Cleopatra Confesses

by Carolyn Meyer

It is the first century B.C. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh's six children, is the one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolemy is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history's most famous leaders to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sisters plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom she can rely--herself.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Egypt, Fiction, Royalty, Romance

Paperback

First published June 7, 2011

About the author

Carolyn Meyer is as versatile a writer as you will find. Along with historical fiction and realistic novels for young adults she has written nonfiction for young adults and books for younger readers on topics as diverse as the Amish, the Irish, Japanese, Yup'ik Eskimos, a rock band, rock tumbling, bread baking, and coconuts. And ten of her books have been chosen as Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association. In her most recent historical novels she has dealt with the young lives of Mary Tudor, Princess Elizabeth, Anastasia, and Isabel of Castilla, Spain.

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that someday I could become a great ruler of Egypt, better than my sisters can dream of being, but I must be careful not to let them know how I feel. I do not want them to see me as a rival for the throne and a threat to their plans.

Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer



This was such a fun book!

Written from Cleopatra‘s perspective, starting from early days and then going on as she develops into a woman who will one day be queen of Egypt, I found this book to be a great read.

I found the writing in the story really enjoyable. I am a big reader of literature having to do with Cleopatra and I found this to be one of the better books out there. There was one thing I wish were different. That is I wish the book was longer because it does not go into her days with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. This is actually a compliment to the writer. What I am saying is I wanted more. I just found the book too short but other than that it was an exhilarating and fun read.

All the characters came alive As did the beauty of Egypt. This is a must read for all lovers of his Historical fiction and in particular historical royal figures.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so confession time: I'm a bit obsessed with Cleopatra. Or Kleopatra as I believe it should be spelled, but let's not get into that argument right now. There's mystery surrounding her that I love.
Another confession: I don't really know all that much about her. Other than that she was queen of Egypt and had children with both Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius.

Anyway, when I read this was a YA story told through her eyes, my reaction was: COUNT ME IN!! And I was so excited to start reading it and was telling myself: ooh, I'm loving this.
Right up until the moment I realised I wasn't actually loving it.

We start the story when Cleopatra's 10 years old. And I know I should realise that at that time people just matured earlier cause, well, let's face it, they didn't have all that much time altogether. BUT (huge but) Cleopatra seemed to be much older than her age. And she didn't seem to have much character development throughout the book. She started at this older than her age level and then remained on that same level. Which seemed at the end still too old.

There was also a lot of family drama and though I can believe it, I didn't like how everyone who didn't agree with Cleopatra was made to be evil/dumb/influenced by evil. This made the other characters seem a bit one-dimensional.

The ending left me feeling a bit cheated. We leave her pregnant with Caesarion and, well, I'm wondering what happened next. And I felt cheated by her summary of her later life in the epilogue.

I did however enjoy learning a bit more about Cleopatra. For example, I didn't know she and her father ruled together! And that she was forced to marry a little brother, not once, but twice! Can you imagine?
Egypt around that time seemed brutal all around.

My rating: 2,5 stars

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this galley because I have a pretty deep love for all things Egypt, Cleopatra and Roman. So by default, the chances of me loving this book regardless of anything were pretty high. And I did like it. But if I didn't have all of that history love going for me from the beginning I probably wouldn't have.

It was written compellingly enough but throughout the entire book I couldn't help but feeling a step removed from Cleopatra. I felt like the story was being told from a distance, that the author didn't want to delve too deeply into Cleopatra's feelings because her true feelings weren't known. I think that hindered the story.

Her voice didn't carry much excitement or anticipation or worry or much of anything. A lot of the time I felt like I was just getting relayed information by someone playing Cleopatra. It was kind of annoying at times. A lot of this information I already knew and not all that much was done to spice it up or do much with it beyond the words on the page. It set nice scenery but that seemed to be the strongest portion of writing. Almost as if the author were afraid to delve too deeply into Cleopatra.

It's a good rehash of Cleopatra events that we already know but if you're looking for something more, more sentiment or involvement, you're not going to find it here. It's really just another notch in the Cleopatra belt. Had I not had the love of Egypt I had going in, I probably wouldn't have stuck with the book because, at times, I found it downright boring. I could have read a history text and gotten a similar result.

Read it if you love Egyptian, Cleopatran or Roman history because it'll enrich you in that arena even more. But if you don't, since there isn't much story or emotion to it, you might want to skip it at the risk of getting bored with it. I'm not sure why this was classified with YA. Maybe it has crossover appeal. But between the hoity voice and lack of emotion, I'm not sure how much it's going to appeal to a younger audience.

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun book!

Written from Cleopatra‘s perspective, starting from early days and then going on as she develops into a woman who will one day be queen of Egypt, I found this book to be a great read.

I found the writing in the story really enjoyable. I am a big reader of literature having to do with Cleopatra and I found this to be one of the better books out there. There was one thing I wish were different. That is I wish the book was longer because it does not go into her days with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. This is actually a compliment to the writer. What I am saying is I wanted more. I just found the book too short but other than that it was an exhilarating and fun read.

All the characters came alive As did the beauty of Egypt. This is a must read for all lovers of his Historical fiction and in particular historical royal figures.

[Coreena McBurnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a classicist, I jumped at the chance to read Cleopatra Confesses. I absolutely love this era of history, though my focus has been more Greek and Roman, I find Egypt fascinating too. It was so much fun to read Carolyn Meyer's account of Cleopatra's early life.

Cleopatra Confesses is a really interesting first person narrative told by Cleopatra herself starting at age ten and going until age twenty-two. It is the first century BC, an exciting and tumultuous time in history and Cleopatra is at the center of much of it - her father must go into exile, her siblings are plotting against her for the throne, Egypt faces famine over and over, and the Roman Empire and has become the most powerful on Earth.

The time frame the story covers is one that was fairly new to me, Cleopatra as a girl and young woman. The narrative is intimate, almost diary like, making the reader feel huge sympathy for Cleopatra. As Carolyn Meyer points out, not much is known about Cleopatra personally, so it is interesting to read this account of what things might have been like for the famous queen in her early days.

The narrative style is quite effective, especially given the title. Much of the story is told by Cleopatra to an audience who is not familiar with Egyptian culture. There is very little actual "action" or interaction with other characters in the book, mostly it is Cleopatra and her thoughts. I was not sure about this at first, but it worked really well.

At times I did feel that the story got repetitive when Cleopatra talked and worried about her sisters being jealous of her and plotting against her. Cleopatra is very concerned about it and mentions it quite a bit, and, given her position this is understandable, but sometimes it felt like she just kept going on about her sisters when they hadn't actually done anything.

The story is very informative and it is quite clear that Carolyn Meyer did a lot of research. She managed to convey Egyptian history as well as the action of the story seamlessly - I did not feel like I was getting a lesson in history, but was carried away with the excitement of the story. Meyer even added sections at the end with resources, web sites, a time line, and Cleopatra in History. I found these extremely helpful and they rounded out the book for me as I wanted to read what was next for Cleopatra. I think readers aged 12 and up who enjoy Egyptian history or who want to know more about Cleopatra will really enjoy this book.

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author can do better than the writing in this book. I found it quite disappointing. She presents Cleopatra as making verbal slip after slip with her two sisters who she knew would turn on her if she made even one slip. She has the haughtiest woman in history having as her one real friend a dancer who she regards as a friend in spite of the fact this was presumably her step sister. In reality, Cleopatra would have been likely to regard such a relative as an immediate enemy. Assuming she even considered a dancer as really human to begin with! The powerlessness that Cleopatra had is certainly true but not her feeling of powerlessness. This was someone who would have regarded setbacks as a bump in the road on the way to greater success. If you want decent historical fiction, try Moran or Shecter's fictional book on Cleopatra. Schiff's book will be the definitive biography of Cleopatra for many years to come. But skip this title.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For you, Kristina! This doesn't even go up on the blog until tomorrow (Monday)

Everyone thinks they know the story of Cleopatra, right? Or at least the movie version that brought Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton together?

Cleopatra Confesses introduces us to a new Cleopatra, not the seductress, but the favored daughter who loved her country more than anything, and who was forced into a loveless marriage with not just one younger brother (as was custom), but when that one died, her other younger brother!

Here is the summary from Goodreads:

It is the first century B.C. Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh's six children, is the one that her father has chosen to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolemy is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left alone to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history's most famous leaders to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sisters plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom she can rely--herself.

