Heather’s Bookshelf: The Cleansing
Author: Victoria Alvear
Released: 01/20/26
Genre: Historical Fiction
“A strange, panicky impulse to laugh crawled up my chest—a recognition that this circus would be funny if only it weren’t my life on the line. But, as always, I tamped it down for sometimes a laughing woman created more terror than a raging one.”
“The Cleansing” follows Opimia (Mia), a Vestal Virgin in Ancient Rome.
As a 6-year-old, Mia is forced into becoming a Vestal Virgin. She doesn’t understand why this is happening to her and isn’t completely convinced of the possible repurcussions related to her actions, but she still does her best to abide by the guidelines of the Gods. She’s remained chaste, endured countless cleansings, and refused even the touch of a man. Regardless of her efforts, she learns of the fall of 50,000 Roman soldiers at the Battle of Cannae and her childhood love, Attius.
While Mia struggles with her own beliefs and the loss of Attius, the priests announce their own views of what resulted. They declare that a Vestal Virgin must have broken their vows and accuse Mia of doing so. The punishment for such a crime? Being whipped and then buried alive.
Will Mia prove her innocence or will she succumb to the vicious lies and deceit of those around her?
Trigger Warning: violence, death, suicide, animal death, rape, sexual assault, torture
Overall, I really enjoyed this story. Told mainly through the POV of the main protagonist, Mia, a determined, intelligent, and headstrong young woman caught in a terrible situation against her will. She is fierce and brave. It is impossible not to root for Mia (and against those that oppose her). Mia as a protagonist also highlights many of the stories main themes including political aspiration, religious expectation, familial responsibility, and love. The story moves forward and back through time, revealing background information on the main characters and much of the reasoning behind the actions of those within the story. The structure also helped the pacing of the tale- pushing it forward and enhancing the tension of the main storyline. The historical aspects of the story are pretty depressing and unfortunately, all-too-familiar. There’s other really sad parts of this tale as well…but it’s not all bad. Mia’s love for Attius, her childhood love, and Ketet, her bestie as well as Mia’s desire to live shine through the pages. The ancillary characters are also well developed, even those that only shared a few pages. My favorites were the spunky yet wise, Sybil and the dopey man’s-best-friend, Useless. There’s also a couple of villains in this one that will make you want to scream, cry, or break something. The ending supplies a surprise (though an obvious one) that wraps everything up in a way that feels both complete and a new beginning.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A historical fiction set in ancient Rome with a strong protagonist and compelling ancillary characters.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Victoria Alvear
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Find it for purchase here
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