The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper is a stunning novel set against the backdrop of a brothel in ancient Pompeii. I wasn't sure what I was going to expect but I found myself unable to put this book down and I'm still thinking about it days after I've finished.

Amara is a slave, sold into prostitution, but refuses to accept the fate she's been dealt. She's shrewd and sharp, learning how to manipulate the men who seek to own her, in order to choose her own destiny. Harper re-creates the city life of Pompeii in meticulous detail, though it doesn't overpower the prose. The streets come alive vibrantly on the page. We share the sisterhood of Amara and the women who share her space in the Wolf Den. I really enjoyed how this book focused on the daily lives of those who are often overlooked and not the inevitable story that we usually get about Pompeii.

I found this a bold, beautiful story that deals with some of the harshest tradgedies that we face. I fell in love with the she-wolves and how they each had their own unique tragic story. I'm hoping there'll be a sequel as i'm desperate to see how Amara's story continues. A fantastic read that I really recommend.

I was kindly given an ARC by #Netgalley and #Headofzeus

I swear I'll never get bored of historical fictions and this is another one that got its teeth into me.

Here's what you're in for:

✨ Sex workers in a Pompeii brothel
✨ One woman sold by mummy dearest
✨Said woman determined to survive a life of violence and cruelty

It's safe to say that Amara hasn't had a nice life. Although she was deemed a 'well-bred' woman, her family was torn apart by a devastating series of events which ultimately led to her mother selling her off into a life of prostitution in an effort to sort their money issues. Known as the She-Wolves, Amara and her 5 friends bond in such a powerful way in the face of pain, violence and pure desperation. This is a story of survival.

The world-building in this book is fascinating. I've always been one of those people that love to be fully immersed in the world (so much so that I can visualise it and it tends to haunt my bloody dreams - the latter sometimes being the least fun one) and this book does amazingly well. Everything (and I mean everything) is described in such finite detail; the characters, right down to the grimy cobbles on the streets.

This is a heartbreaking page-turner that you won't be able to put down. My only issue? It's a bit of a long read and I have an attention span of a potato. That's it. Otherwise, it's a banging story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, this book welded together my love for historical fiction and my fascination by Pompeii, and it ultimately fulfilled my expectations. Set in the infamous Lupanar of Pompeii, THE WOLF DEN tells a story of the ‘she wolves’ that lived and worked there.

Despite being set in Pompeii, I loved that it didn’t centre around Mount Vesuvius and that it instead offered insight into the daily lives of the people of Pompeii. I especially enjoyed the fact that this book was populated with fiercely strong women and focused on female bonding. The protagonist is a staunch feminist; she values her friends above all else, she understands the importance of women supporting women - especially in the face of male oppression - even when these very women are your rivals, and altogether this was not a book about men saving women, rather about women using the tools at their disposal to save themselves. We follow the life of Amara, but we also gain some understanding of the lives of the women around her and the various ways that women were captured and sold into this line of work. This, for me, was an excellent method of refocusing attention on the often overlooked members of the population of Pompeii (anyone remember Caecilius from the classics textbook?) and encouraging readers to reimagine what we thought we knew about the lost city. It is very easy for the lives of the people of Pompeii to be overshadowed by the eruption of Vesuvius, but Elodie Harper does a brilliant job at reminding us that these people did exist.

Overall, this is an easy read despite the sometimes crude language (bearing in mind that the novel is set in a brothel, you shouldn’t really be surprised by this). If you’re someone that needs a happy ending or all ends tied, then you might be a bit disappointed. I will definitely be reading the sequel upon its release.

Amara is a prostitute in a brothel in Pompeii. She's a slave and has no choice in her life. As she constantly reflects, she is nothing and she owns nothing. It wasn't always that way, once she was part of a loving family, her father a doctor in Greece, but his death brought poverty and she was sold to one of her father's clients supposedly as a house servant, but became a concubine - a mistress - and was then sold on by the client's wife as a prostitute.

Life isn't all bad, Amara likes the other girls she lives with and they face their difficult life together, making things a little easier for each other; the only family they are likely to ever have, however bizarre.

Amara, however, has never forgotten her previous life, or how she came to be what she is now and she will never do as she's advised and accept her new reality. Things changed once before, they can change again. She just needs to find a patron who will make her free. Finding one is the challenge, one rich enough because Felix, the sociopath brothel owner, won't sell Amara cheaply - she's worth too much.

Despite this being written in the present tense, not my favourite, I didn't notice after a while as the narration flows really well. The characters are well written, the plot well constructed. The story does get a little bogged down in places, but nothing grates, nothing's out of place, Some questions are not answered by the end, but, I suppose, some questions just can't be answered because no one knows what the answers are.

I particularly enjoyed how the story is illustrated at the start of each chapter using snippets of graffiti found on the walls of Pompeii and Herculaneum and excerpts from Pliny and other writers. Clever, especially the graffiti, weaving this story into the real lives of those who had lived in Pompeii.

The language is modern, there's no attempt to make it sound like they really are ancient Romans,; anachronistic, yes, using 'minutes' and 'cafe' among others, but it isn't offensive as the aim is to make the world as accessible to us as it was to them, to be as real and normal, and not other-worldly. There's no sense that the writer really believes that shops that sell ready-made food to eat on the premises really were called cafes or that they were all aware of how long a minute was, it is a means to an end.

I would certainly recommend this as a good, if a little long, read.

When you read a book set in Pompeii, you are expecting destruction, but lives can be destroyed without a volcanic eruption. Those in the lowest ranks of the city′s society struggle to survive in their daily existence. They have to be clever and ruthless to escape to a better life, but above all they have to be lucky.

The Roman slang for a prostitute was lupa which means she-wolf, and the Lupanar building is a well-preserved brothel in the remains of Pompeii. This book imagines the lives of the people who could have worked there. The women come from varied countries and backgrounds, but they are all slaves. The pimps and thugs that surround them are cruel, and yet are shown as fully human with their own struggles. The clients are mostly faceless as they are to the workers, only the occasional touch of kindness illuminates them and that is outside the walls of the brothel. The lives of the she-wolves are wretched, a grind of degradation and terror, but they manage to find moments of brightness in each other′s company. The protagonist Amara was once free, and the educated daughter of a skilled doctor, so knows that life can be better. A chance to show off her musical talent at a festival offers Amara and her friend Dido an opportunity to attend banquets as entertainers and possibly attract a richer client. She catches the eye of the Pliny, the respected, elderly Admiral of the Fleet, who is intrigued by her intelligence. Will this be enough to win her freedom?

It would seem that a book about enslaved prostitutes would be a grim read, but Amara′s drive to survive and even flourish drives the story on. The book describes a world of cruelty and violence, but also a place where wine can be shared with friends, and the public baths can give the illusion of equality for a brief time. Amara is a strong character with talents that are credible given her background, and I found myself engrossed in her world.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

An astoundingly accomplished historical novel that celebrates the resilience and friendship of women against the most difficult and cruel of circumstances. Amara is sold by her mother to the infamous Pomepei brothel but far from being cowed, she is determined to use her wits to remake her fortune. This was unflinching and beautifully told. Highly recommend.

“Sold by her mother. Enslaved in Pompeii's brothel. Determined to survive. Her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den...”
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A book that is so brilliantly written, you just have to read on and know these woman’s journey. Told by the perspective of Amara, the main protagonist, who was sold into slavery and then prostitution. We follow Amara and her friends fight for survival and freedom. I think I felt every emotion that these woman had. This book isn’t an easy read given the subject matter and at times it was was really quite disturbing. Yes, it did make me cry!
Never did I not route or admire these strong woman and what shone through was a story of survival and more importantly friendship.
A subject matter I didn’t really know much about, I found myself researching myself the infamous “Wolf Den” showing me this book has left it’s mark.
If I could give it more I would!

Amara was once a beloved daughter until her father's death plunged her family into penury. Now she is a slave in Pompeii's infamous brothel, owned by a man she despises. Sharp, clever and resourceful, Amara is forced to hide her talents. For as a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others. But Amara's spirit is far from broken.

Every so often you read a book that just makes you want to wiggle your toes with pleasure because it’s just so good. The Wolf Den is the perfect combination of meticulous research and a flair for storytelling that transported me straight to Pompeii in AD74.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Shocking, emotive, moving and beautiful all in equal measure; Amara is the main character; a well bred young woman, a series of devastating events leads her to be sold into prostitution and working for a brothel in Pompeii. Elodie Harper has written a fascinating, fictional account, of life in pre-Vesuvius /AD79 Pompeii where the social divides are stark and the brutality of life for those at the lowest level of society often being determined by their ruthless owners. Amara is a strong woman with fire in her heart; she is resolute in finding a way out but to do so, she must endure the sometimes barbarous work of a prostitute.
Written in the third person present tense, Elodie Harper captures the atmosphere, sounds, smells and daily lives of 1st Century Pompeii when the city was a thriving, multicultural city and the characters well described with easily imagined personas.
I loved this book; a 'couldn't put it down' novel leaving me desperate to find out what happens to Amara and the other women next!

The voice didn't work for me. The dialogue sounds more like a girl's night out than women torn from their lives and enslaved into sex work in Ancient Rome. DNF

A historical novel set in Pompeii although the place setting is what draw me to want to read this book the subject matter of a brothel maybe not so .
A tale of Amara who is sold by her mother after her father's death as they run out of money . Amara father had been a Doctor meaning the family had a comfortable life style.at one time. Amara now in a different world to the one she grow up in .
This book portrays the lives and friendships in the brothel of the woman after finding themselves slaves, prostitutes. The she-wolves.
For me it showed female solidarity and empowerment as they try to escape their lives .It did take me awhile to get into I think this may have been because I was reading it as a ebook . But as I read on I became invested in what was happening with each of the women.
Always in the back of my mind is the fact no matter what no one who stays in Pompeii has a happy ending . That tragedy strikes.
I wanted to picture Pompeii in my mind and this book did this for me.
This is a book of survival , heartbreaking and a page Turner and I will recommend it to others .

This is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time. The story is set in Pompeii and tells the struggles that women faced. They were bought and sold as slaves for men to do as they pleased. The Wolf Den is the name of the brothel. These women had nothing, not even their name.

It's a difficult read with the subject but I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened next. Its sad that this kind of thing is still happening. This is the first book in the trilogy and I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

A feast for the senses! You are taken on a journey to the under belly of Pompeii where we are introducec to the She-Wolves and their pimp Felix. One of them, Amara was born to status, her father a greek doctor until his death. When the money and sympathy ran out her mother sold her as a concubine but the man's wife did not like the competition.

The Wolf Den - Elodie Harper
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Sold by her mother, enslaved in Pompeiis brothel, and determined to survive, her name is Amara. Welcome to the Wolf Den.
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For a she-wolf, her only value lies in the desire she can stir in others. Her spirit is far from broken however and Amara learns everything has a price, even her freedom.
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My thoughts 👉
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Whilst the main focus is on Amaras story, the other she-wolf's are very much a part of this book and I felt for them as much as I did Amara.
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We feel the pain and suffering of these women, their strength and courage and the continual hope and dreams that their lives will be different.
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It's hard to say I enjoyed a book with such a heartbreaking backdrop but it is truly addictive and I became totally immersed in their lives. By the half way point I didn't want it to end.
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A deeply poignant tale of both power and privilege of men and the struggle and survival of its women.
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And I've just discovered it's the first in a trilogy. This makes me very happy indeed.
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Thank you very much to @headofzeus and @netgalley for this copy to read and review.
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This is a story that is long overdue to be told. Although it is fictional, it brings to our attention the lives of women who strived and fought for survival in Pompeii. Women which due to no fault of their own were bought and sold as if they mere commodities and some were even stolen. As mentioned, this is a fictional tale, but one which is probably not far from the truth.
Amara was sold by her mother. She is the daughter of a well-regarded Greek doctor; however, the fate of the family takes a turn for the worse when her father dies leaving her mother and herself destitute. Amara’s fate is not in her control and she soon ends up in Pompeii under new ownership and forced to work in the wolf-den, Pompeii’s infamous brothel. However, this isn’t a story about sex, this is a story about survival and companionship as Amara is determined to find her way out and become a freedwoman. She is resilient, resourceful and intelligent and she will do all that she can to turn her life around and take back control.

I was taken by surprise by this book as it had me acknowledge my lack of knowledge on Pompeii resulting in me looking up information on the Lupanar brothel discovered in Pompeii. The language used isn’t for the prudish but is most likely authentic as I don’t think Romans were known for their manners, and English is mostly derived from Latin.

This is a remarkable, eye-opening novel that captivated me from the start and I am most definitely looking forward to book two in this trilogy.

A slow paced meticulously crafted tale of an ancient Roman brothel In Pompei. From born slaves to daughters being sold off, each “she-wolf” has a story to tell and what stories they are! Each page immerses you in the streets and markets of Pompei from dive bars and seedy corners to opulent villas and extravagant parties. A delightful read which is as mesmerising as its characters.

(As you may expect from the subject matter of this book, I am highlighting trigger warnings of rape, sexual abuse, violence, slavery and suicide.)

“May I know love’s power, if never its sweetness.”

The Wolf Den is a magnifying glass into the world of Pompeii’s prostitutes: forgotten women who are owned and controlled by both men and society. This no-holds-barred novel follows Amara, a beautiful and educated doctor’s daughter who was enslaved after the death of her father and now is a she-wolf, a prostitute in Pompeii’s largest brothel, The Wolf Den.

Elodie Harper’s novel is told entirely from Amara’s perspective. This gives our main character a rare sense of power, the power to provide names to these previously nameless women and to make the reader care for these women, becoming entirely invested in their story. Alongside Amara; Dido, Victoria, Cressa, Beronice and Britannica experience violence, desperation, pain and loss but also highlight the power of friendship. This is not an easy read at all but Harper’s characters are so captivating it was impossible to put this book down.

Amara herself is such a complex character: she has an overwhelming amount of inner strength as she accepts her fate as a slave. At times this is heart-breaking when you gain glimpses of her previous life but accepting her fate does not mean Amara ever stops striving for freedom. She may have to change her idea of what happily ever after consists of but Amara will never stop working towards it, no matter the cost.
By no means is Amara perfect, there are definitely some questionable actions by our protagonist. However, Harper paints the she-wolves lives so acutely and tragically that the reader can never blame Amara: we don’t always agree with her actions but you can see that she has to protect herself because she literally has no one else to do it for her.
Amara is also clever, sometimes too clever for her owner Felix who is quick to punish her for speaking out of turn. However, once Amara proves that her previous education can be profitable, Felix is on board, taking Amara down a new path and raising the reader’s hopes of a happy outcome for our favourite she-wolf. This is a credit to the characterisation within this novel: that as the readers witness possible happy endings being ripped away, our sheer desperation increases with Amara’s.


Despite her fascinating characters, Elodie Harper does not rest on her laurels and completely immerses her readers in the landscape of Pompeii. From the filthy cobbled streets to the graffiti to the shops, inns and sellers in the forum, everything is described in the most magnificent historical detail.
Harper also entrenches her characters in the class system, whereby a customer of a higher social status is often a target but seemingly out of reach for the she-wolves: a lower class of man is easy to attract but can often be violent. And love? Well that is just a fantasy!

