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A review by jlynnelseauthor
I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith
3.0
I have to be honest, I got really upset with this ebook because the professional narration I purchased only read through 60% of the book. So I pouted a bit and stopped reading it. However, I also did not feel overly compelled to keep reading either.
I've read other stories with Livia in them. She's typically been thought of as more of a villain character. I liked how this story explored different motivations for her. However, I think I would have gotten more out of this story if there had been more character development and less about the history of Rome. Yes, Livia was front and center of a lot of the action, but the character did not really change much throughout the story until the last few chapters. I also think it would have been interesting to see more comparisons between Livia and Cleopatra - another woman remembered poorly by history.
I think the book was fine. However, I never felt very connected to the character of Livia. I would have liked there to be a better balance between her role as a mom as well as and her role as a wife, particularly more scenes narrated when she was playing with her sons and Tavis' daughter.
I think the author does a good job of giving voice to a powerful woman who was remembered poorly by history -- such is the song of powerful women in ancient times. I think the author came to good conclusion about Livia's life and the choices she made. There was so much that happened in Livia's lifetime, and I wonder if the author is going to write a sequel to this one encompassing Livia's life after the sacking of Alexandria. The choice to end where the story did felt a bit awkward, probably because I know there is so much more that happens afterwards.
I've read other stories with Livia in them. She's typically been thought of as more of a villain character. I liked how this story explored different motivations for her. However, I think I would have gotten more out of this story if there had been more character development and less about the history of Rome. Yes, Livia was front and center of a lot of the action, but the character did not really change much throughout the story until the last few chapters. I also think it would have been interesting to see more comparisons between Livia and Cleopatra - another woman remembered poorly by history.
I think the book was fine. However, I never felt very connected to the character of Livia. I would have liked there to be a better balance between her role as a mom as well as and her role as a wife, particularly more scenes narrated when she was playing with her sons and Tavis' daughter.
I think the author does a good job of giving voice to a powerful woman who was remembered poorly by history -- such is the song of powerful women in ancient times. I think the author came to good conclusion about Livia's life and the choices she made. There was so much that happened in Livia's lifetime, and I wonder if the author is going to write a sequel to this one encompassing Livia's life after the sacking of Alexandria. The choice to end where the story did felt a bit awkward, probably because I know there is so much more that happens afterwards.