From the Review Pile (1): Kate Quinn - Empress of the Seven Hills

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.
The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

Title: Empress of the Seven Hills

Author: Kate Quinn

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Released: April 2012
Buy from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookdepository

Summary (via Goodreads):  

From the national bestselling author of Daughters of Rome and Mistress of Rome comes a tale of love, power, and intrigue spanning the wilds of the Empire to the seven hills of Rome.

Powerful, prosperous, and expanding ever farther into the untamed world, the Roman Empire has reached its zenith under the rule of the beloved Emperor Trajan. But neither Trajan nor his reign can last forever . . .

Brash and headstrong, Vix is a celebrated ex-gladiator returned to Rome to make his fortune. The sinuous, elusive Sabina is a senator’s daughter who craves adventure. Sometimes lovers, sometimes enemies, Vix and Sabina are united by their devotion to Trajan. But others are already maneuvering in the shadows. Trajan’s ambitious Empress has her own plans for Sabina. And the aristocratic Hadrian — the Empress’s ruthless protégé and Vix’s mortal enemy — has ambitions he confesses to no one, ambitions rooted in a secret prophecy.

When Trajan falls, the hardened soldier, the enigmatic empress, the adventurous girl, and the scheming politician will all be caught in a deadly whirlwind of desire and death that may seal their fates, and that of the entire Roman Empire . . .

I won this recently from The Maiden's Court, but haven't had the chance to crack it open yet. Historical fiction is usually not my favored genre, but I loved Daughters of Rome and keep up with everything Kate Quinn does now. I read Mistress after Daughters and didn't like it as much, but I think her writing's improved and can't wait to revisit Vix and Sabina.

This meme is perfect for me -- I have so many books I need to get to. Props to Stephanie for starting this!

(Also, the formatting's wonky in this post -- sorry! I'll see if I can fix it.)