Ancient Rome is one of my favorite time periods to read about. The culture was rich and the people seemed to have such interesting lives. Eva Gordon captured this perfectly in Lycan Gladiator, but added her own little werewolf twist. Her werewolf society pulled in a lot of the traditional lore, but she gave them a fantastic twist. Lycans were mated to wolf maidens, humans that were born with a special mark, and once in a very great while a special wolf maiden was born with the power to heal. Cassia is one of the very special women and her protector is determined that she will be safe and find her true mate.

But Rome is dangerous already, when you throw in an evil werewolf overlord type of character. A wolf that isn't afraid to just take whatever he wants, Cassia's situation becomes much more difficult. When she realizes her true mate is actually his slave - forced to fight as a gladiator things get super interesting.

This book balanced the history and paranormal aspects beautifully, tying in real events to make the story more believable. With characters that came to life and stayed with you long after the final page. I hope Eva continues the series because I know it will be a hit.