Review: Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear

Title: Mother of Rome
Author: Lauren J.A. Bear
Publication: January 7, 2025 by Ace
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Mythology Retelling
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Waterstones
Rating: 5/5★

A powerful and fierce reimagining of the earliest Roman legend: the twins, Romulus and Remus, mythical founders of history’s greatest empire, and the woman whose sacrifice made it all possible.

The names Romulus and Remus may be immortalized in map and stone and chronicle, but their mother exists only as a preface to her sons’ journey, the princess turned oath-breaking priestess, condemned to death alongside her children.

But she did not die; she survived. And so does her story.

Beautiful, royal, rich: Rhea has it all—until her father loses his kingdom in a treacherous coup, and she is sent to the order of the Vestal Virgins to ensure she will never produce an heir.

Except when mortals scheme, gods laugh.

Rhea becomes pregnant, and human society turns against her. Abandoned, ostracized, and facing the gravest punishment, Rhea forges a dangerous deal with the divine, one that will forever change the trajectory of her life…and her beloved land.

To save her sons and reclaim their birthright, Rhea must summon nature’s mightiest force – a mother’s love – and fight.

All roads may lead to Rome, but they began with Rhea Silvia.

My favorite kind of mythology retellings are the ones that feature the often disregarded female characters. Lauren J.A. Bear did this perfectly with Mother of Rome. It’s the poignant story of Rhea Silvia, also known as Ilia, and the mother of the twins Romulus and Remus who founded the city of Rome. I didn’t expect to find a new favorite read so late in the year but that makes it even more of a pleasant surprise. It was at times a harrowing story but beautiful nontheless with an ending that made me tear up. 5 stars more than deserved!

This was my first book by Lauren J.A. Bear. I didn’t get around to reading her other novel Medusa’s Sisters (from 2023) yet but obviously I’ll need to make this a priority next year because if it’s even half as good as Mother of Rome then I’m sure I’ll love it. I was very impressed by the prose in Mother of Rome. It was just so stunning to read. Another thing I loved was ehe female rage that Rhea Silvia carried throughout the story. It was sharp and fierce and hella powerful. Her character developement has got to be one of my favorites ever.

The story featured Rhea Silvia’s journey as she went from a rich princess to being induced into the order of the Vestal Virgins after her uncle’s coup on the kingdom to being disgraced and sentenced to certain death when her pregnancy gets revealed. But the divine gods have their eye on Rhea and one of them makes a deal with her, to save both her own life but also that of her twin boys. The secondary characters definitely weren’t any less captivating to read about. Personally, I loved Rhea’s cousin Antho and the man she loved, a guard named Leandros, which gave us a little forbidden love within the story. Antho and Leandros were precious together and I just wanted them to be able to be together and be happy. I also loved the appearances of several gods and goddesses like Cybele, Mars and Tiberinus.

Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear was a powerful and stunning mythology reimagining. It was beautifully written, it had passion and fierceness within its female characters who raged against the patriarchy. And even though it’s set in ancient times it also felt very timely and relevant to our current times within we live now. A page-turner of the highest order!

About the author:

Lauren J.A. Bear is a reader and writer, an educator, a troublemaker, and a fierce mama bear.
Lauren was born in Boston and raised in Long Beach, CA. After studying English at UCLA and Education at LMU, she taught middle-school Humanities for over a decade — and survived! She is a teaching fellow for the Holocaust Center for Humanity, and lives in Seattle with her husband and three young children. She likes crossword puzzles and being on or near the water without getting wet.

Lauren is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

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