(4.5 Stars!) Listen, some books are just written for certain readers that the author doesn't even know exist yet. That was this book (Vesuvius!) for me (a gay woman who had a childhood Pompeii obsession).

The premise of Vesuvius is relatively straightforward—a thief, Felix, who has foggy memories of his past, winds up stealing an artefact in Pompeii. When running away from a rich man who wants the artefact from him, he runs into a temple boy—Loren—who has visions of the future and has been seeing Felix in them for the last few years. And those visions involve the destruction of Rome. A boy who cherishes his city has to convince a boy who can't stop running to stick around long enough to figure out how everything is connected, and how they can stop it.

Here's the thing about this book. I loved it. Are there qualms I could have with it? Sure—I'll get them out of the way so you know I don't have blinders on. There's a handful too many background plots and characters, and because of that not all of them get resolved. Some key character points are held onto until a little too late in the game and left me confused. The resolution was extremely last minute, and I think that made it a wee bit messy.

But you know what? I don't care. It's worth repeating that I think the way the book wraps up adds a little too much, which means some things feel unresolved—emotions like grief, issues and mistakes the characters made. But boy did I have a grand time with these characters. I think my main issues with the book—like the superfluous background plots—really just hammered home because I would have much rather spent more time on the core relationship and their growth with each other. They were such an impeccable pair.

I had a blast (pun wholeheartedly intended) with this book, and how joyfully nerdy it took its history, and how it tied this incredible duo of characters into one of my favorite historical events to learn about when I was young. Loren and Felix are the heart of the story, trying to figure each other out despite both of them being deeply emotionally stunted in aggressively different ways. Loren has personal ambitions, Felix has a shady past, and both of them are trying to get away from something whether they know it or not. The way their arcs contrasted with each other, with Loren pulling away from something he knew and Felix trying to grasp something he's forgotten, all in the backdrop of this terrible historical event that we the readers know is coming was such a joy.

And THEY'RE messy! The relationship between these two wasn't perfect. Honestly, they were messing shit up until the last like, two percent of this book. But it made them feel real, which was refreshing, particularly in a book that had stakes. There was something so wonderful and aching about a book focusing on two characters who don't realize their mission is just to survive—they spend the whole book trying to stop the destruction, and you the reader know, historically, that they can't.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book—thank you to Peachtree and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

An explosive debut!

I have been waiting for this book for a long time - a story of boys in love in the last days of Pompeii with a mythological element is an amazing premise.

It didn't disappoint, and it also wasn't what I expected. Vesuvius tried to tell a lot of stories at the same time: the story of Pompeii before the eruption, of the different worlds of Roman society depending on your family name, of dealing with trauma, of standing on your two feet, of faith, of sacrifice, of augury and godly power, of power and greed, and of course of love.

Cass Biehn manages to fully transport us to Pompeii: to the temple of Isis, the vineyard, the brothel where Loren stays, the luxurious villas, the cobbled streets. Roman politics dominate the story more than Roman mythology: the past and the present troubles of Felix and Loren are shaped by backstabbing, cunning actors in the Empire's favourite reality show: politics.

The 4-day journey from their first meetng until the eruption feels like a month: for Loren who dreams big and is afraid of his visions and for Felix who taught himself to bury the past and shield himself behind mental walls. The secondary characters are nudging them in the right direction, seeing with more clarity because the aren't afraid to see.

What was missing? The balance of elements the book tried to combine was slightly off. The relationship was more angst and trauma-recovery and anger than optimal: where you think that they reconciled and are opening up and softening...the same thing happens (one of them shutting down and lashing out)...and again...and then again...even after the climax. Ancient Rome and the mythology offer enough material and paths for a story that a more adventure/magic/survival-centered storyline would work much better as the heart of the story. The mythological aspect also fell into the margins of the story: it was never fleshed enough versus the political machinations and emotional trauma, and was consistently a bit too confusing and too allegoric. It's a pity because I love Greco-Roman mythology, the book could have leaned there more, or not included it at all.

Vesuvius is a great debut overall, despite its flaws. Cass Biehn debuted with a bang and I'm fully confident the next books will be equally explosive!