I really liked this book. It was well written and researched, and I liked that it gave a different perspective than the seductress Cleopatra.

Cleopatra's story is narrated by Cleopatra and starts when she is roughly 10 and follows her through her father's rule, exile, the joint rule of her sisters, her father's return, becoming Queen, and her two great loves, Caesar and Marc Antony.

The last chapter is so sad when she talks about Caesar's death and then Marc Antony's death and leading up to her own suicide by asp.

(http://maestra-amanda.blogspot.com)

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite four stars. Interesting to read, well researched, the ending is somewhat rushed. For trying to condense Cleopatra's life into a young adult or 288 pages, I think it did a pretty good job. I enjoyed reading in Cleopatra's POV, in the beginning I was just too surprised how smart this eleven year old girl was! But her POV does mature as Cleopatra does. All in all, I think it can be considered a very good ~introduction~ it does leave you wanting more, but that wouldn't have fit the ~young adult~ label- I think. The cover does make me think of cosmetology school, is that wrong?

[Makayla Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently went to Cleopatra Beach, Turkey, so I can say I have been where Cleopatra and Antony have stayed!!! I liked how Cleopatra acted like a true Queen throughout her story. I just wish the book showed me what was happening instead of told me.

Cleopatra's story continues in:
The Valiant series by Lesley Livingston
Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter

[Margo Tanenbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carolyn Meyer is one of our most prolific contemporary authors of historical fiction for young people, and has tackled novelizations of the lives of many famous women from history including Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, and Anne Boleyn. In her newest young adult novel, she turns her pen (or computer?) to one of the most celebrated women in history, Cleopatra.

As in the other books in her Young Royals series, Meyer concentrates on Cleopatra's teen years, as the queen reminisces about her life in a diary-like format with very brief chapters. As the book opens, Cleopatra is 10 years old, and clearly the favorite daughter of King Ptolemy XII. Young Cleopatra is surrounded by intrigue at court, particularly from her two ambitious and jealous older sisters, yet secretly dreams of one day becoming a great ruler of Egypt.

Meyer portrays Cleopatra as a highly intelligent young woman, with a gift and passion for learning, especially for languages, and compassion for her future subjects. Despite her wealth and privilege, she enjoys going out in disguise among the common people, "not only to escape the dull routine of my life in the palace but also to savor the exciting sights and sounds of the city." Cleopatra is eager to learn everything she can about politics; her beloved father has just come back from Rome, and speaks candidly to Cleopatra about his meetings with the powerful Roman triumverate, including the ambitious Julius Caesar. Soon the royal entourage embarks on a journey down the fabled Nile river, traveling in great luxury, as Cleopatra observes, amidst the great poverty of their subjects. The river is filled with treacherous crocodiles, and the boats with equally treacherous courtiers. As she visits temples and the famed pyramids of Giza with her father, Cleopatra is careful to hide her lofty ambitions from her sisters, who she realizes would stop at nothing to get rid of her if they felt she was a threat.

The voyage down the Nile serves as a clever way to incorporate the many sights and sounds of Egypt into the narrative, as we experience along with Cleopatra the glories of her realm. Meyer weaves in many details about Egyptian society at the time, including the royals' love of beautiful clothes and jewelry, their games, pets (monkeys and baboons) meals and customs (such as wearing a fake beard at ceremonial appearances). On the voyage, Cleopatra befriends a young dancer in the royal harem, Charmion, who teaches Cleopatra how to dance. Perhaps this dancing skill is incorporated to establish part of Cleopatra's seductive charm later in her life.

When political turmoil forces Cleopatra's father to go into exile, he promises her that they will one day rule Egypt together. With his departure, who can Cleopatra trust? Now eleven years old, she is not old enough to rule. Her duty, she realizes, is just to survive, with treachery all around her.

When her father returns several years later, he names Cleopatra as queen, but at her father's death, she must marry her brother, according to Egyptian custom. Since her brother was only 10 years old, Meyer takes pains to point out that Ptolemy XIII "will be my husband in name only." Now 18 years old, Cleopatra and her brother travel down the Nile to Memphis and then to Thebes for elaborate coronation ceremonies. Although young, Cleopatra is confident in her abilities but dreams of having a man by her side who could be a real companion to her.

