Customer Reviews

Cleopatra Confesses

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

 

 

Historical fiction has always been one of my favorite genres and when you add Carolyn Meyer and Cleopatra to the mix you are sure to have a winner. I have enjoyed quite a few of Meyer's books and this one was no exception. With stunning imagery, fantastic descriptions, and a wonderful mixture of real and fictional characters; Cleopatra Confesses was an overall riveting and thought-provoking look at the life of one of histories most well known females.

Cleopatra is a mysterious women and it was fascinating reading about her life through the years. This book spans many years- from Cleopatra's childhood to her teenage years to her adult life. Many details are included and this was an incredibly captivating novel. It certainly inspired me to read more about Cleopatra. Especially concerning her family and later life. Not much is known about Cleopatra, but I feel Carolyn Meyer deftly weaved together her story and presented it in an interesting and unique way.

At the beginning of the book there was a family tree and a list of characters (letting us know who was fictional and who was real) and this helped put a lot into perspective. Each of the characters introduced in this book had some impact on Cleopatra's life and all were well developed. There was so much I didn't know about Cleopatra and Egypt that I learned from reading this and Meyer's attention to detail made Cleopatra Confesses that much better. Plus, this was written in first person and allowed readers even more insight into Cleopatra's thoughts. It is obvious that Carolyn Meyer did a lot of research and it paid off completely.

One of my favorite things about historical fiction is how I become completely immersed in the time period, setting, and characters. I definitely fell into Cleopatra's story and I felt for her because her life was never easy; especially growing up. She had so few people she could trust and her own sisters were horrid. I did like her friend, Charmion, because Cleopatra needed a confidant and friend during the harsh times she faced. As I mentioned before, there were a mix of fictional and real characters in this book and two that really existed- Julius Ceaser and Mark Antony- were also introduced in Cleopatra Confesses.

This was the one aspect of the book that dropped this down to four stars. The book had me so captivated with Cleopatra's story that I just gobbled up every detail, but the ending just felt a little... rushed. Everything was leading up to her adult life and I wish more pages were devoted to her relationships with Ceaser and Antony and her own period of ruling Egypt. I took a lot away from this book and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I just wish there were a few more chapters expanding on her loves and ruling.

Cleopatra is a very interesting historical figure, and although not much is known about her, Carolyn Meyer wrote a fascinating and insightful novel that brought her to life. Although I wished the ending wasn't cut-off so fast, I enjoyed this book and it cemented Carolyn Meyer on my life of favorite historical fiction authors.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Cleopatra knows that she could become a great ruler - someday. Right now, she's busy learning about her country with her tutors. She's also learning how to rule from her father. All of the lessons are not positive.

In fact, before too long, the people have turned against their pharaoh. Cleopatra's sisters decide to rule jointly. Cleopatra learns to watch her step and her tongue. She's determined to give her sisters nothing to cause them worry about her behavior.

She sticks to her studies and learns from the mistakes her family makes. Will she be able to one day fulfill the destiny she sees for herself?

My Thoughts: The childhood of Cleopatra comes to life as she deals with growing up, betrayal, family drama, and deadly sisters. I really enjoyed reading about her family life and the stress and struggles before ruling.

I'm a big-time history buff, and I've always been interested in the story of Cleopatra VII. However, Carolyn Meyer's rapid-fire, episodic style, which suited her Tudor books so well, falls flat in this volume.

Maybe I'm the problem. However much I love Cleopatra, the Tudors are my true passion (and I'm not referring to any of those terrible TV shows or movies), so I am emotionally invested in any story about them from the beginning.

However, Cleopatra's tale is so dramatic, and plays out on such a grand scale, that for me, it needs a human touch. I need to feel deeply about the characters, about this particular author's perceptions of Berenice, Tryphaena, Ptolemy, Marc Antony, Caesar, and especially Cleopatra, if I am to care about the climax.

For me, the tragedy occurs in reading about the death of Cleopatra and with her, the age of the Pharoahs, without so much as a twinge of sorrow.

That was my reaction to this book.

Overall, I think a more coherent, lingering narrative would have served the grand old tragedy better.

I chose this galley because I have a pretty deep love for all things Egypt, Cleopatra and Roman. So by default, the chances of me loving this book regardless of anything were pretty high. And I did like it. But if I didn't have all of that history love going for me from the beginning I probably wouldn't have.

It was written compellingly enough but throughout the entire book I couldn't help but feeling a step removed from Cleopatra. I felt like the story was being told from a distance, that the author didn't want to delve too deeply into Cleopatra's feelings because her true feelings weren't known. I think that hindered the story.

Her voice didn't carry much excitement or anticipation or worry or much of anything. A lot of the time I felt like I was just getting relayed information by someone playing Cleopatra. It was kind of annoying at times. A lot of this information I already knew and not all that much was done to spice it up or do much with it beyond the words on the page. It set nice scenery but that seemed to be the strongest portion of writing. Almost as if the author were afraid to delve too deeply into Cleopatra.

It's a good rehash of Cleopatra events that we already know but if you're looking for something more, more sentiment or involvement, you're not going to find it here. It's really just another notch in the Cleopatra belt. Had I not had the love of Egypt I had going in, I probably wouldn't have stuck with the book because, at times, I found it downright boring. I could have read a history text and gotten a similar result.

