A beautiful and haunting sequel with exquisite prose. I had my heart in my throat for most of it as Amara lives on a knife's edge every day. The characterisation was as complex as ever and I loved reading more about Philos and Britannica. The ending is set up for book three and I'm looking forward to reading about Rome.

💙💛. BOOK TOUR REVIEW 💛💙

The House With The Golden Door by @elodielharper

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5🌟s

Welcome to my spot on the tour!

Thank you to Amy at @headofzeus for having me on the tour and for my #gifted copy of the book.

I have waited a whole year for this next instalment of Amara’s journey. At the end of The Wolf Den we left Amara at the point of some huge life changes.

We rejoin her in Pompeii, a few months later and see how her life is different but also not quite as much as I was expecting.

The House With The Golden Door is the story of Amara and her friends, loves and enemies and how their lives are woven together.

This book definitely holds anticipation throughout and Eloise’s storytelling skills truly come alive and drive you through this book.

The lives of women in those times are somewhat muted to being whatever a man wants and needs and the world of slaves, prostitutes and concubines are merely to facilitate whatever the men and masters want.

I found some of the scenes heartbreaking and other infuriating and there were several surprises along the way.

I love how much Elodie captured how morally grey most of the characters are. Particularly Amara who struggled with some of her decisions and some of the things she felt necessary to do.

I really enjoyed the details of the festivals too and what they meant to Amara and some of the other characters.

I cannot wait for the next instalment in this trilogy and hope the Amara gains all she hopes for and I am hoping to see more of certain characters and their interactions with Amara too.

Yesssssss loved this!
The follow up book to The Wolf Den, The House with the Golden Door had all same delicious rich, atmospheric feels as the first novel.
The protagonist Amara is so easy to invest in. She survived and escaped the cruel, abusive she-wolf lifestyle of book one but, still even in her more affluent position is not her own mistress.
Chained to another master she has to strive to keep herself safe.

Amara falls in love in this book but my only slight criticism is the relationship didn't have the build and emotionally grabbing hit that I wanted. Her relationship with Menander in book one had all the feels, but I felt this was lacking with her new love (won't name names to avoid spoilers) and I wasn't championing their relationships as much I wanted to. That aside the characters in this book are wonderful and colourful. I love Brittanica 💖

This was a totally "couldn't put it down" read and I cannot wait for the 3rd book in the trilogy.

Hats and laurel wreaths off to Elodie Harper for another fabulous read

"There is always a price to pay for underestimating a woman."

Ever since the jaw-dropping ending of The Wolf Den I have been impatiently awaiting book two in the trilogy and the chance to find out what was next for Amara, her fellow she-wolves and the residents of Pompeii. The story picks up a few months after the shocking events at the end of book one: Amara is no longer a slave working at the brothel but a freedwoman living in the house with the golden door that her patron Rufus rents for her. While happy to be free, she is haunted by her past, misses her friends and lives in fear of losing Rufus’ favour and her position as his concubine. Her former master is also out for revenge and she must find a way to keep herself safe against not only him, but the man on whom she now relies.

Once again I was utterly captivated by the mesmerising world that Elodie Harper brings to life on the pages. So evocative that it was like I was watching it all unfold on a movie screen in vivid technicolour, she transported me back to the ancient streets of Pompeii at a time when they were bustling with life and the fate awaiting this doomed city was unimaginable. Her research and attention to detail is exquisite, depicting day to day life in a believable and entertaining way as she explores everything from mundane domesticity to the exciting but bloodthirsty sports citizens of Pompeii once enjoyed.

"Amara wonders how long they will all be together in a household like this, and it is not only the habitual fear of being separated from Philos that makes her chest tighten. She has grown used to this place, to the strange almost-family of women she has collected."

The Amara of this book is both the same and completely different. I enjoyed watching her learn to navigate the new world she inhabits and how skillfully she plays the game. She is a strong, intelligent woman who now not only has a thirst for revenge and determination to survive, but more autonomy and power than before, though she does fear she will never completely be free. But one of my favourite things about these books is the sisterhood the women share. There are new characters and alliances alongside the old ones, but themes of strength, tenacity, vulnerability and wiliness remain and I enjoyed seeing them gain more power and freedom than they had in the brothel. A sisterhood I particularly enjoyed was the blossoming friendship between Amara and Britannica. I loved that Britannica was given such a large role in this story and how we finally got to see the person lurking beneath the silent savage we met in book one. I adore this fierce Briton and she has become my favourite character.

