Generally, I don't read a lot of books from this genre. Is A.D. 62: Pompeii by Rebecca East a Science Fiction story because of the time travel? A little. More than likely, it is more a story about a young woman thrust into a world she thought she knew, only to find out it wasn't exactly as she expected...or hoped for.

Let me say right off that I quite enjoyed the story. Rebecca was a likable character, as were most of the supporting characters in the story. I would have liked a little less description and more dialog in the beginning of the story, but I understand that the stage has to be set. The only thing that bothered me a little was the repeat of a few facts (three to be precise), but I presume that may not bother other readers.

Overall, Rebecca East does a bang up job of bringing an ancient civilization to life, even though it may have been through rose-colored lenses, and has created an interesting twist on a historical romance tale. A.D. 62: Pompeii is a must read for any fans of ancient civilizations.

I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.

History and a good novel all in one.

This was heading for three stars but then it actually went for the slave/master narrative and I just could not. It was very heavy-handed throughout. I did actually finish it but I found it supremely unconvincing.

Totally totally got engrossed in this book and didnt want it to end.

I enjoyed this book.
Nice novel tied to interesting history.
A little too girly for me. But the main character was a woman.
Nicely done. Recommended.

Very enjoyable take on the day to day life of a family in ancient Pompeii

Reviewed by Natalie Tsang for TeensReadToo.com

Imagine getting stranded in Ancient Rome! That's what happens to Miranda in Rebecca East's A. D. 62: POMPEII. Miranda has never felt that she belonged in the 21st century, and when a group of researchers approach her about a short trip to the past, she agrees.

Of course, things don't go as planned. First, she is sold to a wealthy family as a house slave and then her time travel device malfunctions. At first, she is resigned to a life of menial labor, but gradually tries to improve her position by telling stories and using her historical knowledge to make prophecies. Miranda cleverly changes well-known stories such as fairy tales and Shakespeare to not only inspire herself but also to champion women's and slaves' rights. As Miranda proves her value, she gains the love and trust of her master and his daughter and provokes the vicious jealousy of his wife.

In this hybrid romance, history, and fantasy novel, the heroine overcomes several trials and finally finds herself a place in the world.

The highlight of this book is its richly historical background. Rebecca East gives wonderful descriptions of the architecture, food, and customs of ancient Pompeii. With the exception of Miranda, the characters never seem to be modern people forced into togas, but people who live in a different culture from our own.

I wanted to read about Pompeii, and this book was fairly inexpensive. It is a time-travel genre, but thought I would try it anyway. It is very detailed about the area, and is immensely prominent on the architected description of Pompeii. The story has good premise, and I enjoyed most of it. The repetitiveness in the book is a little tiresome. I enjoyed her story telling immensely, but the author does like to prattle on and on, and so I skipped over the repeated parts. She is also a little stiff on creating excitement but other than that it is a good book.

As I started the book,, I was not so sure that time travel aspect worked for me. But the more I read, the better I liked it. It provided a vehicle for an outsider within examination of the culture.
The Story was engaging. The characters were relatable. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down...

2.5 for this one.
While I did somewhat enjoyed this story, I have to admit the main character, Miranda, was just so bloody lucky, she was always knew what to say, when to say, Always was at the right place with the right people with her. And with the Latin, why was she so good at reading and speaking it? We have not idea how it sounded and she knew from day one what everyone was saying. I had a problem with the Love part to, the master/slave thing was just wrong and it was almost like she was brain washed to love him. And then for him to be in full blown love with her, at the end just came out of nowhere. He saw her as a possession not a women and there was little form the story to show the change in him.
I really loved the historical aspects of the story, and this was the main reason i picked up the book. But Miranda was to weak and should have have put more of a fright at the start, and come on she had nothing and no self defense training. She knew that she may encounter some issues, this is bloody Romans for god sake. She felt like she was not prepared well, this was a paid time travel. Where were the details of the lesson or well more then we got. Its like she was just thew in this time with hope that she was not killed or taken advantage off.

I read this book because I like time-shift stories where the character travels to another time and lives the life of someone either in the past or the future. The idea for this story was very good, Miranda is part of an experiment to send a person back and forth in time using a wristband which is a kind of teleporter. Miranda ends up in 62 AD in the house of Marcus a wealthy man who is married with a family. All was good so far, the author was good and giving information about Pompeii but it did come across a little bit as if she was quoting from history books and it was a little repetitive on the historical facts. I enjoyed the story at the beginning and was hoping that we would see Miranda encountering various adventures, you would expect that a person from the 21st century would have far more difficulty being dropped in the middle of Pompeii but she has the most unimaginable luck and falls on her feet every time, she always says exactly what people want her to as if she is a mind reader. What finally made me give the story only two stars was the far fetched romantic element where her luck is just too incredible to be believable, her choice in the end was, I thought foolhardy to say the least.

This book has an interesting premise - - time travelling modern person goes back to A.D. 62 Pompeii. Anybody interested in the ancient times, or Pompeiian history would like that. And the story itself is okay, but the book suffers greatly due to poor editing. Heck, I could have edited this book better. Entire sentences are repeated throughout, incorrect words, grammatical mistakes.