Sister, Augusta, Virgin, Ruler. All Pulcheria's titles. But the woman behind the throne is harder to define. Faith Justice's book strikes at the heart of the Theodosian Augusta. A very well written book.

Dawn Empress tells the story of Galla Placidia’s niece, Pulcheria. At the young age of fifteen, Princess Pulcheria took a vow of virginity in order to be a regent to her younger brother, Theodosius II. Throughout her reign as regent, Pulcheria was beset with challenges. She had to protect her brother from assassins and corrupt eunuchs. Pulcheria had to confront raiding barbaric tribes and religious turmoil. Most of all, Pulcheria found Athenais, her brother’s new wife, as her new political rival. Can Pulcheria still manage to hold onto power through all these difficulties?

In history, Pulcheria was known for being a regent to her younger brother, Theodosius II. When Theodosius II came of age, she became his co-ruler. After his death, she married his successor Emperor Marcian and became his empress. Their chaste marriage lasted three years when Empress Pulcheria died. With these known facts, I was curious to see how Mrs. Justice portrayed Empress Pulcheria, and I found her portrayal to be fascinating. Pulcheria is ambitious. At times, she can be ruthless. She is also very judgmental. Yet, she loves her family and her kingdom. She believes ruling is God’s will. She is very pious and devotes her life to God and her people. She is the Church’s champion and fights against heretics. She also puts the interests of the people first. She is also a courageous leader, and her bravery instills inspiration to her people amidst their darkest hour. Therefore, Pulcheria was a strong, wise, and capable leader. I could see why she won the admiration and respect of her family, people, and church. This novel showed why she became a saint.

Overall, this novel is about family drama, religion, and political intrigue that will captivate you from the first page until the last. I found all the characters to be realistic and complex. I liked Pulcheria’s relationship with her brother, Theodosius II, which is the main focus of the novel. While they often are in conflict and do not see eye-to-eye on certain issues, ultimately, they respect and rely on each other. They are each other’s strength. The author did an excellent job in making the Byzantine court come alive. This does not mean that the novel did not have its drawbacks. Dawn Empress can move at a slow pace and some of the drama reads like a teen soap opera. Still, Dawn Empress rescues an obscure empress from history! I can’t wait to read the last book in Theodosian Women with the final installment focusing on Aelia Eudocia! I recommend this for fans of Queen of the Darkest Hour, Queen of Oak, and I Am Livia!

I never got the chance to read this one before it was archived, but the idea behind it is so promising! I'm truly grateful for the publisher giving me a chance to read it, and will be looking for a physical copy in my local bookstore.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed learning about Pulcheria.

A évery well written historical fiction book, the characters where real and interesting and the story engaging.

Dawn Empress
The Theodosian Women Book Two
by Faith L. Justice
@faithljustice

Genre: Historical Fiction and Women's Fiction
Publisher: Raggedy Moon Books
Publish Date: 24 May 2020

Historical Fiction and Women's Fiction is the second installment in 'The Theodosian Women' series

Meticulously researched and vividly written, this historical fiction is a must read.
Following the death of her father, the emperor, fourteen Princess Pulcheria becomes her younger brother's guardian. Emperor Theodosius is only seven years old, and she becomes is ultimate protector. Pulcheria was influential figure who defended defend the empire, as the enemies swarm, including dubious clerics, assassins, and powerful men who will stop at nothing to have the throne. This is her tale, the reader follow follows her as she carefully maneuvers through the complex court drama and the complicated politics. She was pious and chastity, headstrong and controlling, she took a vow of chastity to avoid marriage. She was appointed augusta (empress) by the Senate and ruled in the name of her minor brother, Theodosius II. When he came of age, around 416, she remained a power behind the scenes through his entire reign (until 450).

This is an intimate look into the life of the Romano-Byzantine empress who shaped a decisive period in the history of an empire in which few women reached such positions of power and influence. She became iconic figure in history.

As a child, Pulcheria is brought to see her mother's body by her father, Roman Emperor Flavius Arcadius. At this scene, Pulcheria is told to follow God, protect her brother and her people. Pulcheria takes this to heart and when her father dies suddenly leaving seven-year old Theodosius II as Emperor, Pulcheria does everything in her power to keep the control with her and her brother and not be cast aside. With her strict religious training, Pulcheria and her sisters vow to be sworn virgins of the Church, evading being married off and sent away. Pulcheria quickly becomes Theo's most trusted advisor and rules beside him as his equal. However, as Theo ages his interests are pulled toward romance and ruling as his own man. As Pulcheria is pushed out of the government and into the Church, she continues to provide for the people of Rome. As Theo's reign is endangered by one of his eunuchs and the Huns threaten to invade, Pulcheria must win her way back into her brother's heart to help save the empire she loves.

