"Twilight Empress" deals with an interesting time in history and rather enjoyed the plot, but I wish the author had focused more on the political aspects of her protagonist's life rather than her personal life.

A very solid 4 stars (and a very delayed review as I hadn’t realized this never sent and the book has since been archived). A wonderful thing about historical fiction is that it is the next best thing to actual time travel — especially when well written and immersive. This book introduces us to a heroine that history, sadly, forgot. It kept me hooked from the first chapter and inspired me to do more research on Placidia.

I have to admit, I'd never heard of Placidia before this book. I found her story interesting, and even though the book is based on a historical figure's life, it wasn't dry. I loved following her journey, and watching her change throughout the years of her life as her circumstances changed. A great read for those interested in a strong woman in ancient Rome.

I don’t know how I lost track of this novel, but I did. I read most of it, but must have gotten distracted by something else! I re-read it and loved it. A wonderful balance of history and story, well-developed characters in a fascinating time in Rome’s history.

This is an excellent historical fiction novel and look into the life of Placidia, at the end of the Roman Empire.

I made a few attempts to read this book but I just couldn't connect with the writing style or characters at all. There's no sense in writing a full review about a book that just fundamentally wasn't something I enjoyed. Review not posted anywhere else.

This is a gorgeous book detailing the life of Empress Placidia. Written in three parts, it slowly tells the story of Placidia's rise to power . Superbly written and detailed. I immersed myself in this book!

I received an advance reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This rendering of the story of Galla Placidia exceeded my expectations, and it improved page after page. The beginning, with her being captured by the Visigoths, dragged me immediately in ancient Rome and hooked me up. Placidia immediately showed up as a heroine, a brave woman who is an empress not only for her social position and wealth but also because she is great inside. I'm Italian and at school we obviously study Roman history, but textbooks are mainly about who reigned when/who invaded a territory/what happened next/who did what and so on, so students don't really have a chance (unless they decide to do further studies on their own) to learn more about the personality of the figures they study ot, in this case, about the women who reigned behind the men. So this was a nice discovery. I found very interesting the note of the author at the end of the book, where she explains in detail which events are historical and which are fictional. There is not much about Placidia in historical records, so I think the author made a good job drawing Placidia's personality, I think she had the right intuition.
The only thing I would change about this book is the same I'd do with most of historical novels: shortening them a bit. In this case, I think the first 20% of the book, where Placidia adapts to her life with the Visigoths, could have been a bit shorter. I found it quite "slow" and I couldn't read more than 2/3 pages per day (sometimes I paused for a few days and read something else). After that the story seemed to get a better pace, but I think that when things like this happen it's bad for a book, because a reader (unless strongly motivated) may decide to give the book up and not finish it.
All in all, a very pleasant and well-written reading.

This book did take me some time to get through. I did finally make it to the end and will not pursue further books if this is part of a series. I normally enjoy ancient Roman historical fiction and did enjoy portrayal of Placidia through all her journeys of both pain and victory.

This book is based on the Empress Placidia of the Theodosian Empire. It's one of those books about historical fiction that starts out so good and just gets better and better! I enjoyed it very much! She's a little known lady who lived in the fifth century but she had a huge impact for her time. A very interesting story that keeps the reader's attention! Well developed characters and very well written book! I look forward to reading more from this author.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you so much, Netgalley!
All opinions are my own.

The premise of this book sounded very intriguing but The problem I had with this novel was that the characters were not developed enough. Just when I started to enjoy the storyline it changed and I was reading about someone new. I never fully got to know the characters or care about them. I was really disappointed with this book, but would love to read more from this author

"Augusta Placidia Galla the daughter and the mother to Roman Emperors. The wife, the Augusta, the woman. Twilight Empress is the story of not God-anointed deity but the story of warm-blooded human woman who can love, cry, scheme, suffer, scream and fight. Placidia in Justice's book is amazingly beautiful even though she was not a real beauty in her life. Placidia is through and through blue-blood royal from the way she carries herself to the way she cries when hurt and plots revenge. Unable to rule in her own right simply because she was born female Placidia goes through life assisting and prompting men she loves to do that in her stead. Was she a puppet-master of her husbands and son? Was she a victim of shovinist historians? This is not the point.
The purpose of this book is to bring history alive, to enable reader to picture burning of Rome and armies of Goths, chicken den of Roman emperor and beautiful jewellery and over-the-top decorations of Roman aristocracy.
Roman Empire was falling and it was inevitable. Placidia was unable to hold it intact. She did all she saw fit her role and purpose... losing some and winning some.
Faith L.Justice did a great job with her heroine. Can't wait to read the rest of the book in this trilogy"

Twilight Empress is the story of an amazing woman no one has ever heard of (well, maybe not no one, but I had never heard of her). Set in 5th century Rome, it's the story of Galla Placidia, sister of Roman Emperor Honorius (I hadn't heard of him either), a woman who was captured by the Goths and married the brother of the Gothic king, captured upon his death and returned to her home of Ravenna, to be married off again to someone of her brother's choosing. In a time when women, particularly royal or noble women, were nothing more than bargaining pieces, Placidia influenced her brother the Emperor, army generals and other leaders to make decisions that would ensure the safety and protection of the people, in spite of the petty rivalries and political feuds of the day.

