Cleopatra Selene, Queen of Mauretania co-ruled with her
husband Juba II over their exotic lands. Named the resurrection by her mother
Cleopatra magic had always been a part of their lives. Her mother had magical
abilities and so did her little brother and her twin Helios. Cleopatra’s
children had met death and destruction at the hands of their Roman captor
Augustus Caesar. Augustus’ obsession
with Selene was deranged and she had fought him off in the previous two novels
in this series but she could never truly be free of him because she now had a
daughter forced upon her by him. Isidora was wholly accepted by Juba as his
daughter but it was an unspoken truth behind her conception and paternity that
was all done by the hand of the Emperor of Rome.
In this third installment of the “Cleopatra’s Daughter”
series we pick up where the last novel left off. Selene is once more free of
the emperor for a period of time. Juba and her are still at odds but we find
them growing closer together through their past shred struggles. Selene opens
her heart to Juba and they welcome a new prince to Mauretania. Name Ptolemy for
his Egyptian heritage he is the light of his parents lives until the fateful day
when Augustus called them back to Rome to ruin their family bliss back in
Mauretania.
Never able to leave Selene alone for too long the Emperor does
not just summon her to Rome he commands it and one does not just ignore the
emperor of Rome before the common era. Forced to return to the land she stolen
away to as a child Selene realizes his obsession with her will never end.
Reaching a new height of disillusionment the emperor now has the audacity to
think that her sweet little Ptolemy is his son. This is too far for Selene but
she is already fighting off her mother enemy King Herod on one front and the
disillusioned Caesar with his vile wife working against her in a dangerous
struggle for power. Liva has already proved that she is capable of murder and
if she were given the chance she would murder Selene in a heartbeat.
Selene had an edge against them all she had magic, the power
of Isis and also a gifted daughter to help her navigate the treachery that now
surrounded her whole family. Years of fighting had taken a toll on Selene and her
son’s birth had its price she was getting older and she found herself more
distant from Juba. Juba was not just any
man he was a scholar, a long time favorite of Caesar, and deep down inside he
knew he had made mistakes with Selene yet he still loved her. Drawn together
the couple could be unstoppable against Rome and anything else that came their
way yet they found the hardest obstacle to conquer was the ocean between
them. Selene found she was still not
ready to admit how much she truly loved this man she married and instead she
chose to fight her battles alone like she always has. Fighting his way into her
heart and her battles Selene cannot deny Juba forever.
4/5 I HATE HATE HATE
HATE the Emperor; he is the vilest man ever to grace historical fiction. He is
like the enemy that cannot die. It sure makes for good reads though. I fell in
love with Selene’s daughter Isidora; she was like a combination of her mother
and famous grandmother Cleopatra. I would recommend this to historical fiction
lovers that do not mind a bit of fantasy in their history. I however would not
recommend reading this as a stand-alone novel because you will miss too much of
the history behind it all.
- FTC ~ this novel was sent to me by the publisher for review. I received no compensation for this review.
- PG-13 Rating for mild violence and sexual references.
- Amazon: Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
~Lizzie~
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