Book Review of Becoming Twilight Empress by Faith L. Justice

  Name of Book: Becoming the TWILIGHT EMPRESS 

Author: Faith L Justice 

ISBN: 9780917053306

Publisher: Raggedy moon books 

Part of a Series: Theodosian Women prequel

Type of book: Roman Empire, 408-410 ME, Placidia, family, control, rule, run away, diplomacy, wars, sieges, negotiations 

Year it was published: 2024 

Summary:

In a tumultuous time of violence, betrayal, and ruthless evil, can one charismatic young woman survive the bloodshed?

Ravenna, A.D. 408. Placidia is watching her family fall apart. When her emperor brother accuses their powerful foster father of treason, the naive imperial princess tries to reason with her sibling to no avail. And after her foster father is lured out of sanctuary and brutally executed, she flees the toxic court to avoid a forced marriage… but to dubious safety.

Braving increasing peril on her journey to Rome, Placidia barely survives impassable swamps, imperial assassins, and bands of barbarians. When the Goths besiege Rome and a starving populace threaten civil disorder, the daughter of Theodosius the Great must navigate fraught politics to become a vigilant leader… or face an early death.

Can she rise above an empire descending into chaos?

Becoming the Twilight Empress is the breathtaking prequel to the Theodosian Women biographical historical fiction series. If you like tenacious heroines, vivid settings, and nail-biting drama, then you’ll love Faith L. Justice’s captivating coming-of-age adventure.

Buy Becoming the Twilight Empress to conquer dark times today!

Characters:

Main character would be Placidia, granddaughter of Theodosius the Great, a young woman who is loyal to her family and will do whatever she can to save them. She also wants the best for the Empire. There are secondary characters such as her sister in law or her aunt and her brother. Her aunt is extremely loyal to the Empire and cares a lot about Placidia. Similar to her sister in law and her foster uncle. The brother wasn't portrayed very well. 

Theme:

Do not underestimate self 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Placidias point of view and begins with Placidia's beloved uncle being accused as a traitor by her brother the current EMPEROR in  and ends in 410, shortly before the events of TWILIGHT EMPRESS start. All I can say was that those two years in particular sound nightmarish: endless sieges, family one cannot trust, and delicate diplomacy. Yet It's a good set up to begin TWILIGHT EMPRESS. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads) 

Faith L. Justice is a science geek and history junkie who writes award-winning novels, short stories, and articles in her historic Brooklyn home. She’s published in venues such as Salon.com, Writer's Digest, Strange Horizons, The Copperfield Review and Circles in the Hair.

You can read her stories, interviews with famous authors, and sample chapters of her novels at her website . Check out her blog for historical fiction book reviews, interviews with HF authors, "History in the News" roundups and giveaways.

Faith lives with her husband, daughter and the required gaggle of cats. For fun, she likes to dig in the dirt—her garden and various archaeological sites.

Opinion:

I still recall reading THE TWILIGHT EMPRESS years ago and thinking that the starting point should have been different. Apparently my senses were correct. While TWILIGHT EMPRESS was definitely a read that I continue to think and even vividly remember to this day, I definitely noticed that the events or nicknames referenced weren't well explained. This book clears up quite a few things that happened in  TWILIGHT EMPRESS so yes I would highly advise on getting and reading it. We also are introduced to the early Placidia, when she is growing up and becoming politically astute in a land and time that is destined to eventually be overrun by barbarian tribes and the glory of Roman Empire will fade into history books. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)