3.5 stars 
 A strong tale about two men plotting to kill Emperor Nero. I had an issue in that I don't know as I really believe that the two of them fell in love over the course of a few days and less than a handful of exchanges. That felt too much like insta-love to me. They didn't really know each other and their trust was tenuous at best - mutual survival essentially. Having just read The Island recently, which has a similar unwilling slave/captor's associate relationship in it, I thought The Island did a better job of emotionally grabbing me and making me feel for the main characters' situations. This one felt rushed by comparison. The end also felt like a touch of a cop-out (view spoiler)[in that they weren't able to go through with their plan to kill Nero and somehow either manage to escape with their lives or die together. Nero leaves before they can make the attempt on his life. (hide spoiler)] So, overall, enjoyable read, but not the most emotional of her backlist in my opinion.