Five Before Rome: 5 preludes to the Roma Series by Gabriel Valjan {Book Review}

Disclosure: I received this book to review through iRead Book Tours, I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

These five novellas precede Roma, Underground, the first novel in the Roma Series.

Meet the five men, who form the team around Bianca, and learn about their personal history, their respective parts of Italy, and why they each have a stake in the fight against organized crime.

Each novella gives a deeper insight into the world and players that make the Roma Series so captivating.

These five novellas, Man of Honor, The Fallen One, Two Warriors, Dance of the Spider, and Five Before Rome, precede the first novel in the Roma Series, Roma, Underground.

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This was an interesting book… it held five novellas that shared a history and background of the main characters that are featured in a bigger series. I liked that instead of jumping into a series with a bunch of characters we know nothing about; the author wrote this prequel to let us get to know the characters and their story.

I can’t lie, I did struggle with some of the vocabulary. I am as white can be and a language other than English is difficult for me so I guarantee I was pronouncing things incorrectly. Many times, the translation was written with the Italian word (thank goodness) but there were a few instances where they weren’t so I was a little confused, but it wasn’t anything that I felt took away from the story. It just took me a little longer to read those portions.

I enjoyed being able to read about the background of the characters and enjoyed the story line. This is the first I have read this author and I look forward to starting the Roma Series and seeing where the series takes these characters.

About the Author
Gabriel Valjan lives in Boston’s South End where he enjoys the local restaurants. When he isn’t appeasing Munchkin, his cat, with tuna, he documents the #dogsofsouthendboston on Instagram. His short stories have appeared online, in journals, and in several anthologies. Gabriel is the author of two series, Roma and Company Files, with Winter Goose Publishing. He was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Historical Mystery for Company Files: 2. The Naming Game in 2020. Gabriel has been a finalist for the Fish Prize, shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and received an Honorable Mention for the Nero Wolfe Black Orchid Novella Contest in 2018. Dirty Old Town, the first in the Shane Cleary series, was published in 2020 by Level Best Books. Gabriel attends crime fiction conferences, such as Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, and New England Crime Bake. He is a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime.