I also loved how Britannica’s character was developed in this story. It is often difficult to justify the risks she takes and the decisions she makes,but the author does a magnificent job of depicting the complexities in Amara’s character. Though her position has been elevated by her 'freedom', her status is not a secure one.

I enjoyed Amara’s character development- we see her strength and also her vulnerability and her desire for respect, true love and friendship as is evident in her relationship with Philos. Elodie Harper shines in her characterizations. I enjoyed the setting of the ancient city of Pompeii, the descriptions of the festivities and the ceremonies as well as the references to Greek and Roman Mythology. The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper is a captivating story.

If you could have brought yourself to acknowledge me, instead of humiliating me, nobody would have been more loyal.” Her relationship with Felix remains complicated and she is also not quite free of Felix’s hold on her as her intentions to help her sisters who remain in the brothel results in her in debt to him and having to deal with him and his devious intentions, all the while keeping this a secret from Rufus. She misses her sisters from the brothel and is concerned with their fate in the hands of the cruel Felix. She uses her knack for business and numbers to continue her own money lending operations and creates a network of trusted friends and allies – courtesans, business owners and former clients. When they know you are nothing.”Īs the story progresses, we see how she learns to harden her heart and use her intelligence and understanding of the people around her to further her interests and those she cares about. “The things people do when they know you don’t matter. Amara is strong and pragmatic enough to acknowledge that her arrangement with Rufus is not permanent and a time will come when she would have to fend for herself. While she adjusts to her new life, she acknowledges that her well-being is contingent upon how happy she can keep her Patron, Rufus, who though not quite as true as Felix, is jealous and possessive and does not hesitate to hurt her when displeased. “Her past is the whirlpool Charybdis, pulling her down under the waves where she cannot breathe.” But is she truly free of her past and all she has had to bear to get to this point? As she navigates her way through her new life she is haunted by the brutality, pain, loss and tragedy in her past. She now lives in 'The House with the Golden Door' as a concubine to Rufus to whom Pliny has signed over his rights to her. In AD 75, Amara from The Wolf Den is now a freedwoman, no longer owned by Felix and forced to work in his brothel.

The wolf den trilogy book 2