The Mark of the Lion Series

The Mark of the Lion series is a trilogy of novels (A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness and As Sure as the Dawn) written by Francine Rivers. They are set mostly in Rome during the first Jewish-Roman War, circa A.D. 70. The novels follow the lives of Hadassah, a young Christian girl who is sold into slavery yet still holds firm to her faith in God; Marcus, a wealthy Roman aristocrat determined to get the most out of life; Julia, Marcus' younger sister, a high-spirited girl who desires to be happy and control her own life, and Atretes, the high chief of a Germanic tribe who is captured and sold to be a gladiator.


 * Big Brother Instinct: Obviously, Marcus to Julia.
 * The Corrupter: Marcus is probably this to Julia.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Both Atretes and Marcus seem to fit this.
 * Gladiator Games
 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Hadassah
 * Poison Is Evil: Done in the first book in The Mark of The Lion series, where young noblewoman poisons her violently abusive suitor to be rid of him. It's tempting to count this as an inversion since he was such a vicious brute, but considering   it's still a pretty straight example
 * Rape Is Love: Marcus and Hadassah's relationship features him attempting to rape her in the first book.