When I realised this was a pure historical early on I was very excited to see where it went. The side characters were easy to route for, and felt pretty believable. This is a very Mell focussed story, and it was interesting to see her react to the situation her and the doctor were in, as well as the situation of Roman society as a whole.

Unfortunately I didn’t find the antagonists all that interesting. Their motivations were spelled out explicitly in a way that made them feel pretty one note.

For the first half of the story at least, the doctor is very defeatist about the situation which can be a downer.

Also I’d say (vague spoiler) the ending it pretty predictable and anticlimactic. But I suppose how they get out of the situation isn’t really the point of the story.