Mother of Rome

By: Lauren J. A. Bear

Narrated by: Zura Johnson, Caleb Summers

A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history’s greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible.

The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children.

But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story.

Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir.

Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.

Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land.

To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight.

All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.

The Readers

The readers' command if the story and emotions definitely made this a read aloud rather than silent.

The plot was so good

It’s so hard to find really good fantasy books but this one really took the cake. The narration was wonderful as well as the plot. Down to the pacing, the events, the characters, etc, this book was sooooo good and I recommend you listen to it!

This is a marvelously amazing book!

I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it completely drew me in and kept me wanting more. What a beautiful story and such an inspiring way to portray Rea Silvia’s history — as a powerful woman who took charge of her own destiny.

Slow, but interesting

I started this book as audio and halfway through switched to kindle. Overall a great mythology based story and full of everything you expected from a Greek/Roman mythology based story. Rhea and Antho are some of the strongest and most complex characters who embody different aspects of what it means to exist as a woman in the world. I would highly recommend this book; however, go into reading it understanding it can be a very slow read.

A Truly Beautiful Retelling

I was moved to tears, this story is beautifully written and the narrators truly do it justice. Definitely worth the credit.