This is a story of Amara and Philos in the world of slavery. Rufus is her patron but she maintains a secret affair with his steward. Will they ever be freed man and woman in their lives? Is their love worth the risk? What if Rufus finds out? If he finds out, no question, he is going to kill Philos and throw Amara out, who will end up at the wolf den. Amara would do anything to not go back to the wolf den and face Felix again.

I admit that this is so long and I tried to DNF it half way. One of the reasons is that there are very less dialogues. And descriptions felt lengthy. E-book formatting is a little incomplete. As this is an ARC, I am gonna slide it. But the second half is a page turner.

Amara is a strong character. But Britannica is a badass, you never wanna mess with. I liked her. She should've killed Felix though.

I gave the story and all 3 stars. But, I changed my mind after reading the afterword, how much the author researched about that time, when there is slavery, and made the characters. I really appreciate it.

I didn't understand why this title is 'the house with the golden door'. Sure, everything is happended in Amara's house. But I thought that there is some significance to the golden door. Anyways, the cover looks beautiful.

This trilogy gets better with each book. The House with the Golden Door returns to Pompeii in 75 AD, four years before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and follows one woman’s journey from enslaved to freedwoman.

Amara’s life has vastly changed since the events of the first book. She is now a freedwoman but must still cater to the whims of her patron Rufus or risk losing his support, on which she is entirely dependent. At the same time, she longs to free the friends she had no choice but to leave behind at the brothel.

As much as she’d like to forget Felix, her previous owner, their paths continue to cross, and Amara can’t help but notice the same qualities they both share.

Amara must carefully balance appearing to be the woman Rufus desires while also preparing herself for life after he tires of her.

This second instalment solely follows Amara’s perspective. I said it in my review of The Wolf Den, but I’ll say it again: Elodie Harper excels at bringing Pompeii back to life. From the Forum, the shops, and the houses, Harper makes it easy to visualize this bustling time.

It has themes on the currency of beauty and what happens when it runs out.

I enjoyed seeing more of Brittanica and learning more about her background.

Although nearly 500 pages, I never felt bored reading this tome. This is fast becoming one of my favourite series, and I cannot wait for the third and final book.

Thank you to Union Square and Co. for providing me with a widget via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(4.25/5) The first book in this trilogy, The Wolf Den, was so good. I knew that book was going to hurt me, and by about 40% of the way through, I predicted how. In The House with the Golden Door, I knew this book was going to hurt me, but I didn't know how until it happened. As was with The Wolf Den, this book was so raw and powerful but also compellingly easy to read. I was so captivated by the way that Harper wove actual historical facts, events, and people into the story. My only complaint about this book was that some things seemed to be repeated to a degree that I felt it wasn't necessary (I get it, I get it). I am anxiously awaiting the final installment in the series, if only because 79AD is quickly approaching in Pompeii, and there are so many things I need to know before then!

The first book in the series was good, but I was much more invested in the second book. Historical fiction about ancient Roman prostitutes is an angle I have not explored before, but I’m glad I am now.
Amara plays with fire during the whole book. Her existence depends on plying her body to men, although she is now free.
She risks everything several times and pays an extraordinary price each time.
It’s heart wrenching to read about a doomed love that can never be. I thought Amara was pretty naive on nonchalantly believing no one would discover a major secret. Eyes and ears were everywhere.
I can’t wait to read the next book.

Although not quite as great as the first book, The House With the Golden Door was still a statement. It was still a captivating dive into the world that was Pompeii. It was still an achingly realistic take on the bonds between people and how easily they snap. It was still an amazing book, and one I won't easily regret.

I went into this one expecting Amara to stay my favorite character, I wasn't at all expecting that to change. Somehow, it did. Brittanica, a character previously ignored, shone. Her loyalty was irreplaceable, and she slowly grew on me. By the end of the book, I was cheering for her, I loved her that much.

I also really liked Amara's character development. Through both books, I've enjoyed watching her morals develop. Her passion to survive yet avoid turning out like Felix is such an interesting dilemma. Shes a character I always enjoy reading about, one who will sacrifice anything to get what she wants.

So even though this one wasn't quite as good as the first book, i still really enjoyed it! I'll definitely be completing the trilogy, and I can't wait until the third book is released.

Thanks to Turn the Page Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The House With the Golden Door • Elodie Harper - ⭐️ 3.5 stars
•
With how much I enjoyed the first book I was eager to start the second one! I While I still enjoyed this I preferred the first book. I felt like there was a lot of build up that there would be a big blow up but it never came and that was kinda disappointing to me - it feels like it was also most pushed off and my happen in the third book

Thank you to @turnthepagetours and the publisher for the gifted copy

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The House With The Golden Door

Author: Elodie Harper

Book Series: Wolf Den Trilogy Book 2

Rating: 5/5

Spice: 2.5/5

Diversity: Egyptian character

Recommended For...: historical fiction, romance, tragedy, Italian, adult

Publication Date: May 12, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction Tragedy

Age Relevance: 18+ (slavery, rape, sexual content, romance, cursing, death, grief, domestic violence, violence, gore, fatphobia, pregnancy, childbirth)

Explanation of Above: The book discusses characters who live in brothels or are contractually bound to other people and also people who are just outright slaves in slavery positions. There is some slight romance, a lot of sexual content, and rape is mentioned. There is a lot of cursing and grief is shown and mentioned. There is some death mentioned. There is one scene of domestic violence, where a character is grabbed by the throat by another character, and there is some violence shown in the book and mentioned. There is also some gore with blood. There is one instance of fatphobic comments about a character being made. There is a pregnancy in the book shown a lot and there is a childbirth scene as well.

Publisher: Apollo

Pages: 472

Synopsis: The life of a courtesan in Pompeii is glittering, yet precarious...
Amara has escaped her life as a slave in the town's most notorious brothel, but now her existence depends on the affections of her patron: a man she might not know as well as she once thought.

At night she dreams of the wolf den, still haunted by her past. Amara longs for the women she was forced to leave behind and worse, finds herself pursued by the man who once owned her. In order to be free, she will need to be as ruthless as he is.

Amara knows her existence in Pompeii is subject to Venus, the goddess of love. Yet finding love may prove to be the most dangerous act of all.

We return to Pompeii for the second installment in Elodie Harper's Wolf Den Trilogy, set in the town's lupanar and reimagining the lives of women long overlooked.

Review: Ok this was a wild ride! In this book we got a little more into the thriller/intrigue aspect of this series. Amara is out of the fire for the most part, but still wishes to make right with her blood oath and to help out the girls still at The Wolf Den. Amara is quickly caught up in a new issue though, as our heroine finds herself haunted by old fears and new concerns. I thought the book did well to keep that epic feel to it. It’s kind of like a drama much like the first one, but it also has that epic feel to it much like The Odyssey or The Iliad, which I guess would make this more of a Tragedy. The character development was well done and the world building was great as well. As a final note before the third book is released, I’m wondering if the series will ever explore the fall of Pompeii or if this is set so far before it that it won’t happen. I’m invested and can’t wait for book 3.

The only issue I had with the book is that it felt a little flatter than the first one and a lot of the plot is stretched out, as the timeframe in this book is much shorter than the first one. I also wished that the plot was a bit more sped up, but overall I enjoyed it.

Verdict: It was well done! Highly recommend!

This was a compelling continuation of Amara's story, but I didn't love it quite as much as the first book. The plot and pacing weren't quite as tight, and there were considerable sections where the story seemed to drag a bit. In the first book, there were constantly things happening, and Amara always felt like she retained a great deal of agency despite her horrid circumstances. In this part of the story, however, it seemed that she mostly was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She did come up with some schemes to cushion the fall, and I enjoyed the displays of her cunning. It just all paled in comparison to her machinations in the first book. I don't know. Maybe it was just that fighting to break free was a more engaging story than maneuvering to maintain her position.

