Kindle Edition Amazon aljambor.weebly.com Amazon Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Woofie ISBN-10:  0985417021 Type: Fiction Pages: 229 Copyright: Jume 8, 2012 ISBN-13: 9780985417024 Price: FREE! (eBook) Neptune threw his trident at a small island in the Mediterranean, destroying it and killing everyone living there. How that event changed the life of a young Roman girl is the story of Pello Island Cassia.  As a young girl growing up in Rome, Cassia has dreams of marrying a soldier and traveling the world.  But her dreams are dashed when her father announces she must marry.  Cassia is twelve years old. Her marriage is part of a plot by her father to advance his social status.  Her father, Quintus, is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, even if it means selling his only daughter to an old, slovenly patrician named Cicero Gaius.  When Cicero Gaius is murdered the night before the wedding, Quintus is devastated, and plots to find another noble groom. He finds a likely candidate in Darius, a nobleman with a gambling problem and a debt that could cost him his life.  For Darius this betrothal is just a way out of a bad situation, at least until he meets Cassia.  Sparks fly and the two fall instantly in love.   But their union is not to be, and following an unforeseen tragedy, Darius is sentenced to Pello Island for five years. Flash forward two thousand years, where Cassia is living in upstate New York.  She and Darius have been reincarnated several times and they have a daughter named Dulcia.  Rounding out the group is Amatus, a young fisherman who loves Cassia. How did they get where they are?  Why have they been reincarnated over and over?  From the streets of Rome to the Jersey Shore, Pello Island Cassia will reveal how this happened and introduce you to several Roman Gods in a way you've never seen them before.  Excerpt NOVIA’S LAMENT Cassia could see Novia sitting in the kitchen. She still had the same sad look on her face, so Cassia approached her cautiously. When Novia spied her drawing nearer, she put out her hand and Cassia came closer. “I’m sorry, Cassia. You shouldn’t have seen me, well, that way. Come.” They walked to the atrium and sat down side by side on the couch facing the fountain. Novia was trying to decide where to begin her story. She sat back and made herself as comfortable as she could, and Cassia did the same. “When I was thirteen, I was in love with a boy from our village. He was eighteen, tall and good-looking. We would look at each other as we passed in the street and he would smile. His name was Leo, and I asked my father if he would invite him to eat with us and my father agreed. The night he came, I was so excited. We sat across from one another and he smiled so many times I thought my heart would burst with joy. By the end of the meal, I knew he would ask my father for my hand. “We were betrothed and the wedding was set for after the harvest. My father’s farm wasn’t very prosperous, but we always managed to make enough to pull us through to the next year. This year, however, he had to borrow from the moneylender for seed, and he didn’t make enough to pay him back. When the man came to collect, my father had nothing to give him, nothing but me.” Cassia’s eyes widened as she understood. She didn’t speak, hoping Novia would continue her story. “I begged my father, pleaded with him to let me go to my betrothed, to ask him for help. But my father’s pride ran too deep, and he handed me over to the man who grabbed my arm and took me away that night. He quickly sold me to a slaver. Many months passed as I rode in the slaver’s wagon from town to town. He was growing impatient with me as no one would purchase me. I guess I wasn’t pretty enough. “One day we came into a town close to my village. The wagon had bars, but I could see outside well enough. I was dirty, and my hair unclean. I sat in the corner of the wagon, trying to avoid the others trapped inside with me, and that’s when I saw Leo. He was walking with a girl. He was carrying a baby, and he had his arm around the girl’s shoulders. “I tried to stop the tears, but they came anyway. That’s when I knew it didn’t matter, that being in a crowd of strangers was the same as being alone, and love meant nothing. I wept openly until one of the men slapped me and told me to stop. By then Leo was gone and the wagon was set to move on. “Several weeks later, I was put up for sale in the middle of a small city. A beautiful lady approached me and asked if I could take care of children. Of course I nodded and said yes. She bought me, and that’s when I noticed she was with child. After she gave birth to your mother, I raised her, as I raised you. “Agatha was a very pretty baby. She didn’t like being left unattended, though, and would howl if I left her alone for a second. I got used to carrying her everywhere we went. “One day, when she had just turned twelve, her mother called me in and told me that Agatha would be getting married, and that I was to accompany her to her new home. Her husband-to-be was a wealthy merchant by the name of Quintus. I found out later that your father had paid the mistress’s debts and in return she gave him Agatha. “For three days we traveled to Rome. Quintus’ house was much smaller than this one, and the first night I slept on the floor outside their room. Agatha was young and afraid, but Quintus would have none of it. She protested violently until he beat her. I could hear her sobbing as he took her. The next morning, after he left the room, I went in to help her. She was black and blue, bloody from head to foot. Her arm was broken, and she was very quiet. I mended her the best I could, and I gave her some wine. “From that day forward, whenever Quintus would want her, Agatha would have some wine. It wasn’t so hard to be with him then. She could pretend it didn’t bother her. “I talked to Flavius about what was happening, but he was in no position to help. He felt beholden to Quintus, and he wouldn’t come between a man and his wife. They have no rights, you see, women. They have to do what their husbands say, right or wrong.” Novia fell silent. All the life seemed to have drained out of her as she recalled her past. Cassia thought of Agatha sprawled drunk on the floor and her empathy toward her grew. “So, that’s why you’ve given up on love?” Cassia asked. “I guess I just don’t believe in it anymore. Men can say what they want when the mood is right, but they can just as easily say it to another.” “But surely there are some men worth loving, Novia.” “I’ve agreed to marry Flavius because he is a good man and I want a life of my own, but I don’t believe for a second that he loves me. He may harbor some affection for me, but love, no. I am content to be with him because he doesn’t love me.” Cassia still couldn’t understand how any woman could live without being loved. Even if you didn’t love your husband, at least you would have children who loved you. “Can you still have children, Novia?” “No, not at my age. Cassia, I know it’s hard for you to believe, but there will come a time in your life when it’s enough to sit and enjoy the breeze as it blows through your hair. Flavius and I will have a good life together because we like each other.” Cassia sighed. “I guess that’s not so bad, Novia.” She thought for a minute. “Novia, I know how you feel about love, but I think I love Darius.” “You think I don’t know that? It’s been written all over your face since the first moment you met him.” Novia smiled. “You will have to make your own mistakes. A merchant’s daughter in love with an aristocrat is headed for…well, don’t be too disappointed if things don’t work out.” “He’s going to marry me, Novia. He’s agreed, and a nobleman wouldn’t go back on his word.” Her innocence warmed Novia’s heart. To be that young and trusting again; no, it was too hard the first time. “Noblemen have been known to lie, Cassia. But you keep your dreams. I’m sorry if I’ve been a little harsh lately. With all that’s happening, it just stirred up too much of the past. It made me feel so sad for your mother.” Cassia put her head on Novia’s shoulder and held her hand. They stayed together that way until the sun went down and Quintus arrived, looking for his evening meal.

