11 Oct JULIA PRIMA Alison Morton Book Review #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @alison_morton @cathiedunn

FEATURED AUTHOR: ALISON MORTON

It is my pleasure to welcome Alison Morton as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between October 3rd — October 14th, 2022. Alison Morton is the author of the Historical Fiction, JULIA PRIMA (ROMA NOVA Series), which was released by Pulcheria Presson on August 23rd, 2022 (335 pages).

Below are highlights of JULIA PRIMA, Alison Morton’s author bio, and my 5-star review of her novel.

To follow the blog tour, CLICK Tour Schedule

HIGHLIGHTS: JULIA PRIMA

JULIA PRIMA

(ROMA NOVA Series)

by Alison Morton

Blurb

“You should have trusted me. You should have given me a choice.”

AD 370, Roman frontier province of Noricum. Neither wholly married nor wholly divorced, Julia Bacausa is trapped in the power struggle between the Christian church and her pagan ruler father.

Tribune Lucius Apulius’s career is blighted by his determination to stay faithful to the Roman gods in a Christian empire. Stripped of his command in Britannia, he’s demoted to the backwater of Noricum – and encounters Julia.

Unwittingly, he takes her for a whore. When confronted by who she is, he is overcome with remorse and fear. Despite this disaster, Julia and Lucius are drawn to one another by an irresistible attraction.

But their intensifying bond is broken when Lucius is banished to Rome. Distraught, Julia gambles everything to join him. But a vengeful presence from the past overshadows her perilous journey. Following her heart’s desire brings danger she could never have envisaged…

Buy Links:

Universal Link  ♠  Amazon UK  ♠ Amazon US  ♠ Amazon CA  ♠ Amazon AU

Barnes and Noble  ♠  Waterstones  ♠  Kobo  ♠  Apple

AUTHOR BIO:  ALISON MORTON

Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her nine-book ROMA NOVA series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into the 21^st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue.

She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. 

Alison now lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her latest two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity and Double Pursuit. Oh, and she’s writing the next ROMA NOVA story.

Social media links:

Alison Morton’s World of Thrillers site  ♠   Facebook author page  ♠  Twitter  ♠   Alison’s writing blog

Instagram  ♠   Goodreads  ♠   BookBub  ♠   Alison’s Amazon page  ♠  Newsletter sign-up

BOOK REVIEW: JULIA PRIMA

Set in the Roman frontier province of Noricum in 370 AD, JULIA PRIMA by Alison Morton is an ancient historical fiction novel with elements of suspense and romance. The prologue immediately hooked me when an unnamed character tells the backstory from first-person point of view. The tale begins when Julia Bacausa, the daughter of a powerful pagan ruler, encounters a Roman tribune, Lucius Apulius, in the marketplace. He mistakes her for a whore, but she does not resist his advances. Later, he learns about her noble background at a banquet held by her father and confronts her. They both admit their irresistible attraction for each other and begin to form a strong bond.

However, they are caught in the midst of a political struggle between the Christian church and the pagan religion. By Roman law, Julia considers herself divorced from her first Christian husband, the son of a powerful bishop. The Christian religion does not recognize her divorce because she made the mistake of being baptized to help her marriage work. Lucius’s determination to stay faithful to the Roman gods in a Christian Roman empire blights his reputation. He is first stripped of his command in Britannia and then banished to Rome for his pagan beliefs. She gambles everything to reunite with Lucius in Rome. Risking their lives, her body servant, Asella, and household fresco painter, Aegius, accompany her on a journey full of danger, unexpected twists, and dark secrets that will haunt her.

Author Alison Morton has masterfully written a captivating story that immediately draws you in and keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens next. The tale vividly describes a decaying Roman empire caught in a political whirlwind of Christian leaders striving to counter Roman law and culture established during the time when pagan beliefs were accepted. Though Julia is a Roman citizen, she embraces her Celtic heritage. Fiery and independent, she is an engaging character who is determined to choose her own way. Still, she recognizes the tightrope that her father is walking to appease a power-hungry Christian bishop, the Roman governor, and the needs of his own people. Unexpected twists, keeping me on the edge of my seat, ultimately tied back to the prologue. 

Surprisingly, I was most engaged with the secondary characters of Aegius and Asella. As the story unfolds, their backstories connect directly with the dangers they encounter on their journey with Julia. Throughout Julia’s life, they have influenced the decisions she has made. The relationship between Julia and Lucius is not as well developed as her friendship with Aegius and Asella. The story emphasizes Julia’s pathway to independence and not romance.

JULIA PRIMA is a captivating, suspenseful tale of a young Celtic woman striving for independence to follow her heart in the constraints of the Christian Roman empire.