3 ✨and I have so many thoughts that, to be honest, are more confused than anything else. The Sword of Hadrian attempted to reach for the classic king/prince-sorcery fantasy but, to me, fell short in its execution. Enjoy this very confused review:

The early pages set the tone for how confused I would be overall. We’re jumping into Shaski’s world, and the prologue itself feels so frustratingly confusing. Ignoring all the confusion at the start, we see Shaski being her friend Celia’s personal helper, even though she was once a lady of the court. In an attempt to move the plot forward while also trying to explain the background, there are some flashbacks and plot details, but they fell short for me. These elements were never properly incorporated into the story, making the whole thing feel disjointed, jumping from chapter to chapter with no clear connection whatsoever.

Then there were the characters. I wanted to care about Shaski and Celia, but I couldn’t.
All of our characters, and I don’t take this lightly, were lacking depth, which made it incredibly difficult for me to connect with them. They felt incredibly shallow, and I had trouble connecting with them. The biggest red flag for me was how Shaski and Celia interacted with the prince. Shaski waits until the penultimate moment to (somewhat) reveal what’s really going on, and I just couldn’t understand why. The entire time, I was left wondering why such an obvious point was hidden for so long, if the prince was so taken with her that he would do anything for her as we claim every 4 paragraphs, and it only made me feel more disconnected from the characters.

This lack of depth in the characters made the whole story feel flat, especially when it came to the relationship between Shaski and Celia. They pretend to be the closest of friends while clearly harboring jealousy toward each other. This sort of miscommunication trope is something I dislike! It felt like the book tried to include multiple tropes without ensuring they were cohesive, and that made it incredibly hard to read.

Another thing I want to highlight, certain chapters that were WAY TOO HEAVY, with important deaths just thrown our way like no big deal and with no time to process them.

And then the end??? No explanations needed? All is well, even though we spent the entirety of the book with the characters hiding secrets, everything just magically resolves itself with no real explanation. Suddenly, everything is perfect, and the tension that had been building up is just gone. There’s no real confrontation for the characters' actions, and no acknowledgment of the lies or the things left unsaid. It felt rushed and unsatisfying, like the author just wanted to wrap things up.

In general, everything mentioned above detracted from what I initially thought would have been a very interesting plot! Not gonna lie, this entire book threw me off, and it was not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review.

This was a great fantasy romance book! The plot was very well thought out and I loved the romance aspect in this book! Highly recommend.

Sword of Hadrian offers a great slow-burn romance in a medieval setting. Lots of adventure, drama, and magic. I had a little trouble following the beginning, and with the pacing but the core story was great.

I couldn’t put this book down. Sword of Hadrian completely drew me in with its forbidden magic, emotional stakes, and a main character who felt so real and relatable. Sashki’s struggle between love, loyalty, and saving a kingdom had my heart in knots.

The slow-burn romance had just the right amount of tension, and the twists kept me up way too late flipping pages. If you love fantasy with powerful emotions, secret magic, and impossible choices, this one needs to be on your list!

Sword of Hadrian really surprised me in the best way. It’s raw, poetic, and pulls you right into the dirt and danger of ancient Rome. The writing is vivid without being too flowery, and the tension between the main characters had me hooked from the start.

Pros:
• The worldbuilding is so immersive. I could hear the clash of swords and feel the weight of every decision.
• Hadrian is brutal and magnetic, and the female lead holds her own without falling into the typical strong-female-lead trope. Their chemistry? Unreal.
• The themes are dark and honest—loyalty, war, power, sacrifice. Nothing felt sugarcoated, and I appreciated that.
• The pacing worked really well. I flew through the chapters without ever feeling stuck.

Cons:
• Some chapters were emotionally heavy, and I needed to take a breather. This one hits hard.
• There were a few jumps in time or scene that felt kind of abrupt. I wish we’d gotten more of the in-between moments.
• A couple side characters had potential but didn’t get much development, especially compared to how layered the leads were.
• The ending felt just a bit too clean after everything they went through. I was expecting something a little messier or more bittersweet.

If you like historical settings, forbidden romance, and main characters who are morally messy but impossible to look away from, this one’s definitely worth reading. I’ll be keeping an eye out for what Chloelia writes next.

Steamy romance dropped into a medieval world with balls, magic, and princes. I was sitting on my seat edge with every page turn, a bit like when I read Sarah J. Maas

Sword of Hadrian is a captivating blend of historical intrigue, vivid world-building, and strong, complex characters. Chloelia Salomé brings ancient Rome to life with sharp prose and a compelling plot that balances action, emotion, and politics. A must-read for fans of historical fiction with a feminist edge.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'd been hankering after a bit of old-school sword and sorcery fantasy for a while when I picked this up. Because I am reading on a e-reader, I don't really pay attention to the covers, so I was intrigued as to quite how old-school it seemed, and by old-school in this case I mean straight. Fantasy is a pretty queer genre at the moment, which has been a lot of fun to read, and so this wasn't just heteronormative, but also quitestrictly regressive in its social codes (we're in a world where a woman cutting her hair shocks the locals). It was odd though, as I was reading I wondered if this was all a bit of a fake out, and as we got into the thick of our heroine being the chosen one, and her discovering her magic, I noticed that the seeming heteronormativity had shifted slightly. The prince, who seemed to be the object of affection, seemed to be a bit of a shit; and our heroine Shaski's friend and patron Celia seemed a much more attentive match. The game of unpacking queer subtext was on, and was as enjoyable as the actual text. Was this a knowing throwback to interrogate if we really want is openly queer fantasy all the time?

Sadly, the book finally breaks that tension in another very old-school way, at which point I was three-quarters of my way through the book, so I had to finish it. Though at that point, Shaski had not encountered the villain and had barely embarked on her quest, so I was also worried that this was another shy trilogy that hadn't let on being book one. I'm pleased to say that, with the exception of a very throwaway last line, it does conclude - even if its ending does seem rather rushed. An easy and solid reminder why fantasy is a little more diverse and grubby these days, it also reminded me that subtext is a great thing to tease too, even if you are doing it accidentally.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I couldn't put this book down – absolutely loved it.

Forbidden slow-burn romance✅
Magic ✅
Medieval setting ✅
Adventure ✅
DRAAAMA ✅ ✅

This book was really good! There was tension and I enjoy anything with a slow burn angsty romance. Our fmc had some tough decisions to make torn between love and loyalty.

A true page turner with all the plot twists! Thanks for a great read!!

Sword of Hadrian pulled me in from the start with its vivid world and high stakes. Sashki is the kind of heroine you root for: powerful yet vulnerable, torn between loyalty and love, all while hiding a dangerous secret that could change everything. The slow-burn romance with the prince added just the right amount of tension, but what really hooked me was the emotional weight of her choices—nothing felt easy, and that made it all the more real. I finished this one in two days because I had to know how it would all play out.

I'm a sucker for forbidden romance and love me some good fantasy romance and this book hit all the marks for me. It was a fun ride with lots of drama and adventure, and a medieval/magical setting. I loved the world building and how the story unfolded, and the characters are interesting and likeable. It was an intriguing start to a series and I hope to see the story continued in the future!

Magic? Forbidden. Romance? Forbidden. Me, reading this past midnight? NOT forbidden. 💅

This book is dramaaaa with a capital D. Sashki’s got secret powers, a mysterious twin, a swoony prince, AND a kingdom to save? Girl’s plate is full. I was flipping pages like my life depended on it—plot twists, magic sparks, secret makeout vibes, moral dilemmas… it’s got it all. If you're into fierce girls with big feelings and even bigger destinies, Sword of Hadrian is your next obsession. ⚡💔👑

Power runs in the family... so does trouble.

Sword of Hadrian swept me off my feet faster than a prince on a dragon—full of forbidden magic, royal drama, and a heroine with enough fire to torch an entire kingdom (and maybe her twin... oops). 🐉💥💔

I didn’t finish the book, so I don’t plan to post the review unless it’s requested of me.

I made it four chapters in, but I wasn’t able to get into it. The prologue is difficult to read- the number of times “the commander” is used is distracting- he’s the character being narrated, we know who he is.
The first chapter seems like it belongs to a different book, which can be fine, but was a bit confusing. The fast forwarding of several years of life for a number of characters, some of which feel like they may only be relevant in that chapter, felt strange. I feel like anything of value there could have come up in conversation or flashback later.
The next chapter, which I think is a dream? Is also confusing. The third we get into the present tense, but the narration is a bit awkward. The stable hand tells her singing and she just has an entire flashback while standing there staring at him? Her friend asks her not to call her lady, but presumably she’s been her servant for years, so that feels like a strange request to just happen now.
There’s an entire exposition of the history of Celia and the princes’ relationship that seems strange for its placement in the narration.
The conversations between the women, again, feel like they would have come up throughout the years- it’s like they ceased to exist in the interim and are only snapping back awake at the moment the reader rejoins them.