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The Last Pharaoh #2
Queen Cleopatra
Rest is not for rulers. Finally crowned as the undisputed Queen of Egypt with the help of Gaius Julius Caesar, twenty-two-year-old Cleopatra hopes to recover from the harrowing experiences of the last few years and the just concluded bloody Alexandrian war.But rest is not for rulers.A diabolical plot, orchestrated by shadowy figures in her government, looks to dethrone her by bringing her presumed dead brother to life. A colorful Idumean Jew named Herod clings on to the land she wants. And a powerful Roman named Marcus Antonius has summoned her to answer charges regarding her allegiance.Now, the young mother is about to discover that ascending to the throne is only a step into the dark worlds of imperial politics, personal desires, and unrelenting enemies.----The exciting saga of Cleopatra continues in Book II. Journey with Cleopatra Philopater in this thrilling series full of intrigue and twists-and-turns.Book RegentBook 2: QueenBook. 3: A Dangerous Daughter
337 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 10, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 19, 2020
I received the ARC of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
“𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚, 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡.”
“𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙗𝙖𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙢 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨!”
👑47 BC. Alexandria, Egypt. Finally crowned as the undisputed queen of Egypt, Cleopatra hopes to recover from the harrowing experience of the last few bloody years. But when Caeser was assassinated, Rome descends into a hellish civil war between the liberators and Caser-faction. As both groups demand assistance from Egypt, Cleo maintains a neutral front to keep Egypt safe from the Roman war. Meanwhile, in her own kingdom, a diabolic conspiracy to dethrone her is afoot; her younger brother Ptolemy Theos is on the verge of attaining maturity making him eligible to rule independently and an Idumean Jew named Herod can go to any extent to save his land, Judaea from going into Egypt's hand. It's only the beginning of her rule, but Cleo is about to realize that ascending to the throne was only a step into the dark worlds of imperial politics, personal desires, and unrelenting enemies.
👑The book - 2nd in The Last Pharaoh trilogy - is divided into 4 parts. Part 1 deals with how Cleo thwarted the usurpation plan of Unasankh and his gang. Part 2 follows after Caser's death, how Cleo marries Mark Anthony and became the mother of his children, and succeeded in reconquering lands from Herod of Judaea. The last 2 parts show how Cleo manipulate Antony to declare their children legitimacy and permanently settle down in Alexandria with her, leading to the disagreement between Octavian and Antony.
👑The author's writing is smooth, simple, and fast pacing. The story is narrated from multiple POVs, chapters are kept short and there are constant twists and turn in every nook and corner. Since the book is more about imperial politics, intrigues, and plotting, so there are no action scenes which instead of making it dull, are written in such a way that it's fun to read.
👑I loved Cleo’s characterization. Instead of a hotheaded, reckless, and naive of her younger self. Cleo here is not only an elegant, sophisticated, and enchanting queen but also a calculative, scheming, and deadly politician who not only secured her kingdom but also extend its territories beyond its original limits without waging any war herself. Among other characters, Unasankh, Herod, Mark Antony, and Cicero are most interesting to read.
👑The book ends on a perfect note of Octavian and Antony's declaration of war on each other and thereby setting the final stage of Cleo's life which will be shown in the next book.
Overall, Queen was an enjoyable lite read for me and I’m eager to read the next book. If you like strong female characterization and imperial politics then this book is for you. Highly recommended.
𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)
“𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙖 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚, 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡.”
“𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙗𝙖𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙢 𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙨!”
👑47 BC. Alexandria, Egypt. Finally crowned as the undisputed queen of Egypt, Cleopatra hopes to recover from the harrowing experience of the last few bloody years. But when Caeser was assassinated, Rome descends into a hellish civil war between the liberators and Caser-faction. As both groups demand assistance from Egypt, Cleo maintains a neutral front to keep Egypt safe from the Roman war. Meanwhile, in her own kingdom, a diabolic conspiracy to dethrone her is afoot; her younger brother Ptolemy Theos is on the verge of attaining maturity making him eligible to rule independently and an Idumean Jew named Herod can go to any extent to save his land, Judaea from going into Egypt's hand. It's only the beginning of her rule, but Cleo is about to realize that ascending to the throne was only a step into the dark worlds of imperial politics, personal desires, and unrelenting enemies.
👑The book - 2nd in The Last Pharaoh trilogy - is divided into 4 parts. Part 1 deals with how Cleo thwarted the usurpation plan of Unasankh and his gang. Part 2 follows after Caser's death, how Cleo marries Mark Anthony and became the mother of his children, and succeeded in reconquering lands from Herod of Judaea. The last 2 parts show how Cleo manipulate Antony to declare their children legitimacy and permanently settle down in Alexandria with her, leading to the disagreement between Octavian and Antony.
