- Amazon link: https://mybook.to/Empress
- Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63232616-empress-soldier
- Genre: Historical fiction , Literary fiction
- Print length: 394 pages (80K words)
- Age range: This is an adult book, but would be suitable for mature teens age 16+
- Trigger warnings: consensual sexual scenes, non-graphic, deaths in battle, an off-scene infanticide
- Amazon Rating: 5*
ABOUT EMPRESS & SOLDIER
A boy of the night-time streets. A girl of libraries and learning.
Druisius, the son of a merchant, is sixteen when an order from his father that he can neither forgive nor forget drives him from home and into the danger and intrigue of the military.
Eudekia, a scholar’s daughter, educated and dutiful, is not meant to be a prince’s bride. In an empire at war, and in a city beset by famine and unrest, she must prove herself worthy of its throne.
A decade after a first, brief meeting, their lives intersect again. When a delegation arrives from the lost West, asking Eudekia for sanctuary for a princess and support for a desperate war, Druisius is assigned to guard them. In the span of a few weeks, a young captain will capture the hearts of both Empress and soldier in very different ways, offering a future neither could have foreseen.
A stand-alone novel that can also serve as a second entry point into the Empire’s Legacy series.
PRAISE FOR THE ’EMPIRE’S LEGACY’ SERIES
‘I dread the day Marian will be finished writing this series’ Cover to Cover Reviews
‘Thorpe’s writing is beautiful – strong in the details of landscape both physical and political, delicate in the handling of strong emotion, and cunning in how stealthily details of the plot are seeded throughout.’ Karen Heenan, author of The Tudor Court series.
‘this book has it all: tight plotting, strong characters, action, danger, drama, and pathos.’ Discovering Diamonds Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“My books are historical fiction of an imagined world, one that is close to Britain, Northern Europe, and Rome, but isn’t any of them. A world where a society evolved differently after the Eastern Empire left, an Empire on the edge of history.
After two careers as a research scientist and an educator, I decided it was time to do what I’d always really wanted, and be a writer. As well as my novels, I’ve published short stories and poetry. My life-long interest in Roman and post-Roman European history provided the inspiration for my books, while my other interests in landscape archaeology and birding provide background.”
AUTHOR’S AWARDS:
• Indie Ink Awards, 2022: Finalist, for Empire’s Heir
• QueerIndie Awards, 2022: Queer Fiction/Non-Fiction: Bronze, for body of work.
• Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award, Semi-Finalist, 2021 for Empire’s Daughter
• Eric Hoffer Awards: Finalist, 2022, for Empire’s Heir.
• B.R.A.G Medallion, 2021, for Empire’s Daughter
• Readers Favourite 5-Star Award, 2021, for Empire’s Legacy: The Complete First Trilogy.
• Coffee Pot Book Club:
o Highly Recommended, 2021, for Empire’s Heir
o Historical Fantasy Book of the Year, 2019, Gold Medal for Empire’s Exile, Book III of Empire’s Legacy
o Box Set of the Year, 2019, Silver Medal for Empire’s Legacy
o Highly Recommended, 2020, for Oraiáphon: A Novella of the Empire
o Historical Fantasy Book of the Year, Gold Medal, 2020, for Empire’s Reckoning
• Discovered Diamond Award,
o September 2021, for Empire’s Heir, Book VI of Empire’s Legacy
o March 2020, for Empire’s Daughter, Book I of Empire’s Legacy
o April 2020, for Empire’s Hostage, Book II of Empire’s Legacy
o June 2020, for Empire’s Exile, Book III of Empire’s Legacy.
o (all shortlisted for Book of the Month)
o June 2020, for Empire’s Reckoning, Book I of Empire’s Reprise
• Historical Fiction Company – Highly Recommended, 2021 , for Empire’s Heir.
Website: https://marianlthorpe.com/
Mastodon: https://zirk.us/@Marianlthorpe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marianlthorpewriter/
=========== BOOK REVIEW =================
Vivid portrait of ancient times bring the characters to life. The reader instantly feels part of elaborately descriptive and fictional world. The story line switches between the soldier to be and the empress to be, and how their plot development brings them to interact with each other. It’s a highly immersive page turner that keeps the reader glued as both characters fight their personal battles trying to overcome obstacles.
Although the setting and events are made up, they are the result of careful research, and feels as lively and accurate as ever.