Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk is going on record as one of my favorite books read in 2017. There is so much right with this story - as soon as I finished it I wanted to dive into the rest of Attia’s story, so someone needs to make sure that happens. This book has emotion, danger, action and a million other things that prompt me to recommend this and encourage everyone to read it.

Attia was supposed to be a queen but when Thrace is invaded by Rome and the people decimated, the life Attia had planned for is completely changed. Now Attia is a slave and given to Xanthus, the Champion of Rome. Despite his status, Xanthus is not a free man, but he has fought his way up in the ranks of the gladiators and with that status, he is presented with a gift in the form of Attia, from his master (Dominus).

I loved how the relationship developed between Attia and Xanthus. Attia has no reason to trust anyone and at first, she really doesn’t, but as she begins to learn more about where she is and who she is with, she figures out who she can rely on and who she can’t. As a slave, she also understands her choices are non-existent and Xanthus knows exactly what she is going through. He could have very easily become a domineering character, but he gives her the space she needs and allows her to make choices for herself when he can. As Attia and Xanthus become closer, a bond forms and eventually they realize they will do anything to protect the other from harm / danger.

The story revolves around these two characters but there is so much more going on here. As noted in the summary, this is the beginning of the story of Spartacus. Wyk has only touched the surface of the danger and deceit within the Roman empire and Attia and Xanthus are just two people in the midst of a larger story. I am excited to see where Wyk takes the story next.

One of the things I thought Wyk did really well was telling the story of these characters without getting too far down in the weeds of the politics and history. Don’t get me wrong there is some of that, but it doesn’t muddy the story down because in the end, the characters are the focus. There is plenty of action – these are gladiators and gladiators have to fight for their lives all the time. The action adds a layer to this story in that I never knew what was going to happen when someone stepped into the arena. In addition to the action, there was danger and deceit but there was also friendship and love.

In the end, this is an origin story for Spartacus so while we get glimpses into what is to come, we don’t have the full story and while there isn’t anything listed yet in Goodreads, I am hopeful that there is another book coming. Not only do I want the rest of Wyk’s interpretation on Spartacus’ story but I also need to know how things move forward for Attia based on the ending of Blood and Sand. If you don’t have this book on your TBR list yet, go add it now…I’m serious – GO NOW! I’m also serious when I say I will be stalking Wyk’s social media waiting to see if/when a book two is to follow and in the meantime, will have to re-read this book to dig into it all again!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!