Lucia - Steven a McKay

"Lucia is a story that is at once desperate and uplifting, a story that touches you deep in your soul. If you only read one more book this year, it should be Lucia." - Sharon Bennett Connolly, author of Silk and the Sword
What makes life worth living for a slave of Rome? The promise of vengeance, no matter how long it takes!
At eight years old, Lucia is torn from the life she knew. Her village burned to the ground and parents murdered by Romans, she is kidnapped, sold and shipped abroad to the Villa Tempestatis in Britannia to serve the young Roman army officer Castus.Faced with a bleak future of decades of servitude to her master, as well as sadistic brutality at the hands of his manageress, Paltucca, she finds herself fixated by one thought alone: vengeance.
Yet Villa Tempestatis, with its picturesque surroundings in Britannia's green countryside, offers a life that's a little easier than elsewhere in the Roman empire. The slaves form strong bonds of love and friendship, enjoy feasts and holiday celebrations together, and are even allowed, sometimes, to start a family. Many of them are happy enough with their lot. Despite that, every moment of Lucia's life is blighted by her hatred for Castus and Paltucca, and only seeing them both destroyed will bring her a measure of peace, even if it takes decades of work and planning...
This standalone novel from the bestselling author of The Druid tells the tale of one woman's life against a richly woven backdrop of love and hate, revenge and redemption, and finally gives this forgotten class of people a voice.
PRAISE FOR LUCIA
"A compelling 5* story from McKay, an author who continues to amaze me with his writing." - David's Book Blurg
"McKay changes gear and slips easily into a different world and commands it from the start. This is the Shawshank Redemption of revenge stories." - David N. Humphrey, author of Valguard - Knight of Coins
"With the triumph that Lucia turns into, the good Mr McKay is clearly proving he is so overflowing with good ideas and writing spirit that he can throw out Lucia as a one-off, away from the Robin Hood series that made his name, or the awesome success that is the Warrior Druid of Britain series." - Steve Denton of Speesh Reads