doctor's perspective, but much of the story is told from the serial killer's perspective. - 5 starss Trigger warnings: rape of teenagers, murder, self mutilation

42 Read a reluctant hero story

43 Read a book by an author using a pseudonym - The House Witch 2 - Delemhach

44 Read a book that references a TV show or movie - Daisy's Run by Scott Baron

45 Read a book that involves a game (board, card, video game)

46 Read a Fantasy novel - Blood & Steel, by Helen Scheuerer

47 Read a book with a secret society trope

48 Free Space! Pick any book

Level 5: Overachiever Club

49 Read a book that is over 500 pages long

50 Read a book published in 1985 (40 years ago)

51 Read a book that has the word "begin" or the word "end" in the title

52 Read a book with a mask on the cover

53 Read a book by Lawrence Block (or one of his pseudonyms) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Block_bibliography

54 Read a book with a title that contains the letter "X."

55 Read a book that involves amnesia or memory manipulation- Chasing Daisy by Scott Baron

56 Read a cursed object story

57 Read a book by an author named Pat/Patrick/Patricia or a variant

58 A book that takes place in a school setting

59 Read a book with a bear on the cover

60 Free Space! Pick any book

Life Updates:

I've mostly been slammed with work and school. In January, I had to start returning to work on-site full time, so the 40+ minute drive one way has really killed any free time I previously had. I plan to move in August to be closer to work. Besides that, I've been trying to have a social life.

Today is Nebula's 2nd birthday: