Cass Biehn’s Vesuvius does a great job of painting a vivid picture of life in Pompeii. From the bustling temples to lush vineyards, brothels, and grand Roman villas, the descriptions make it easy to imagine yourself there alongside the characters. The atmosphere feels rich and immersive, and it’s clear the author put a lot of care into bringing the ancient city to life.

But the dialogue? It felt way too modern for the time period, which was a bit jarring. It kept pulling me out of the story, making it harder to stay fully immersed in the historical setting.

The biggest letdown, though, was the eruption itself—or lack of it. The book spends a lot of time building up to the big moment, but when Vesuvius finally erupts, it’s barely a blip. I was expecting the chaos, the destruction, the sheer intensity of Pompeii’s last moments, but it just didn’t deliver. The volcano and the disaster felt more like a side note than the heart of the story, which was disappointing.

Overall, while Vesuvius has some great moments and a beautifully rendered setting, it left me wishing for a bit more of the drama and impact that made Pompeii’s history so unforgettable.

Rating: 3.5/5

Vesuvius

4/5 Stars 🌟

This book was fantastic! It was definitely slow throughout so made it a long read but I wasn’t annoyed about that. Overall the retelling of pompeii was done so well, I loved the involvement of visions and ghosts to help try and make a change.

Cass did an amazing job at taking us to the places described in the book, I could almost walk through the streets, the vineyard and so much more the world was set so well that I could see it like a movie at some points which you all know I love!

Felix and Loren were so good together, I loved the trying to escape yet failing theme. My only issue with them as characters was when they grew close to each other then went to being closed off again, many times. 😅

The only downfall I had for this book was it felt a-little unbalanced? I felt like so much was happening at some points and I was constantly trying to remember how they fit to the story and there were some jumps that had me thinking ‘oh did I miss the lead up to this?’ But no it was just a jump.

Overall this book was really good and I loved how Cass has managed to make this book interesting and full of story and world building! I highly recommend picking it up on release day and get read for a relaxed slow burn book!

From the way the beta readers have been talking about it for years you’d think it would be a masterpiece. Vesuvius was… okay. I did have to force myself to finish it but there was a lot of good ideas and character work.

I got distracted by the writing. It just felt so off it took me out of the story the whole time. It is a mix between very modern teenager speak and a trying too hard attempt at sounding lyrical (that doesn’t work). I know already that people will be very impressed by this attempt but it’s neither good nor meshes well with the tone of the story. (I know it’s an ARC and I shouldn’t complain but the typos and formatting errors felt like a big disrespect of early readers)

I was very interested when this book was announced because it’s not like we have too many Roman queer stories. Pompeii is an interesting setup which the author manages to fumble in the climax. I was slightly disappointed when I later learn it was sold as fantasy over historical fiction because I understand that one sells better than the other. This is She Who Became the Sun level of fantasy: historical fiction with some ghosts and local religious/spiritual beliefs thrown in.

The overall plot just missed the mark for me, and I think it’s due to the too many competing storylines that turns the volcano into an afterthought or set dressing. There’s the helmet, Felix’ backstory, Loren’s backstory, politics, a side cast too big and undeveloped that I kept mixing up characters. I just got bored? It’s not the first time where I have read YA and the author cares deeply about their characters and their romance (especially online) but then you read the book, and it has a half-baked political plot that was added to pad out the romance.

See that’s the thing, the character work is good I like the ideas that went into creating Loren and Felix. I didn’t care for Felix that much even though he’s clearly designed as the true main character and I’m pretty sure similar to the few things I’ve seen of the author online. He is however a fun and entertaining character with some depth. Loren’s whole Cassandra inspiration is really good. His whole conflict with masculinity and gayness is good. Hell, his whole backstory had me interested. Yet I didn’t care much for their romance. Why? I don’t know maybe because too much time is spent on other bullshit instead of the author’s true interest?

Overall, I am disappointed by a book that has been hyped up for years before its official announcement. I was expecting more tragedy, more engaging writing rather than this.

Vesuvius is a beautifully layered historical fantasy that explores identity, love, and survival against the backdrop of Pompeii's looming disaster. The slow pacing may test patience, but the payoff lies in its intricate world-building and emotionally charged narrative. Felix and Loren’s relationship, while compelling, occasionally feels repetitive in its development, yet their bond remains central to the story's heart. The vivid imagery of ancient streets and temples immerses readers, even as the pacing and timeline leave some plot threads underexplored.

Overall, this is a bittersweet tale with a magical twist, offering a fresh take on historical tragedy while delving into themes of autonomy and fate.