In this book Cleopatra is introduced to both her famous Roman lovers: Marcus Antonius, a handsome Roman cavalry commander whom she is attracted to immediately, and also Julius Caesar, whom she meets after being smuggled into the palace wrapped in a rug. Caesar becomes her lover, although the book does not include any explicit sex scenes. Meyer's narrative basically concludes when Caesar leaves his lover Cleopatra, now pregnant with his child, and Egypt to return to Rome; a brief epilogue, set 17 years later, allows Cleopatra to tell about the end of her life, including the famous suicide by poisonous snake.

The novel's extensive back matter includes an essay on Cleopatra in history, a note from the author, bibliography, a selection of websites, a timeline, a glossary of Egyptian gods and goddesses mentioned in the text, and an explanation of the Egyptian calendar.

I found this to be a very enjoyable introduction to Cleopatra for tween and teen readers; the ending, however, felt a little abrupt because of skipping over quite a few years of her life to get to the infamous suicide at the end. However, this format is also perhaps dictated by Meyer's desire to concentrate the narrative on Cleopatra's teenage years. Also, I would have liked to learn more about her romantic life with Caesar. What attracted her to this powerful man who was so much older than she was? What was their relationship like? Nonetheless, Meyer has created in this novel a compelling portrait of the young years of a great figure in history, effectively evoking the sights and sounds of ancient Egypt.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meep.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a lot--okay, practically all--of Carolyn Meyer's historical fiction, and I've always had a fascination with Ancient Egypt, which of course means that I have more than a passing interest in its last, famous queen. So when I saw that Meyer had penned her own version of Cleopatra's story, I was eager to devour it.

And I was so, so disappointed.

This book is just...odd, to be blunt. It is told from the perspective of the adult Cleopatra, her last confessions before she prepares to take her own life, but that is only relevant during the story's bookends. Since the body of the story reads exactly like the voice of the young Cleopatra, it's unclear why Meyer chose to tell it from the older perspective in the first place.

This is a YA novel. As such, it is only to be expected that it focuses on Cleopatra's early life--her preteen and teenage years as a princess in the Ptolemy court. But the novel doesn't really know what story it wants to tell. It meanders through her teenage years, touching on themes and patterns without ever finding a purpose. Then, once Cleopatra passes through adolescence and into her young adult years, the story, not knowing what else to do, keeps going. At first, I was interested in this choice, since Cleopatra's early years as queen are not well covered in either history or fiction. But as Cleopatra gets older, Meyer's writing gets more and more distant (altogether, logically, the opposite should be true as the older Cleopatra's memories get closer to the present). Facts are related almost as dryly as they would have been found in a textbook, while Cleopatra's thoughts and feelings about events, her expectations, her strategies get hazier and out-of-focus.

When she meets up with Caesar, this phenomenon only gets worse, as Meyer's determination to keep everything YA appropriate wars with the less than PG content of the life of this queen who marries her brother while becoming mistress to a powerful, older married man. Caesar is somewhat bizarrely presented as the love of her life, despite earlier foreshadowing of her romance with Marc Antony (Marcus Antonious here) and the fact that it is a Cleopatra still fresh with the grief of Marc Antony's loss who is supposedly telling this story. But even this "revelation" can't pump passion into this bloodless retelling that peeters out to an uncertain ending, with no clear reason why the older Cleopatra decides to end her story there, or any resolution to the earlier themes of the book.

It's impossible to read this book without comparing it to the one written by Kristiana Gregory for the Royal Diaries line (a line to which Meyer also contributed several titles). While Meyer's version feels more anchored in actual history (although their depictions of the early years share a considerable amount of ground), and not being bound to a diary format means that Meyer can skip through uneventful years and cover more of Cleopatra's life, there is little doubt that Gregory's version tells a better story. The entire point of historical fiction is to transform names and dates into flesh-and-blood people and real, immediate events. Cleopatra Confesses never once achieves this. All of the characters are flat and lifeless, even Cleopatra and her family, although they are allowed at least the pseudo three-dimensionality of a frieze, instead of the painted wall of the rest of the players. Nothing leaps off the page. Nothing stirs to life. Instead of the last confessions of one of history's most intriguing queens, it reads as the rather halfhearted biography of a spoiled teenage girl.

[Vi]

Cleopatra Confesses was a recommendation when I placed an order for my other mystery books. It’s a historical autobiographical fiction novel written in the point of view of Cleopatra from age 10 to age 39. Normally I don’t read historical fiction books but I was pleased to find that the twisted plots of royalty, power, and jealousy were much more interesting than I expected. Not only does it have an attention-grabbing plot but it also gives accurate known historical facts. It tells an improvised tale of greed for power between royal siblings and what they will do to get what they want.

Theme:
One of the most evident themes in Cleopatra Confesses is greed. Cleopatra has two older sisters, one younger sister, and two younger brothers, however she proceeds to be favored by her father and is promised to be next in line for the throne. Her sisters plan evil schemes and plot against her in effort to make sure they are granted power over Egypt first. “The longer the king stays away, the more likely they are to find a way to put themselves in his place”(Meyers 5). The hunger the older sisters have for power reveals a lot about where their priorities are in place. When their father goes into exile for a short period of time, they leap at the opportunity to immediately take the throne. “Our father has been gone for only twelve days, and my sisters have already proclaimed themselves rulers in his place”(Meyers 118). The event that best illustrates the greed for power is when one of the older sisters turns on the other and orders her death posing it as a tragic accident. “The rumors have reached them-- that Tryphaena and Titus have disappeared, that they are likely dead, that Queen Berenike is responsible”(Meyers 138). The jealousy and greed for the power caused family to go against, and even kill, family. It just goes to prove that people will do anything if they are desperate enough and that unfortunately, sometimes not even family can be trusted.

[Emilee · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather simplistic retelling of the early life of Cleopatra. Honestly, the overall action and dialogue were often stilted and a bit awkward at times. I understand that it's supposed to be a bit different, given the different time periods, but it still comes across as fairly flat. The characters seemed pretty stock, which is weird, since they're supposed to be drawn from history itself. Development was sudden and without any gradual change, especially given that months and years could be skipped between chapters.

Commonly I found the action to be sudden, and very short. There is no build up at all, really. Sometimes, turns of events were mentioned after the fact, which was also a bit exasperating. The supposed love that built up between Cleopatra and Caesar was quite out of no where - not to mention her strong infatuation that "might be love" with Mark Anthony earlier, when they barely exchanged five words. True, she was fifteen, but for Caesar she was 21 or thereabouts. I understand this isn't supposed to be adult, fully sculpted stuff, but that doesn't quite excuse Cleopatra's bland character, and the stereotypical evil sibling stuff that came up. Probably the most interesting character was Ptolemy the however many - her father. He seemed to have more than one facet to him, being the desperate ruler, the lover of indulgence, and the promising father all at once. Of course, he doesn't even make it through half the book.

Overall, a fairly forgettable read.

[Vicky N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5


This was my very first book by Carolyn Meyer and I wonder why I have never read anything by her before! Cleopatra Confesses
is a chilling, fast-paced & fantastic retelling of the legend that is Cleopatra.

Told from her early years to her early twenties, Cleopatra Confesses is an intriguing story that albeit might not be a hundred percent accurate(not even archaeologist and historian know for certain) in some facts, it traps you in such way that by the end of the book you are running around wanting to know more about her. It encourages the reader to look for the real truth.

I was afraid at first that the writing might distract from the story, but not at all! It is as easy to read as it is a modern story & Cleopatra narrations from her youth makes us sympathize with her & live the story along with her.

As a YA novel I understand it only narrates until her early twenties, but the end seemed rush by the last few pages. I wish it had covered more.

By then end we had lived most of her life through her eyes & we understand her motives to what she did.

