Vesuvius is a queer YA fantasy that two boys as they navigate the last few weeks before Pompeii is destroyed.

While I enjoyed my time with this book, I didn't find it quite as impactful as I'd hoped. It felt as though this story was supposed to hold a sort of weight that I just didn't quite feel. I think the fast-paced nature of the writing made it harder to have the slow-building dread that I expected. We learn quite early who our main characters and what their coping mechanisms are, and that stays pretty constant until the end, when we finally get to see more character development. I still found them engaging and I mostly liked their relationship. This book is fairly fast-paced, but it definitely prioritized some elements of the story more than others, and the fantasy elements felt surprisingly insignificant most of the time.

This book wasn't quite what I expected, and I think much of that is just that it fits firmly in YA and reads a bit more as an adventure novel than a historical queer tragedy. I still had a good time with this and will keep an eye out for the author's future works.

This book was one of my most anticipated this year! I read the story “dog of pompei” as a child; something about the tragedy of Vesuvius always enthralled me.

So, when i saw that there is a YA about it, i was instantly hooked.
However, unfortunately i didn’t enjoy the book as much as i thought i will.

I will start with the positives- loren and felix. Such interesting, interesting characters. And their love even more interesting. The build up for them was well, and their complexities was the most enjoyable part.


The plot itself was good too-albeit a but confusing. In fact, i spent more than half of the book confused on what’s happening. It was also a bit repetitive at parts. Loren has visions; felix doesn’t remember. Somehow the helmet plays a big part. But you were told that over and over again without giving you hints to maintain your focus that made it feel a bit dragged.

The writing was good;however, it felt *too* modern for the theme. I feel like i would enjoy cass’ writing more if it was in a different setting.

Also, there was a lot of missing points that i felt like werent developed well.
Overal, a fun read (especially the last 20%). However, not one i would recommend.
(Thank you netgalley for providing me with the arc)

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an Honest Review

3.5 Stars

This is Cass Biehn's debut and I think they have a promising career if this was their first book.

I loved the intrigue with the Mercury Helmet & all the characters felt pretty real. The relationship between Felix and Loren was very sweet and I ended up loving Felix so much. I love the concept of changing your destiny and having choices for yourself instead of having others made those choices for you.

I think the book tried to shove too many side plots into it, the political intrigue would have been good if that would have been what the whole book was about, instead I found myself annoyed everytime we veered from the helmet onto Julia's plot. I feel like once the last quarter of the book started is when it got amazing and I was fully immersed then but to get there took so long and a lot of it just felt like it wasn't really needed.

Nonetheless you found me crying at the end, I saw that Cass Biehn says they write messy queer characters and that is a perfect way to describe this story.

First couple of pages, I found it hard to get into the book. But then suddenly, I was completely hooked and could not put it down. I don't even know why, it just suddenly happened. I fell in love with Felix almost immediately. An energetic mischievious boy - what's there to not love? Loren was very sweet too. I really enjoyed seeing the story unfold through both of their eyes and learning about each more. It was not just a description of the demise of Pompeii but a story of love and friendship between two boys, mysterious elements at play and slightly unexpected plot twists. The story is well written. Hints to what is to come are peppered throughout the book and if you pay attention, you can guess. But there were still some surprises for me. Plus it made me cry - a good sign with me. Means I love the characters enough to feel deep emotions. To me, that's a sign of amazing character building and story presentation. The ending left me desiring more. I would love to continue following the story of Loren and Felix.

📚Felix is a clever thief who can’t remember his past. He start to pieces his past, after he steal a mercury’s helmet. Loren is an ambitious temple attendant and dream about apocalypse and Felix is in too. They both join together after Loren found Felix hiding in his temple. They both work together to stop apocalypse also dealing with Ancient Roman politics. Along the way the start catch feelings for each other.

💭: to be honest, I don’t wanna talk about badly but I don’t enjoy this book. It to be could because it wasn’t the final copy or I wasn’t the audience for it. I will definitely be reread this again it comes out. Just read to the final copy and my feelings might changed. ⭐️ 3.25
Release date, June 3 2025
And thanks to for NetGalley for e-ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Vesuvius by Cass Biehn seemed right up my alley. A historical, slightly fantastical queer story! Love! But unfortunately, by 100 pages in, I could tell this one wasn't going to work out. The writing is choppy, the characters aren't developed enough for me to grab on to, and side plots were still just being introduced. I wanted to love this one, but it just didn't work.

3.5 stars.

I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one, but I quite enjoyed the prose and characterization of Loren and Felix. We had one overarching plot with subplots sprinkled in, and I think that's where I was getting lost. New information kept being dropped in ways I didn't quite understand (maybe because I'm missing information about how things worked during this age) and I'm not sure if I enjoyed the subplots we were given. I think I would have much preferred a narrower focus on the overarching plot than breaking it up with the subplots to move it along. I also could have done with more Felix and Loren scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink | Peachtree Teen for the eARC!

Very impressed with this debut novel. This is a moving book about identity and healing. Trauma haunts this story, and the main characters are flawed and hurt each other, but they also care deeply for one another and help each other learn to heal. They have amazing banter and incredible chemistry, and I was rooting for both of them the whole way through. The last 20% of this book had my heart absolutely racing (and breaking). The ending was beautiful and hopeful.

Most of the book takes place across four days leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius, and the overall vibe is tense and mysterious. Every single side character is important and well fleshed out. The romance is tender, heart-breaking, and life-affirming, and the story brims with lessons about family, grief, trauma, and love. This was such an emotional and satisfying read--I very much look forward to more from this author!

(side note: Since I have seen others mention typos, I will say that I did also notice a lot of typos in my e-arc file but there was a pattern. It must have been some kind of global glitch because it was literally every word that had a double f, and even some with a single f. "Traffic" became "trac" and "muffled" became "mued" etc. It was a bit annoying at times but I'm sure that will be corrected in the final print).

This book was impossible to put down while I hung to impossible hope against impossible odds. Biehn has crafted a masterpiece.

My netgalley time limit ran out before I finished reading... I was 2/3 in and I could tell it was going nicely!
I enjoyed the setting and background stories, all the intriguing twist and angst. Felix is adorable and annoying lol and I really like Loren! I wish I could get to finish it one day but I really enjoyed what I have read!

I actually have so much I want to say about this book I personally loved everything about it. The 4 days leading up to the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius the most tension filled, jam packed 4 days I’ve ever read in a book and I was absolutely HOOKED. Loren and Felix are both complex, flawed characters who I loved and wanted the best for even when I didn’t agree with what they were doing. And the way they fought to create their own identities really tugged at me in a way I can’t describe. Every single character you meet has an important role to play in the story and it all comes full circle at the end and it ties up so many loose ends although there’s some things I think we can still get More from (sequel 👀). Servius was such a hate-able villain I actually had to put the book down multiple times and go for a walk because I was SEETHING at the way he treated Felix. And Loren’s father as well, I wanted him dead the second I heard him talk do not talk to my boy that way. I can see some aspects of this book being a bit polarizing for people who are craving more historical accuracy particularly with the modern language but this was not something that personally affected my reading experience. I really do think this is a book that’s really going to find its audience. I loved my entire experience reading this story and I’m positive there will be more people out there who fall in love with Cass Biehn’s precise and clever writing and Loren and Felixes suspense filled story of love, fate, and everything in-between.

4.75/5 Stars

So much emotion, so many laughs and banter, so much yearning /pos, and the climax was mind blowing!! One of my favourite reads this year so far for sure! You can tell the research and passion that went into the writing of this book and these two beautiful characters

I would say that this book was pretty much middle of the road. I enjoyed the historical aspect but there were parts that were confusing at times (this could honestly be my own fault). The characters were flushed out and well-developed. The writing style is pretty simple so be prepared for that.

