Curses and Smoke A Novel of Pompeii Author:Vicky Alvear Shecter Tag is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master's injured gladiators. He wants nothing more than to fight in the gladiatorial arena to earn enough money to win his freedom and escape the curse he bears. But without the chance to become a fighter, his future as a slave is sealed. — Lucia wants to explore the world -- to dis... more »cover the causes of natural mysteries, like the tremors that shake her beloved city of Pompeii. But since her father needs money to expand his business, she is doomed to marry a much older man.
Love is not something one expects. Yet when the childhood friends reconnect, a forbidden passion sparks between them, stirring up long-buried secrets and lies. As the earth's tremors grow stronger and more frequent, Tag and Lucia must choose between the lives they know and the one they want to claim together -- before a volcano destroys their whole world.« less