Covering 50 years of history, Dawn Empress is the second book in The Theodosian Women series. Pulcheria is yet another strong woman and a force to be reckoned with. She honed her power in interesting ways: always sensing others motives and being one step ahead, and a manipulative decisiveness paired with a caring nature. The writing pulled me into 5th Century Rome with well researched descriptions of the dress, food, palace and churches. I enjoyed reading about the many true events that the book incorporates and especially the rule of Theodosious II and the reasoning behind his decisions that defined the period. I was intrigued by Pulcheria's need to protect her brother and family coupled with her need for control and power over her people's religion. While Pulcheria made some wonderful decisions for Rome, others left me questioning her reasoning. Overall, another amazing story of a compelling, influential woman in history.

“You may not be able to pass laws or lead armies,” Princess Pulcheria’s religious tutor tells her as a child, “but the love of the people is no small thing. That power, used wisely… can be just as effective in ruling.”

History abounds with accomplished women whose stories have undeservedly been forgotten. Aelia Pulcheria Augusta is among them, and I hadn’t so much as heard her name until a few weeks ago, when a blog tour invitation appeared in my inbox.

A strong political force in the fifth-century Eastern Roman Empire, Pulcheria guided her younger brother, Theodosius II, during his minority and served as his influential advisor – on and off – through his decades-long reign. With Dawn Empress, second in a series about the Theodosian imperial women, Faith L. Justice gathers up the known facts about Pulcheria and offers a well-rounded, human portrait of this accomplished woman.

The story follows Pulcheria from her youth at the imperial court in Constantinople through the end of her life, with the chapter headings noting the year and place. Pulcheria is intelligent, pious, and frequently stubborn, a combination that doesn't endear her to her brother Theo’s advisors, who want her safely married and out of the picture. Pulcheria has other plans, though. She mingles with the common people, demonstrates charity toward them, and cleverly finds a way to bring honor to the Church and simultaneously remain by her brother’s side. She also persuades her two younger sisters to follow her example.

Pulcheria isn’t always a comfortable heroine. Her judgmental nature and forthrightness are off-putting (just ask her aunt, Galla Placidia), her jealousy of Theo’s wife Athenais gets her into trouble, and she sometimes missteps when it comes to Theo, too. But when it comes to ruling prudently and identifying threats to the realm, her heart is in the right place. With the Huns and other “barbarians” advancing on Rome, and Theo falling under the influence of unsuitable people, Pulcheria can’t let her guard down. The Roman Empire at this time was a hot spot for ecclesiastical heresies, and the author navigates a clear path through these theological disputes without overburdening the reader. Some character names (Anthemius, Asclepiodotus, Olympiodorus, and more) are a mouthful, but the character list helps keep track of who’s who.

It’s a recommended read for historical fiction old-timers who enjoyed the works of Gillian Bradshaw, and for anyone seeking out fresh subjects in historical fiction about world rulers or influential women.

I have read a lot of books set in the Roman Empire, but never one covering this period , 440 AD and on to the end of the era. I also knew nothing about the dual Emperors, East and West, nor the Empire’s fall, the Vandals and Attila. Emperor Theo was easily led and dominated his whole life by very ambitious and powerful women of his family. Pulcheria was an amazingly strong character. It was also fascinating to see them rule as Christians. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

At age 14, Princess Pulcheria becomes her younger brother's guardian. This may seem strange for such a young woman, but what makes this story is that her 7 year old brother is the Emperor Theodosius, the year is somewhere around 415, and the barbarians are at the gate! Pulcheria becomes mentor, teacher, parent, confessor to young Theo and is truly the power behind the throne. In Dawn Empress author Faith L. Justice does a wonderful job bringing Pulcheria to life, flaws, strengths and everything in between. Pulcheria is intelligent, well educated, devout and an able administrator. She can also be petty, possessive, rigid and autocratic. Without her, Theo would have been Emperor over an empire riddled by factions, corruption, and war; instead it was generally peaceful and prosperous.

Dawn Empress is incredibly well researched and vividly written, much like Justice's previous historical novel Twilight Empress about Augusta Placidia. I personally didn't like Pulcheria quite as much as I liked Placidia (who has a role in Dawn Empress) but I certainly felt like I knew her well from Justice's excellent characterization of her. What I loved most about Dawn Empress is that it brought to life a truly amazing woman who successfully led a nation, in fact ensured its survival, in a time when women were disrespected by church and king...and Pulcheria succeeded in winning the respect and the love of the kingdom. Awesome book, should not be missed!

