This heart-pounding, fast paced, historical novel is a brilliant read, who’s story is intertwined with family intrigue and thrilling chariot races. A unique book that is impossible to put down!
This heart-pounding, fast paced, historically accurate novel is a brilliant read, who’s story is intertwined with family intrigue and thrilling chariot races. Beautifully written, it tells the story of a girl called Dido, in the Roman Empire, who’s only dream is to race chariots in the Circus Maximus with her beautiful horse - but girls are strictly forbidden from doing so. Throughout the course of the story Dido must escape from searching bounty hunters, uphold a fake identity, and finally come to terms with her family and its less-than-ideal history…
I loved how detailed and realistic the chariot racing, horses, and communities were - it makes me wish I could do something so exhilarating and fun as the racing sounds! The characters, with their tangled backstories and lively personalities, were a joy to follow on their quest to victory in the stadiums of Africa. The story also contained some emotional moments that really struck a chord with me too. I enjoyed the way it portrayed an (almost) normal girl and her family’s journey through life in that era, really bringing to light some aspects of history that I’d never considered, and how the people there thought of the society that they were in.
However, I did feel that it occasionally felt a bit repetitive and predictable, and some aspects of the story seemed a little bit hastily described…
All in all, I would most definitely recommend this story to nearly anyone - it’s just such an unique read and is absolutely impossible to put down. I am eagerly awaiting to see what else Annelise Gray has up her sleeve.
This is an amazing story based on a connection between humans and horses, full of wonderful and unexpected twists and turns. Impossible to put down!!
This is a thrilling chariot ride through the bloody and sweaty Circus Maximus. This book is impossible to put down once taken up. If your interested in the Roman times, adventures and the special connection that could be formed between humans and horses, you've come to the right place.
Dido is a young charioteer girl, living with her uncle. One day, when she goes into town, she finds bounty hunter looking for her and 10 million sesterces. From that day onward, her life is never the same. With a dark family secret just waiting to be found and a risk waiting to be done, her life spirals.
In my opinion, I love how strongly Annelise Gray describes the connection between the horses and the main character, Dido, and how she really shows that Dido loves the horses. I also love how the words seem to come alive as you read and how you can really imagine how the story goes. I can't wait for the next one.
This book is as fast paced and exciting as an actual chariot race. If you've watched Ben-Hur and thought there wasn't enough chariot racing in it, then this is the book for you.
This book is as fast paced and exciting as an actual chariot race. If you've watched Ben-Hur and thought there wasn't enough chariot racing in it, then this is the book for you. It was a real page turner, and we finished it in super-fast time because we couldn't wait to see what happened next. Even though we hadn't read the first book in the series, it was easy to follow what was going on. We're definitely going to go and get the first book now too. The book isn’t full of relationship stuff, and has lots of action and danger in it, with the girl charioteer Dido and her family being really brave and working hard to save their business, despite enemies and rivals trying their best to stop her. We love this time period and Rivals on the Track is a really fun way to learn more about it and to experience what people at the time might have experienced because the descriptions in the book make you really feel like you are there.
This is a heroic story of a determined girl with the passion of being a charioteer and will keep you amused and engaged.
This thrilling masterpiece is breathtaking and mind-bogglingly written by Annelise Gray. The vivid language transports you to a whole new ancient world of action and spectacular places.
I admire the author because she really made the book exciting, forced you to keep turning the pages and kept you on your toes. I liked how she described all the characters and informed the reader before the thrill started.
My favourite character is Dido because she is very fierce, resilient and bold. My most-enjoyed part of the book was when Dido's family won the chariot race competition for the prize money, and she proved her strengths by carrying on even though her cousin was injured. Most scenes were quite tense because of action packed days, and they kept you on the edge.
This is a heroic story of a determined girl with the passion of being a charioteer and will keep you amused and engaged.
A truly exciting read, visually superb and written with real understanding and knowledge of the life of a chariot driver.
A brilliant read. The review would have arrived earlier, but the children kept stealing it to read themselves!
I can quite see why. It was an exciting read from the very first page. It was clearly written by a knowledgeable horse lover and visually, it was so easy to picture those brave and loyal animals.
The main character Dido was so ahead of her time, a real feminist. Apart from the main theme that of the chariot competition, racing to victory in Rome's Circus Maximus there the underlining themes of friendship, family loyalty and secret: All are beautifully portrayed to the reader. I felt I really learned a lot about Roman life and the skill and resilience of the chariot drivers. It was a very visual book and one got a real sense of the Italian heat, the power of the emperor and the social structure of the day. Altogether an exciting and informative read. I shall be getting the other book in the series for the classroom.