Review: Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
Reviewed by Jennifer Jensen
Song of the Nile is the second book by Stephanie Dray, and continues Cleopatra Selene’s story. It begins on day of Selene’s wedding to Juba, when she is merely 15 years old. Though she doesn’t love Juba, she has little control over who the emperor Augustus has chosen for her. On the night of her wedding, Augustus claims her for his own. Juba is angered and blames Selene for her rape, though she had no power to stop it.
Selene still longs to be restored as the rightful ruler of Egypt, but in the meantime proves herself a more than worthy leader of her new home, Mauretania. Though she is far from Caesar, his wishes and desires still haunt her. Selene enters into a dangerous game with him, all with the end goal of claiming Egypt. With the magic of Isis coursing through her veins, it is only a matter of time before Selene will ultimately gain what is rightfully hers.
Much more grown up than she was in Lily of the Nile, Selene is a much more likable character. I had great sympathy for her in what Caesar put her through, and found him absolutely despicable. Dray convincingly gives such depth to these characters that one might think this is exactly how they spoke and behaved.
Song of the Nile has a little bit of everything: action, romance, and politics, magic, and familial legacy. I loved seeing Selene embrace motherhood, and I loved her love story with Helios. I also loved the part that Isis plays, even though it is subtle. I don’t know this period of history very well, so I will be waiting anxiously for Dray’s next novel to see how everything turns out for these characters.
Rating: 4/5
Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.
Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Berkley Trade. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Genre Fiction, Historical, Literature & Fiction
[...] – absorbing the story.Rating: 5/5Check out our reviews of other books featuring Cleopatra Selene:Song of the Nile by Stephanie DrayCleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle MoranGrace Soledad is a teenage [...]
Of late there have been many books published about Cleopatra’s daughter. We all know the story of Cleopatra and I am glad to learn the story of her children. History did not die with the bite from the asp. Was she really raped by Augustus? I must admit until I started reading these books I did not know her story.
From the review, this sounds like a great book,particurly the coverage of politics and family legacy. However, I have another book about Cleopatra’s daughter on my TBR shelf! Think I will be reading what I already have.
I really like learning some history through historical fiction, it is like the icing on the cake. If this book was just set in the same time period and have nothing to do with a real person, I probably wouldn’t enjoy it as much. Thank you for your review.
Carol Wong
Although this review doesn’t says so, I’ll bet this is a YA novel. It sounds like one I would have read when I was 13. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but this story, I know, would bore me terribly.
This book is actually categorized under adult historical fiction
This is a new author for me and the book does sound really good. But look at that cover, I love this cover. It looks like she’s coming right out of the book and the lightning bolt in the back ground really makes the cover pop.
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So glad you enjoyed Song of the Nile! I just finished the books and I am already eager for the third and final installment.
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I haven’t read anything by this author yet but her writing does sound exciting! This time period is rather new to me as well so I am excited to learn more about the history. Thanks for the review, I will be checking this one out!
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