BOOK REVIEW: Talk about beginning with a bang! How about the fall of an ancient empire!?
Michelle Moran’s Cleopatra’s Daughter begins in the private chambers of Queen Cleopatra and her children as the Romans storm Alexandria to claim the only home the children have ever known.
We follow our lead character and Cleopatra's Daughter, Selene, her twin brother Alexander and youngest brother Ptolemy as they journey with their captors back to Rome following the deaths of their mother and father.
I sat on the edge of my seat as I watched them find a way to be ‘useful’ to the ruler Octavian or surely be executed as a threat to the Roman Empire.
They navigate a world built on a foundation of slavery, elite bloodlines and the currency of women sold into marriages that benefit their fathers and husbands.
Selene finds it difficult to bite her tongue against the ruthless inequity of the society around her, only now fully realising any role she herself plays in it.
Will she get caught in the web of a rogue warrior, named The Red Eagle, fighting for justice? Will she be executed?
Will she be married off to the highest bidder?
BOOK REVIEW: Three reasons why I loved it…
1) Pace and Tension
This book is a tutorial on how to build and maintain a high level of tension and pace throughout a novel. There was never a moment when I felt like I wanted to put this book down. Fallen empires, executions, weddings, vigilante justice…there is always something keeping this plot pumping!
2) Setting
I wouldn’t have said that I’ve been particularly drawn to Ancient Rome as a setting in the past, but Michelle Moran painted this setting so richly, but also in a way that wasn’t needlessly confronting. Books that I have read about Ancient Rome in the past are often very graphic in terms of sex, rape and violence. While those themes are still present, they are not written in for shock value. I think this is actually harder to do than to go all out with graphic descriptions.
3) Semi-Biographical
The book is heavily based on real-life events and real characters from our history. While the vigilante Red Eagle is a fictional character the remaining cast is largely real people. In this way, this book is one of the most entertaining history lessons you can give yourself. I found myself re-thinking what I thought I knew about Queen Cleopatra and indeed Octavian.
In summary, I'm giving this book a full 5 stars.
It's just about perfect!
Our next Historical Fiction Heart Book Club read is The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli.
Head to our Historical Fiction Heart Book Club Facebook group to join us!
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