Libbie Hawker penned this book inspired by the pervasiveness of the Roman Empire and the Roman culture valuing women as second class citizens. She found a vehicle for these energies in Zenobia, who thumbed her nose at Rome and her cultures.

This should be a book I should love. It's a historical fiction focusing on a lesser known person. The book also has a large dousings romance which for me really dragged down the story.

There were a lot of parts of this book that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, for most of the book I was felt like I was laboriously walking slowly in sand while having to carry a large stone.
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As much of a foregone conclusion as "[b:Druids|88009|Druids|Morgan Llywelyn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320471485s/88009.jpg|1467575]", but not quite as compelling. ( )

This is the book that I wish Stacy Schiff's [b:Cleopatra: A Life|7968243|Cleopatra A Life|Stacy Schiff|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1294098301s/7968243.jpg|12020129] had been. It's a fascinating portrayal of the life of a woman who held a position of power and authority during a time when virtually no women did. In this case, it's the 3rd century, and Zenobia is not content with being the wife of the governor of Palmyra -- she'd like to take a piece of Rome's empire.
It reads like the novel that it is (which is to say, it's entertaining), but historical details give it a realistic sense of time and place, and an appendix explains the things we do and do not know about the actual historical figure of Zenobia (so it's educational, too).

I received a complimentary copy of this book through the Kindle First program, which did not influence my review in any way. ( )

Zenobia of Palmyra was a notorious woman in the third century, responsible for a significant rebellion against the Roman Empire. Zenobia's story is not nearly so well known as the exploits of Boudicca in Britannia, though the potential impact of her actions was much greater. Daughter of Sand and Stone is Libby Hawkers' effort to retell Zenobia's story of bravery and tenacity.

The story is engaging, and Hawker tells it well, but her well-written effort doesn’t bring Zenobia into full life. The reader, after slogging through a rather long introduction of time, place, and family history, encounters a young woman who sacrifices everything to her belief that she has a great destiny. That sacrifice is the driving force of the story. Zenobia takes great risks and enjoys much success. She tweaks Rome's imperial nose. The reader rightly deduces Zenobia will not win in the end, but reads on, hoping to engage with Zenobia as the character is drawn.

Hawker traces the Zenobia's life without really letting Zenobia speak for herself. Zenobia willingly puts aside her birth family, engineers what appears to be a loveless marriage, abandons her son (into good hands, of course), and expects Zabdas, the loyal suitor she repeatedly rejects, to remain at her side through all her schemes. The reader learns nothing about Zenobia apart from her hubris -- her defiance of gods and men.

The two characters who come through most strongly are the Emperor Aurelian and the Zabdas, the guardsman suitor. But while his dedication to Zenobia is believably unquestioning, Zabdas' lack of family or standing in his own community is not. An ambitious woman seeking ever greater heights and able to leave her young son to an uncertain future is, in my opinion, unlikely to give her love (such as it may have been) to a man of such low estate. Zabdas, by the way, is the author's gift to Zenobia.

Emperor Aurelian did put down the Palmyran Rebellion against Rome, and brought Zenobia to Rome in chains. Roman generals often extended grudging respect to their more successful enemies. Aurelian exchanged several letters with Zenobia. No doubt this explains the believability of the interactions between the two.

Hawker is a strong writer and an enthusiastic researcher. She tells a story that is worth reading. Hawker does a good service to historical fiction about notable women by bringing Zenobia to our attention. I just wish the reader could have gotten to know Zenobia better. ( )

This was an interesting book and once I got into the story, I enjoyed it very much. The writing was descriptive and truly created a picture in my head. It took me a while to really get into the story, but I was well into it by the end of the first chapter. The difficulty was due to my shortcomings and not due to the story or the writing. I don’t have much background in world history, so for much of the first chapter I almost felt like I was reading fantasy or dystopian fiction. The setting and place names were unfamiliar to me, as was the name of the heroine, Zenobia. So I ended up re-reading the first chapter twice, just to get the names straight!

Once I oriented myself, I really enjoyed learning about the times and grew to like many of the characters. Ironically, I’m not sure I was supposed to like Aurelian, but he was possibly my favorite character in the book. I also liked Zenobia, though at times I found her extremely frustrating. She was a strong woman and a leader, but at times sometimes her choices annoyed me. It often seemed that when there was a decision to be made, she chose the one that brought her glory at the expense of her family.

This was historical fiction and did it’s job, because it enticed me to learn more. I went through several stages, first wondering if Zenobia was a real person, and then after realizing she was a real person, I wanted to immediately google her to learn more! I appreciated that the author included some of the history and her reasoning in developing the characters the way she did in her notes at the end of the book. If you enjoy historical fiction, pick this one up.

This book review is included in a tour by TLC Book Tours. I was provided a copy for review purposes. ( )