finished reading

Where to begin?  This historical fiction book is a blend of actual historical figures and fictional characters. The research and historical detail are impeccable, and transported me to the lavish side of life in Ancient Rome.  The story follows Marcus Apicius, an ambitious man of vast wealth, who dreams of becoming the culinary advisor to Caesar. Food is the vehicle that would give him prestige and power. His dreams of greatness are based on the young culinary genius, Thrasius.  Thrasius, purchased at auction by Apicius, offers a "below-stairs" tale of Roman high society.  And this story is about more than the complex bond between a master who needs a genius to succeed and a slave who needs a master to survive.  

And yet, I have not mentioned the FOOD!  This book is a gluttonous feast.  The intricate details of the lavish dinner parties and outrageous menus were fascinating.  Attention to detail was Thrasius's specialty, and the descriptions of gourmet foods--from the exotic to the decadent--fascinated me.  Thrasius and Apicius were the gourmands of their time, even writing cookbooks and building a culinary school.

From the publisher:

Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction.

On a blistering day in the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. His purchaser is the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, wealthy beyond measure, obsessed with a taste for fine meals from exotic places, and a singular ambition: to serve as culinary advisor to Caesar, an honor that will cement his legacy as Rome's leading epicure.

Apicius rightfully believes that Thrasius is the key to his culinary success, and with Thrasius’s help he soon becomes known for his lavish parties and fantastic meals. Thrasius finds a family in Apicius’s household, his daughter Apicata, his wife Aelia, and her handmaiden, Passia whom Thrasius quickly falls in love with. But as Apicius draws closer to his ultimate goal, his reckless disregard for any who might get in his way takes a dangerous turn that threatens his young family and places his entire household at the mercy of the most powerful forces in Rome.