Thanks to NetGalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink

2.5 stars

I loved the idea of following characters in the lead up to the disaster of 79AD, always here for historical fiction and the author clearly knows and enjoys their Greek/Roman mythology.

It was jarring, to have quite so many errors (typos, missing words, sentences which didn’t quite make sense) while reading, but also the choice of language throughout was problematic in setting the time (lots of modern/slang type language that does not fit the period) and in having believable dialogue fitting the circumstances of the characters (when there’s a young child speaking like a 30 something year old, I struggle).

The mystery element seemed somewhat obvious from very early on, and the unpicking/showing of it was bizarrely messy and unclear given how long we had to do so.

Lots of political subplot never being fully fleshed out, lots of unclear motivations. There was, both within the obvious eruption of Vesuvius, and of a subplot for Felix, a lot of building up to the big disaster/reveal and then it was super anticlimactic/didn’t really feel like a big deal/have the necessary description or time spent making an emotional connection.

Liked the premise, some promising characters, overall plot I want to read - just missed the mark for me with the disjointed and underdeveloped writing, couldn’t find my happy spot with the pacing, and had moments of feeling bored and that the dialogue got repetitive without me having the necessary care for the characters to pull me through.

Fast-paced, breathless, heart-tuggingly romantic, and refreshing in ways I can't quite put my finger on. The world was so wonderfully wrought, with its complex humanity (and overarching sense of doom). I loved how accessible the historical aspect was, and I can see it resonating well with teens. Gorgeous, tragic, perfection.

"If I can't figure out how to stop what's coming," Loren said, voice small but serious, "you'll be Patroclus. Dead while wearing another's helmet."

I just adored this. Felix and Loren were so wonderful to follow on their journeys, both together and separate. Unraveling the mysteries of their pasts and their bond had me hooked and wanting to keep turning the page to find out more. Finding out their secrets made everything tie together so well, and both of their pasts were foreshadowed perfectly.

I love the relationship between the two of them and the way the romance seemed to unfurl slowly, despite the small amount of time the story takes place across. The bond between the two of them and what it drives them to do for each other was just so beautiful to read about.

The journey through grief in this story— for lost memories, for recovered trauma, for a life not lived, for lost friends to Vesuvius— was just so wonderfully done. I really felt Felix's struggled with his past and his memory, Loren's loss and love for his friends lost to Pompeii, the horror of being alive when your body should be dead and the knowledge that a person you love could do that to you... it was just all so wonderful.

None of this was really what I expected when hearing about a story set in Pompeii before the eruption, but I loved everything about it. All the characters felt well-rounded and had their own personalities. Even though we didn't get long with them, you could feel their loss through the way Cass wrote Loren's grief at the end. I do wish we had more closure on the other characters, to know what exactly happened to them, but it makes sense for the story that we wouldn't know, because Felix and Loren would only be left with guesses and nightmares.

Overall, this was a wonderful, relatively quick read, that history lovers and enjoyers of queer characters will enjoy!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

I was hugely anticipating this book, and when I was granted an eARC I was over the moon. I really enjoyed this book, as I do all Greek/Roman mythos type books (Percy Jackson child turned Percy Jackson adult right here) and I found both of our main characters, Felix and Loren, to be very compelling (however Loren a little bit less so).

The beginning half of the story was good, but it was a little bit hard to follow sometimes. The entire book happens in the span of only a few days, but it gives the impression that maybe the timeline should have been a little bit longer, in order for Felix and Loren getting closer to feel a bit more natural. At times it felt like the split pov was hurting it rather than helping it, simply for the fact that it was flipping between Loren and Felix every chapter when maybe it should have been more like a few chapters with one character and then a few chapters with the other character, so the readers would get hooked into reading more every time the pov swapped.

That is to say, I loved the mystery surrounding Mercury's helmet! Again, as a PJO child turned adult I kind of saw the twist coming, but it was still a lot of fun to see the characters figure it out for themselves.

Still hate Julia tho

For those who don’t know, I’m a history teacher and teach Cities of Vesuvius as a mandatory ancient history topic to my Year 12s. So when I saw that this book was available to review, I had to request it! I’ll be honest when I say that this book wasn’t 100% perfect, but I was definitely there for the vibes and loved the premise every step of the way. While there are modern elements to this book, I also loved the historically accurate aspects to it too.
There are magical elements to this book that definitely make it interesting as well.
All in all, a read that had me turning the pages with intrigue.

After being accepted for this arc, I suddenly started to see it everywhere. And for very good reason. This might actually be already my favourite read of 2025, and I can see it remaining that way.

