I did not know that the Cinderella story had such ancient origins when I started this book - but then again, most moralistic stories have been around since time began. I knew nothing of Rhodopis and her fable of becoming queen of Egypt so I came to this book with wide open eyes and deep interest in the history of this time period.

The novel was very much focused on its protagonist and she tells the tale from the future which can be done well but I felt in this book it led to far too many statements of "if I had only known." This can be useful but I think it was used too heavily, especially in the first third of the tale. The character is an interesting one and what is known of her life (I googled) is fleshed out quite well but she doesn't change much from when the story picks her up at 12 to when it ends at some unknown adult age.

It was quite fun to encounter Aesop in the pages, while most of us are familiar with his fables I am sure that like me, many of us don't know much about the man. Apparently these two intersected in history and that real circumstance is put to good fictional use.

The ancillary characters - particularly the females are really rather one dimensional. Doricha's "near sister" Mara in particular. Her mother and aunt have a huge feud that leads to the whole set up for the book and yet I'm still confused as to what it was all about. A man, yes, but the why was not fully explained - at least not so much as for me to understand. Just not enough development for this reader to really care.

The ending was satisfactory but felt a touch rushed. As if it all had to fit in the last few pages which was disappointing after so much extraneous bits and pieces elsewhere.

Overall I enjoyed the book but found myself frustrated at the lack of history in this historical novel and the effort to try and fit in every known bit of her life whether it went with the flow of the story being told or not. ( )