Overall, Cleopatra Confesses was amazing & a great distraction from what I usually read. It is a great story not only for those history fanatics, but everyone for it will make you enjoy the story & see her legend in a way that you will never forget!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many others, I've always been intrigued by Egypt's Cleopatra. While a book I read earlier this year--Cleopatra's Moon--follows the formative years of Cleopatra's daughter, this one describes the early years of Cleopatra herself. The story begins when she is ten and ends when she is in her twenties after the assassination of Julius Caesar, her first love. The author does a marvelous job in bringing Cleopatra to life, highlighting her intelligence, curiosity, and connection to the Egyptians she would lead. What is most noticeable is all the treachery she had to contend with. She clearly couldn't trust her sisters or her brothers or their advisors. Details about the trip the family took down the Nile River with their father allow readers an insider view of royal life during that time period. The author constantly reminds readers of the ways in which Egypt lost some of its riches and influence. If, at times, Cleopatra herself seems too aware for her tender age, she is also determined to hold onto her position despite her youth. I'm just as intrigued now as I was when I first began the book.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books)]

Though dry at times, I enjoyed this fictional account of Cleopatra's life. The first half of the book is my favorite, recounting Cleopatra's life when she is a young girl. Her later years felt rushed, and the ending was too abrupt for my liking. Full review to follow at www.mangamaniaccafe.com

[Hannah Lashbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer takes place in Ancient Egypt, with the most influential historical figure of the story being, of course, Cleopatra herself. What attracted me to this book is the fact that I do not know much about Ancient Egypt or Cleopatra and I felt that perhaps it could provide me a peek into what the mind of Cleopatra might have been like, which is something that a history textbook just cannot provide for me. I connected well with Cleopatra throughout the story on the level of the relationship with her father. It seems that Cleopatra’s father always seems to be away or is at least gone for long periods of time. I connected with that on a personal level, as I did not have a father figure around very much when I was young, yet still admired him greatly for quite a while, just as Cleopatra did with her own father. Although, I gave this book only three stars because while I did like the way that it was told from Cleopatra’s unique perspective and we could connect on some things, I did not personally like the way that Cleopatra’s character was written within this book. It almost felt as if there was a disconnect between Cleopatra and the reader. She seemed to almost have a lack of emotion, or at least not much was conveyed, and she just did not feel like a very developed character. She starts the story in the beginning as a child and grows up throughout the book. However, as a child, she still seemed as if she were an adult. Her voice and character stay pretty much the same throughout the entire novel and it feels like she gets no development. Cleopatra Confesses is a good read if you are interested in knowing more about Cleopatra and Ancient Egypt and roughly what happened during that period. However, if you are looking for an immersive and connected experience, this likely is not the book that you should be reading.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I try really hard not to fall into DNF-ing books, which is entirely because I find myself anxious that there was something I might have missed, maybe the plot was just getting started and I really hadn't given it a chance! But this book, unfortunately, did not sway me away from putting it down.

I couldn't really get into the writing. I know the point was that the narrative is from the perspective of Cleopatra and therefore should read a bit dated in language, but it felt so... clunky? I didn't find it compelling and from the start it felt more telling and not showing. I understand that this is a YA novel, but I don't find that this kind of writing and storytelling would have compelled me at any earlier points in my reading years.

I first came across this novel back in 2012, I believe and hadn't gotten the chance to read it. I've always had a fascination with Cleopatra which really drew me in, but with college and settling into a new way of life I didn't have the time to pick the book up and really immerse myself in it. Now, having the chance to immerse myself and keeping an open mind that this might not align with my current style of reading, I find it absolutely impossible to immerse. Aside from the writing, the characterizing (especially of Cleopatra) felt off base.

In short, I got bored so early in I opted for counting the ceiling tiles while waiting for my appointment. I couldn't find the interest that would keep me invested.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt more like a series of anecdotes rather than one long grand story. More of a focus on her rise to power than on her actual power. Felt like her "reign" was more the reign of the men who were king alongside her rather than Cleopatra herself. Falling in love with her suitors virtually does not happen. No details about the seduction. They meet, and the next moment they are in love. Very little, almost no mention of Marc Antony, which, after reading the synopsis, made me think he was going to be a big part of the story, which he absolutely was not. The climax was exciting but was confusing to read. A lot of things felt very fast. The epilogue alone could have been a great, even better book than what I ended up with. The ending was confusing and felt like a lot of things were missing. Not satisfying. Decent enough of a book but I probably won't recommend it. 

EDIT: I forgot to mention one of the worst things about this book which bothered me more and more the more I realized it was happening, was the repetitiveness of information. We know Isis is the goddess you most identify with, you don't have to say it every other chapter. Really felt like a college student trying to hit the minimum word count. Ugh.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The voice of the protagonist in this novel sounded wrong the entire novel. In the early portions, the voice sounded much older than the five year old child the protagonist was at the time. Then as Cleopatra grew older, the voice stayed the same, showed no maturity at all. By the end of the novel, it sounded like Cleopatra lost her voice entirely. By the second half of the book, I felt like I was reading an only slightly fictionalized version of a history book. If I wanted a history book, I would read that. The beauty of historical fiction is that you are able to dig into aspects of history normally excluded from works of history. When one writes a novel based on an historical character, one runs the risk of sounded pedantic and inauthentic which is what happened with this book.

I do notrecommend it.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this!

I know very little about Cleopatra besides the obvious stuff, and so pretty much all of this story was new information for me. I was fascinated by her awful older sisters and her being forced to marry her little brothers (ew), and I loved seeing her come into her own.

I found it a little odd that the story stopped where it did, and then rushed many years later to an epilogue at the end of her life. But, it seems that her early years are seldom covered by any novels, so that was what the author chose to focus on.

I definitely want to read more books about Cleopatra now!

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a gift a few years ago and I finally got around to reading it. I was really worried that I would DNF it but ended up reading the whole thing. It was better than I expected, but still not amazing. I don't know much about Cleopatra so it had some fun stuff to learn. Definitely written for a younger audience, I'd say middle school.

Clean, though it does reference mistresses and has a man who inappropriately grabs women and girls. But no details given. Talks about how Egyptian women fashion would show their breasts, and that some dancing girls did so naked. Murder, fighting for the throne, a suicide mentioned, wars, but no real details.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. I devoured it, because I couldn't put it down! I found the topic fascinating and I love how the author wrote the book from Cleopatra's point of view, so the readers could see how she may have felt and though during everything that happened to her. She was an amazingly strong person, and to have accomplished everything that she and before her 40th birthday, which was probably considered old age at the point in time!

Thank you Carolyn Meyer for a very enjoyable book! I will look for more books by her.

[Tayler Farrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally finished! I love retellings of famous historical figures and Cleopatra probably the most. I've read many books that have told her story in different ways and all of them have used unique and exciting ways to portray her life. This book was no different. This retelling was definitely different from others that I've read, this story gave more insight into how a young girl would be thinking and feeling in the situations that Cleopatra lived through. If you are a fellow history lover I highly recommend this book.

[Chameme · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I read about Cleopatra and to say the least I thoroughly enjoyed it🥰 The characters are full of life and there is never a boring moment in the story. 💕The book is very decent so it would be perfect for any younger age child who wanted to read about Cleopatra. I recently wrote a blog about my favorite historical fiction books, check it out and let me know if you guys have enjoyed any of these books!😊

https://www.memesworldofvibes.com/new...

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Cleopatra was a temptress, and the reason why she’s so famous.
This book made me Google most of the characters, and I am left wanting to know more of Cleopatra.
I appreciate all the facts stated in the Author’s note. I have been living for 29yrs without even trying to get my facts straightened on Cleopatra.

She has a very interesting and mysterious story to share.
I hope that historians can find more about her, and proof of her existence too.

[Tamara Macias · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars out of 5.

Just Like ‘Cleoparta: A Life’ this novel reflects more on Cleopatra’s life while running an empire. Some people may say she was a B***h, some may say that she was a strong female in a males world. I liked this book because it was just more of and easier read, rather than a harder one like ‘Cleopatra: A Life’.

Read this book if you want a shorter story into Cleopatras.


My Email: Inwonderlandreading@gmail.com

[Katarzyna Kuczynska · Rating 2 out of 5]

O was bored for most of the time. in The first half nothing really happens which would attract the reader, unattractive, slow .I wanted to give up on this book .... the second half when Anthony and Cesar were part of the story were a little bit more interesting however still without much depth. feeling, emotions ..

[CJ Wilkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was decent.

I was unaware we knew so little about Cleopatra historically, given movies and things that portray her.

This book is a good quick read.

I feel like there was a little too much buildup to when she ruled and too little story of her later years, but again, that's probably due to us knowing so little.

Definitely worth reading though.

- CJ