Venator: Roman Equestrian I
In first-century Britannia, after their people are incriminated for murdering a Roman patrol, Luciana and her family must prepare to defend the tribe. Centurion Decimus dreams of returning to Rome. He’s close to retirement, and a successful battle against the Cornovii tribe may be his last hurdle. The orders are clear: leave no defender alive; imprison the women and children.
Once captured, Luciana hatches a plan and offers herself to Decimus. Yet dangers arise, some from feelings of jealousy and others from greed, which lurk in Luciana’s and Decimus’s shadows. The biggest danger, though, is their growing attraction towards each other. Can Luciana control her heart to free her people from captivity?
The historical details are captivating. I savored each element skillfully woven into the narrative. One note: At this time, eye-rolling wasn’t an expression as we use it today, and there’s lots of it; this made the characters feel less mature than their ages (Luciana being in her thirties). Otherwise, Swink brings to life battle tactics, soldiering attire, the grit of hand-to-hand combat, and, as with all war, battlefields and their gore. While driven by their growing desires, Swink also takes time to develop Decimus and Luciana in shared interests. Though readers should note there are graphic BDSM details.
The ending comes unexpectedly with many loose threads (the imprisoned tribe, Cassia’s plotting, the Silures’ attack, salacious Titianus, the Druid threat) left dangling. For me, doing something with Luciana’s tribe would have at the least resolved the longest-standing plot thread and Luciana’s entire motivation. As is, I was left underwhelmed. However, I relished the period details and the characters. While the second half is a spicy enemies-to-lovers cauldron boiling over, the first half is an enrapturing collision of cultures and character development that will leave readers breathless.
