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
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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.
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Extra Entries:
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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!