What do you think?
Rate this book
Infinity #1
INFINITY: A Crown of Golden Leaves
Illustrated edition!Sara becomes torn between love and duty when she is chosen by the gods to assassinate the father of her beloved. Emperor Titus is the most ruthless villain in the world. Killing him seems to be her only option but Sara soon finds that there is so much more to the tyrant than meets the eye…
185 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2017
22 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 14, 2020
Summary
Matthaios and Sara are star-crossed lovers, cursed by Eris to endure every lifetime with suffering. In this lifetime, they live in the ancient world where slaves are controlled by the royalty, and unbeknownst to humans, they co-exist with gods. Matthaios is a prince, and Sara is a slave to Emperor Titus, Matthaios’ father. They are both prisoners of their status, but their love is bigger than their ill-fated relationship.
Review
Infinity: A Crown of Golden Leaves by Catalina DuBois is a romantic historical fiction about Matthaios and Sara’s adversities as star-crossed lovers. It also tells a very interesting backstory about Emperor Titus, and his romantic tale with Arrecina.
There are many things I love about this book: (1) the era where evil emperors, slaves, gladiators, and gods exist, makes this the perfect setting for a romantic story, (2) the story doesn’t only revolve around Prince Matthaios and Sara, Princess Andromeda and Perseus also made an impact in this story of forbidden relationships, (3) Titus has a very interesting backstory behind his evil persona, which makes him my favorite character, (4) Matthaios’ thoughts are very amusing even if they are meant to be serious, (5) I find Titus and Matthaios’ relationship very funny at times because of their conversations, and because of Titus’ ridiculous ways of being a father, and (6) I love the existence of gods and goddesses, as well as the supernatural abilities of Matthaios.
I’m giving this 5 out of 5 stars. It is thrilling, hilarious, magical, and a very fast-paced story with impressive narrative, well-proportioned set of characters, and very good dialogues. I recommend this book to ALL mature readers who love romantic historical fiction. This is the second published book of the three novels in the Infinity Series, but they are standalone novels so they can be read in any order.
Matthaios and Sara are star-crossed lovers, cursed by Eris to endure every lifetime with suffering. In this lifetime, they live in the ancient world where slaves are controlled by the royalty, and unbeknownst to humans, they co-exist with gods. Matthaios is a prince, and Sara is a slave to Emperor Titus, Matthaios’ father. They are both prisoners of their status, but their love is bigger than their ill-fated relationship.
Review
Infinity: A Crown of Golden Leaves by Catalina DuBois is a romantic historical fiction about Matthaios and Sara’s adversities as star-crossed lovers. It also tells a very interesting backstory about Emperor Titus, and his romantic tale with Arrecina.
There are many things I love about this book: (1) the era where evil emperors, slaves, gladiators, and gods exist, makes this the perfect setting for a romantic story, (2) the story doesn’t only revolve around Prince Matthaios and Sara, Princess Andromeda and Perseus also made an impact in this story of forbidden relationships, (3) Titus has a very interesting backstory behind his evil persona, which makes him my favorite character, (4) Matthaios’ thoughts are very amusing even if they are meant to be serious, (5) I find Titus and Matthaios’ relationship very funny at times because of their conversations, and because of Titus’ ridiculous ways of being a father, and (6) I love the existence of gods and goddesses, as well as the supernatural abilities of Matthaios.
I’m giving this 5 out of 5 stars. It is thrilling, hilarious, magical, and a very fast-paced story with impressive narrative, well-proportioned set of characters, and very good dialogues. I recommend this book to ALL mature readers who love romantic historical fiction. This is the second published book of the three novels in the Infinity Series, but they are standalone novels so they can be read in any order.
July 3, 2018
What a great idea for a series of books. A pair of lovers cursed to live their lives over and over throughout time. They are cursed to be star-crossed in every incarnation, thus frustrating their strong but forever doomed love. It is a great idea, allowing the writer to tell poignant love stories in any era he or she wants. An imaginative writer could work this idea in many clever ways and create a series that could become a classic. I think this is exactly what Catalina DuBois will do with her Infinity series. I just read A Crown of Golden Leaves. I don’t know what number in the series this book is, but it is early on. It takes place during the time of the Roman Empire, and since we are talking about Greek gods, it is a great place to start this journey. I like the Romans. I have read a lot about them, both fiction and non-fiction, and this tale stands out as an accurate portrayal of the era, as well as a good story in and of itself.
I like the main characters here. A prince of Rome and a captured slave girl. The characters are one of the story’s strongest points. From evil emperors to gladiators and slaves, the supporting cast is portrayed well too. The plot is handled well, and the setting is the glory and decadence of ancient Rome. I like this setting, and the violence and frustration that goes with it. It is the perfect place for Catalina DuBois to tell a love story filled with tragedy and hope. She does just that and she does it very well. An excellent read!
I like the main characters here. A prince of Rome and a captured slave girl. The characters are one of the story’s strongest points. From evil emperors to gladiators and slaves, the supporting cast is portrayed well too. The plot is handled well, and the setting is the glory and decadence of ancient Rome. I like this setting, and the violence and frustration that goes with it. It is the perfect place for Catalina DuBois to tell a love story filled with tragedy and hope. She does just that and she does it very well. An excellent read!
May 10, 2024
The illustrations weaved throughout the novel are magnificent and fantastic supplements to the book, providing useful visual aids to assist readers in visualizing the people and setting of the story while improving the descriptions in the accompanying text. I admire how the author seamlessly weaves Greek and Roman mythology characters like Princess Andromeda and Perseus into the novel without disrupting the broader plot. I appreciate the author's use of italics to distinguish between the characters' thoughts and spoken words. The writing was so vivid and imaginative that I was able to visualize the actions and people in great detail. In addition to the characters, the author's work elicited emotions in me. The author does an excellent job of addressing a variety of issues, including classism, slavery, abuse of authority, and rape. Titus, the story's villain, has a heartbreaking backstory that not only explains some of his behavior and actions but may also explain why this once good man is now a ruthless leader and father who believes he has no hope, remorse, or emotions to bring him back to the side of good. I liked and appreciated how the romances in the novel progressed throughout and how we got the backstories of how the various couples met, got to know each other, and even started developing love for each other. I admired how Medusa, renowned as an awful, villainous snake-haired character in many Greek mythology stories, is a lovely queen who engages in the dark arts of the serpentine witch covens in this novel. The distinct approach to the character of Medusa was refreshing and intriguing, providing insight into why she is regarded as a villain beyond her appearance. The plot and character development throughout the novel were well-planned, detailed, innovative, and outstanding. This book is far more than a historical romance. It is adventurous, intriguing, mythological, and even magical at moments, as well as a lovely story about the eternal power of love, friendship, and generosity.
One confusion I had was that it appears Perseus's friend Felix has died at the beginning, but he is subsequently revealed to be alive and well. So, I would propose that the author adjust the implication to let readers know right away that he survives despite being on the verge of death. Due to the pace being slower in the beginning, it was difficult to get into the tale at first. The only negative was that readers were not shown how Matthaios devised his plan for him and Sara to leave Rome, nor were they shown what happened to Felix and Perseus immediately after they were freed from slavery. I believe these sequences would enrich the story by providing readers with a thorough description of what happened to all the characters before they were reunited, completing the entire storyline finale.
One confusion I had was that it appears Perseus's friend Felix has died at the beginning, but he is subsequently revealed to be alive and well. So, I would propose that the author adjust the implication to let readers know right away that he survives despite being on the verge of death. Due to the pace being slower in the beginning, it was difficult to get into the tale at first. The only negative was that readers were not shown how Matthaios devised his plan for him and Sara to leave Rome, nor were they shown what happened to Felix and Perseus immediately after they were freed from slavery. I believe these sequences would enrich the story by providing readers with a thorough description of what happened to all the characters before they were reunited, completing the entire storyline finale.
