This is a beautifully written debut novel! I was instantly drawn to the premise of this YA novel—two queer boys navigating the streets of ancient Pompeii, just before its inevitable collapse. You don’t often come across a story like that, and the beautiful cover didn’t hurt either. The novel certainly delivered a unique and well-written experience, featuring two distinct main characters.

3⭐️s

Thank you to NetGallery and the publishers for letting me read this eARC. This is a unique story and I think for some this may be hugely meaningful, unfortunately it did fall a bit flat. My “qualms” would be just that I didn’t find myself connecting with these characters. I had expected to ugly sob by the end but the end wasn’t of my expectations. I will agree with a few other reviewers that Loren did not have a fully fleshed out character arc by the end. But I do think by the end we did see he was on that path. This wasn’t life changing but it wasn’t bad, it just felt a bit long to me, especially near the end. I may also be thrown off due to the fact that this was a very easy read and I’m not sure but the writing was very modern for the time period for some reason. I think what I’m saying is that I didn’t feel immersed in Pompeii. Overall though I think Cass did well for their first novel and I’m looking forward to see their future work!

Thank you NetGallery and the publishers, once again.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree Teen for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I love historical books and books that incorporate Greek mythology. I will admit that I have stepped away from YA books for the most part, but I thought this book would be up my alley.

Unfortunately I found this book to be bland. I didn’t really care about the characters and the writing of them was a bit juvenile. This led to the pacing feeling very slow.

This book wasn’t for me but I’m sure it will find its audience.

Bawling my eyes out because Biehn ripped my house out and made me watch it get crushed.

This book was so sweet and tragic and I will never be the same.

And not only were the characters fantastic and the plot 100% there, but the cover ate down.

Thank you.

The premise SOUNDS like I should be the target demographic for this book: I love ancient history, I love LGBT romances, I love mythology. So what went wrong here?

The writing is...very stilted and awkward, even for Young Adult. Sentences are short, choppy, and full of grammatical errors, typos galore. I know that at time of writing it's an ARC, but I hope lots of care is given in the editing phase. The other big negative for me is that this was only available to me as a PDF because for whatever reason the author, publisher, or NetGalley didn't want this book in particular to be available in EPUB format. It's also not listed for sale on the kindle store, so I have no idea if it ever will be. That's a pretty big negative for me as a reader to be totally honest with you; I'm blind in one eye, I really need the ability to adjust fonts and sizes so I don't get migraines. It was a miserable experience to read through this just for the poor formatting alone. I wouldn't have requested it if I knew in advance I wouldn't have the option for EPUB.

The story itself is fine. The romance is fine, the characters are fine: it's very YA, and whether that's good or bad is up to you. I didn't grow up on Percy Jackson so I don't have the nostalgia for it the author's probably hoping for to boost my opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vesuvius follows a clever thief named Felix, who is trying to escape a past that he cannot remember. After stealing a precious artifact, his memories begin tp resurface. Our other main character is Loren, the ambitious temple attendant who keeps seeing Felix in his nightmares that surround the apocalypse. And of course, their paths cross.

This story, at its core, is about class, religion, survival-autonomy and of course: love.

I thought this story was intriguing to say the least. It was a captivating story for the most part. I think others will enjoy the elements of survival and autonomy that is throughout this story. I think, however, I will listen on an audio format if it is released. I might enjoy it more that way.

VESUVIUS is an explosive romance set in the final days of Pompeii. With mystery and action, hurt and hope, love and loss, it captures the suspense of the looming catastrophe while offering the reader a rich portrait of the myriad lives of the ancient city.

More than that, VESUVIUS is a book about healing. Felix, the main character, is grappling with childhood trauma he doesn’t fully understand. Throughout the book, he learns to reclaim his agency and autonomy. Readers seeking representation of that particular type of trauma will hopefully find comfort in his arc.

VESUVIUS is suitable for ages 14+.

This book is "ok" for me (altough I have to admit that I hate-read almost 60% of this book). It's not bad, but it's not good either. I actually really want to like this book and rate it higher, honestly because of the cover and the synopsis are promising.

I read both The Iliad and The Song of Achilles, and the way the author kept referencing to Patrochilles is (sorry) annoying (don't get me wrong, both Iliad and TSOA are my all-time favorite reads!). It makes this book feels like a fan fiction, an alternate universe for Patrochilles. It feels like this book is trying too hard to be something it isn't!

It was difficult to be emotionally connected to the story and the characters. I feel like it's missing one or two chapters for the first 20% of the book. It's lack of background story, and when things are revealed, it feels too abrupt.

The conversations are so insufferable. It's bland, it's emotionless, as a reader I cannot connect and feel the emotion that the characters feel, and this is bad because it affects my reading experience. (There's this scene where a female character (can't remember her name) had a supposed-to-be emotional convo with Loren (where Loren almost cried over it) but it feels flat. No emotion's delivered, so I can't feel the emotion the MC feels.)

Another issue is with the pacing, it's dragging and it's frustrating to read. Nothing's really happen but two boys arguing over something (it's the helmet Felix stole) without actual solution. They just bicker, and it's frustrating. And Loren tried to play hard to catch makes me want to DNF it real bad. (Maybe I really should just DNF it).

It is confusing almost the entire story but I blame it for the format. The pdf format is tough to read on my e-reader (due to small font), so probably it's the main issue as to why I can't really enjoy the story ;(

I will definitely give it another try once the book is published, who knows I might change my rating later. But for now, it's 2.5⭐ rounded up.

arc review | vesuvius
2.5 ⭐️
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Felix is a cunning thief. Loren is a temple attendant. Thrown together, the boys have to piece together their fates to make it out of a burning city. An exciting queer YA fantasy debut set in ancient Pompeii.
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Thank you NetGalley and Holiday House/Peachtree for the ARC!
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I’ve been obsessed with Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius since I was around thirteen/fourteen years of age. I even visited a Pompeii exhibition in Canberra recently because I am just so fascinated by this ancient city and what has been preserved due to the volcanic ash. You can imagine, then, that when I received this ARC, I was beyond excited. And as much as it breaks my heart to say this, I was REALLY disappointed.
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The 2.5 stars are for the last 20% of the book that actually had me somewhat interested in unravelling the secrets that were being revealed. But other than that, I was bored. For a book titled ‘Vesuvius’, I thought the eruption would have had more pages dedicated to it. It seemed to have happened so fast and I found myself thinking: Is this it?
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I did not like the characters at all. There was no growth. Their relationship, to me, didn’t make much sense, especially since they didn’t know each other for very long.
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I’m really upset I didn’t enjoy this. I don’t think this book is objectively bad or anything like that. All my thoughts are subjective. If you’re a fan of YA queer fantasy in an ancient setting, I do think you should give this one a go. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.
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Release date: June 03 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree for the Arc in exchange for a review!

A great retelling of what happened during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. I immediately loved both Loren and Felix as characters and their budding romance that took place throughout the short span of a few days. I did like the mystery that both characters had regarding their backgrounds. Although it was easy to guess what they were, I still enjoyed how the author revealed their backstories during the book.

My one gripe I had with this book would be the modern slang that was used throughout the book, as it was supposed to be set during the Roman period yet the teens were speaking as if they were of modern times. The pacing of the book was also a bit uneven. It was a bit slower at the beginning and really ramped up during the last 100 or so pages (you could probably guess why that may have been the case). This caused the development of the characters to feel sort of rushed towards the end of the book rather than them developing throughout the novel.

Overall, I think this book was well written and I really enjoyed reading it!

Vesuvius follows two boys in Pompeii with an inexplicable, ill-fated tie. Loren has been seeing Felix in his visions for ages, but those visions never bode well for Pompeii. Felix has been running his whole life, never staying long in one place. Pompeii becomes an exception to his many rules because of Loren, and when Mercury's helmet goes missing.. its definitely not Felix's fault. What do these visions mean, what is with all of the damn Earthquakes, and what is Felix's connection to Mercury's helmet?

I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS BOOK AS MUCH AS I DID! I have to applaud Cass Biehn for the way I felt fully immersed in this world. It was clearly lovingly and painstakingly researched. Vesuvius was truly a fun, engaging, and though provoking read. This book will take you for a ride whether you like it or not.
Sometimes I dislike split POVs because I feel like they give me too much of a glimpse into each character's thoughts and there is nothing left to decipher. However, Loren and Felix's mindsets were so different and each had their secrets, (lost) memories, and motivations that I was able to question. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book!

I really really loved this book. The characters truly had so so much depth to them, their motivations are clear without shouting in your face. I found the plot deeply entertaining, while also being suspenseful given the setting. The way the two characters are connected so deeply even before they ever meet, is truly impactful and then their connection is beautiful. I really really loved the side characters in this book, everyone just felt so alive.

I loved this mythical retelling of life in Pompeii. It was a perfect mix of history and fantasy and the dual narratives were great.

The blurb had everything for me to like this book, but it sadly didn't do it for me: there were more cons than pros for me to really enjoying my reading.

The story itself was really interesting, and I really enjoyed how important Mercury's helmet was, as well as Loren's visions and dreams. The plot twist were all way too easy to guess from the start, but the overall executing was done well, without any confusion, so it was ok. The plot was heavy on mythology but also on politics, and as it's something I do enjoy it was great. Felix was also a very interesting character but it feels like too much spoilers to talk about why!

However, I felt like the Vesuvius' eruption, while looking like the main event from the title and cover, was way too much put aside when it actually happened. It felt like it was one of the plot twist, at the same level -yet just a bit more deadly- as any other plot, which felt like a let down.

Also last point:
I won't point out errors and forgotten letters as it's an arc, but I did felt there were way too many historical errors in the vocabulary - words, terms, slangs that are way too recent (compared to the setting) to be used in a book set in 79 AD. I do get that the writing style is targeting young adults and that we couldn't really know how they'd talk back then, but still, that's words that could only date back to the victorian era or a bit before... it really put me out of my reading way too much, making me check fact the first known use of these words.

Vesuvius follows Loren who has been having visions of an unknown boy and the possible downfall of Pompeii. By a twist of fate the two become entangled and they have but days to try uncover what will happen and hopefully make it out alive.

This book was very well written, but I think the pacing dimmed my enjoyment just a little bit. Sometimes things were moving really fast while other times too slow. But one thing I absolutely loved was Felix! He was such a fun character and I got excited every time we switched to his POV. I was rooting for the romance and even though the story takes place over only a few days, I still feel it was done well. Sometimes the things that were said felt a little out of place for the time, but overall still an enjoyable historical YA.

3 stars

Vesuvius was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025–I am not a very big YA reader, but I do love Pompeii, and I love queer fiction even more, so I decided to give it a whirl. For a debut, this novel is pretty good. I see a lot of potential in Cass Biehn’s writing, and I will definitely be reading subsequent books from them; I’m excited to see them blossom as an author. However, while I liked this book, it is held back by a few glaring issues.

Vesuvius follows Felix, an amnesiac thief, and Loren, a prophetic temple boy. The two are brought together when Felix steals something he shouldn’t have, leaving them stuck together for the next few days, all while Loren’s visions become more sinister. This is the entire premise of the book—though, there are subplots that run much deeper.

Already, I have a handful of issues to adress: firstly, while I do like Felix and Loren as characters, I also feel as though they are quite surface level. They aren’t flat but they’re not particularly that interesting. I felt as though I never really got to know them. There are some reveals towards in the latter half of the book that I felt could have been better served if hinted at more prior. This is not to say none of it was foreshadowed at all, but not enough for me to be able to connect dots rereading the first half. Particularly, the reveal with Felix (of which there are many, but other readers will know what I’m talking about)—when I had read it, I was<able to think to myself “oh, that’s why he […]” but it felt more like an afterthought because, and I understand Felix has no memories, there isn’t any sort of involuntary, subconscious reactions or hints that could have lead me to that conclusion reasonably.

And on the topic of our main characters, I would also like to mention that I do think that Felix and Loren don’t have very much chemistry. The romance was weirdly paced (an issue that exists throughout the entire book, I’ll touch up on that) and wasn’t very romantic at all. I don’t know why they like each other—they didn’t have many moments where I could feel romantic tension growing between them, because they very rarely spent any genuine time together outside of progressing the plot. It felt very superficial. But I will say that, while I did find the ending a bit disappointing, it was probably my favorite Felix and Loren, and I found it quite sweet.

Circling back to pacing—the pacing of this novel was weird. The book, in my opinion, was about 100 pages too long. Things happened too quickly then too slowly, the subplots were boring and disrupted the flow of the book (and I felt that they, along with a handful of side characters, ended up serving little to no purpose), the main plot’s pacing was all over the place. My attention and interested definitely waned multiple times throughout the book.

