Mistress of Rome Audiobook By Kate Quinn cover art

Mistress of Rome

Empress of Rome, Book 1

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Mistress of Rome

By: Kate Quinn
Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
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About this listen

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress' rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome's newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life, but that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

As Lepida goes on to wreak havoc in the lives of a new husband and his family, Thea remakes herself as a polished singer for Rome's aristocrats. Unwittingly she attracts another admirer in the charismatic emperor of Rome. But Domitian's games have a darker side, and Thea finds herself fighting for both soul and sanity. Many have tried to destroy the emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of the brilliant and paranoid Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the emperor's mistress.

©2010 Kate Quinn (P)2015 Tantor
Ancient World Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Romance Sagas Ancient History Rome
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Critic reviews

"This should make a splash among devotees of ancient Rome." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Mistress of Rome

Highly rated for:

Captivating Storyline Unexpected Plot Twists Excellent Narration Gripping Historical Fiction Engaging Storytelling
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    5 out of 5 stars

I love this author!!! I keep buying her books!

I really enjoyed this book! I think that this is the fourth or fifth book by this author that I have read / listened to. not at all the type of book I usually go for, but I cannot put hers down! the beginning of this book I had a difficult time with and wasn't sure why, looking back I'm guessing it was because I had just finished two books of this authors and now i had a whole new set of somewhat unfamiliar names to memorize. so glad I stuck with it and better yet... there's a book 2 and 3!!! whoop whoop!!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Missing paragraphs

The audiobook is good but when you follow along with the book I have noticed the audiobook leaves out the last paragraph of every chapter.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

The narration was excellent and the story had unexpected turns. It really brought the time period alive. I’m looking forward to the series. I am a fan of Kate Quinn’s writing.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I’m have to stop listening and switch to the Kindle version.

The narration is just too much. I think the story is probably better than my rating, but I keep losing track because my brain keeps to tuning out to prevent annoyance. If there’s any chance of me finishing this book, or reading the next books in the series since they have the same narrator, it will have to be the Kindle versions.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration & story, but there are errors.

Huge fan of Kate Quinn and Elizabeth Wiley. Love this series! But there is a problem with the recording.

I was wondering why the end of chapters seemed so abrupt, then I compared to to the book, which I've read multiple times. At the end of multiple chapters, it cuts off the last few sentences. Maybe half a minute to a minute? Then it skips to the next one. messes with the flow. Maybe an issue with editing? I'm not terribly fond of this oversight, as you miss some of the best bits. Hope this can be fixed...?

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Annoying narration.

The narrator was annoying with some of the characters. I felt like she was reading to 8 year olds. I couldn’t wait for this book to end. Maybe it’s historical fiction but I found it tedious and won’t read the follow up books. I do like Kate Quinn’s more recent books but personally just don’t care about the gladiator era perhaps.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good Read

I wish the book was a bit more descriptive but overall a good read. Would definitely recommend to a friend.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fantastic! Hope it's a series.

Great story that kept moving along with new twists and turns I didn't always see coming. The trick was that some of the plot WAS just as you'd expect, and just when you think you have it figured out, total surprise plot twist. Exceeded expectations because of expected similarities to other books, but the UNexpected kept me engrossed! Loved it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Voice actress ruins this Kate Quin novel

Much as i loved the alice network, this kate quin audible is poorly acted. The actress overacts and sounds juvenile. Disappointing

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but dialog pretty heavy handed

I like this author, but in this book it feels like both the character development and some of the dialogue is clunky. The senator’s young wife is a bit over the top as is the gladiator’s son.

The dialogue (in this book and some of the other books) seems too modern. That is jarring and takes you out of the setting. As for narration, the voices for the senators wife was very hard to listen to.

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1 person found this helpful