An interesting historical novel about a woman, Pulcheria, who we know really little. In the Roman-era, when Christian religion already took over the Roman Gods place. A fascinating read which flies us back to the past and gives us more knowledge about that time, the people and lives.

This book takes place in AD. When Christianity is in the Roman Empire. You have princess Pulcheria who is effected by the onslaught of her fathers death. Since her brother Theodosius is only 7 and will have a regent when anything can happen poison, mutiny, assassin. Really anything. Well the perfect goal of any women right now is to be the perfect christian. Her whole life changes because she must do everything in her power to protect him and lead him down the right path. Thus starts the political web for power, bribery, friendship and foe.

I enjoyed this novel, I did find the number of characters difficult at first and wasn't immediately drawn to the main character. For me a little too much detail about the machinations of the church. This is a complex period of Roman history and I'm not sure the author could have simplified very much more, but it is far from an easy read. That said by the end I was convinced by the story and will read the next one in the series. The author is clearly extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the women she portrays. I gave four rather than five stars, as at times veered too close to a historical textbook rather than a novel.

Dawn Empress by Faith L. Justice
Genre: Historical Fiction and Women's Fiction
Publisher: Raggedy Moon Books
Publish Date: 24 May 2020

The excitement I have experienced at the next book in The Theodosian Women series coming out is unfathomable! I've been highly anticipating this book since reading the first, Twilight Empress which if you haven't read it yet, you should, although they work as stand-alone books and don't have to be read in order. The Theodosian Women series centers around three Augusta's, Placidia, Pulcheria, and Athenais, with each book being dedicated to their life and trials. Since they all lived at the same time with their stories overlapping, you will read about certain situations more than once - but don't be put off. Justice is an expert at focusing on the women caught up in the situation, thus, the situation is never repetitive but rather a new adventure with a new champion. It must be noted that this happened rarely between Placidia of book one and Pulcheria of book two as both women ruled over an administratively split Roman Empire, where they had their own domains...but family and politics are family and politics.

Aelia Pulcheria is the featured Dawn Empress, sister to the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. She is the Theodosian woman I was least looking forward to but I was very pleasantly surprised and she truly holds her own and so does the book; thus receiving a five-star rating. Being the eldest sibling with her brother in his minority, Pulcheria, grows up too fast in order to protect her orphaned family. She is named Regent for her brother at the tender age of 15, and rigid in her ways to make sure her brother's reign is not sullied with the drunken, adulteress reign of her father. Pulcheria is raised to be an Augusta and lives out a virginal, pietist life devoted to family and people at a time of waning power in the West and a raising in the East, not to mention, having an influential hand in early Christian doctrine that still has a legacy today. There is no denying that Pulcheria was religious, steadfast and a strong ruler - but what was she as a person? Justice, within the book, manages to create a likely humanistic Pulcheria, a person with the world on her shoulders trying to do what she thinks is best and keep her brother alive.

Did I love this fictional Pulcheria? She was very difficult to like at times but that is to be expected. Her accomplishments required a singled minded person who could transcend emotion. But it is her fear that drives her to this, the fear of her mother and father's sins which lead her into a consuming study about the downfall of past rulers so that she and her siblings can avoid their fate. This leads the family, led by Pulcheria, down a very religious path that is highly destructive on occasions not just to the siblings but also to the empire. Pulcheria suffers from pride and vanity when it comes to her position and religious efforts, but she is also an incredible woman with such a big heart that much good was done during her brother's reign, especially for the lowly people. Pulcheria is an incredibly complex character and I've yet to decide what I truly feel about her but I do know that if I had to describe Pulcheria in one word it would be: understanding. She was excellent at understanding people and situations and this is a guiding light in hard times but I also found this frustrating, thus showing I wouldn't make a good ruler.

I particularly loved the interactions of Pulcheria with Placidia and her children. From the first book, Pulcheria, at these times, was a religious zealot and somewhat condescending however getting behind the scenes from Pulcheria's side makes the interactions far more juicier; as well as Pulcheria's interactions and jealousies with Athenais. Unfortunately, I side with Athenais in these. I also loved how the book ended, it was beautifully poetic but simple and the reader is left with the gravity of how important Pulcheria was to the people. The ordinary people who's lives are usually played with by the ruling elite and who are normally the first to feel consequences.

I'm highly, highly looking forward to the next book in the series and hope it's not too far off. Having teasers of the beautiful, romantically tragic Athenais (who couldn't even keep her name) in the first two books has left me with book fever.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Raggedy Moon Books, for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.