Initially I have to tell you that I was slightly disappointed by the ending of The Wolf Den: the chapters leading up to the finale were so emotional and action-packed that the final lines almost fell flat. HOWEVER, this was all turned on its head when I was told The Wolf Den is merely the first in a trilogy! Now that I know Amara will be back I am eager to see what else she has in store for us.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wolf Den has been catching my eye for a long while now and last week I was lucky enough to be accepted for an ARC from @netgalley and it certainly didn't disappoint. I feel like I'm on a run of reading novels about women with great strength of character but are victims of the powerful men and societies around them. I love how Amara uses her wit and wiles to survive in the cruel and unjust world of Pompeii. My favourite character was Victoria who, for all her flaws, just wants to be cared for and loved in return. My heart breaks for the bond the five women have. I'll definitely be hoping to read more from Elodie Harper in the future.

I was really looking forward to this book, two of my children are classicists and I am very familiar with Roman literature and history, and I was intrigued by the premise of this book.

I was not disappointed, it is a brilliant book. It follows Amara, the daughter of a doctor for Attica, who due to circumstances beyond her control, finds herself sold into slavery and ends up as a prostitute, owned by Felix, a money lender and owner of a Pompeii brothel. Amara is a very talented, intelligent woman, and we feel her desperation at the life she is forced to live and the utter powerlessness of being a slave, with absolutely no control over her own life. However, this is partly why the book is so fantastic, because it gives a voice to Amara and the other women in the Wolf Den, who are all strong, remarkable, resilient women.

There are elements of this book that are heartbreaking, but it is also filled with love, warmth, the power of friendship and hope and I wanted so much more for every single one of the women of the Wolf Den.

It was great to meet real characters from the period such as Pliny, and the author depicted those characters very sensitively. Actually, the character depictions in this book are its real strength. Every single character is believable, and the author is able to really bring them to life. The real strength of the characters is that they are multifaceted and have numerous elements to their personality. So, Amara, who is the heroine of the book, does at times display characteristics that were quite unpleasant, but it didn’t make her a less sympathetic character, it actually made her human and I could understand why she acted as she did. Likewise, Felix who was generally brutal and nasty, displayed a softer side of his nature at times, and I could understand why Amara and Victoria wanted to please him.. Although he is really the villain of the piece, I couldn’t dislike him, I was almost as invested in him as I was in Amara, which shows how talented the author is at creating characters that readers can engage with and become invested in.

I really would urge everyone to read this book, it is fantastic. The author has researched the period and the life of slaves, and is able to give a voice to slave women, whose voice is very rarely, if ever heard. I will be buying this book for my classicist children and I hope they love it as much as I did.

Thank you to Apollo and Netgalley for an arc in return for a honest review.

The Wolf Den is a stunning start to this trilogy featuring the forgotten women of Pompeii. Sold by her mother into slavery, Amara ends up being bought by Felix and enters the sex trade as a prostitute working in a brothel known as The Wolf Den. Her relationships and friendships with the other women who live and work there are at the heart of this ambitious novel and we can only hope that Amara will be able to escape from the life she has found herself living. She is beautiful and desirable but beneath her obvious attributes lay a clever, determined and strong character who will never give up her dream of becoming free. Although her life revolves around pleasuring the many different classes of men who live in Pompeii, these acts aren’t graphically described although there is some sexual language used of course throughout.

The setting of Pompeii pops out of this book almost like a 3D picture book with the beautifully descriptive narrative bringing it visually to life with a stunning accuracy. People may think Elodie has used artistic license with some of the places the girls visit such as the “fast food” places but these definitely existed as I know from personal experience! And I loved seeing the city a few years before the event that we know is ahead, watching the citizens go about their daily routines, and also following characters who have ended up there through no choice of their own as many inhabitants weren’t local but had journeyed from other countries due to the position of the city in relationship to the trading of goods and, of course, people.

I adored this book and read it with a ferocious interest in the outcome for these women. Their friendships and social interactions kept them feeling alive and seen in a society where prostitution was just seen as another trade. The graffiti around the city is used throughout The Wolf Den and woven into the storyline to bring it further to life for the reader but it’s the women themselves who stay at the heart of this wonderfully crafted novel and following their personal journeys felt like a privilege. I can’t wait for the rest of the trilogy and await book 2 with very little patience! Haunting, empowering and brutal-one of my books of the year!