A Rebellious Love in Ancient Rome
Daughter of the Rebellion
Ancient World Historical Romance, Christian Historical Fiction, Christian Historical Romance
Tyndale Fiction
May 12, 2026
Ebook, Audiobook, Paperback
368
In this stirring historical romance by award-winning author Jamie Ogle, a young woman imprisoned in a Roman gladiator school becomes a legendary warrior. But when not even her fame is enough, she must fight to save herself and those she loves.
Rome, AD 403. As a loyal daughter of the Visigoth tribe, Adelgard followed her father to war, hoping to win back her family’s approval. But after a clash with the Roman army, Adel is captured and sold to a gladiator school. Now she is the most famous gladiatrix in Rome, determined to keep the fickle love of the crowd and never again rely on anyone but herself for her own security. But beneath the fame lies a darkness and pain that holds her captive.
Felix despises Rome’s fascination with violence. But after returning from medical training to discover his father missing and his family desperate, he had little choice but to accept a position at the gladiator school managed by his uncle. He finds a kindred spirit in Adel and does what he can to preserve the humanity of the rebel fighters, but when he receives orders that further compromise his beliefs, he arrives at a crossroads.
A Love Story that Brings a Brutal Reign to its End
Jamie Ogle’s Daughter of the Rebellion is a blend of historical romance, Christian fiction, and gladiator-era adventure. It is set a year before the emperor ended the gladiator games in Rome and includes fictional accounts of real historical figures, such as Emperor Honorius and Saint Telemachus. It combines action, rich character development, romance, and fascinating historical details.
The strength of this book lies in the heart: not only the budding romance between Adel and Felix but also the sincere exploration of Christian love, faith, sacrifice, and redemption. This is a story of people in our lives who are worth fighting for. I was invested in the depth and tenderness of Felix and Adel’s romance. They are a great pair; sharing the same wit, vulnerability, and threads of hope in their hearts.
Where the novel fell short for me was in its execution. I generally enjoy a dual perspective when each character has clearly defined chapters or sections, but Daughter of the Rebellion frequently transitions between Adel’s and Felix’s viewpoints within the same scene. Just as I settled into one character’s perspective, the narrative would shift to the other without enough transition. Some authors handle this technique seamlessly, but here it made the reading experience feel a bit choppy.
Even though I didn’t love the execution, I did love the romance and I do love a good gladiator story. And this is a good gladiator story. The author introduced aspects of the games that I never knew before — the horrifying, fascinating history of the brutal past. The final few chapters are page-turning; action-packed and suspenseful.
I would recommend Daughter of the Rebellion for fans of historical fiction, the Roman games, and romance as well as Christian fiction.
Celeste is a woman who is unwavering about certain things in life; three of those being books, cats, and cold brew coffee. If she can enjoy all three at the same time, it’s going to be a good day. Her favorite genres are fantasy or sci-fi romance, historical romance, and historical fiction but every few books she likes to mix it up with contemporary fiction, a good psychological thriller, or an inspiring memoir. She has a busy schedule working full-time for an online university but she makes sure to unwind each day with stories, either by reading to her elementary school-aged daughter or tucking herself in bed with her Kindle or the latest book she picked up at a local book store.
