What do you think?
Rate this book
Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light
Hidden beneath a veil of incense, inside Egypt’s most sacred temple, lies the door to a secret chamber Cleopatra must guard with her life. Within resides an ancient mystery the pharaohs and their high priests, The Keepers of the Light, have protected for thousands of years.
But with the rise of Rome’s first Emperor, Augustus Caesar, Cleopatra is forced to fight to save her sacred order from the Roman invaders. If she fails, the brutal Emperor will twist the light The Keepers guard into a fierce darkness, laying waste to the world and destroying the harmony of the universe forever.
Can she trust another Roman, Marc Antony, the lover who has blinded her with desire, even as Augustus and his legions stand poised at the gates of Alexandria? And will her soul-stirring passion for Antony endure when Cleopatra is forced to sacrifice her life for the secret she is sworn to protect?
But with the rise of Rome’s first Emperor, Augustus Caesar, Cleopatra is forced to fight to save her sacred order from the Roman invaders. If she fails, the brutal Emperor will twist the light The Keepers guard into a fierce darkness, laying waste to the world and destroying the harmony of the universe forever.
Can she trust another Roman, Marc Antony, the lover who has blinded her with desire, even as Augustus and his legions stand poised at the gates of Alexandria? And will her soul-stirring passion for Antony endure when Cleopatra is forced to sacrifice her life for the secret she is sworn to protect?
315 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2011
13 people are currently reading
1633 people want to read
About the author
Lydia Storm
4 books26 followersAMAZON BESTSELLING AUTHOR
LYDIA STORM is the #1 International Amazon bestselling author of romantasy Cleopatra’s Secret: Keepers of The Light, hailed by USA Today as “A sensual delight!” and the romantic suspense Moonlight on Diamonds.
Lydia's work has been published in various magazines, including a monthly astrology column in Gotham and a daily column online for Cosmogirl. Her screenplays have been produced by New Line Cinema and 20th Century Fox.
She resides in a fairytale cottage in the upper Hudson Valley of NY moonlighting as a college professor, filmmaker and spinner of fantastical tales!
LYDIA STORM is the #1 International Amazon bestselling author of romantasy Cleopatra’s Secret: Keepers of The Light, hailed by USA Today as “A sensual delight!” and the romantic suspense Moonlight on Diamonds.
Lydia's work has been published in various magazines, including a monthly astrology column in Gotham and a daily column online for Cosmogirl. Her screenplays have been produced by New Line Cinema and 20th Century Fox.
She resides in a fairytale cottage in the upper Hudson Valley of NY moonlighting as a college professor, filmmaker and spinner of fantastical tales!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 15, 2013
This is one of those books that had so much potential to be something wonderful and then stumbled in the execution. The story of Cleopatra and Antony told with supernatural elements, wherein the Egyptian gods really do imbue the pharaoh's line and the priests/priestesses with power and abilities? Awesome!
Unfortunately, the story suffers from choppy writing. Many times, a conflict is just starting to pick up steam when there's a sudden time jump, jolting the reader out of the slow and natural build and starting with something completely different.
I loved the relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar. It takes a deft hand to establish a relationship to the point where a reader feels they understand it despite one of the two people involved having been dead for the vast majority of the story. Despite his death, Caesar remains a realistically influential character on those left behind, a presence that never quite fades but doesn't come to the point of overshadowing all else.
Caesar provides a drastic contrast to Antony, but instead of highlighting the strengths of both men, it mostly serves to make the novel's hero look weak. He spends most of the book wallowing in misery over things that have happened to him, while both Cleopatra and Caesar deliberately take action. By the end of the book, I had absolutely no idea why Cleopatra would want to spend any time with Antony, let alone consider him the great love of her life.
Unfortunately, the story suffers from choppy writing. Many times, a conflict is just starting to pick up steam when there's a sudden time jump, jolting the reader out of the slow and natural build and starting with something completely different.
I loved the relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar. It takes a deft hand to establish a relationship to the point where a reader feels they understand it despite one of the two people involved having been dead for the vast majority of the story. Despite his death, Caesar remains a realistically influential character on those left behind, a presence that never quite fades but doesn't come to the point of overshadowing all else.
Caesar provides a drastic contrast to Antony, but instead of highlighting the strengths of both men, it mostly serves to make the novel's hero look weak. He spends most of the book wallowing in misery over things that have happened to him, while both Cleopatra and Caesar deliberately take action. By the end of the book, I had absolutely no idea why Cleopatra would want to spend any time with Antony, let alone consider him the great love of her life.
November 9, 2025
Loved this book and the authors immersive style of writing.
June 20, 2014
Elizabeth Taylor = Cleopatra at least in my mind's eye. There are few known facts about the relationships of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar or Cleopatra and Marc Antony. Writers of fiction have been fascinated by Cleopatra through the centuries and some focused on her physical appearance (sexuality) and others looked at her political prowess. Ms. Storm combines the two but seems most interested in the secret, mystical and religious life of Cleopatra.
I found myself caught-up in the religion of ancient Egypt--the various gods, goddesses, practices. Ms. Storm creates wonderful word-pictures using descriptions of sight, sound, smell (flowers, incense, sea), touch (skin, linen), and all of nature (moon, temperature, wind). There are marvelous phrases: Time Before Time, Queen of Heaven that help transport you to a different time and place.
It's difficult to describe the sex in the book. There is no doubt that Cleopatra and Antony are sexually active and their first encounter has a few fairly explicit words but the overall feeling is not graphic or explicit.
I found myself caught-up in the religion of ancient Egypt--the various gods, goddesses, practices. Ms. Storm creates wonderful word-pictures using descriptions of sight, sound, smell (flowers, incense, sea), touch (skin, linen), and all of nature (moon, temperature, wind). There are marvelous phrases: Time Before Time, Queen of Heaven that help transport you to a different time and place.
It's difficult to describe the sex in the book. There is no doubt that Cleopatra and Antony are sexually active and their first encounter has a few fairly explicit words but the overall feeling is not graphic or explicit.
August 28, 2015
For some reason, i feel like the story is rushed. There should've beeb more details like perhaps about Mark Antony's past wives and other children, or maybe more about the House of Ptolemy.
And why is Ptolemy Philadelphus not included here? I don't know, the entire story is fleeting. All the events seemed like it happened in a year instead of decades.
And why is Ptolemy Philadelphus not included here? I don't know, the entire story is fleeting. All the events seemed like it happened in a year instead of decades.
August 25, 2014
If Game of Thrones took place in ancient Egypt and featured the characters of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, it would be this book. I really enjoyed the magical fantasy elements. The gods and Egyptian magic came to life in true epic fashion and the storyline was a big departure from any depiction of the Cleopatra story I've ever seen before.
If people are looking for a strictly historical depiction of Cleopatra they might be disappointed, but if you love magic and fantasy, this book is for you. Or, at least, it was very much for me!
If people are looking for a strictly historical depiction of Cleopatra they might be disappointed, but if you love magic and fantasy, this book is for you. Or, at least, it was very much for me!
July 18, 2025
elegantly written, beautifully told, sexy and satisfying!
Loved every word! The images of a misty ancient world of tender romance are with me still. Such a great read! Gotta get her other books too!
Thanks Lydia Storm, for the perfect escape into a world of beauty and emotion.
Loved every word! The images of a misty ancient world of tender romance are with me still. Such a great read! Gotta get her other books too!
Thanks Lydia Storm, for the perfect escape into a world of beauty and emotion.
no-thank-you
February 8, 2013Not my cuppa, but it is free on Kindle today.
Read
December 2, 2012loved it
April 1, 2014
this book I could not put down. true love and the will of someone's soul to live life to the end.
Read
December 18, 2012loved it
Want to read
January 19, 2013amazing!
September 6, 2020
According to my Kindle, I made it through 37% of the book (which means I read the first nine chapters) and I just couldn't keep going.
When I read the prologue, I was in love. You are introduced to Cleopatra on the eve of Ceasar's assassination. You are introduced to her powers, to the world of the Egyptian gods, and, of course, to the Romans. I was intrigued by it all, eager to read about this time in history not enough stories focus on and kept on reading. It soon went downhill.
37% and I still don't know what the story is going to be about. 37% and the Keepers of the Light have been mentioned once. On the contrary, the number of times Cleopatra and Marc Anthony have had sex averages out to about three times a chapter.
As I was reading, I was struggling to make my way through the chapters. While I usually don't mind long chapters, I found there was too much happening in each one. Events weren't necessarily related and they were made more confusing by the POV switches. It happens at least two or three times per chapter without necessarily adding anything to the story. On top of that, new POVs keep getting added every other chapter, again, without necessarily adding anything to the overall story ().