March 26, 2025
Simply awful, by far the worst book I have ever read.
When I first read this description of this book it seemed wonderful- a promised blend of mythology, history, and romance. Wonderful! But this book failed to deliver on any of these premises and failed in every other aspect of writing and storytelling as well.
The biggest, and most obvious flaw with this book is the poor writing and editing throughout the book. It is clear that the author did not employ an editor, and there were quite a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes throughout the book. The author has quite a strange writing style, and their syntax is especially jarring. Every sentence is written in a quite short and choppy style. Every sentence is written like- ‘Matthios broke his horse into a trot. Sara’s heart soared with delight. She couldn’t believe was real. After all she was just a slave.’ And so on and so on, this is a made-up example, but the author utilizes very simplistic sentence structure, and would largely benefit from using more creativity and better grammar choices.
The author also will often start a metaphor, and just- forget- to finish it. One example- “Perseus traded blood, sweat, and cold sharp steel amidst a sea of lions and men…” The author tries for these artistic choices often but just doesn’t have the skill to land them. Another example- “Titus grinned like Hades himself and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Are you trying to kill me Arrecina? That dress fits like a second skin.” Great, a metaphor- like Hades himself. But we don’t meet Hades in this story, he is never even mentioned before this point- so we have no idea how he grins or acts. This is a constant issue; the author will leave metaphors unfinished or just fail to flesh them out.
Another bizarre element of this novel is the point of view throughout the chapters. We, the audience, never truly stay with one character. One moment we will be with Sara and exploring her thoughts, then in the very next sentence we will somehow have a deep understanding of the servants’ feelings as well. The author would have been better served by sticking to one point of view per chapter and having the main character describe what they think the other character is feeling. Show don’t tell. An example from the book- “Matthaios, you are a cursed jinx!” Titus shoved the slave off. She fell from the bed and smacked her elbow hard against the floor. Tingling shot up her forearm and out of her fingers. She yelped in pain and he shushed her. He covered himself at once and impatiently.” Why do we need to know her forearm tingled? She’s not the character we’ve been following. Something like- “Titus shoved the slave away. She fell from the bed, and her elbow made a hard noise against the floor. Titus ignored the grimace on the slave girl's face, and her whimpers of pain as he covered himself up,” Would have been an improvement as far as the point of view goes. The entire book has this strange way of shifting, and it’s very distracting.
Then there is the plot. Oh, the plot. It is nearly impossible to describe it, due to how nonsensical and all over the place it was. Just when I had begun to think I had a grasp on the plot, dull as it was, suddenly we were introduced to gods and merman, Atlantis, and a magic system. The magic system and sudden inclusion of the Greek gods was especially jarring- as it came out of nowhere- and seemed to be a plot convenience moment. The inclusion of this fantasy element does very little for the plot and could have been removed altogether. Just when I had thought I had been released from this novel and its torments, it didn’t end at what would have been a natural moment to do so- but the two main characters suddenly ended up in Pompeii instead.
The book is also poorly researched, despite the author seemingly attempting to make some parts historically accurate. I understand the primary focus of the book is romance and not the historical element, as the author has written several novels about these characters set in different periods throughout history, but some errors are egregious. Slavery is a huge plot point in this book, and very important- just as slaves were important to the Romans- however, the author seems to have a very modern, transatlantic view of slaves. One character remarks- “Caesar had accumulated slaves from many distant lands. Other than Sara, most were fairer skinned than the Romans. Matthaios saw little difference between the slaves and himself. My people possess a lovely olive hue but does that make us superior? Does being a different religion make us superior?” Roman ideas of slavery were not racially based, which the author struggles to understand throughout this novel. The characters also possess a very modern viewpoint of consent, and frequently point out what is and isn’t consent. This would be fine, but it seems wholly unnecessary to the story and is a device to divide the ‘good’ characters from the ‘bad’ or to add a sad backstory to the bad characters.
Outside of the poorly researched historical context, the author also failed to look up a map of Rome. At one point in the novel, one character is in Rome watching a gladiator match, and then she runs down the street for a bit- “Sara reached the edge of a small cliff […] She glared down at the vast Mediterranean Sea, her dress flowing about her body as she stood on the ledge, her curls dancing wildly in the breeze.” The part of Rome where Sara is is landlocked, unless she has superspeed I am unsure how she got to the Mediterranean Sea so quickly.
A bit nitpicky, but worth mentioning nonetheless- the art. This book is advertised as being an 'illustrated' edition. All this means is that the author has created art using an AI generator and scattered these images throughout the book. The images are AI-generated, and quite jarring to see. Perhaps, the author could have hired an editor with the money they saved not paying an actual artist. These images also made me pause and think about everything I had read in this novel. I am not the best at identifying when writing is AI-generated, but I would not be surprised to learn that large portions or even all of this novel were developed using AI. The simplicity of storytelling and the odd Grammar lend some support to this theory.
There is a small amount of sexual content in this book, though most of it is innuendo-based or fade-to-black moments. I'd give the sexual content a rating of 3 out of 5. I believe the 'spiciest' moment I found was on page 84- "His hand crept slowly up her waist until it cupped her breast...he sucked the sensitive skin just above her collarbone." Again, nothing too explicit but the author does often allude quite heavily. Rape and sexual assault are mentioned quite a bit, so those sensitive to mentions- though not technically graphic- of this action should avoid this book.
This book is a one out of five, I would not recommend it to anyone who values their sanity.
When I first read this description of this book it seemed wonderful- a promised blend of mythology, history, and romance. Wonderful! But this book failed to deliver on any of these premises and failed in every other aspect of writing and storytelling as well.
The biggest, and most obvious flaw with this book is the poor writing and editing throughout the book. It is clear that the author did not employ an editor, and there were quite a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes throughout the book. The author has quite a strange writing style, and their syntax is especially jarring. Every sentence is written in a quite short and choppy style. Every sentence is written like- ‘Matthios broke his horse into a trot. Sara’s heart soared with delight. She couldn’t believe was real. After all she was just a slave.’ And so on and so on, this is a made-up example, but the author utilizes very simplistic sentence structure, and would largely benefit from using more creativity and better grammar choices.
The author also will often start a metaphor, and just- forget- to finish it. One example- “Perseus traded blood, sweat, and cold sharp steel amidst a sea of lions and men…” The author tries for these artistic choices often but just doesn’t have the skill to land them. Another example- “Titus grinned like Hades himself and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Are you trying to kill me Arrecina? That dress fits like a second skin.” Great, a metaphor- like Hades himself. But we don’t meet Hades in this story, he is never even mentioned before this point- so we have no idea how he grins or acts. This is a constant issue; the author will leave metaphors unfinished or just fail to flesh them out.
Another bizarre element of this novel is the point of view throughout the chapters. We, the audience, never truly stay with one character. One moment we will be with Sara and exploring her thoughts, then in the very next sentence we will somehow have a deep understanding of the servants’ feelings as well. The author would have been better served by sticking to one point of view per chapter and having the main character describe what they think the other character is feeling. Show don’t tell. An example from the book- “Matthaios, you are a cursed jinx!” Titus shoved the slave off. She fell from the bed and smacked her elbow hard against the floor. Tingling shot up her forearm and out of her fingers. She yelped in pain and he shushed her. He covered himself at once and impatiently.” Why do we need to know her forearm tingled? She’s not the character we’ve been following. Something like- “Titus shoved the slave away. She fell from the bed, and her elbow made a hard noise against the floor. Titus ignored the grimace on the slave girl's face, and her whimpers of pain as he covered himself up,” Would have been an improvement as far as the point of view goes. The entire book has this strange way of shifting, and it’s very distracting.
