Why is that people are fascinated with Cleopatra? Her daughter was quite a remarkable woman herself. This is a historical fiction book mixed with lots of supernatural elements. So much over the top things happened to Selene that it almost read like a soap opera. But a lot of crazy things did really happen with Selene.

The words and prose seem to be for a younger audience .. but the events require a mature mind and an iron-stomach. The reader may also want to take notes to keep track of the bewildering amount of characters in the story.

Mostly, I did like the book. It was often confusing but I charged ahead wanting to know how the book would turn out. ( )

Cleopatra Selene marries Juba II, King of Numidia, and joins him as Queen of Mauretania, but they have a country to build. But Selene has unfinished business with two other men, the Emperor Augustus and her twin brother Alexander Helios. One represents her past and passionate love, one represents her future and domesticity, and one represents her attempts to re-create the past in the present and political power. Which will she choose?

Another thrilling adventure in the life of Cleopatra Selene. I still have my doubts about the magical elements but I can't wait for the final volume. ( )

Anytime you have a Caesar in the picture, you know it's going to be epic. I came into this reading, not having read the first in the series (I was fortunate enough to win this copy in a Goodreads giveaway), even so, I didn't feel that I'd missed anything. Perhaps this is because one of my favorite periods of time is Ancient Rome & Egypt, so I didn't feel like I was walking in on complete strangers.

Selene is obsessively & singularly focused on the resumption of the rule of Egypt to her family with herself at the helm. When we come into the story, she's being married off to Juba of Mauritania & also has the fates of her brothers to be concerned about. And then there's the creepy matter of the ever dangerous Augustus. I think it's safe to say that other women have had better wedding days. Honestly, & I'm not giving anything away here, considering where this story goes, this may actually have been one of Selene's better days. The author did a very good job of giving a sense of place & when things turned toward harrowing, I honestly felt unnerved. I stressed about Selene a lot & that's a good thing. She has to make some unenviable decisions & sometimes I found that I was annoyed with her because I wanted to her decide differently. I wanted her to give up her quest for Egypt more than once (Helios, dude I'm on your side!) & clearly Selene had more fortitude for the journey that I could conjure. I would have been her weary companion hedging & wondering if each step would be the one to finally hasten us to our end.

As one who reads a fair bit of historical fiction, I was not expecting a happy ending or nice neat currently palatable situations & found this to be deeply satisfying. I very much liked the magical bits with Selene (& Helios). Also, I enjoyed her reverence for her mother & father because it so drove her. I quite liked Julia & must admit I often felt a bit badly for Juba. By the end, I can't say that I was happy but I was satisfied with where Selene was in herself. She realized the toll her obsession had taken & that she was as much a spinner of the wed as she was a prisoner. She is of course, still at the whim & mercy of Augustus but she did see that she can choose joy, happiness & freedom in the interim. It is a victory in and of itself.

I quite enjoyed this & am inclined to go back & read the first book. I'm glad to have found another writer of historical fiction to add to my "must reads". ( )

Brilliant book and well-researched. ( )

This book was excellent. I was disappointed in the fact that the relationship between Selene and Juba wasn't more fiery and was equally disappointed in how Selene easily submitted to Augustus. That, however, isn't worth docking stars as it is Ms. Dray's story to tell. I lot of this story focused on the political veracity of Rome and its conquered states, of which I wasn't particularly enraptured. I did enjoy the little details of Selene's love for her daughter and her country, even though she was not in Egypt. Though Selene is a grown woman in this book, she goes through enormous changes in maturity. She starts off whining about Egypt still and longing to be in Alexandria, but by the end of the book she begins to see that she is loved where she is in Mauritania. I also loved that Helios was brought back into the story as I adore his character. I just have to ignore the fact that he is Selene's twin. That has a bit of a creep factor for me!

Honestly, I'm not sure why this book took me so long to complete as I'm normally a fast reader, but I think a lot of the political pomps seemed to get in my way of enjoying the more frivolous adventures. This is just my reading style as I am more into the fantasy concept than the "historical fiction" stylings. I would definitely recommend this book to those looking for a historical fiction novel with a bit of magic and fantasy rather than the other way around. You'll certainly enjoy this book either way.

I received this book from Goodreads in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated monetarily to penn my review and all opinions expressed are my own. ( )