👑The author's writing is smooth, simple, and fast pacing. The story is narrated from multiple POVs, chapters are kept short and there are constant twists and turn in every nook and corner. Since the book is more about imperial politics, intrigues, and plotting, so there are no action scenes which instead of making it dull, are written in such a way that it's fun to read.
👑I loved Cleo’s characterization. Instead of a hotheaded, reckless, and naive of her younger self. Cleo here is not only an elegant, sophisticated, and enchanting queen but also a calculative, scheming, and deadly politician who not only secured her kingdom but also extend its territories beyond its original limits without waging any war herself. Among other characters, Unasankh, Herod, Mark Antony, and Cicero are most interesting to read.
👑The book ends on a perfect note of Octavian and Antony's declaration of war on each other and thereby setting the final stage of Cleo's life which will be shown in the next book.
Overall, Queen was an enjoyable lite read for me and I’m eager to read the next book. If you like strong female characterization and imperial politics then this book is for you. Highly recommended.
𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)
June 19, 2024
I preferred the first in the series better but this one was still pretty enjoyable. Lots of calm excitement and anticipation. Penner is good at creating conflict, so much so I’m hesitant to read the last book even though I know how it all ends lol. As I said before executing a story that is already known in an interesting/exciting way is a testament to an authors skill.
I will say I felt like Caesars assassination happened rather suddenly/abruptly. But at the same time I have to remember this is Cleopatra’s story, and while the others are mentioned, the point is not to go in great detail about them.
I will say I felt like Caesars assassination happened rather suddenly/abruptly. But at the same time I have to remember this is Cleopatra’s story, and while the others are mentioned, the point is not to go in great detail about them.
June 28, 2025
As much as I loved book 1, this one was a little less. Not because the writing chsnge, but because it added too much fantastical. However, I will say, I adored the possibilities with her children and her inner thoughts. Some of the things that were added made me love this book. There were some major errors in regards to where war was declared and who was related to who. Out of everything, I do have to mention how amazing it was to be in Cleopatra's head. The anxiety of being a ruler and how hard it must have been during that time period. No one really knows how she felt during that time, but id like to think somewhere this may have been just some of her thoughts. Another amazing read.
September 28, 2025
Great writing just like the first book in the series. I appreciated the overarching story and seeing Cleopatra’s rise to power outside of Egypt. Seeing the way that she and Mark Antony go from a union of mutual benefit to genuine affection brought a more lighthearted feeling to the story that I enjoyed. I also found the way that certain characters have their own voice (for example, the name-calling and change in vocabulary in Herod’s sections) was a fun way to change the pace and tone of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2022
Cleopatra is my absolute favorite Queen of Egypt and nothing anyone says can change my mind especially since we have not found her tomb with Marc antony with herr (hopefully) and with this story I loike how we see some the inner turmoil withing Cleopatra and her hunger for power and money and it kind of seems that she is being villified and that is really my main anger point other than that wonderful book.
April 1, 2021
Entertaining but erroneous
This is a fun book, but the errors are distracting. Augustus Caesar aka Octavian, was Julius' Great nephew. War was.declared in Rome at the Temple.of Bellona, not Vesta . no one in this time.frame said "hit squad" or "I get it.". ..too many anachronisms.
This is a fun book, but the errors are distracting. Augustus Caesar aka Octavian, was Julius' Great nephew. War was.declared in Rome at the Temple.of Bellona, not Vesta . no one in this time.frame said "hit squad" or "I get it.". ..too many anachronisms.
February 9, 2022
Sad that this is still a thing.
The story is good. That is if you can glean it through the horrible proofing and editing.
Words missing, misspelled, pluralized. Characters names changed briefly. That's enough for me to knock of 1 star.
The story is good. That is if you can glean it through the horrible proofing and editing.
Words missing, misspelled, pluralized. Characters names changed briefly. That's enough for me to knock of 1 star.
March 7, 2025
The Queen Looks To War
Looks to the historical images of a queen trying to hold and expand her kingdom. But in order to fulfill her desires, she is caught between the 2 most powerful men in Rome.
Looks to the historical images of a queen trying to hold and expand her kingdom. But in order to fulfill her desires, she is caught between the 2 most powerful men in Rome.
August 22, 2021
Excellent historical fiction of the reign of Cleopatra, suggesting heavily that the biggest and only mistake she made was Mark Antony.
September 9, 2024
It continues.
Well written and a great insight into the whole Saga
Well written and a great insight into the whole Saga
September 2, 2025
Again does not need to be a trilogy...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews