Dominvs (Dominus)

I really liked this book. Enough to immediately buy the next two at full price (which I hardly ever do) and be irritated at having to wait for the 4th (and last) book.I’m going to jumble all three books together in my review and it’s just going to be snippets of thoughts, but it should give you enough info to decide if you want to read the Dominus series. The characters are interesting and the story, though drawn out, is compelling. It’s a bit like an ancient Roman Outlander or even Game of Thrones. Lots of characters, lots of politics, but still about human nature.The “relationship” is pretty slow to develop. Not the interaction between the two MCs, but the actual personal relationship. In the first book, they don’t spend that much time together. But it’s worth the wait. The sexytimes are amazing. I loved them. The relationship is open (at least on Gaius’ part) at the beginning. But, that’s how ancient Rome was, I imagine. Masters could do whatever (and whoever) they wanted and slaves did whatever the masters wanted. But, if you’re not a fan of lots of partners, you’ll be pleased by the time the third book rolls around. Still, there are a lot of sexytimes with a lot of different characters taking part.Kenwood does NOT hesitate to kill off some of our favorites, which made me very sad. :( I love a number of the secondary characters (there are a lot of them). I hope we don’t lose any more. It does get a bit hard at times to remember who is who (many of the names are similar), but Kenwood has provided a glossary of names at the end of each ebook.By the third book, the Lucius mystery that the first book focused on seems almost forgotten, but I hope/assume it will be resolved in book 4.The ghostly visitors in the second book (or maybe the third, whichever) were a bit hard to swallow as there really hadn’t been any indication I was reading a tale with supernatural/paranormal tendencies. But, I just went with it with a little bit of eye rolling. At least it was a way to get some more time with one of my favorite characters.The oddest thing (to me) is that the ancient Romans and Greeks speak like modern day Brits. They use words like “birds” for females, and “bloody” and “dandy chap.”Though Kenwood has clearly done a massive amount of research on ancient Rome, the dialog feels like a bit of a cop out. It’s much easier to write conversational Brit speak than a translation of BC Latin. Having said that, I’m OK with the dialog as is. It’s MUCH easier to read and I don’t have to slog through something like this for four books:“A few days afterwards Regulus himself met me when I was paying my respects to the new praetor. He followed me thither and asked for a private conversation. He said he was afraid that something he once said in the court of the centumviri rankled in my memory, when, in replying to Satrius Rufus and myself, he remarked, "Satrius Rufus, who is quite content with the eloquence of our days, and does not seek to rival Cicero." I told him that as I had his own confession for it I could now see that the remark was a spiteful one, but that it was quite possible to put a complimentary construction upon it. "For," said I, "I do try to rival Cicero, and I am not content with the eloquence of our own time. I think it is very stupid not to take as models the very best masters. But how is it that you remember this case and forget the other one in which you asked me what I thought of the loyalty of Metius Modestus?" As you know, he is always pale, but he grew perceptibly paler at this thrust. Then he stammered out, "I put the question not to damage you but Modestus." Observe the man's malignant nature who does not mind acknowledging that he wished to do an injury to an exile. Then he went on to make this fine excuse; "He wrote in a letter which was read aloud in Domitian's presence, 'Regulus is the vilest creature that walks on two legs.'" Modestus never wrote a truer word.” (That's a letter from Pliny the Younger, by the way).

I originally found this story on AO3 (it's not the whole story though-only 14 chapters), and skimmed through it, not quite sure if I liked it or not. I honestly forgot about it until I saw a posting on FB from one of the author's friends that the story was free on Amazon, and thought I'd check it out. As I read I came to realize that honestly, it's a really good story. Love, revenge, jealousy. It has it all. I'm moving on to the second book, and hope the third comes out sooner rather than later. I really think I'm going to enjoy this series as a whole.

Dominus is the first book in a historical Roman series with an overarching plotline. This book is incredible. Set in AD 107, J.P. Kenwood takes the reader on one of the most intense reading journeys I’ve been on in a while. Gaius Fabius is a Roman general potentially in line to be the next Roman emperor. He’s a fierce and powerful warrior with a lusty appetite and dominating spirit, and he is in the market for a new pleasure slave. Allerix is a captured Dacian who just had his world torn apart by the Romans. Enslaved and sold to the general who destroyed his people, Allerix now has to adapt to the life of a Roman pleasure slave while plotting his revenge.The basic plot of the book sounds simple, but there is nothing simple about this beautiful and intricate book. Dominus (which is the Latin word for master) introduces the reader to the wonderful and erotic world of aristocratic Romans and their pleasure slaves. This book introduces the main characters and sets the stage for more drama and suspense to follow in book two. Luckily, book two is out already, so there’s no real cliffhanger since you can instantly grab up the next book.It’s hard to put down Dominus, the characters are enthralling, the plot is intriguing, and the sex scenes were erotic and steamy. Plus, you can tell J.P. Kenwood knows the ancient Roman world very well. There are so many well researched little details that make you feel like you are transported back into ancient Rome. It’s an extraordinary experience, especially since the Romans views on life are so different from our modern world. There are no moral qualms about destroying entire countries and enslaving people. And although it can be hard at times to read such cavalier opinions on what we see as atrocities in our contemporary world, it also brings a raw edge of realism and historical accuracy that is fascinating to explore.The audiobook has a dual narration featuring Hannibal Hills and Nick J. Russo. These men did a fantastic job with the audiobook. I loved their voices and how the voiced each character. There are a multitude of characters, so it was amazing how well they were able to make each character distinct and unique—I had absolutely no trouble following in the audiobook and differentiating each character based upon their voices. The narrators also did a fabulous job with performing the book. There are a lot of scenes with raw emotions that require a certain energy in order to be performed well, and the narrators met that challenge and exceeded all my expectations. The audiobook production was also well done. There were no glitches or mistakes, and there was a wonderful use of music that enhanced the experience without distracting from the book. I was utterly captivated and loved every moment of this audiobook.I highly recommend this book and I look forward to starting book two.