Enthralling, exhilarating and unflinching, The House with the Golden Door is an accomplished piece of historical fiction. If you’re a fan of the genre then you need to read this outstanding series. Sadly I now have the agonising wait for the final instalment…

I loved this so much, I was a massive fan of The Wolf Den and was so excited to read this, the second in the trilogy, it picks up where we left off with Amara adjusting to her new life away from the den, this is still set in Pompeii like the first, the world building is as superb as ever as you’re drawn into the brutal world Amara inhibits. Amara has as many dangers to deal with as she did in the den, they’re just a different kind - secrets, betrayals, and revenge. Elodie Harper has such a pure talent, writing about such emotional and disturbing situations, she pulls you in and immerses you completely in the circumstances and fortunes of the most overlooked of characters, I love reading about these women and hope for many more books in the future of underrepresented history. Fantastic

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

"Fortuna only turns her wheel for those who dare to ride it"

Amara is now free and can enjoy her freedom as she pleases as long as she keeps her master's affections but her previous life in the brothel still lingers in her mind ... Dido's death is something that she will never forget.
Amara is a woman with a plan B, and she knows that when looks end or her patron is no longer in need of her, she will have to risk it all!!


The house with the golden door is an exquisite sequel to The wolf den, the first book of this trilogy.
Exceptionally captivating and particularly great in terms of historical fiction facts, the use of graffiti sayings in Pompeii in each chapter title, brings veracity and credibility to the story.
The author delivered again incredible descriptions that allows the reader to imagine everything being described vividly along with great and strong characters , making this book the perfect sequel.
After adoring the first book,  my expectations were very high and unsurprisingly I was not disappointed!!


Thank you so much @headofzeus and @elodielharper for this incredible opportunity!!

Another interesting and historically detailed instalment in Harper’s trilogy. The shadow of Vesuvius continues to look large over the characters and I am certainly intrigued to see how the final instalment will play out given the ending. The storyline felt a little bit like a repeat of the first book but I enjoyed the developing relationship with/character of Britannica who seems incredibly interesting.

This book felt so effortless to read, I breezed through it! for anyone who has read the Wolf Den, you’ll already know the colourful setting of Pompeii, which feels wonderfully real in these novels. Our main character, Amara, was a slave in book 1, who had managed to earn her freedom, but in this second in the series we learn that freedom and slavery is a bit more nuanced than that in the ancient world, and find out more about ways Amara is freer than before and has more choices, but also the ways in which she is still bound by obligation and restrictions, and this is a really fascinating topic to explore. Some of the choices she has to make are really heart rending. Amara’s freedom means we get to explore more of Pompeii alongside her, and a richer cast of characters, of which I think my favourites were probably Brittanica and Pliny the Elder. I feel so impatient to find out what happens in the last book now, I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the final instalment of this wonderful series, but either way I’m sure it will be worth the wait.

My thanks to #NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Amara is back for the second part of the Wolf Den. We left Amara having recently gained her freedom thanks to the Admiral Pliny and her new patron, Rufus. With her good friend Dido murdered at the end of the last novel, we meet Amara settling in to her new home by immortalising Dido in a painting of the goddess Diana. Amara is happy with her new life, though she doesn't see as much of Rufus as she had hoped and instead whiles away the days with Philos, Rufus' trusted steward, and Juventus, her bodyguard.

Haunted by her experiences in the Wolf Den brothel, Amara vows to try and free Victoria from the clutches of Felix, the brutal brothel owner - regardless of what it costs her, and ultimately it costs her almost everything. As Rufus tires of his concubine, Amara embarks on a real relationship - one which threatens her very freedom.

Elodie Harper writes so beautifully that you feel like you are peeping over the shoulder of Amara as she goes through life's experiences. The places are described so subtly, yet beautifully, that you could be there with them. The characters are authentic and feel like people that you really know - I have to resist the temptation to see if they really existed! Philos represents the horrible experiences of every slave, and Britannica is such a wonderful character that I wish she had a novel all of her own.

I love these books and am really looking forward to the next chapter of Amara's life - it can't come soon enough!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The House with the Golden Door by Elodie Harper
I have read the first book in the trilogy called The Wolf Den and this book continues the story of Amara’s life. She has been freed by Pliny and her patron Rufus so she is no longer working as a prostitute for Felix at the Wolf Den. But she worries constantly about her friends still trapped at the Wolf Den and longs to do something to help them.

