Stella of Akrotiri: Deminon
Linda Rae Sande
Historical Fantasy/Greek & Roman
Love can last a thousand lifetimes when you’re an Immortal… or so they thought.

What’s become of the Immortal Darius? His wife, Stella, worries about his fate as she rules over their city-state of Deminon, especially when she learns he’s been the victim of treachery. She’ll do anything to get him back.
Enslaved as a traitor to Rome, Darius is forced to fight gladiators as part of the funeral rites of powerful Romans. His years of experience on the battlefield serve him well in the arena—until he’s forced to fight Marcus—a younger, stronger gladiator who is unaware of his own immortality.
Sure he’s about to suffer a defeat by the hand of Marcus, Darius is forced to make a decision that will change his future and Stella’s—preserve his essence by allowing his body to die so that he can live on in Marcus. His two-thousand years of memories and life experiences should be powerful enough to overcome the essence of the untested Immortal. Allow him to return to Stella and resume their life together, even if she won’t immediately recognize him.
But Marcus isn’t giving up so easily. Especially when he meets Stella.
Will Marcus help Darius take revenge on the one whose deceit led to his arrest on charges of treason? Or will Darius’ essence slowly be subsumed, the memories of his nearly two-thousand-year lifespan—and of Stella—fading away in the mind of Marcus?
These Immortals once had all the time in the world. Now it’s suddenly of the essence.
Uncaged Review: This is a slow burner – as I read along, I never even realized that the book ensnared me and when I looked up at the clock, I was surprised so much time had passed, I was that engrossed in the story. I’ve read books from this author before, but this is a totally different style. The world was described so well, that I was able to picture the story as I read along.
Stella and Darius are immortals, along with a handful of others, meaning they really can’t die. Stella and Darius have been together for hundreds of years, but when Darius is set up to be named a traitor, he is sent off to be a gladiator. When he allows his body to die, his essence is transferred into a younger immortal – who he fought in the ring, Marcus. But will the two minds become one and he be able to return to Stella, or will Marcus prevail and Darius be lost to Stella forever?
There are a few really good twists in this that I didn’t see coming, and it was a world that I would happily go back to. There is a lot of sex and some violence that is true to the time period, but there is also friendship, love, honor and loyalty. Reviewed by Cyrene
5 Stars
