Wednesday, October 29

Book Review: Song of the Nile

Author: Stephanie Dray
Title: Song of the Nile (Cleopatra's Daughter #2)
Genre: Historical Fiction & Fantasy
Pages: 398
First Published: October 4th, 2011
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library

"Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.

The magic of Isis flowing through her veins is what makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra's daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother's throne be more than she's willing to pay?"

This is the second book in the series about Cleopatra's daughter, Selene. I read the first one an age ago and I kept putting this off. Not because I wanted too, but other books came in the way and also, my old library never had the book. When I moved to Waterford the library here had it, so I snatched it up as soon as I found it. :D

I wanted to punch Selene and Juba in the face! I felt bad for both, but both were thick-headed idiots. Again...WHY CAN'T PEOPLE JUST BE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER! My goodness. Selene's ambition for Egypt and hatred that Juba had a tiny role to play in her parent's downfall made her hate him and not give him a chance. It also didn't help she was in love with her brother, Helios, so whenever she felt any love for Juba she felt like she was betraying Helios. A little creepy being in love with your brother, but in Ancient Egyptian culture it wasn't abnormal to marry your brother, but she was obsessed and it was a wee bit creepy to me. While Juba, since she made a scene at the wedding by dressing a little skanky and announcing she was Queen of Egypt, resented her. Plus, he thought she was Augustus' mistress, so he was bitter because he loved her. Just a hot mess of a marriage that could be easily resolved if they had a therapist and a nice chat. Sighs.  I do wish that Juba had more spotlight.

I wanted to stab Augustus myself...creepy, perverted man. >____>

Anyways....

This wasn't as good as the first one, but it was interesting and intriguing. Nothing would happen for page and then BOOM! Huge event! Then nothing and nothing and then BOOM! You never knew when the BOOM would happen, so it kept you reading, because you knew something was on the horizon and you wanted to know what it was going to be. I do love the magic intertwined with the story just like the first book, but this time there seemed to be more magic going on. Stephanie Dray did a wonderful job mixing it in with the story; there was one scene that seemed a wee bit cheesy, but the rest was wonderfully done. There was one part, near the end, that confused me and I am not quite sure what happened. I read the scene a couple of times, but I couldn't get understand how Augustus and Selene seen two different things happen. I know they were hallucinating, but...was Helios really there? Mmmmmmmmm....

I wish I could say more, but I don't want to really ruin anything more. I am excited for the third book though...I hope it gives a nice conclusion to Selene's life. 

In the end, this was okay. It wasn't as good as the first book. Selene and Juba needed a good kick in the head and all the drama between the two of them was totally unneeded. I am glad it ended the way it did, it made me smile. There were a few dry spots, a cheesy spot, and a spot where I was confused, but the rest of the book was good. I recommend that you read the first book first, because there is a lot of backstory you need to understand what the heck is going on in this one. For those that love Historical Fiction, give this series a go. :) You won't be disappointed. Out of five stars, I stamp this one with 3 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Chyrssa, Julie, Lady Octavia, and Juba (at some points)
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Agrippa, Selene, Augustus (creepy old man), and Augustus' wife (>____>)    


2 comments:

Blodeuedd said...

I hate people who just do not TALK

Carole Rae said...

It just takes a second of complete honesty. Screw what you think the other person is going to think...just say it.