I absolutely fell in love with this book. It was amazing. If you read Cleopatra;s moon and liked it, this one you will love. However the book still leaves the bitter-sweet feeling of selene's fate. Even though in these series Helios does not die and had a romance with selene,she still ends up with Juba (not of her will of course, but later she will fall in love{poor helios, well at least he does not die at an early age like the other authors wrote}. I was so cheering for helios *sigh I’ve read many, many takes on Cleopatra Selene. The historically accurate one from Michelle Moran, the more character based one of Vicky Alvear Shecter as well as a couple combinations of the two approaches. But this magic infused take of Stephanie Dray’s is definitely unique.Cleopatra Selene is a fascinating character. She’s a princess, but she’s wise beyond her years as her mother likely would have raised her. Her twin brother, Alexander Helios is a proud young man raised in the mold of his father, Mark Antony. Selene is sort of the one that takes care of her two brothers, not allowing her pride to get in the way of their survival. She has to make such hard choices and her brothers shun her for them, but they’re always made with the best intentions: to help the family survive.Even in Rome with the dangerously ruthless Octavian and the always-scheming Livia, Selene manages to survive and even thrive. For someone who goes through so much at a young age, Selene isn’t very trusting and when the schemes of the cult of Isis start to interfere with the careful walls she’s built around her surviving family she does everything she can to protect them. Even if it means losing their only chance to escape.I like how Stephanie Dray focused not only on making these historical figures into relatable characters, but also on the magical aspect of her novel. We really feel Selene’s panic as the words of Isis are written into her skin and the reactions of the characters around her are varied and realistic. Octavian’s reaction to a particular message near the end of the book seems quite in character, knowing what I know about the real Octavian. Stephanie Dray doesn’t go too far into the magical aspect, but she gives us enough of a taste so we know Selene is in for big things in the sequel, Song of the Nile.Some may find the plot a little slow and, well, fair enough. I, however, enjoyed the slower pace as Selene adjusted to life in Rome and tried to make a new home for herself and her brothers there. It really allowed Stephanie Dray to focus in on the characters as well as throw in some plot twists near the end. As for the historical accuracy, many of the details have been carefully researched but as she says in her author’s note, Stephanie Dray did take liberties with history.In short, if you’re looking for a refreshing take on Cleopatra Selene with some fantastical elements, you’ll love Lily of the Nile.I give this book 4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads rating purposes.
What do You think about Lotos S Nila (2012)?
I enjoyed it quite a bit. I had hoped for more Egypt and less Rome, but maybe in book 2?
—Jojo