Exciting series
This book is different from many of the usual in the genre. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading other books in the series. It isn't as easy to figure out what will happen as with other books.


Interesing mix of past and present
This book was very well written and entertaining. I really enjoyed not knowing what was coming next. Not your average Roman mythology.

Worth a read
First off, I don't know who wrote the Amazon/Goodreads description, but they left out pretty important details.

Cassia, Darius, Amatus, and Dulcia are Ancient Romans who have been "reincarnated"since their {original} deaths with the memories of al their past lives. I use quotation marks because they aren't born, put into bodies of twenty- or thirty-somethings.

The description of the book is pretty spot on in regards to what happens in Ancient Rome, which encompasses about 3/4 of the book. The other 1/4 takes place today and is actually where the book starts.

Cassia wakes up in a strange apartment, in a strange body, and Jambor takes us from there. We meet Darius and Amatus and learn that this reincarnation is a little different than the previous ones. Not only do our characters look eerily like their Ancient Roman selves, but this is their last chance to get it right. As readers, we don't yet know what "it" is. What we do know is somebody keeps dropping the ball, everybody dies {again}, and they have to start all over.

I imagine after 2,000 years of doing this, everybody is just anxious to move of - physically and spiritually. {See what I did there?}

The books moves back and forth between Ancient Rome and the world of today. We learn a little more back story - why they have so much money, who keeps dropping the ball, and how they're been able to live all these different lives.

The story itself kept me entertained. Ancient Rome Cassia drove me crazy - but I'll just attribute that to the fact that she was 15 and Darius was her first love. We've all been there and you're lying if you say otherwise.

There wasn't a whole lot of character development either. Yes, I could definitely tell a difference between Ancient Rome characters and 2012 characters, but the Roman ones just kind of stood in place as far as that aspect of the story. {In do expext more development in the next book.} Some sentences were a bit choppy and I would've liked a bit more flow to them. I could have had more showing and less telling, especially as some telling details were a bit on the side of "Gee, you don't say" with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

For being one of the core four, Amatus has a small role is this novel. Obviously he'll be playing a bigger part later on since he's one of the lucky ones who gets multiple do-overs.

Cleverly enough {that is if you're interested enough to read the second novel}, Jambor doesn't get too in detail about the WHY of their reincarnations. Cassia makes a comment to Amatus that he "shouldn't have been there" tto which he replies "I made my choice. I've never regretted it." This novel is mostly backstory - here's what happened 2,000 years ago and here's what happening now. {I am planning on reading part 2.}

Overall, it's a nice and easy read. Being a little less than 200 pages it did not take me long to read, but {as I said earlier} the story held my interest and kept me curious. I do wish the descriptions on Amazon and Goodreads included the details of their reincarnations, but I guess that's what people like me are for. :)