This one was a bit odd, considering the fact that these were real people that Dray put a fictional spin on. I didn't actually mind the magical aspects of this as much as I thought I would. It's my first historical fiction/fantasy book that I've read. Everything else I've read has either involved purely fictional characters, or books written about real people as accurately as they could be written. Anyway, this one was pretty solid.Story wise, this is a YA book, so I wasn't expecting anything terribly deep, and I feel like that's about what I got. This is definitely an "escape" book. I'm glad the story didn't drag and the characters were pretty interesting.Since this book is part of a series, I won't waste time being upset over the fact that the characters weren't as developed as I would have liked to see. Helios, especially, seems very one note for me (although I think this is on purpose, as he seems to be a foil for Selene). I enjoyed how Selene is slowly trapped into a "domesticated" life in Rome, but I'm glad she eventually recovers herself enough to remember her roots. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Previously I had read Michelle Moran's "Cleopatra's Daughter" and I LOVED that book. She portrayed Selene and Alexander perfectly. I then moved onto Nefertiti and the Heretic Queen, by Moran as well. Then I stumbled across this book and had many doubtful thoughts. However since I am interested in the children of Cleopatra, I picked up Dray's version. At first I was adverse to the way she portrayed her characters. I didn't like the way Dray portrayed Juba, thats my main complaint. Selene seemed very childish and loud, like me, and she didn't know how to not be egotistical. Slowly I fell in love with her and her brothers and I'm looking forward to the next book.