Then there is the plot. Oh, the plot. It is nearly impossible to describe it, due to how nonsensical and all over the place it was. Just when I had begun to think I had a grasp on the plot, dull as it was, suddenly we were introduced to gods and merman, Atlantis, and a magic system. The magic system and sudden inclusion of the Greek gods was especially jarring- as it came out of nowhere- and seemed to be a plot convenience moment. The inclusion of this fantasy element does very little for the plot and could have been removed altogether. Just when I had thought I had been released from this novel and its torments, it didn’t end at what would have been a natural moment to do so- but the two main characters suddenly ended up in Pompeii instead.
The book is also poorly researched, despite the author seemingly attempting to make some parts historically accurate. I understand the primary focus of the book is romance and not the historical element, as the author has written several novels about these characters set in different periods throughout history, but some errors are egregious. Slavery is a huge plot point in this book, and very important- just as slaves were important to the Romans- however, the author seems to have a very modern, transatlantic view of slaves. One character remarks- “Caesar had accumulated slaves from many distant lands. Other than Sara, most were fairer skinned than the Romans. Matthaios saw little difference between the slaves and himself. My people possess a lovely olive hue but does that make us superior? Does being a different religion make us superior?” Roman ideas of slavery were not racially based, which the author struggles to understand throughout this novel. The characters also possess a very modern viewpoint of consent, and frequently point out what is and isn’t consent. This would be fine, but it seems wholly unnecessary to the story and is a device to divide the ‘good’ characters from the ‘bad’ or to add a sad backstory to the bad characters.
Outside of the poorly researched historical context, the author also failed to look up a map of Rome. At one point in the novel, one character is in Rome watching a gladiator match, and then she runs down the street for a bit- “Sara reached the edge of a small cliff […] She glared down at the vast Mediterranean Sea, her dress flowing about her body as she stood on the ledge, her curls dancing wildly in the breeze.” The part of Rome where Sara is is landlocked, unless she has superspeed I am unsure how she got to the Mediterranean Sea so quickly.
A bit nitpicky, but worth mentioning nonetheless- the art. This book is advertised as being an 'illustrated' edition. All this means is that the author has created art using an AI generator and scattered these images throughout the book. The images are AI-generated, and quite jarring to see. Perhaps, the author could have hired an editor with the money they saved not paying an actual artist. These images also made me pause and think about everything I had read in this novel. I am not the best at identifying when writing is AI-generated, but I would not be surprised to learn that large portions or even all of this novel were developed using AI. The simplicity of storytelling and the odd Grammar lend some support to this theory.
There is a small amount of sexual content in this book, though most of it is innuendo-based or fade-to-black moments. I'd give the sexual content a rating of 3 out of 5. I believe the 'spiciest' moment I found was on page 84- "His hand crept slowly up her waist until it cupped her breast...he sucked the sensitive skin just above her collarbone." Again, nothing too explicit but the author does often allude quite heavily. Rape and sexual assault are mentioned quite a bit, so those sensitive to mentions- though not technically graphic- of this action should avoid this book.
This book is a one out of five, I would not recommend it to anyone who values their sanity.
September 15, 2024
Captivating
I enjoy reading fantasy, it is one of my favourite genres. Infinity by Catalina DuBois is about Prince Matthaois and Sara. They cannot marry because of her status, still they will fight against the odds. Sara must face difficult decision that will change her life, though there are still many things she does not know about Emperor Titus, Matthaois father. I was captivated, the author’s writing style is great. However, as a fantasy book, there must be world-building and even when the illustrations helped, there was a lot missing. Also, the ending was rushed for no reason, and there were other characters that deserved a few more pages.
I enjoy reading fantasy, it is one of my favourite genres. Infinity by Catalina DuBois is about Prince Matthaois and Sara. They cannot marry because of her status, still they will fight against the odds. Sara must face difficult decision that will change her life, though there are still many things she does not know about Emperor Titus, Matthaois father. I was captivated, the author’s writing style is great. However, as a fantasy book, there must be world-building and even when the illustrations helped, there was a lot missing. Also, the ending was rushed for no reason, and there were other characters that deserved a few more pages.
