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? Goodreads
In sticking with my no spoilers policy, I really can't say much about the plot of this book, but I am completely blown away by Stephanie Dray. Her writing style sucks me in to the point I can't put the book down. This was even more impressive in Song of the Nile because unlike Monday's review, I wasn't actually rooting for Selene for most of the book. Instead, I spent half my time wishing I could shake some sense into her. Usually, when that happens I get frustrated and quit reading for a while. But I simply had to know what was going to happen next. After initially hating Juba, Selene's husband, I found myself taking his side a lot.
Since not a lot is known about Selene's teen years, Dray had to make up a lot of the political intrigue, and wow, she was good at it. I loved the way she crafted Helios's fate, and I'd like to believe it really happened that way. And the ending was perfect! So much is left open, so many possibilities of what could have happened next. I loved it. The only reason I can't give this one 5 stars is the amount of sexual content. I'm not at all debating the historical fact of sex-as-politics, I just wish it wasn't so...descriptive, being a YA book.
Rating 4/5 stars
YA notes: Sexual content
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