Placidia is a rare woman, in a time that most of us know very little about. Twilight Empress is an enthralling read of one woman's story of rare influence and success in a world dominated by male belittlement and underestimation of women....and yet, she outlived her husbands, her brother and even her son. An outstanding read based on a truly remarkable woman! I can't wait for Faith L. Justice's next book!

I have always loved Roman history,Roman stories and this is so not disappointing! Full of love,fighting,hate,power,it's all in this gripping story of a woman who rules! The characters are real,they come to life for you through the history of Roman and invaders! Net Gallery let me read this well researched book! You won't be disappointed in this story! Loved the picture on the front of the book of the ruling Princess! Can you even trust your own family,what about your friends?

I love this genre and this period in history but this book gave me an insight to aspects I hadn't known much about. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more!

I am not really familiar with this period in history and have never heard of Galla Placidia up until now. The book was interesting and easy to read. She was certainly a remarkable woman! I can recommend this book, especially if you enjoy this period in history.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my review, which i have freely given.


Awaiting Amazon to publish my review.

This is a great book! Before reading this novel I knew very little about ancient Rome as this era in history has never really grabbed my attention before. The book follows the life of Galla Placidia Augusta, the half sister of the Western Roman Emperor Flavius Honorius Augustus, beginning with the first time Rome was sacked in 800 years when Placidia was a teenager. She is taken as a hostage by the Visigoths but later becomes their Queen after falling in love with the King. After her husband's murder, she becomes a slave who leads a rebellion, returns to her bother to be married to his loyal general who then becomes co- Emperor raising Placida to status of joint Empress but sadly she is widowed for a second time and must fight for her son's inheritance to the Roman diadem. Galla Placida Augusta is like the ancient Roman she-wolf (foster mother to Romulus and Remus), with as much drama and political savvy to rival Margaret of Anjou. Throughout this book you are introduced to other Theodosian women - Aelia Pulcheria who took guardianship of her brother the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosian III at the tender age of 14, holding the reins of government successfully until her brother's majority and continued to advise him and Aelia Eudocia Augusta, a woman of great beauty who was born a pagan and a daughter of a philosopher whose marriage to Theodosian III caused a scandal. These two women are the focus of the second and third books in the series and I can't wait!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy of this book in a return for an honest review. All opinion are my own.

For fans of sweeping epics like "Game of Thrones", this well-researched and carefully plotted read will ensure an uptick of interest in the Fall of Rome.

I chose this novel through NetGalley as I know quite a bit about Galla - she was not an unfamiliar historical figure. Having said that, I was just not feeling it. Maybe it was due to my knowledge of the period and the people ...

I will say that this will make a good introductory novel on the period for someone just starting out - it is not overly bogged down with detail; the chapters are short and snappy; and the epilogue and author's note at the end will encourage the reader to discover further.

Twilight Empress by Faith L. Justice
Book #1: The Theodosian Women Series
Source: NetGalley and Raggedy Moon Books
Rating: 5/5 stars

In my non-book reading, reviewing, and blogging life, I am a trained Art Historian who has been teaching Art History for nigh on twenty years. For most of these years, I have taught a wonderfully preserved and beautifully decorated site in Ravenna, Italy known as the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Though there is little remaining, historically speaking, about her life, what we do know as fact is terribly fascinating and indicative of a woman far, far ahead of her time and place.

I knew going into Twilight Empress there would be a greater emphasis on the fiction part of historical fiction. This is often a very tricky thing for an author when there is so little to be relied upon from the historical record and if it isn’t dealt with in just the right way, the book becomes an absolute disaster. From the first chapter I knew I had something special: Justice has taken what little there is, historically, and woven those precious few facts into a compelling story about a woman bound and determined to protect her rightful place in the world and ensure the places of her children.

As with so many women of the period, and particularly royal women, Galla Placidia was seen as a pawn, a piece to be placed in the game of thrones. As a member of the royal family of the failing Roman Empire, Galla Placidia faced great adversity and was used by her family to their advantage rather than her own. However, Galla Placidia refused to be anyone’s pawn and with her strength, capabilities, education, and connections, she was often able to turn incredibly difficult situations into something good or, at the very least, tolerable. Case in point: her first marriage was to her captor and her second to a man she was never able to love. The first marriage brought Galla Placidia the title of Queen and the respect of many among the barbarian hordes, the second marriage brought her two children, an elevated royal title among her own family, and the assurances of her son’s right to inherit the throne. To be sure, Galla Placidia knew how to use her intelligence, how to manipulate when necessary, and how to remain loyal and worthy of respect and loyalty in the worst of circumstances.

The Bottom Line: This was my first Faith L. Justice read and it certainly will not be my last. Justice took the story of a woman I have long been interested in and created a world in which she has once again come to life. From her time amongst the Goths to her reign over the western half of the Roman Empire, Galla Placidia led with integrity, loyalty, shrewdness, and cunning. Though I was familiar with her story prior to reading this book, I found myself completely entranced and loving the heavily fictionalized portion of this solid historical fiction. I found every aspect of this book to be well-researched, well-written, and woven together (the history with the fiction) is a most pleasing manner. As if this all weren’t enough, Twilight Empress is just the first of the books in The Theodosian Women series.