Her position in society has been raised but her future is still dependent on the whim of her patron. She has to ensure that he remains fascinated by her and so she tries to please him but then she learns something which demonstrates that he is not the man she thought him to be.
She decides to enter into a dangerous agreement with Felix in order to help her former friends but does she really understand the danger in which she places herself?

The author manages to convey what it was like to be a woman in Pompeii and the words which decorated the walls of Pompeii as graffiti convey what life would have been like for women in the past. Amara is an interesting character and you become fully involved in her struggle to gain some control over her life
I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and as this is the second part of a trilogy I am eagerly anticipating the next volume. Many thanks to Head of Zeus, Elodie Harper and Net Galley for the opportunity to read the book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this ebook in return for a review.

I read the first book in this trilogy and loved it! It’s been the book I’ve spoken to everyone about, insisting friends should read it and thrusting it into the hands of strangers in bookshops! So, I was desperate to get my hands on its sequel!

This novel picks up from where the other one left off, a few weeks after the tragic loss of one of Amara’s friends and focuses on her life as a concubine for Rufus, the heir of a rich and powerful family. She has to balance a knife edge of keeping him happy as without him, she would have no home or anyway to survive.

The difficult and intense relationship with her previous pimp is still in evidence here and it’s fascinating to witness scenes between the two of them.

The friendships that played such a strong part in the previous novel aren’t so important which is a loss but the romantic relationships make up for it. The development of the character of Britannia, though, is fascinating and I think she came out of the book as my favourite character! Although Pliny the Elder is also pretty fantastic!

I studied slavery as it was used in Ancient Rome at university and had found it very interesting but all the intricacies of it are explored ably here, making such a difficult subject come alive, understandable and heartbreakingly relatable. Amara’s life is dominated by the trade one way or another.

The story has a more gloomy feeling that the last and there is less of a plot - simply because freedom was always Amara’s goal and there isn’t the same drive in this novel now that she has attained it. But it’s an enjoyable story and the historical detail is so cleverly brought to life. This is a world so different in its traditions and values to our own that creating such a vibrant and realistic novel is a tall order but one the author manages with ease.

Overall, I guess I was blown away by the last book; this one had a lot to live up to and it did on the whole, but it suffers what a lot of middle books in trilogies do - it’s building us up for the finale which isn’t quite here yet so there is an unfinished feeling about it. I don’t think the author finished off this volume quite as well as she did with the first in the series.

As a result of its transitional feel, I’d give it 4 stars instead of the 5 I gave the last one, but it was a real pleasure to be back in first century Pompeii again and I absolutely can’t wait for the next book!

Amara is a freedwoman. Born free, she was sold into slavery by her mother, who was unable to feed and care for her when Amara’s father died. Used as a prostitute in the Wolf Den brothel, owned by the pimp Felix, she is taken under the wing of the Admiral, who buys her freedom and she becomes a concubine of Rufus, a young man with high political hopes and a rich family.

This is the second book in a trilogy about the life of Amara and all her trials and tribulations. Although I have not read the first in the series, The Wolf Den, this did not spoil my enjoyment of this book. Even as a standalone there is enough of a backstory to pick up the threads of Amara’s previous life before moving into the villa with Rufus. However, if you have read the first book I would imagine that this one would tie up a few loose ends!

A very enjoyable book, well written and I liked the characterisation. However, how can someone as smart as Amara make so many wrong decisions, will she never learn? Perhaps the next book will answer that!

Thank you NetGalley.

The sequel to The Wolf Den, The house with the Golden Door picks up where we left off with the main character adapting to her new life away from the den and faves with a new set of terrors and traumas to navigate.

As before this book is set in Pompeii and has many elements of world building that fit the Greek setting and we are drawn into the brutal world that was.

The plot has much to devour, I spent time caught up in the characters determination and ambition. For me pacing could be a little quicker with more urgency, that said I didn’t find it so slow that I lost interest.

I was really keen to find out about more characters from the first book in the series and I got that with this book, it was really insightful to see more about Brittanica and I hugely enjoyed her character development.

I think Harper has a real strength in writing about harrowing and emotive situations and the House with the Golden Door is no exception.