Read it if you love Egyptian, Cleopatran or Roman history because it'll enrich you in that arena even more. But if you don't, since there isn't much story or emotion to it, you might want to skip it at the risk of getting bored with it. I'm not sure why this was classified with YA. Maybe it has crossover appeal. But between the hoity voice and lack of emotion, I'm not sure how much it's going to appeal to a younger audience.

I love historical fiction, so I really enjoyed this book. It's a pretty straightforward story covering Cleopatra's younger years. Now, I cannot speak for the authenticity of it, but it seemed plausible to me. I could be completely wrong. However, it's clear the author did her research. It gave the book a very real feel. The details and look into everyday Egyptian life in that time period were so interesting.

I found that young Cleopatra came off a bit too precocious to me. That didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book though. If was a fun read, and it can definitely get people more interested in history. It holds your attention through a well-known story. I would recommend this book for sure.

Galley provided by publisher for review.

I love all things ancient Egypt, so when I found out that Carolyn was writing a book on Cleopatra VII, I was thrilled. After falling in love with "Duchessina" and enjoying "Bad Queen", I had high hopes for "Cleopatra Confesses". Sadly, my hopes were dashed early on.


I'm used to books about ancient Egypt having a certain sparkle to them--something that was captured by Kristiana Gregory's "Cleopatra VII" and Michelle Moran's Nefertiti/Nefertari duology. "Cleopatra Confesses", on the other hand, is flat and lusterless. Instead of seeing her enthusiasm for learning (as I've seen depicted in fact and fiction alike), I got the impression that Cleopatra found lessons with Demetrius more annoying and time consuming than anything. Gone was the usual curiosity and adventurousness to which I'm accustomed...Carolyn's Cleopatra seemed more interested in staying out of Tryphaena and Berenice's way. Even accompanying her father on his royal progress seemed to be done with more of a sense of duty than a sense of wonder.


I really hope that "Cleopatra Confesses" was simply an "off novel" (or a really long "off day", if you will) and that Carolyn's next book (about Mary Stuart, I'm told) will be much more like her usual style.

Cleopatra Confesses comes so close to being a great book. The writing is detailed, but not at all dense, and flows at a level that is both accessible and entertaining. There is a ton of information here (and it's pretty accurate), so readers looking for a crash course in Cleopatra's history would do well to pick up this book. Short chapters and the simplistic writing make this an extremely fast read.

Cleopatra's famed confidence and shrewd intellect shine clearly through the first-person narration. Carolyn Meyer does a great job of crafting a character for which modern readers can feel sympathetic. Though this isn't a diary-format book, it almost feels like one. Much of the story is told through Cleopatra's observations and there is very little dialogue. The other characters in Cleopatra's life are not as vividly drawn as she is, but their roles are clearly presented.

To me, the writing style was less like a novel and a lot more like reading a well-presented Wikipedia article with lots of information and a little bit of personality from the narrator to make it less dry. I didn't mind this feel at all. I'm the type of reader who always wants to read non-fiction, but I never actually do because my novels look way more interesting. Cleopatra Confesses was the perfect balance. It almost felt like reading non-fiction but it was way more entertaining. I loved it! It was like eating diet food that doesn't taste like diet food. Based on all of this I would have happily given this book a 4 star rating.

But there's a but...

If you don't know anything AT ALL about Cleopatra, what I'm going to say next would probably be spoilery for you. Just warning you.

The reason I have to deduct stars is not because of what was written, but because of what wasn't written. Everything was going great, but around page 200 I started to get a little nervous. Too much still had to happen, but there weren't enough pages. At page 250, I started to wonder if this was only part one of a series (it's not. This is a standalone). By the time I had finished the epilogue I was super disappointed.

The story goes into great detail about Cleopatra's life up until she rolls out of the carpet and meets Julius Caesar for the first time. And then the book ends! Ok, I'm not saying the stuff before this part isn't important, because it totally is and Carolyn Meyer did a fantastic job recounting those events, but the meat and potatoes of Cleopatra's history is her time as Queen! Her epic loves, the way she managed Egypt--this is an essential part of any book recounting Cleopatra's life...and it's all completely cut out!

As soon as Cleopatra meets Caesar the book pretty much ends. There are a few chapters (remember, chapters are very short) and the epilogue briefly recounts that Caesar died and she had a relationship with Marc Antony and then he fought with Octavian. Cleopatra then opens a basket filled with vipers and Ta Da! THE END. All of that is summed up in the tiny epilogue.

I have no idea what the author or publishers were possibly thinking by ending the book like this. This book would have been fantastic if Carolyn Meyer had given the second half of Cleopatra's life the attention she had given to the first half of her life. I would have loved it and passed it out to my upper-MG (there's brief mentions of sex) and YA readers. I wouldn't have hesitated to buy a copy for my library and myself. Maybe the publishers were afraid of scaring away readers with a high page count (probably would have been in the 400-500s!)? I get that. I would have been scared away. They should have broken the book up into two volumes then. That would have been a fine solution and I totally would have gone for that. But what they did? Terrible.

I'm so conflicted with this review. What I read was great, but what wasn't written is just not acceptable in a book about Cleopatra (even the blurb talks about her two lovers!). I do recommend the book, but...just know you're not getting the full story at all. If you want to read an excellent book about Cleopatra, then I highly, highly recommend Martha Rofheart's book The Alexandrian.