“You can have a rest,” Amara says. “It’s alright to have a rest.”

Quite honestly heartbreaking. Maybe some might criticise this book because very little happens, it is full of moments of normalcy and daily interactions. I entirely disagree, because to me the whole point was to give a voice to the voiceless, to say to the reader: 'You are going to know what this feels like. Do not look away.' I feel very protective of the fact that the author dedicated the vast majority of this book to simply following the experience of a group of prostitutes in Pompeii, and never once shied away from the brutality or horrific nature of their lives. On the other side, she also managed to avoid unnecessarily explicit scenes, while including some beautiful female friendships, which, in the hands of other writers, I could easily see being butchered. The ending left me oddly disappointed because I was certain events were going to go a different way, but I know the characters will stay with me. As is hopefully obvious from the blurb, some readers may want to approach this book with a certain level of caution. There was nothing graphic, yet I found myself immensely triggered because of the authenticity of the voices.