Synopsis: “The conclusion of the Circus Maximus series set in Ancient Rome full of fabulous horses, thrilling adventures and an unforgettable heroine called Dido.

When her beloved horse Porcellus sires a new foal, Dido hopes he will be the missing piece in her quest to train the greatest team ever seen at the Circus Maximus. But grief and a desire for revenge are clouding her judgement.

Then her old friend Parmenion asks her to shelter the runaway son of her bitterest rival and help him fulfil his dream of becoming a charioteer. Can Dido and the boy, Damon, help each other find a way out of darkness?

And who will claim the right to be known as the sport’s ultimate champion in one last battle for racing glory?

My Review

I loved this final book in the Circus Maximus series, that follows Dido, a teenage girl living in Ancient Rome and Utica one of it’s North African outposts.

In this book she’s six years older and is breeding horses for chariot racing, instead of racing them. It’s a bittersweet moment writing this review as I’m not quite ready to  say goodbye to Dido, Porcellus and the rest of the characters in this wonderful middle grade series. Once again this book transported back to Ancient Rome and Utica, it’s territory in modern day Tunisia, where Dido is sheltered away from harm.

This book features a young slave boy called Damon who is ‘friends’ with Emperor Claudius’ stepson Lucius. Of course they’re not really friends, but just a convenient playmate for Lucius when he’s wants to escape the palace and watch the chariot racing without his bodyguards. Lucius’ mother, Agrippa has big plans for her son, and really doesn’t want Damon hanging around and spoiling them. She finally snaps and orders Damon to be sent far away from Rome, and her son. Damon manages to escape and finds himself in Utica with Dido and her horses. However, when Dido discovers who his father was she wants nothing to do with him, especially not training him to race in the Circus Maximus!

This was a fantastic storyline for the last book in series, showing how Dido had matured but, still holds a grudge against a character from the first book in the series. It was really interesting to see how she dealt with Damon and all the memories of his father, even though he doesn’t actually know the truth about what his father was really like.

The ending was perfect, tying up a few loose ends, which made me listen to the first book again so I could refresh my memory. There’s also a lovely author’s note at the end of the book, about the inspiration for the series, and what happened to the real life Roman characters she wrote about.

Just like the previous books the story is rich in historical detail making me feel like I was in both Utica and Ancient Rome. As expected Bronwen Price’s narration was superb, she brought all the characters and the story to life perfectly!

Highly recommended on audio of you enjoy middle grade historical adventure stories.