Ancient Rome.
A sweet romance.
Pretty admirable characters.
What more could I have asked for?

SOOTHSAYER by Kathryn Amurra

Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Series: Path of the Soothsayer #1
Published: 10 May 2020 | Read: 9 December 2020
No. of Pages: 212
Click here to view Trigger Warnings
Death, Forced Marriage, SlaveryAurelia has always valued love and happiness over titles and power. Though her kind-hearted father has allowed her to turn away suitor after suitor in pursuit of a love she cannot yet define, when he dies her choices die with him. Knowing that marrying the elderly governor of a neighboring province can secure her mentally challenged brother’s safety, she gives up on her dream of finding love in return for his protection.
Cassius is the ill-fated captain of the governor’s guard tasked with escorting the Lady Aurelia and her unpleasant aunt to the governor’s estate. Since the soothsayer Tullia foretold an early death for him, Cassius wants nothing more than to keep his hands busy with labor and his heart free from any connections to the world he believes he will be leaving soon.
As they work through a series of misfortunes on the road to the governor’s province, the words of the soothsayer start to make sense, and together they find the courage to allow their true destiny to unfold.
Thank you to the author, Kathryn Amurra, for kindly giving me a copy for an honest review.

REVIEW
I wasn’t expecting to love the characters that much.
But I did. Especially Aurelia! She is such a brave and determined young woman, unlike many others in that time. She willingly sacrificed her own happiness for the sake of keeping her mentally challenged brother safe by marrying a man three time her age, essentially sealing the next decade from anything more interesting life could offer.
She finally allowed herself to cry, letting all of her sadness, frustration, and loneliness out in sob after heart-wrenching sob.”

I loved how she wasn’t just the perfect heroine, we got a great insight into her fears of a young and innocent woman with a heavy burden on her shoulder, we saw her break at times… and I truly admire her for still pressing on because of her brother. Her journey through this tough and emotional time was just amazing.
And then we have Cassius. Honestly, I was extremely frustrated and irked by his curt manner in the beginning! Thankfully, he warmed up after a while… He became simply charming, and seeing his sense of duty and the guilt he carries made him all the more intriguing and endearing.
“But now I know that it is not Death that seeks you, but you that seeks him, and I am merely an obstacle for you in that pursuit.”
If you all know me, then you’ll know I am not the greatest fan of the enemies to lovers trope. And entering this book I could definitely sniff it out, though it was more of a hate to love, not so much “enemy” (that’s a tad too dramatic!), thus I was a little hesitant. My fears were kind of confirmed in the way the romance was predictable and the starting was quite forced and… awkward.

Despite the rough start which displeased me a bit, I found myself liking the couple more and more! Gimme all that slow burn! I truly enjoyed seeing annoyance stripped and fondness slowly developing between Mr. Bad Mood and Little Miss Sunshine!

After the ice broke and the relationship became “real”, I kept smiling at all the angst and longing which was so sweet in the midst of the knowledge that their love was forbidden… throw in all the obstacles yeah!
“She said that some say life is a journey, but she also said others say life is a series of journeys, each one leading to the next.”
This book is called “Soothsayer” but surprisingly Soothsayers didn’t play as huge of a role as I imagined, but I was still pleased by how it was kind of an important background (you know what I mean?). A Soothsayer is something like a priest who has a special connection to the Gods and can prophesize, usually of people’s futures.
Did I mention how much I love prophecies (thank you Percy Jackson haha)?