All in all, the story announced itself awesomely and then wasn't able to deliver. There is no clear plot, the magic felt confusing, and the author has added too many POVs without truly asking herself what they bring to the story.
When I read the prologue, I was in love. You are introduced to Cleopatra on the eve of Ceasar's assassination. You are introduced to her powers, to the world of the Egyptian gods, and, of course, to the Romans. I was intrigued by it all, eager to read about this time in history not enough stories focus on and kept on reading. It soon went downhill.
37% and I still don't know what the story is going to be about. 37% and the Keepers of the Light have been mentioned once. On the contrary, the number of times Cleopatra and Marc Anthony have had sex averages out to about three times a chapter.
As I was reading, I was struggling to make my way through the chapters. While I usually don't mind long chapters, I found there was too much happening in each one. Events weren't necessarily related and they were made more confusing by the POV switches. It happens at least two or three times per chapter without necessarily adding anything to the story. On top of that, new POVs keep getting added every other chapter, again, without necessarily adding anything to the overall story ().
All in all, the story announced itself awesomely and then wasn't able to deliver. There is no clear plot, the magic felt confusing, and the author has added too many POVs without truly asking herself what they bring to the story.
July 18, 2025
Beautiful historical romance. Takes me right into ancient Egypt. Perfect summer read. Fantastic writing. I love Lydia storm.
dnf
October 8, 2016DNF at 24%
Interesting concept at first but then wasn't feeling it at all Spoilers.
I feel like the author was banking on the fact that her authors knew about Marc and Cleo realtionship. That they already knew the history,read the play and probably watched the Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton version( and the Timothy Dilton with Billy Zane version) a million times like I have. If you didn't you probably felt that it was hardly no built up and it was pretty much lust. You had really no built up on their realtionship before the scene where the entities was inside of them ,they had sex and then the aftermath was " oh I do love you but I'm using you to get what I want. Lets runaway back to Alexandria ans start and affair. Yay!" They hardly had no interaction with each other until that scene on the boat. In the prologue,they had that one scene together but they was pretty much starky at each other before she left before Caesar died. Now he was trying to get an audience with her for two years which she declined and then all of sudden she's give him one which he's not questioning it at all? Seriously? I just. pass on this.
The whole chapter with Octavian was so out of place...
I also skipped a couple chapters to that one chapter with Marc and Octavia which was the main reason why I decided to let this book go.
Also the grammar..
I found myself correcting the inner monologue lines of the characters becasue the tense was so wrong. I'm not that good at grammar myself but you really think a published book would be run through editors to make sure everything looks correct.
So my first dive into historical fiction wasn't good..
Interesting concept at first but then wasn't feeling it at all Spoilers.
I feel like the author was banking on the fact that her authors knew about Marc and Cleo realtionship. That they already knew the history,read the play and probably watched the Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton version( and the Timothy Dilton with Billy Zane version) a million times like I have. If you didn't you probably felt that it was hardly no built up and it was pretty much lust. You had really no built up on their realtionship before the scene where the entities was inside of them ,they had sex and then the aftermath was " oh I do love you but I'm using you to get what I want. Lets runaway back to Alexandria ans start and affair. Yay!" They hardly had no interaction with each other until that scene on the boat. In the prologue,they had that one scene together but they was pretty much starky at each other before she left before Caesar died. Now he was trying to get an audience with her for two years which she declined and then all of sudden she's give him one which he's not questioning it at all? Seriously? I just. pass on this.
The whole chapter with Octavian was so out of place...
I also skipped a couple chapters to that one chapter with Marc and Octavia which was the main reason why I decided to let this book go.
Also the grammar..
I found myself correcting the inner monologue lines of the characters becasue the tense was so wrong. I'm not that good at grammar myself but you really think a published book would be run through editors to make sure everything looks correct.
So my first dive into historical fiction wasn't good..
May 11, 2012
2.5 stars. There were parts I liked and others that were weird plus the editing mistakes caused some bumps. It was difficult for me to get attached to the characters, don't know why. I liked the mystical angle of this story though. Perhaps if I had read this first, before Michelle Moran's 'Cleopatra's Daughter', and not compared the two, it would've been a better read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews