Giveaway and Review: "Song of the Nile"

"Song of the Nile"
 by Stephanie Dray

Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: Oct 4, 2011 
Source: sent by publicist

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars


Summary from goodreads.com:

Having survived her perilous childhood as a royal captive of Rome, Selene pledged her loyalty to Augustus and swore she would become his very own Cleopatra. Now the young queen faces an uncertain destiny in a foreign land.
The magic of Isis flowing through her veins is what makes her indispensable to the emperor. Against a backdrop of imperial politics and religious persecution, Cleopatra's daughter beguiles her way to the very precipice of power. She has never forgotten her birthright, but will the price of her mother's throne be more than she's willing to pay?


My Review:


I love reading about Cleopatra, so I already knew a little about her daughter, Cleopatra Selene. Maybe I had too many preconceived notions to really enjoy this version of the story, plus a lot of the elements really took me out of my comfort zone. I think I would have liked the story more if it had been a YA book or historical romance. The Historical Fiction genre is often too gritty and dark for me, which was true of this book. I just didn't like reading detailed rape scenes or the main character having sex with her twin brother. If you are ok with reading these types of things, this may be the book for you.

I'm not sure about the magic in the book. While I understand that the magic and goddesses theme ties in with the beliefs of that time period, it's hard to read a book based on real people and really believe that they had magical powers.

There was a lot of action and lot of drama here so the book was very fast paced. It's almost like an R-rated soap opera set in ancient times. This book has been getting many amazing reviews, so I encourage you to try it if you think you will be okay with the difficult themes.



Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5

Setting: 5/5

Romance: 3/5

Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 4/5



Bottom Line: A fast-paced read, however a lot of the themes were too graphic for my tastes.




GIVEAWAY RULES:

Stephanie's publicist has generously offered a copy of "Song of the Nile" to one lucky reader of my blog!

Mandatory entries:
GFC follower of In the Hammock


and by the author's request, do one of the following:

Follow Stephanie Dray's Twitter @stephaniehdray
Facebook fan of Stephanie Dray
Join Stephanie Dray's Newsletter
Leave a comment on this post with your email address and let me know which way you follow Stephanie Dray.
For each additional way you follow Ms. Dray you will receive an additional entry.
Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :)


Extra Entries:
+1 for each additional way you follow Ms. Dray
+1 Tweet this contest (leave link in comment)
+1 Post link in sidebar of your blog (leave link in comment)



Rules:
  • US and Canada only
  • No PO boxes
  • Must be a follower to enter
  • Must follow Stephanie Dray in one way
  • Extra entries are optional and can all be left in the same comment
  • Leave a comment with your email address
  • Books will be mailed out by the publicist, In the Hammock is not responsible for lost or missing books, or the amount of time taken to ship the books
  • Must be 18 or over 
  • Ends Fri Oct 28
Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!


24 comments

  1. I'm following in every way possible! I'd love to read this book! Sounds interesting : )

    Twitter name: booklove101
    facebook name: Amanda Sarinana
    Email: sarinana0309(at)yahoo(dot)com

    my site: htttp://www.booklove101.com

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  2. I really enjoyed the first novel in the series, Lily of the Nile. It sounds like this one might be a bit more intense on the magic and brings to light the family incest which kept the Ptolemies the ruling family for so long. I am intrigued to see how my thoughts compare; I'll be starting it in a couple days. Thanks for the honest review!

    p.s. no need to enter me in the giveaway :)

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. I love dark and gritty! But I can certainly see how it may not be to everyone's tastes. Incest is not a pleasant topic but it certainly was a fact of life for that time period. I'd love to win this! Thanks for the opportunity.

    I follow Stephanie at Twitter @Donna224
    and on Facebook - Donna Smith

    ahappybooker at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I loved this book! But I can see why it would make you uncomfortable. I was so torn with the scenes about her brother because on one hand I thought he was hot (hey, he's not MY brother!) but on the other hand, erm, he's her brother and that's just...not my thing. I kept having to remind myself that it was different then.

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  6. Eek. I love Egyptian stories, but I never read rape or incest--they are absolutely on my off-limits list. Thanks for the heads up!

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  7. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!

    paigebradish@yahoo.com
    GFC: Paige
    I follow Stephanie Dray on Twitter, Facebook, and by email!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the honest review!!! I don't think its something I would ever read, but thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one!!! Happy Reading!

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  9. It sounds like it would be out of my comfort zone too, and i'm not really into historical fiction :)
    I do think it could be interesting though. :D

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  10. I have been wanting to read this book for a while. I love books based on actual historical characters. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of this book.
    GFC follower: June M.
    Follow Stephanie Dray
    +1 FB: June Manning
    +1 Twitter: JuneAnnM
    +1 Newsletter
    +1 Tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/JuneAnnM/status/127602527456862208

    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

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  11. I enjoyed book 1 and I do wonder what happens next. Well I know, but I do not know

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  12. No need to enter me - I'm not sure how I feel about this book/trilogy. I really enjoyed Michelle Moran's Cleopatra's Daughter (which if you haven't read I would recommend. A great and much gentler story of Selene). I was on the fence about the first book, mostly because of the magic stuff. Thanks for the review.

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  13. Incest? Negatory. Not for me. haha I heard so many great things about FORBIDDEN, by Tabitha Suzuma, but I just couldn't read it. Incest, like polygamy, freaks. me. out. And I'm not ready to read a book about it. lol

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  14. This book is on my must-read list. Thanks for the chance to win. I signed up for Stephanie's newsletter.

    jenalang(at)live(dot)com

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  15. I liked to first one so I'm looking forward to when I get a chance to read this one. Thanks for the giveaway!
    GFC name: Erinberry
    I follow Stephanie on twitter(@Erinberry12)

    erinberry12 at charter dot net

    ReplyDelete
  16. Follow as Renee G on GFC and following Stephanie on twitter (@rsgrandinetti)

    rsgrandinetti@yahoo(DOt)com

    ReplyDelete
  17. GFC Donna
    I follow Stephanie on twitter (@ljldml)
    and receive the newsletter.
    Donna
    ljldml@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. GFC follower : K M

    Twitter follower of Stephanie Dray : @creatingfantasy

    Tweeted : http://twitter.com/#!/creatingfantasy/status/128901990636986368

    Karli
    Karaliene24[@]gmail[.]com

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm a follower-BLHmistress

    Twitter follower for Stephanie Dray @BookLovershaway

    Liked her FB page-Dawna Newman

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. thank you for this giveaway!! Song of the Nile is on my WishList!!!!
    i follow Hammock;
    i liked Stephanie's FB page;
    i subscribed to Stephanie's newsletter

    cyn209(AT)juno(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I followed the twitter account! Thanks for the giveaway this looks like a great book!

    auroraceleste(at)gmail(dot)com

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  22. Thanks for the great giveaway! This book is on my wishlist so I'm so excited to have the opportunity to win it.

    +1 GFC - Bornajhawk
    +1 Follow Stephanie on Twitter @MamaHendo3
    +1 FB fan of Stephanie (Laura Henderson)
    +1 Signed up for Stephanie's newsletter
    +1 Tweeted giveaway: https://twitter.com/#!/MamaHendo3/status/130125178364633090

    BornajhawkATaolDOTcom

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for the great giveaway!

    GFC-ashlyn_jai
    Follow on Twitter- @ashie_624
    Like on facebook- ashlynwilliams
    Tweet-http://twitter.com/#!/ashie_624/status/130129580366381056

    ashlynwilliams@hotmail.com

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  24. GFC Follower: Kayla27
    Followed Stephanie on facebook: Kayla Merritt

    kaylalovesandrew09@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your lovely comments!