The end of this book basically gave me palpitations! What an exhilarating climax, and for me a satisfying ending.
The tale of two Roman soldiers, at very different points in their careers. Both looking for promotion and driven by ambition. Titus, the orphan son of a murdered nobleman and only some bloke called Julius Ceaser! At this point a general in control of the 10th Legion with eyes on a place in the senate and beyond.
The stories, overlap and of course entwine with one another into a monstrously bloodthirsty and thrilling end.
There's more to this than bloodshed though, (though is loads of that!) the relationships between the soldiers feels real, there's humour, a little romance and it's written so well, that even the complex set up of the Roman army and its ranks etc becomes understandable.
Obviously the first in a series, which is poised nicely to continue. Sign me up for the sequel please!

I went into this book expecting, frankly, nothing. However, I was pleasantly surprised! While it follows certain popular conventions (like an underdog MC), I love how the military history of Rome in 1st century BCE was actually researched and employed into the book without dumping it on the readers as endless exposition. Titus was truly an interesting protagonist to be following and I adored when we got the point of view of Caesar. The characters, despite some have clear motives and morals, were all easily distinguishable and parts of this story did make me emotional. All in all this is a solid historical adventure novel and I would be eager to read more following these characters if the author turns this into a series!