The House with the Golden Door is the second book in the Wolf Den trilogy and it continues Amara’s story in Roman Pompeii, just before the volcano erupted and destroyed the town.

Amara has to deal with secrets, betrayals, love, loyalty and murderous revenge in this novel. She is such an engaging character, making the best decisions she can in order to survive and do the best for the people she loves. The atmosphere and smells are so well described you could almost be there alongside Amara in the dusty streets of Pompeii.

I loved this book and am desperate to find out what happens to Amara and those she loves in book 3. Will the volcano finally erupt?

For me, this was a step-down from the first book. The dialogue felt more unnatural, the romance was predictable beat-for-beat, and the plot didn’t seem as tight as The Wolf Den. It felt a lot longer than the first book, and there was a lack of urgency throughout much of the book. It’s not bad, far from it, but I don’t feel intrigued for the next book after reading this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Elodie Harper’s The House with the Golden Door is the second in a trilogy which began with The Wolf Den. In this instalment, we follow Amara as she begins her life as a freedwoman under the patronage of Rufus. Tensions run high between Rufus and Amara throughout this book as she discovers that perhaps he is not the gentle, caring man she originally thought him to be as he begins to show more of his true self. The bonds of friendship hold tight, and Amara finds herself torn between her old life in the brothel and her new life as concubine as well as questioning whether she will ever be truly free.

After devouring The Wolf Den in a matter of days, I couldn’t wait to find out how this story continues once Amara is freed from the grip of Felix and I wasn’t disappointed. Elodie’s writing is so immersive, I was completely transported to Pompeii and into Amara’s life. The House with the Golden Door still features some of the characters from the first book but introduces more characters who reflect Amara’s change in social status. I found the plot of this book to be less brutal than The Wolf Den but no less tense, I found myself thinking about the characters even when I wasn’t reading it. Britannica has to be one of my favourite characters and I was really pleased that Elodie developed her character and story further making her a more central figure in The House with the Golden Door, as I had found Britannica’s situation particularly harrowing in The Wolf Den. Overall, I really loved this book and I can’t wait for the final instalment in the trilogy so I can lose myself in these characters once again, the world and characters which Elodie Harper has brought to life is captivating. This is such a fantastic series, one which I will read again and again and one I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for a digital copy for review.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.


This is the second instalment in The Wolf Den Trilogy. Following Amara's journey as she becomes the mistress of The House with The Golden Door.

This book was absolutely incredible, I knew about 25% in that this was a 5* read and the more I read the better it got. I feel like this story never took a misstep. The pacing, plot, character development and writing is faultless.
No, I don't think you understand, I am OBSESSED!🖐️

The tension throughout this book is palpable. It is a white-knuckle ride to find out where her story is going and I loved every bit of it.

A still relevant look at the way in which woman and people of a lower class are treated in society and the tight-rope on which we walk daily for our own safety against a system that wants to take everything it can get.

This story is so compelling, I didn't want it to end but couldnt read it fast enough. Such an incredible and poignant story told from the POV of the most overlooked people of society. I adore this trilogy and am counting down the days until book #3 release!!!

It was interesting to delve back into Amara’s world in this sequel to The Wolf Den but it was also filling me with anxiety and stress because of all the constant risk to Amara and her friends and household from multiple directions. I somehow found this much harder to read than The Wolf Den, possibly because the stakes were even higher now for Amara and those she was responsible for.

I enjoyed reading more of Amara’s story and the historical insight into Pompeii in that period but I did find this book quite slow-paced and when I reached the end, it was hard to pinpoint much of significance that happened. This isn’t a negative overall, but in terms of personal taste, I look for a story with more progression and key events.

I’m still trying to work out if I like Amara (it’s safe to say I don’t like Victoria, although I do sympathise with her as she is a victim). Amara is full of rage and cunning and has a heart, despite what others might think. I suppose the fact is, she’s human. She has positive and negative traits. She makes good and bad decisions. I found myself trying to work out whether she was making the right decisions, whether she had other options or could have done things differently but ultimately, she’s doing her best with what she has - and to keep what she has. Her softer side is buried beneath a need to survive and the strength in her character and her determination, always planning ahead and believing things will work out, makes it easy to overlook how traumatised and vulnerable she is. We become desensitised to the constant bad news in a way, so my heart never breaks for Amara’s character but I would say she’s very well written - so incredibly human.

