Happy Birthday Rome! Feast of Sorrow Giveaway!

Did you know today is the 2770th birthday of Rome?  That's a lot of candles!  To celebrate, I wanted to tell you about a great book I am reading about, Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King.  It will be published next week and it is a historical fiction piece centered around Rome with a focus on the cuisine.  Here is the scoop....

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 denari. 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' help he soon becomes known for his lavish parties and fantastic meals, while Thrasius finds a family in Apicius' 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.

My Thoughts:  As you all know I am a big fan of historical fiction so this one is right up my alley.  I am not quite done with it because the kiddos have been home from school for vacation this week and we have been go, go, go.  But, let me tell you, every chance I get, I have been escaping to Ancient Rome courtesy of Crystal King.

Crystal King is wonderfully talented with her descriptions allowing the reader to be swept right into the story.  You can tell she did her homework for this book (she actually spent five years on her research!) because she is masterful at bringing not only the setting and politics of Rome to life but the details of the cuisine and dining customs.  It is truly remarkable.  In addition to the outstanding setting she creates, King has woven a fantastic story of a phenomenal cast of characters who provide lots of drama over the span of the book.  I adore my children but I am happy for their moments of quiet because I want to get back to my book!

In addition to this great book, Crystal King has also released a digital cookbook with some delectable recipes from Ancient Rome like this Fig Cake (Yum!!)...

Palathai (Fig Cake) by Crystal King
This is, without a doubt, one of the easiest ancient recipes you could ever try! These no-bake cakes, developed in early Greek and Roman times, are still popular in Egypt and Turkey. You can find similar fig cakes sold at cheese shops and Whole Foods for astronomical prices. The Suda Lexicon, A 10th century encyclopedia chronicles the ancient recipe as:
Palathai are cakes made of figs. And cakes of palasiai, that is of dried figs that have been squashed.
❧ 14-18 oz. dried figs ❧ 8-10 hazelnuts or walnuts chopped ❧ 1 tsp ground coriander or ground ginger ❧ 1 tsp white flour
1. Remove any fig stalks and use a food processor (or blender) until the figs form a sticky paste. 2. Mix your choice of nuts and the fig paste together. Take the paste in your hands and form a dense, round, flattened cake.  3. Mix together the flour and your choice of spice. Dust the outside of the cake with the mixture. Cut into small wedges.
Leftovers wrapped in plastic will keep for a week.

You can pre-order this book today from Amazon

Giveaway Alert! I am also thrilled that the publisher is very generously offering one lucky Reviewed by Mom reader an autographed copy of Feast of Sorrow plus a digital download of Crystal King's cookbook! Thank you very much to the sponsor and good luck! Happy Birthday Rome!! a Rafflecopter giveaway