Thank you to PeachTree Teen and NetGalley for this ARC!

really love the vibe: gay guys on the run just before Pompeii blows up. Felix was an awesome char and the setting, story... was great. I just didn't love Loren as much as I felt needed to happen to make it become perfect. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

This story had a lot of fun concepts but none of them really seemed to materialize. I wanted to like it but I just couldn’t get into it. Overall it ended up being just fine

thank you netgalley for the earc

This is a biased review from someone who was born and raised watching the Vesuvius from her window, who studied things about the Vesuvius and Pompeii in school.
If you’re not from Italy maybe you’ll enjoy the story more and you’ll learn more.
I’ve wanted to read this book since I first saw it so I was really happy to get an earc. But I found it really really boring. It took me so long to read it. The urgency and anxiety that a book about 79 ac is supposed to have was missing. And I know it is historically accurate that people from Pompeii weren't aware of what was about to happen but Loren knew and it seems like he doesn’t care much and other things matter more.
Also I expected the Vesuvius to be more present and central given the title but it felt like it was more marginal.
The book is not totally bad, the writing is really good and rich and I enjoyed the chemistry between characters and how they had a well defined personality but there are so many elements that I felt didn’t merge well together.
The book has like three plots. The political/social plot was, personally, the most boring and the one that got more space in the book. In Italy you get to study these things in school so I didn’t find it interesting. They were just elements to characterize some characters.
The romantic plot , that I thought was the most important one, was developed in some scattered scenes and honestly I wanted more because Loren and Felix had such good chemistry but they made me feel nothing :(
The mythological plot was sadly the weakest one and that’s a shame because it would have been interesting if explored more.
The book was full of interesting elements that got a bit wasted like the secondary characters that were introduced and then forgotten. I would have loved to know more about Camilia and Elias.

While I can see that research was made, some things left me confused (like the villa in Amalfi??) and i didn’t really get some name choices. But the thing that I really didn’t understand was the use of “pappa”. It’s papà in italian. Nonna and mamma were correct.

I’m really sad I didn’t enjoy this book as I wanted

What a whirlwind ride. Felix and Loren? Give me more. Set in the time before the infamous eruption of Pompeii, this story was such a journey to go on. The characters were well-developed and I loved seeing these two bond and form a relationship. I cannot wait to see what Cass Biehn does in the future. So excited for more readers to get their hands on this wonderful book.

i thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel about my darling volcano boys, i love and adore them both. i think their writing style was incredible, although it felt a little too modern at times.

loren and felix mean the world to me, i loved their romance and when they finally admitted feelings i cheered. i think it is really beautiful that they come together with their vastly different back stories and choose each other. overall the plot felt like a slow buildup up until the volcano exploded and i feel that really worked for this narrative. the tension and the high stakes of it was executed really well in my opinion. seeing everything come together was incredible, i was hooked. i would also like to point out the amount of highlights i have because omfg some of those quotes were absolutely beautiful and heart wrenching (at times).

all in all, a beautiful and fantastic debut!!

✶ thank you netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review ✶

I was obsessed with Vesuvius as a child, so I knew I needed to read this book the moment I heard about it. I mean, The Song of Achilles meets the final days of Pompeii? What's not to love!

While reading, I was thrilled to see how much research Biehn did into Ancient Rome and the eruption of Vesuvius itself. Everything is – at least as far as I know – completely historically accurate, which means a lot to someone who was so enthralled with this historical event growing up. Felix and Loren get into some hilarious banter, and their romance is heartwarming. Their character arcs are handled supremely well, which makes for a very satisfying end to the novel. I read the final sentence a few times. I just loved it that much.

And on to of all this...the cover is gorgeous! I can't wait to have it on my shelf.

3.75

Vesuvius by Cass Biehn. Let’s talk about it. Felix draws you in from the very beginning. He’s mysterious and clever and fast. You want to know his secrets so badly it almost feels like a need. Paired with timid but intelligent Loren, Felix’s trait manage to stand out while also highlighting Loren’s. Opposites attract here. With the infamous Mt. Vesuvius as the backdrop, we know how this story goes. History will always remind us of how this story goes. I enjoyed the events, but I wish we could’ve spent more time in them. Same goes for the characters. I wish this book would’ve been 100 or so pages longer. Felix and Loren were a great, but I would’ve liked to see them more fleshed out. All in all, Vesuvius was an enjoyable book. Vesuvius releases on June 3, 2025! Thank you to Netgalley for early access to this title!