August 14, 2018
WOW!
This was an excellent book, really good story and very well written. I was into this from the beginning and did not put it down until the end. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Catalina. I would definitely recommend this author.
This was an excellent book, really good story and very well written. I was into this from the beginning and did not put it down until the end. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Catalina. I would definitely recommend this author.
December 22, 2024
“Infinity: A Crown of Golden Leaves” by Catalina DuBois is an intriguing story set in ancient Rome during the time of the emperors, populated by a myriad of characters from all walks of life. The protagonists of the story are Sara, a slave, and Matthaios, the prince and son of the evil dictator Titus. They have known each other since childhood and have cultivated a strong love for each other despite being aware of the social disparity and the impossibility of their relationship coming to fruition.
I found the basic plot engaging, especially appreciating Titus's story, as it provides a detailed retrospective on the emperor's past. However, I must express a critical note regarding the abundance of elements in the narrative, such as historical facts, divine interventions, magic, fairies, and the occasional setting in Atlantis. There is history, romance, fantasy, and mystery, none of which is developed to a reasonable extent. Personally, I believe that this accumulation of elements weighed down the narrative, sometimes even leading to distraction from the reading as the details out of context cause the reader's attention to wander. In conclusion, the basic story is intriguing and could have benefited from fewer external elements unrelated to the historical fact that underpins the plot (an example is the character of Penelope in chapter 17).
It is worth mentioning how romance permeates the narration abundantly, sometimes taking on characteristics closer to lust. The author successfully recreates and describes scenes that are always respectful, avoiding vulgarity or obscenity except for the “W***e” and “Bas****” words mentioned a few times. Her writing is touching, authentically conveying a sense of deep and enduring love between her main characters. Despite addressing themes of abuse and depicting moments of intimacy, she does so with delicacy, avoiding any explicit erotic details.
Overall, the reading is easily accessible and enjoyable; the content is captivating, and the professional editing positively influenced the reading experience. However, I am still curious to continue reading the other books in the "Infinity" saga.
I found the basic plot engaging, especially appreciating Titus's story, as it provides a detailed retrospective on the emperor's past. However, I must express a critical note regarding the abundance of elements in the narrative, such as historical facts, divine interventions, magic, fairies, and the occasional setting in Atlantis. There is history, romance, fantasy, and mystery, none of which is developed to a reasonable extent. Personally, I believe that this accumulation of elements weighed down the narrative, sometimes even leading to distraction from the reading as the details out of context cause the reader's attention to wander. In conclusion, the basic story is intriguing and could have benefited from fewer external elements unrelated to the historical fact that underpins the plot (an example is the character of Penelope in chapter 17).
It is worth mentioning how romance permeates the narration abundantly, sometimes taking on characteristics closer to lust. The author successfully recreates and describes scenes that are always respectful, avoiding vulgarity or obscenity except for the “W***e” and “Bas****” words mentioned a few times. Her writing is touching, authentically conveying a sense of deep and enduring love between her main characters. Despite addressing themes of abuse and depicting moments of intimacy, she does so with delicacy, avoiding any explicit erotic details.
Overall, the reading is easily accessible and enjoyable; the content is captivating, and the professional editing positively influenced the reading experience. However, I am still curious to continue reading the other books in the "Infinity" saga.
October 10, 2022
another magnificent read
This series is so awesome. Lots of epic, fantasy, action, and romance. I’m very impressed by this author and her immaculate research mixed with an almost Victorian style flair.
I’m so in love with these main characters, and I don’t want this series to end.
This series is so awesome. Lots of epic, fantasy, action, and romance. I’m very impressed by this author and her immaculate research mixed with an almost Victorian style flair.
I’m so in love with these main characters, and I don’t want this series to end.
March 5, 2024
Love it
A great storyline, well developed characters that stays with you long after you have read the first page. This was great storytelling.
A great storyline, well developed characters that stays with you long after you have read the first page. This was great storytelling.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews