Admonition Review

Hey guys,

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a good week. I didn’t do very much but I have a busier weekend planned so that makes up for the relaxed week.
As always this is a Spoiler Free review.
I was kindly sent this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. So a big thank you to Kathryn Amurra for the copy! She has sent me one of her other books before (Soothsayer Review) which has a few overlapping characters but is a completely separate story. But I fell completely in love with Soothsayer so I did have some knowledge going into this book that I would probably enjoy it because of that. Also Kathryn Amurra is one of the sweetest authors so that always makes you enjoy a book more when you know that the person behind it is a sweetheart.
Anyway, let’s jump into the review.

Title: Admonition
Author: Kathryn Amurra
Genres: Historical, Romance, Ancient Rome
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: June 5th 2021
Pages: Unknown
When I Read It: May 26th 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.67 Stars

Goodreads Description: ~
Sabina is a young noblewoman who, based on her soothsayer aunt’s prediction, believes her words are dangerous and will hurt those she loves. Following the death of her beloved husband, she takes a vow of silence to protect others from suffering the same fate. Ignored and scorned by those around her, who believe her to be cursed by the gods who took her voice, she is content to live in the shadow of her former life, avoiding society as best she can and staying away from the politics and drama of Rome’s inner circles.
Lucius is an unwilling front-runner to inherit the title of Emperor from Rome’s childless leader, Trajan. Although the soothsayer warns him to steer clear of a pretty face that hides a cursed soul, Lucius cannot help but be drawn to the silent and beautiful Sabina. After learning her secret, he is as determined to help her shed her cloak of silence as she is to keep him at a safe distance. But when Lucius becomes the target of a political plot, Sabina must decide whether breaking her silence will save his life or merely seal his fate.
Admonition was winner of the Georgia Romance Writers’ 2020 Maggie Award for Excellence in the Unpublished Historical Romance category. 

My Favourite Quote:

It was so hard to pick a favourite quote because Lucius was such a sweet talker! I swear he was beyond sweet and said some of the most adorable things but I liked this because it was both sweet whilst also showing some of his funny side.

“I didn’t think I would ever hear your voice again.” She pressed her lips together, then smiled.
“Consider this a moment of weakness.” Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed it reverently.
“Let it be a long moment, please.”

Review:

I went into this knowing I was already going to love the writing. Kathryn’s writing is so great and really immerses you into the setting and culture of Ancient Rome.
This was definitely not as gripping as the plot of Soothsayer was (I read that in a single sitting because I could not put it down!) but it was still really enjoyable.
It was an interesting combination of slow-paced in the sense that the main issue of the story manifested a little later into the story than expected, but it was also fast-paced in the sense that the romance (which was central and driving to the plot) felt a little insta-lovey. Especially from Lucius’s POV because, despite never having spoken to her, he describes being inexplicably drawn to her and that he feels that despite her silence he knows her soul.
Usually, this is the kind of thing that has me DNF’ing or at least rating a book 1 star. But there are two things that I think save this from that status – the first being that fate and destiny are pivotal to the plot of this book. It’s all about divinations and whether to believe them or follow your own path. So in this sense, this almost-mystical pull towards each other kind of fits with the world and situations they are in. The other saving grace is that they quickly form more of a bond more than this “connection” and so it becomes trivial in their overarching romance.
These are the main reasons it took me a while to get into this, but after the 30% mark, I read straight through because the other plot picked up and their romance became more. So this is definitely a book that grew into itself as it progressed, with the later chapters being some of my favourites – The humour increased, the plot was gripping and dramatic and the romance was so so sweet at that stage that I was awwing on almost every page.
Out-with the romance I liked the characters, I thought they all had their nice little quirks that made them feel just different enough but also still fitting with the constraints of the historical setting.
So overall this was a nice heart-warming historical romance with a fun criminal-justice twist that I wasn’t expecting. I was definitely less invested in this than in Soothsayer, but it would have been nearly impossible to top Soothsayer because it was just incredible.
I can’t wait to read whatever Kathryn Amurra writes next because they are yet to disappoint me. Great romances, fun plots with a mystical feeling to them, and light humour – so up my street whilst being different to my usual read. Definitely recommend.

Overall Score = 8/10
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

That’s all for today’s review folks.
This releases on Amazon on June 5th! Kathryn’s told me it will be free on the day of publication and also on Kindle Unlimited if this sounds up your street you should definitely pick it up!
I hope you enjoyed this. I don’t usually read historical romances so it’s always nice to change things up and read some every now and then! Anyway, I will see you on Sunday ❤

Will you read this?
Have you read anything by Kathryn Amurra?
Do you have any good historical romance recommendations?