Regardless, I’d still recommend this to anyone interested. The story is primarily good and the book is funny and a good weekend read, and I’m excited to see what the author does next.

Thanks to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for the ARC— these thoughts are all mine.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

I'm not a big history fan, so i really don't know much about the events of Pompeii, so I kind of went into this book blind?

It's not to say that i didn't enjoy it - overall, this was a fun read! I loved Felix and how witty and charming he was. The political side-plot wasn’t my favorite—felt a bit dull? and the Pompeii-fantasy-mythology setting sometimes clashed with the more modern-sounding dialogue.

I also felt that the romance was insta-lovey? but then again the story took place over just a few days... Felix and Loren’s dynamic was still pretty sweet though, and I ended up enjoying their bittersweet ending (even though it pains me <3)

The premise of this novel both intrigued and terrified me– setting a romance right before Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered Pompeii? I'm not usually a historical person, and have been known to dislike books like this, but the magic and the idea that there would be a character who was actively a priest intrigued me. I'm delighted to say that the intrigue won out. This was a fun and engaging book, one that kept up a fast, almost upbeat pace despite the threat that looms. I like what Cass Biehn does here with the concepts and characters. This does feel a bit surface level, but in a way typical to young adult novels, so I don't think it will struggle to find an audience. I think fans of the Percy Jackon series or A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar will really enjoy this.

Thank you PeachTree Teen and Netgalley for the eARC. In exchange, here is my honest review:

In Vesuvius, author Cass Biehn brings the reader to mythohistoric Pompeii on the brink of destined catastrophe. Patricians and priests plot politics in a city beset by oppressive autumn heat, increasingly frequent earthquakes, and corruption, over all of which presides the inexorable Mount Vesuvius. In its shadow, a thief and a temple attendant collide and change each other - and themselves - profoundly.

Biehn builds a Pompeii full of magic and echoes of the gods; a city which feels lived-in by Biehn’s diverse cast of characters, and which provides the perfect stage for Felix and Loren’s story as the two confront the nature of fate, faith, and identity. Biehn is skilled at curating a sense of place and atmosphere, immersing the reader in the building anxiety and anticipation of a city nearing Volcano Day. They effectively channel the dramatic irony implicit in situations in which the reader is aware of an historic inevitability hidden to the characters in such a way that builds tension rather than unravels it, and carries this well through the majority of the novel.

The pacing did shift dramatically in the last 30 or so pages of the book in a way that allowed for some lovely character moments, but at the cost of tighter narrative cohesion. In a few other places throughout as well, I found the novel’s pacing to meander - not necessarily unpleasantly, and not to the degree that it does at the very end, but in a way that I can’t help but think could have been tightened. I found this only mildly distracting - enough to make note of, but not enough to prevent me from enjoying the read anyway.

And, to speak of characters and character moments, Biehn handles both Felix and Loren - as well as their cast of supporting characters - with such care and gentle affection that the reader can’t help but to love them too. Both have been battered, running from and towards such different things, and despite - or because of - some prickly edges and hard-headedness, I don’t think that the reader can come away from Vesuvius without an attachment to Felix and Loren, and without wishing them the very best after all they have endured.

For a novel that centers motifs of faith and belief, I would have liked to see a deeper exploration of Loren’s faith. At one point he tells Felix that he “chose devotion”, and I would have liked to understand more deeply what choosing devotion - devotion to Isis, specifically - means to Loren on a spiritual level. I think we can pick up pieces of that puzzle by looking at what choosing devotion to everything else in his life means to Loren, but it’s still something I would have liked to see delved into a bit more than it was.

That said, there are only so many pages in a book, and perhaps it is for the best not to mire the narrative in sticky philosophical discussions. Either way, if the novel lacks anything when it comes to an exploration of systems of belief, Biehn makes up for it in heart, in kindness, and in their ability to take the reader’s hand and lead them through the pyroclastic blast of loss, grief, and identity, and back into the light.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to read “Vesuvius”, and the premise had me hooked from the beginning, as the story is set in Pompeii just days before the eruption of the eponymous volcano. I’m a huge fan of history and mythology, this novel had a healthy helping of both. Felix and Loren are well-crafted and engaging characters, as were the rest of the cast. The conflicts and relationships between the characters were also well-written and I cared about each pretty much as soon as they were introduced. I could not put this book down once I started. Highly recommend!