Amara's has won her freedom from the notorious wolf den brothel and its cruel master Felix, but life as a high-class courtesan has challenges of its own. Despite the luxurious trappings of her new life, her patron Rufus is not the man she thought he was, and he keeps her on a knife-edge with his constant hints that all this could come to end end with the withdrawal of his favour if she displeases him.

Haunted by the death of her beloved friend Dido and the fate of her fellow she-wolves, Amara is also plagued with guilt about the revenge that Felix may take out of them because of her actions. Despite the advice of her new confidante Philos, Rufus' enslaved steward, Amara puts herself in Felix's power once more in an attempt to help her old friends, even though she knows this comes with the risk that she will never be free of him.

Amara's future is in the balance and she fears becoming more like Felix as she plays the odds to ensure her and her friends' survival, but there is something she is capable of that Felix could never understand - love... and it may end up leading to her downfall...

I loved The Wolf Den and could not wait to meet up again with Amara and the she-wolves in this second instalment, The House with the Golden Door! 

Amara now resides behind the golden doors of the titular house, and is keen to make the most of her freedom, even if the house is rented and everything that comes with it relies on keeping her patron Rufus sweet. As Amara struggles with her new role, Harper blends the contradictory sides of her character to paint the complex picture of a woman who is fully aware of what she must do to survive in a man's world, but who is unable to deny the pull of her heart. For all Amara's fears that she is like Felix, it is her emotions that dictate the direction of much of this story - anger and the need for vengeance battle constantly against feelings of loyalty and gratitude, and love blinds her to the dangerous path she treads - especially when it comes to back-stabbing betrayal. Ultimately she is forced to realise that love is a two-edged sword, and there are heart-wrenching choices to be made.

The Wolf Den was a slow-burn story that builds suspense inexorably to a shocking climax. The House with the Golden Door is a very different kind of beast, with twists and turns from the outset that ensure your heart remains firmly in your mouth. There is a palpable and relentless sense that danger lies around every corner for Amara, which is really interesting since the obvious perils of the wolf-den are no longer the ones that promise to harm her. The life of a courtesan is still one that is controlled by the whims of the men that hold the purse strings, and Amara's determination to command as much independence as she can ensures that there is plenty in these pages to keep the tension and menace at a level that is heart-poundingly intense in the best possible way. 

Harper pulls you in and immerses you completely in the fates and fortunes of her characters, and the way she creates such an authentic feeling of time and place is a delight. The backdrop of Pompeii was wonderfully imagined in the first book, so you felt yourself walking alongside the she-wolves as they laughed, cried, and plied their trade, and now Harper takes us deeper into the places we have only glimpsed from the wrong side of the forum. We see a different side of Pompeii through the eyes of the courtesan, and come to appreciate the importance of rank within their own peculiar profession. We also get to understand what it really means to be a freed-man/woman and the delicate balance that sways how they interact with slaves as well as those who have been born free, and the legal implications of their relationships. Harper explores some new avenues when it comes to the role of women in Roman society too, particularly in terms of sexuality and expectation. And she makes us aware of how far and wide the Roman empire stretches, using the rich clash of cultures and people to bring in a delicious 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' thread.

I loved everything about this stunning novel, including the gorgeous design on the cover. There is no question that this the very best of middle books in a trilogy too - no marking time between a scene-setting first volume and flashy finale here, this is as exciting as they come. It's immersive, intoxicating and brings history alive in a way that makes it so wonderfully engaging. The shadow of the destruction of AD 79 lurks around the corner, and I cannot wait for the final part of the trilogy!

After having read (and loved) The Wolf Den last month, I was very eager to read this one. I am glad to say it did not disappoint. Maybe it was a touch less eventful than the first book, but it just worked for me.

I loved being back with Amara as she negotiates a tricky tightrope of love and life as the concubine of her rich patron. Of course things never go smoothly and it is harder to leave her life at The Wolf Den behind as she initially thought.

There is something very human about the way the author writes Amara’s story as she goes through to day to day life. You feel her anxiety, her hopelessness AND her hope. You feel like you are in Pompeii, like you understand the lives these slaves and she-wolves lead. How trapped they are. I even felt like I understood Felix in one way or another, the way his vileness was created in his past.

As it is supposed to, the love story in this one is heartbreaking and it is hard to see a happy outcome. Yet you hope along with Amara that there will be one day.

If you have not yet started this series, what are you waiting for?!