One thing this book did really well was tackle the topic of PTSD. Amara experiences dreams, hypervigilance, reactions to triggers, and other signs of traumatic stress. Despite reaching her goal, she can't seem to leave her past behind her and does everything she can to help the women she left behind in the Wolf Den even though it could mean her ruin. This is all made even worse once she realizes the freedom she worked so hard and lost so much for is a sham. Ultimately, she just moved into a prettier cage while still being just as trapped as before. At that point, she really began to make even more incredibly reckless decisions, including starting a forbidden love affair, and she became more and more desperate as things began to unravel around her despite her best attempts to keep control. The downward spiral was absolutely heartbreaking at times.

There were some stunning betrayals in this book. I definitely did not see the ending of this book coming, and parts of it made me so angry. I now hate several of these characters with a passion, and I'm hoping they are killed off in horrible ways in the next book. The Vesuvius eruption would be too kind an ending for them. I didn't particularly care for where this book left Amara either, but it made sense that she would resort back to old patterns when completely cornered. She had a tough choice to make between a life of instability with love or a life where she had a modicum of control over her circumstances. I don't begrudge her the choice she made because I'm sure she thought it was the only way to keep everyone she cared about safe, but I was a bit annoyed by how she went about it.

All in all, this book was a brutal portrayal of life in Roman times for the lowest classes. If you enjoy historical fiction, I cannot recommend this series enough. I cannot wait to see how Amara's story ends. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

There’s one line in this book that really sums up the entire story: ‘men are always spoiled’

In nearly every interaction/relationship, no matter the man’s standing, he has more power than the woman in question.

The women are forced to make agonizing decisions for their safety, their children or their future.

Everything is a manipulation with no room for genuine feelings. Often even among the women.

I believe this is the second Wolf Den book by Harper, historical fiction books that document the lives of prostitutes and slaves in ancient Pompeii. The characters are well drawn, and it's easy to become enmeshed in the lives of Amara and her friends, and their struggles to be free.

The Wolf Den was a solid 5⭐️ read for me, and I was so glad to continue Amara’s story in The House With the Golden Door. I love how Elodie Harper writes with brutal honesty about the reality of life in Pompeii, and the hardships Amara faces as she struggles to adjust to her new life (sorry I can’t be more specific, but I don’t want to spoil book 1!). This really is a story of realizing that finding your freedom can take many different forms, and that not every story has an easy path to happily ever after.

Elodie Harper is an expert at making me really like characters that I simultaneously also totally hate—I don’t know how that’s possible 😂 If I'm being honest, I would say that I enjoyed Wolf Den a little more than House With the Golden Door--but this is still a beautifully written story, and I definitely recommend!

Elodie Harper does it again!! I sped through this book just as quickly as the first one and I think other readers will happily do the same. I really enjoyed watching the characters and their complex relationships develop over the course of the story. The writing is haunting and beautiful and has solidified this author as an auto-read for me.

Last year, I read a lot of mythology inspired books/mythology retellings. I found that this type of book, with that type of “ancient” setting is something that I really enjoy reading. I was already quite interested to get into this trilogy, so when I saw the opportunity to pick up “The House with the Golden Door”, I just took it.

I just loved how Amara was written! I do love to read a strong and complex female character, and she was just that. It’s just so interesting how the author explores the city and society of Pompeii, while focusing on the experience of a woman navigating that city and society. Thus, giving voice to whom history has not always given voice to.

Like I said, I haven’t read the first book in this trilogy, “The Wolf Den”, but I do have every intention to do so! If you’ve read both books, what did you think of them, and do you think reading them in order is absolutely necessary?

I didn’t realize this was the second in a 3 part series so I will go back to read book one. I really loved this, so much worked and made me long for the next book. Amaras decisions felt wild, but maybe they make sense if you’ve read book one!

The House With the Golden Door is the gripping sequel to the Wolf Den, jumping back into the entrancing world of Pompeii.

Amara is now a freedwoman, but quickly learns that there are strings attached. Her time, her house, and her money are not her own. She has to reckon with having slaves of her own, maintaining Rufus’ interest, and becomes ensnared in debt in an attempt to free her friends at the wolf den. She is clever but also impulsive, leading to a lot of her problems. Amara struggles with who she can trust and does not always make the right choice, The morally grey cast of characters returns including her former pimp Felix, steward Philos, Victoria, Britannica and Drusilla. Drusilla, a former slave herself, encourages Amara to forget her past but she can’t. Getting to know Britannica better was a highlight of this book.

While some reviewers have complained about the more modern language being distracting, I think it makes it easier to read. The pacing is a bit slower than the previous book due to the uncertainty - now that she is free Amara has no clear goal to begin with other than pay off her debts. I would recommend this book even if you don’t typically enjoy historical fiction.

Thanks to Union Square and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The House with the Golden Door is the follow up to The Wolf Den, and I'm glad I decided to continue reading the series despite my indifference to the first book.

I think the development of Amara as a free woman was infinitely more interesting and compelling than the prostitute narrative in the first book. I really loved that we got to see Amara as a person, experiencing love, politics, and her own moral quandary of becoming a slave owner herself (via her patron).

I'm looking forward to the final installment!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Loved stepping back into this world. Elodie Harper has a gift for exposition and intrigue. Amara is strong and ruthless while also being soft hearted. I love her and can’t wait to see what she gets up to next!

Spoiler Free Review:

Wow. Stepping back into Pompeii and following along with Amara in the second book of this trilogy was incredible. In book one, The Wolf Den, I was struck by Amara’s determination to take control of her life, and in this book I saw that determination again as she clung to her freedom. Reading about her life book two was once again heartbreaking and brutally honest. I found myself sitting for several moments in silence after finishing the last page, struck by her sacrifice and the pain she has to endure as she continues to fight for her freedom.
At the start of the book, Amara quickly realizes just how delicate her new freedom is, and must walk the line between living how she wants and living how she must while trying to please the patron that supports her. Old friends come back into her life, as well as old enemies.
I find myself looking forward to the next installment and how Amara’s story will conclude. There is power in her life and in these beautiful words. Eloise Harper wrote such an incredible story and is one I will think of for a long time.
This is perfect for fans of Jennifer Saint and Madeline Miller as well as any person who wants to remember their own strength.

Thank you NetGalley, Elodie Harper and Union Square & Co. for this eARC.

This book is the second in the Wolf Den trilogy. I often find that the second book in a series is even better than the first, and this proved true for The House with the Golden Door!

[Summary next - includes minor spoilers]

Now that Amara is a freedwoman, life should be simple.... but of course it's not. Driven by a desire to make her own money separate from what her patron Rufus provides, as well as intense loyalty and a need to settle a debt between herself and her friend Victoria from the brothel, Amara finds herself taking immense risks. Every move she makes is calculated - and yet despite all her hustle and focus, she finds herself falling in love. Now every move she makes has the potential to dismantle her life as a freedwoman, but also the life of the man she's fallen in love with.

[End Summary]

I couldn't put this book down. I grew to know and love Amara and other characters in book 1, but the second book really dives into their characters and gave me a deeper understanding of their motivations, thoughts and dreams. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, knowing how much they all had to lose.

I also felt like I learned a lot about Pompeii and the hierarchy of society. I thought the quotes from Pliny the Elder, the Pompeii graffiti, and other bits of Pompeii history at the beginning of each chapter were fascinating, and I really enjoyed Elodie Harper's Afterward discussing her research. Historical fiction can be dense and difficult to understand, but the writing is so fluid and digestible, while also weaving a beautiful story.

I highly recommend you read The Wolf Den if you haven't already, so that you can be prepared to dive into The House with the Golden Door! I can't wait for the final installment of the trilogy!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was definitely not as amazing as the first book. It was still really good though. I did go into it with high expectations. Some of the things I felt fell short in this book are: the plot was so slow, and I just didn’t feel as great of a connection to the characters. The first bit of the book was so underwhelming. The ending was the best part of the book. I was definitely not expecting it to end the way it did.