I’ve seen this book everywhere over social media and was very excited not just for me but my students who learn about Rome each year but prefer fiction over non-fiction. However, this book is historical in vibes only (and even then, does not commit to those tragic, disaster vibes). Not sure why a book called Vesuvius downplays the eruption of Vesuvius so much. This book is also comped to The Song of Achilles, but the ending takes “the easy way out.” A little more research and commitment to premise would have make this a useful, engaging read for my students.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in June. This is a beautiful and complex mlm with an interesting story set in Pompey. It's sad. It would have worked better imo if it was a bit faster pace. It took me a nit to get why the ending was as it was, it felt initially unnecessary but in the last few pages, it all made sense and I wouldn't want it changed. It's a book about choice and it fits.

3.5 stars. An ambitious, queer romance set in Pompeii just days before the infamous eruption of Vesuvius -- this was a wild ride!

Loren keeps having dreams he cannot explain. So when the star of his dreams, a beautiful young thief named Felix, arrives to Pompeii in the flesh, he sticks with him to try to figure out if he can stop his vicious dreams from becoming a reality and save the city he loves.

These two do NOT gel in the beginning, but the more time they spend together the more their relationship builds. But they are up against political forces in Pompeii and a ticking clock before destruction hits.

Like many other readers, I was a bit thrown off by some of the language in here. Never usually bothers me in a book but it felt out of place for the time period. I also felt like a few key elements of the plot could have used a more thorough explanation, as there were some critical points where I felt like I missed something because it wasn't entirely clear what was going on.

But overall, an interesting YA historical fiction/romance piece! Would read more from this author.

This book is a lot darker than your typical YA book. There is quite a bit of trauma in it, which can be expected from a story that takes place at the fall of Pompeii. If you're looking for a lighthearted gay book, this is not it.

That being said, it is still enjoyable. The author is surprisingly accurate about Pompeii (from what I remember taking Latin, at least) though does change a few things to make it YA. I personally really loved that, as there are quite a few books out there that are only loosely related to Ancient Rome despite claiming they take place in that empire. One of the characters also has touch aversion, which is not something I read about a lot but I think was handled well.

Despite what a couple other reviews said, I'd say the bad decisions made by the characters might not necessarily seem bad at first glance. Some pan out pretty well and where mistakes are made, they're reasonable considering the trauma they've gone through. And while it is a YA book, it has a lot more cursing than I've typically seen, so it's more on the older end. I do think some other adults could enjoy this book without it being spoiled by the fact the characters are 17 (which would have been adulthood at the time anyways, which is another [understandable] inaccuracy for the book).

Overall, if you don't mind a sad book knowing the history of Pompeii, I think it is a good book to read.

The pros: reading this went by quickly, and I really enjoyed the play on why Pompeii was destroyed.

The cons: I had a hard time getting invested in either character, making it hard for me to root for them together. Loren comes across as, for lack of a better word, a bit pathetic. I understand why he is the way he is, but that character type doesn’t ever really fit with my tastes. I also felt like Felix felt pretty one dimensional for most of the book; a thief who doesn’t get close to people and lies a lot. I wish they both had just broken through those archetypes more for me.

I cared much more for the story and the plot than I did characters, which isn’t necessarily a negative thing. Most people have a preference over story driven books or character driven books.

I still had a good time with this and really enjoyed the overall plot, and would recommend it to fans of YA fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for the ARC!

This was one of my most anticipated requests on Netgalley so far. I absolutely love the cover and the concept speaks to me a lot! There are a lot of things to like about the book. Felix was extremely lovable, the mysteries were interesting, and it's very well written, even if it ended up not 100% being a perfect fit for my tastes.

Many thanks to the publisher for allowing me a chance to read this book before release!

Overall rating: 4.5/5
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I'm looking forward to reading it again in the future!

The good:
- The main leads were wonderful, both in character growth throughout the story and in their characters themselves. I felt that their backstories were revealed very nicely, and their relationship progressed in such a way that felt natural.
- The side characters too! Aurelia, Elias, Livia, Nonna... They were such wonderful additions to the story. The only thing I wish we'd gotten was more knowledge of their fates at the end.
- Even knowing where the story was going, thanks to the historical setting, I still felt as though there was plenty of suspense as to what would happen. Yes, we know the volcano erupts eventually -- but it was less part of the plot itself and more part of the setting. It gave the plot a sense of urgency and unease throughout the whole story that really adds to the whole experience.
- I could sing praises about the character arcs all day. Felix and Loren's growth felt natural and I loved seeing how they grew *with* each other. The way their roles almost swapped at the end really highlighted their growth.
- In the end, they're not okay, and that's okay. They went through some really horrible experiences and it would've been incredibly unrealistic for them to immediately spring back as if nothing had happened; luckily, they didn't, and their healing from their experiences formed a large part of the ending. I liked the hopeful tone of the ending, signifying that their growth as people wasn't done yet even though the story was over.