Okay, I admit there were some events that were way too coincidental and got my eyes rolling a bit. Nonetheless, I loved the theme of fate and the different interpretations of the Soothsayer’s prophecies which played a significant role in driving the characters!
Addressing the plot, I would say Soothsayer felt more of a relationship driven novel to me and I didn’t mind the lack of a big plot! The writing was simple but engaging as well, though certain parts felt a little draggy such as the long dialogues . One thing I particularly loved was the dual POV in third person, somehow there was this distinct feel to Aurelia and Cassius’ voices, something which I enjoyed immensely!
“I give it freely of my own will, and I choose to give it to you. Accept it or don’t, as you wish.”
Overall, I feel that Soothsayer is a solid historical romance that definitely surpassed my expectations with it’s endearing characters, swoony but sweet romance, and the little touches of fate and prophecies!
rating // ★★★½

Yes yes yes to everything you said here!! I so agree, Aurelia was the BEST and I was rooting for her every step of the way 😍 And I get what you said about Cassius too — it took a bit for me to warm up to him but once I did there was no going back 🤩
And omg I’m so glad that it wasn’t just me who had with the beginning!! I was cringing inwardly every single time Aurelia randomly thought about Cassius when there was no reason for her to…. but I loved how it quickly went uphill from there 🥰
Great review Cherelle!! I’m loving the new graphics as well ❤️
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Ah thank you Abby, I’m so glad we’re on the same page about the two! Ahh same, it was kind of weird but then again I wasn’t really sure because I am no expert in romances. Definitely, the progression of the romance after the rocky start was so sweet! Thank you so much for commenting Abby! 🥰
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oooh this one sounds interesting! also loving the new graphics and dividers— looking snazzy! lovely review!
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Soothsayer was definitely interesting, especially with all the prophecies and Ancient Rome setting… aww thanks so much April! 💗
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Great review, Cherelle! I especially love the way you described Aurelia. 😍
I agree with you that the romantic relationship was a hate to love thing. I think because both are initially attracted to each other but believe they’re not fated to find love that they find reasons to get on each other’s nerves, haha.
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Thank you Noelle… ah I’m glad I did Aurelia’s character justice because she’s so amazing, I was constantly hoping for things to work out for her and her brother the whole time. Haha, that is a good way to put it! 😂 Thank you for your comment! ❤️
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Incredible review, Cherelle! I usually don’t read romance but your review is too tempting 😂
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I don’t either but this one was so sweet and the happy ever after was so satisfying haha… I’m glad to hear that, thank you D! ☺️
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Your review is so tempting. Your emotions throughout made me feel like I read along with you. Nice review Cherelle 💛
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Ahh I’m truly pleased to hear that. Thank you for such a sweet comment! 😊
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No problem Cherelle 🙂
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Aww! This sounds soo heartfelt 🥺🥺
I love the way you rate the books😍 great review! I am glad you liked it!
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Indeed it was and it turned me into a hopeless romantic 😂😅 Ahh thanks so much Ashmita! 🥰
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Me too! Hehe
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This book sounds really interesting!! Great review!
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💖💖
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Sounds a little cheesy for me, but your review on it was good!! Thank you for putting the trigger warnings cause I’m always on the lookout for relatively clean books, and some people don’t let you know and that gets on my nerves. Thanks, Cherelle! xoxo
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Haha I admit it was quite cheesy at the start and the happily ever after was kind of predictable but made my little heart happy! Thank you anyway Millay! 💕 Ahh yeah I just started it recently because of some run in with books that I was totally not prepared for, can truly relate!
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pErcY jAcKsOn yEs
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yeEhaWwW
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This sounds so good! I’m really in the mood for a good historical romance after the last one I read was so disappointing. I love your reviews so much, I’ll probably be adding this to the TBR soon!
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Yay, I hope that Soothsayer satisfies you, and you’ll turn into such a hopeless romantic for the two like I did haha. Thank you so much Sanah, it means a lot! 💗
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this is such a great review!!!!
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💞
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The graphics in this post are so stinkin’ cute!! ❤
And I'm glad to hear you warmed up to the romance! Plus, anything with prophecies in it has my attention 🙂
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Thank you Lulu! Ahh I’m so happy to hear that I’m not the only one instantly drawn by prophecies! 💗
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Great review! I love historical romance and I love that this seems a quick read! 💗
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Thanks! Yep, it’s less than 300 pages, and I devoured it in one sitting… a great way to bump up your total number of books for the year haha! ❤
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This book sounds interesting! Thanks for the review! 😀
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💕
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