I really enjoyed this book - the author is clearly skilled & knowledgable on Rome and Roman culture/ behaviours. I actually learnt stuff from this book, and was inspired to research more on other topics raised throughout the text. The characters are all mostly engaging and likeable, but I agree with other reviewers that the central character of Allerix is weakly drawn and poorly developed (he’s the least interesting of any of the slave characters, so I always felt frustrated when time was spent on him and not Simon or Nicomedes). The m/m action is hot, and not at all what I expected (it’s a different spin on normal m/m fiction). All in all I loved it…and would’ve quite happily lived in the Gaius Fabius mansion in Rome at this time!

When I read the synopsis for this book, I was interested. When I heard it was coming out on audio I was thrilled. Then I listened to the book and I’ll admit I’ve struggled a bit with writing this review. Some reviews are easy, some are challenging. Some books I finish and I immediately put pen to paper (metaphorically) so I can write down my thoughts and share them right away. Other times I sit back and think about what I’ve listened to. Try to find the right words. This was definitely one of those books.I’ll start with the narration. I was somewhat surprised to see Nick. J. Russo was one of the narrators. He’s reliable and competent, to be sure. Recently he tackled N.R. Walker’s SIR, which definitely required an accent of sorts. He’s not my first thought when I think of accents, and when I realized his part in this book, it all made sense. His role is minor but important in starting and then tying up this part of the trilogy. Hannibal Hills carries the load of narration in this book and he’s a great choice. This is his first m/m book but he’s done plenty of others audios, including many on the dark side. Since this book has moments of great darkness, he’s perfect for this story.So on to the story. I’ll start by saying there’s a lot going on. Plenty of characters, tons of intrigue, and several different storylines. This book is the first in a trilogy, so all this world building makes sense. The year is AD 107 in the Roman Empire. Hedonism abounds as does violence. This book has plenty of both. I’ve read other books from this ancient history including Axios by Jaclyn Osborn and Nova Praetorian by N.R. Walker. I enjoyed both of those tremendously, and so had high hopes for this book. Compared to the world we live in today these books tell of a time when survival wasn’t guaranteed. Gladiators and Spartans lived and died by the sword. The level of violence in all these stories matches their times.I liked Allerix. As a slave he was, of course, sympathetic. I liked that he kept his agency, using his cunning to survive. I am definitely interested in seeing where this plot lines goes as he becomes more entrenched with his captor, Gaius. I am hoping books 2 and 3 will eventually be put out on audio so I can see where thee story winds up. I love a good enemies-to-lovers story and with one whose stakes are this high, I’m excited to see what happens next. The book ends of a cliffhanger so consider yourself forewarned.

I'd had this on my tbr pile for quite some time and I'm glad I waited until the second book came out in order to read it as Dominus ends on the brink of a major cliff.The characters in this story are brilliantly set up in this book. J P Kenwood creates a brilliant cast of players whom I have begun to feel great fondness for, even Fabius, the central Dominus character of the story. Who is not easy to like. We see him through the eyes of all the characters around him and their affection for him suggests that there must be something about him deserving of love and loyalty. Though to be honest, I spent most of Dominus wanting to punch him.Max, his freed slave and client is a decent guy, a man finding his feet as a foreigner after years of having a master.Allerix, the captive Dacian prince is playing a long game and my curiosity about him drives me forward to read the next book.Lucius, Gaius Fabius' best friend, stole my heart a little. Through his eyes and words we learn the most about the boy Fabius was and the man he now is.Their story is bookmarked by a prologue and epilogue set in the modern day and centring on an excavation in Rome that hints at many possible outcomes for this storyline.The omniscient narrative, swinging back and forth from one point of view to another kept the storytelling pacy, though sometimes made me backtrack to be sure of who was speaking. It is easy for an Omni POV to be done badly, and this was not the case with Dominus.All in all I'm looking forward to volume 2.

This is a fairly simple story but it is well written. There are about 5 books in this series and amazon on ly holds this one and book two I hope it gets the other books so that readers can complete the full story. If the other books are similar to book one you are left at a cliff edge so you feel you must read the next book to finish the story. I already have book 2 so I hope the rest become available from amazon if not I will go direct to the publisher.

I like the idea of "enemy to lover" and ancient Roman setting is just perfect. It turns out to be a big dispointment and I regret the purchase. 1) It takes forever for the story to actually kicks in. 2) Names are ridiculously long and similar to each other. Half of the time I have to trace back to remind myself who is who. 3) All his life, Alle hates the Roman and Fabius in particular for destroying his country, his people and his family. All that hate melts like candle after some handjobs/blowjobs and he can't resist his master simply because he's handsome, all in a span of a few days. Likewise, Fabius is drawn to Alle for his look, nothing interesting about this character. Their chemistry falls flat and shallow. So no, I won't buy book 2.