Blood and Sand

In an action-packed debut novel, Wyk reimagines the legendary story of Spartacus. It’s a dark day when 17-year-old Thracian warrior princess Attia is sold into slavery to the House of Timeus, after the Romans slaughter her people and kill her family, including her father, the Thracian king. After being branded, Attia is presented as a gift to Josias Neleus Timeus’s champion gladiator, Xanthus Maximus Colossus, who is also enslaved and who loathes the killing he must do for his master. As Attia gets to know those in the household—especially Timeus’s mistress Lucretia, whose abuse at his brutal hands is heartbreaking—her plan to kill the man responsible for her people’s slaughter is shadowed by new purpose and new love for the honorable and kind Xanthus. Attia makes an irresistible Spartacus, an accomplished fighter and a fearless young woman determined to forge her own destiny. Revelations in the finale pave the way for what promises to be an epic battle in the next book. Ages 13–up. Agent: Sandy Lu, L. Perkins Agency. (Jan.)