Okay so first up, this has a whole bunch of R18+ kind of things going on. There's rape, and there's incestuousness. For the first, I hated that obviously, and I hated that Selene would even consider letting a similar situation happen again (only with her in control). The second, it was something common for brothers and sisters to wed each other and become Pharaoh and Queen, but still, since society these days look down on brother and sister love, it was incredible uncomfortable to read about Selene and Helios sex life.Second, this book has a lot more blood, betrayal and pain than the first and there was a lot more for Selene to fight for. It was still a very strong story for a fiction, and reading the afterword was always bound to be interesting for filtering the fiction from the historical details.Juba was such a decent guy in this novel, it was sad to read Selene's constant rejection of him. History says they had a quiet reign and they ruled well together, I wonder what it was really like. Because I definitely know, I feel incredibly sorry for Juba in this representation of their life together. I wonder what will happen in Book 3. I'm just glad that she gave it up to go back to him. I'm glad she chose him over Caesar. What else? It's strange, I have very little to say about the first and the second book of this series. I guess maybe it's the kind of historical fiction that is almost completely based on true historical people than fictional people in a historical time period.ANYWAY for a good fiction about Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene, then this is a good series to turn to! Like its predecessor Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray, it follows the life of Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the famous Cleopatra. She has been married off to one of her archenemies, Juba of Mauritania, and has been separated from the love of her life. While true she is queen of Mauritania, she longs to be returned to her homeland, and to her throne. Her journey is fraught with danger from everything from the very ground and people she has been sent to along with being in danger from Octavian's passions and rages. While she is thousands of miles away from Rome, Octavian's long shadowy arm still has the opportunity to sweep her away into the dust. Once again, Miss Dray has managed to out do herself in this new literary creation. She has created a work of historical fiction that rivals the best work of historical writing every taken on. She has managed to create a sequel that does not repel the reader but actually causes them to fall more in love with the story line as well as the characters.As before, with a bit more exception, the age range should be increased to over 15 preferably those who are 15 have a great level of maturity and a strong stomach with which to read. However, I would recommend this to most of my friend groups, men and women alike.
Do You like book Song Of The Nile (2011)?
I'd love to read more but can't imagine where a third book in this series might go...
—Alyssa
Loved the first one, and now I love the second one too!
—dale
Please, please let there be a third book!!!!!
—iixhildaa
