Based on a true story, this is not the enlightened Rome of
myth. This is a city choking on fear, where blood flows on both the battlefield
and altar, and where generals and politicians alike are desperate to appease
rageful gods.
When 50,000 Romans fall in a single day at the Battle of Cannae, priests claim
there can be only one reason the gods abandoned Rome: a Vestal Virgin has
broken her vow of chastity. And they accuse Opimia (Mia), the strongest, most
defiant of the six sacred Vestal priestesses.
Forced as a child into serving Vesta, the goddess of fire, Mia has always
chafed against Rome’s control of her every move—especially after being separated
from her childhood love, Attius. Now, accused of a crime she did not commit,
she must defend herself in a hostile court to avoid being buried alive for her
“crime.”
Betrayed by the high priestess, hunted by Rome’s political and religious elite,
Mia must either accept her fate — or join with the Sybil of Cumae to expose the
truth behind a world built on superstition, fear, and lies.
A story of personal awakening amid public catastrophe, The Cleansing is a haunting journey
through a city at war with itself — and a woman who risks everything to survive
it.
~ Midwest Book Review
Buy Links:
Barnes & Noble: https://shorturl.at/P3FwP
Bookshop.org: https://shorturl.at/cchlf
Victoria Alvear has written multiple books and novels set in the ancient world, including A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii, A Song of War: A Novel of Troy, Cleopatra’s Moon, and others.
She is known as Vicky Alvear Shecter for her children’s books, which include Warrior Queens, Anubis Speaks!, Hades Speaks!, and Thor Speaks!
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If you enjoy discovering new stories,
you may also like The AnaRose Chronicles—a trilogy of award‑winning
adventure novellas. https://books2read.com/u/4jzKAY