The not so good:
- There's lots of modern language that breaks the immersion of the setting a bit. At times it was easy to get confused about when the book was set -- 79AD? 2025? -- from the way characters spoke and certain things were described. Lots of care was put into describing some things specific to Ancient Rome, so the casual use of modern terms for other things felt super jarring in contrast.
- Typos, typos everywhere. I believe it was an issue with the file itself and they should hopefully be fixed in the final release, but they still made it difficult to read at times
- The climax of the story felt as if it was missing a piece. It may have been the distracting typos, but I felt as though I missed a step in the events; afterwards, when the characters reflected on what happened, I felt myself go "wait, when did that happen???" and had to scroll back to reread in hopes of understanding what I missed
-A minor nitpick: the way the characters' injuries were described made them sound severe, but the way they shook them off and kept going regardless ... didn't. Were they truly injured so badly? Did I misunderstand the severity of their injuries? This was a constant problem throughout the book and I felt myself going "wait no, stop, you're going to reopen your wound!!!" several times

Volcano boys!! This was a highly anticipated read for me, and while it didn't exactly let me down, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. That's not to say it was not a good book. In fact, it was quite well written for a debut novel, and clearly well researched. As a fan of Roman history and mythology, I thought Biehn did a great job of bringing Pompeii and its complex politics to life. At times, the language felt a bit modern for the setting, but it didn't really bother me.
I enjoyed the plot which I think had the potential to be confusing but was actually quite easy to follow. The pacing was pretty good too.
I only had one problem: I don't know if it's just me and my love of slow burn, but the main romance felt rushed. I felt like the speed ran mutual suspicion right to being into one another and then VERY devoted for only having known each other for four days. The skipped the friends stage!
I've also seen a lot of reviewers who didn't like Loren's character as much. I really loved him, though! Maybe even more than Felix.
Anyway, I would recommend this if you're interested and enjoy Roman history.

This is an extremely well-written debut novel. It opens with Felix... a thief who has just managed to steal Mercury's helmet from a temple. When he's spotted, he hides the helmet and goes on the run. While fleeing he eventually darts into a temple and is promptly knocked out by a temple attendant.

The reason he's knocked out is because temple attendant, Loren has seen Felix's face in his nightmares for years and they are dark, dangerous and portentous.

The two characters circle one another for a time, untrusting, nervous... from very different places in their word. The helmet brings Loren visions of the horrific things to come and the adventure begins in earnest.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the mixture of magical and historical. We all know about Vesuvius and Pompeii but this novel manages to spin the huge historical event down to something two characters are dealing with.

I didn't expect such a … poignant ending. Don't want to spoil it.

This is a very solid debut, and I'm happy I read it!

I always applaud authors with dual/multi POV debuts that are incredible. Felix and Loren's respective chapters are distinct from the other, and both boys had struggles and challenges that were so relatable and well told. Four days is really fast for a romance to form, too fast for my tastes, usually, but there's a lot that happens in that time span between these two that I find it realistic that a extremely intense bond would form underneath cataclysmic, end-of-the-world doom conditions. Plus, these two had really sweet chemistry and banter; I couldn't help but be bought into it.

The side characters are pretty amazing, too. Aurelia, her mom, and Nonna add a very nice touch of found family into the story, but Aurelia on her own, despite being the little sister character, had much more depth and nuance to her than I ever expected. In fact, many of the side women characters are complex in a variety of ways, an aspect I found so refreshing in a book with male leads. Camilia and Julia are a couple more examples of this, though I do wish there was more closure on Julia (Though, given the end, it's more realistic, to be honest).

While I loved the writing, with its blunt endings and reliance on character reactions rather than saying their direct thoughts, I also found the modern language to be distracting, especially the swears. I don't know much about Latin, but I don't think they'd curse like how we do today. It was a slight distraction time to time, but not so much to deter my rating too much.

The plot was also very thick with a lot of mysteries, some of which felt underdeveloped and rushed by the end. The whole thread with Julia is the one that sticks out most in my mind, because it comes a third into the story and goes out in a whimper by the end. In fact, the politic side of the plot felt like it was overshadowing the big Vesuvius moment. I do understand that the characters don't know about it, that all the bickering and scheming really don't matter in the face of an erupting volcano, but I really felt all that built up could have been trimmed a little to make more room for that big moment.

Overall, this is a really good debut with only a couple hindrances, but I still think this is still a worthwhile read! I can only hope Biehn goes up from here, and I very much am looking forward to their sophomore book!