Customer Reviews

Beloved

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maybe it's just me, but I can only take so much drama before my eyes roll up inside my head, my brain explodes and I start rooting for the bad guys: "For the love of god, would someone just kill her already?"

This book was kind of like that.

Zenobia, god bless her, is a wonderful main character. She's smart, beautiful, witty. In fact, she's everything except lucky. First, her mother is raped and murdered. Then her husband is murdered. Her lover (Marcus) weds another woman, and Caesar her hated enemy, captures her and makes her his mistress.

But wait! It gets worse.

Her oldest son is a wimp. Her youngest son's a fool. Her friends are beheaded. Her city and everyone in it is destroyed. And while she goes a little crazy, she is still forced to bed the enemy because her daughter will be murdered if she doesn't. I think it was around the time Zenobia was forced to have sex in front of spectators I threw 'Beloved' out the window and haven't picked it up since. Oops.

My recommendation? IF you dig drama and angst... you'll love this book. If you don't? Read something else. And if you are bi-polar, OCD, or are presently taking medication for depression? AVOID AVOID AVOID. *wink*

This is not only my favorite Small book, but one of my favorite historical novels ever. The triumphs of Odenathus and Zenobia for the halcyon city of Palmyra are all but lost in history. Yet Small captures everything down to the smallest detail. In one graceful sweep small delivers an exquisite story of an admirable woman along with an excellent portrayal of the late Roman Empire. As a reader, I was pulled into the rapture. When I surfaced again, I was off to the library to research the historical Zenobia and her Palmyra. Personally, I can't think of a better effect a book can have.

From the moment of her birth, the stars and signs foretold that Zenobia, descendant of Cleopatra, would be blessed in love and in war.

"Beloved" takes place during the Roman invasions of Palmyra (in the Syrian region of the world). I don't know enough about history to know if this is accurate, but the story was good enough to keep me interested throughout. There are some tactical details which, surprisingly, tie in beautifully with the story of Zenobia's loves. Unlike many books of the romance genre, Zenobia's character is admirable not only for her beauty but for her intelligence. Sex notwithstanding, I would let an older teenager read this book.

"Beloved" surprised me because it was so well-written that it does not fall into a "fluff" category. This was a wonderful gift that was a good investment because I will read it again. I will seek out other books by Beatrice Small because I enjoyed this book so much.

As always, Bertrice Small captured my attention and transported me from the 21st century to the later years of the Roman Empire. Zenobia and Palmyra did exist, and Mrs. Small paints for us a stunning and vibrant picture of how it might have been like to live in those times. I did not see Zenobia as being cold. Rather I saw her as a woman before her time who was wise enough to see that Rome was faltering and strong enough to take a chance to defeat them. Mrs. Small showed us that despite the fact that she was queen, Zenobia was still just a normal woman who gave into her feelings and cried on occasion and sought revenge when her lover broke her heart. Kudos, Mrs. Small. Beloved is one of your finest!

This novel delivers a kernel of historical interest--concentrated information in a fictional shell. But the history is depicted with such zest and verve that I had to know more. I had to go study this queen Zenobia, her city Palmyra, and the events surrounding the reign of the Emperor Aurelian. This is why I call it a popcorn historical--it inspired me to go expand my knowledge. This, I believe, should be an aim of every historical novel, and it is achieved and then some here.

Her deep gray eyes, silky raven hair, magnificent body, and astonishing beauty rival the qualities of her legendary ancestor, Cleopatra, and indeed, at her birth, her stars proclaim she will be lucky-and very accomplished- in the arts of love and war. The daughter of a powerful desert cheiftain, Zenobia witnesses at an early age the shocking brutality of renegade Roman soldiers and vows to hate all of the blue-eyed strangers forever. Yet after she's become a woman and the revered queen of Palmyra, Zenobia finds the exquisite passion all women dream of-with Marcus Alexander Britainus, a blue-eyed Roman. And it will take all her cunning and skill in war to keep the precious erotic rapture she can find only in his arms. This novel is based on a real life herorine. Bertrice captures her true character I think. It is a marvelous book.

"Beloved" simply IS the top of its genre. Bertrice Small's typewriter (which she was still using then, I believe) was sprinkled with fairy dust when she wrote this fictionalization of Zenobia's life. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to keep up this pace, and her last truly great book was "Wild Jasmine."

Beloved is an excellent book. I have read many of Bertrice Small's books and truly enjoyed all of them.

When I first read this book, I found the character of Zenobia to be extremely cold and unappealing, but since then I have given it another chance and have found that the story is tight, believable and very well told. Small's descriptions of the city of Palmyra are as always very beautiful and concise. This one is a little more violent than her earlier offerings (the very first scene kind of disturbed me a bit), but if you can get past that, you'll love this story.

"Beloved" is by far the best book Bertrice Small ever wrote. Its history may be suspect (but hey, it's romance), but the story is highly entertaining and not as sex-driven as a lot of her other works. Better than any of the Skye O' Malley books, I'd recommend "Beloved" and "Adora" to anyone.