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Jan 29, 2011

Tara rated it:

Somebody finally wrote a historical novel about Romans and their lives without having them copulating in every other paragraph. Thumbs up to that. What has made this book less than enjoyable for me is the fact that the first three fourths of it is about a 12 year old. In the last few chapters, the heroine attains fifteen, but never grows older. Readers never meet Selene, the married woman or adult. Therefore, it felt like a young adult book.

To read full review and a Selene book More...

12 comments like (10 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2011

Becky rated it:

This book was chosen for the May/June 2010 group read in the historical fiction group that I moderate here on Goodreads, and I couldn't wait to read it, so I started a teensy bit early. *blush* I'd been wanting to read one of Michelle Moran's books for a while, since I hear so much praise for them, and I'd planned on starting with "Nefertiti" with a friend, but that kind of fell apart due to other obligations. So I was thrilled when "Cleopatra's Daughter" was chosen, as it ga More...

7 comments like (10 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2010

Hilda rated it:

Semua orang tentu mengetahui Kleopatra, sang ratu Mesir yang terkenal dengan kecantikan dan kelicikannya. Kleopatra VII, yang kisah cintanya dengan Marc Anthony adalah salah satu cerita cinta terbesar pada waktu Sebelum Masehi. Tapi setelah kematian Kleopatra yang menyedihkan, kehidupan Mesir tidak berakhir begitu saja. Masih ada anak-anak Kleopatra dan Marc Anthony, yang terus hidup dan menderita.

Setelah kematian Kleopatra dan Marc Anthony, ketiga anak mereka diambil oleh Octavian, More...

13 comments like (8 people liked it)

Sep 15, 2009

Angelc rated it:

Wow! I loved this book! 'Cleopatra's Daughter' is one of the best books I have read for a long time! Cleopatra Selene, her twin brother, Alexander, and their young brother Ptolemy suffer the loss of their parents, Cleopatra and Marc Antony, when Romans invade Egypt. As the children of the King and Queen of Egypt, Selene and her brothers are forcibly taken to Rome, essentially as prizes of the war. The story takes flight after their arrival in Rome and the twins adjust to a vastly different lifes More...

13 comments like (12 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalking rated it:

This book was fascinating. The book, while a work of fiction, is based on real people in history. While I was somewhat familiar with the actual historical figures, my knowledge is limited to college courses.

The book is a semi-fictional account of Cleopatra's children with Marc Antony- twins Alexander and Cleopatra Selene. Selene and Alexander are taken to Rome against their will after Octavian, the ruler of Rome, defeats their parents, the rulers of Egypt.

The story begi More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 06, 2011

Summer rated it:

I sort of waffled between 4 or 5 stars on this book. It's really well written and engrossing in my opinion. It's sometimes shelved as YA, and while the main characters start around 12 and age to 15 in the book I wouldn't necessarily say that it's meant for a YA audience. The narrator of the story has a mature voice and the subject matter is more adult in nature at times. I think my main problem is the romantic element as, while I knew it wasn't the focus of the story, it sort of threw me. I read More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2011

Monique rated it:

Another book on Egyptian history by a truly amazing author, Moran makes you feel like you have been transported to imperial Rome through the eyes of a brave young girl, daughter of the infamous, powerful Kleopatra. The novel begins with the tragic and dramatic double suicide of one of my favorite love stories in history: Kleopatra and Marc Anthony...dramatically with rival Roman trimurvate Octavian vying for Egypt's power and wealth Kleopatra and Marc Anthony finally deplete their resources and More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

Because I have a short reading attention span, reading Cleopatra: A Life reminded me that I had this book on my mental to-read list. And today I decided to take a detour into reading Cleopatra's Daughter before resuming that one. I wasn't super impressed with Nefertiti; in presentation, it struck me as a warmed over The Other Boleyn Girl... this time in Egypt! (And with a more interesting main character, to be fair.) Still, I have been curious about Cleopatra Selene for some time now and histori More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2011

Isis rated it:

In terms of the recommendation to those who love historical fiction and ancient Egypt, as a voracious reader and someone so interested in history that I've made a career out of it, I've got to say that my response was more of a mixed bag to this book.

There were good and bad things to say about this book. I didn't like the blatant name-dropping, especially as it served little to no purpose and seemed to be added in purely for the "Ooooh, look, there's Ovid! And this is Vercingeto More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2011

Kara rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Nikki rated it:

I thoroughly enjoy anything and everything having to do with my favorite person in history: Cleopatra. Therefore I was extremely interested in reading Moran's take on the life of Cleopatra's daughter after her mother's ultimate demise. Unfortunately there is not a wealth of information available regarding Selene, however, Moran did an excellent job in piecing together what is known and portraying it through historical fiction. I found the book thoroughly entertaining and it left me wanting more. More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 28, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I have become a true fan of historical fiction, and at the top of my list is author Michelle Moran. In Cleopatra's Daughter, the author introduces us to Selene and Alexander, the children of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, and takes us on their journey from Egypt to Rome, where they become members of Caesar's family. Along the way the reader discovers what life was like for the rich and poor during the time of Caesar. Selene and Alexander learn the Roman culture, attend school, and make friends, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Melinda rated it:

Cleopatra's Daughter is told from the perspective of Selene, daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. She and her twin brother, Alexander, are left orphans after the suicide of their parents. The children are sent to Rome to become part of the household of Octavian (later Augustus). The book follows Selene's attempts adapting to Roman culture in order to survive. Honestly, I didn't start out liking this book maybe because I had no knowledge of early Rome or Egypt. However, because of the won More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Lexi rated it:

While an interesting take on the children of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, there is very little imagination or even characterization going on here. You don't feel attached to the characters, there is little to no reason to keep reading, and even the plot is a play-by-play account and not a real story. The ending feels more like a sop to keep the reader happy than an ending, and even the more intriguing characters seem flat and uncaring. I enjoyed the background because I like historical fiction, bu More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2010

Miss GP rated it:

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this novel. Moran's attention to historical detail was absolutely top-notch. It's one of the best historical fiction books I think I've encountered in a long time - great balance of history and entertainment. There was one plot element that really bugged me -- something not historically accurate, something included simply to move the plot along -- that I thought was unnecessary and detracted from the overall high quality of the book, but other than that I lo More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2012

Stefanie rated it:

So this was book number two I got from the library based only on the cover and the fact that I vaguely recalled someone mentioning it to me. Actually, when I looked it up on this website, it turns out there's multiple books with this title, so it's possible that this isn't even the same one. Oh well.

Anyhoo, apparently the historical research in this book is sound, and I'm too lazy and apathetic to look it up, but I feel like there's actually not that much on what happened to Cleopatra More...

0 comments like

Jan 06, 2012

Shweta's Book Journal rated it:

If you haven't read Michelle Moran's books then definitely missing some thing wonderful . I am a huge fan but for each of her book I have wondered before I started reading, if this book was going to be as good as the earlier one. No worries on that front. She takes her work to a new level each time she writes.

Cleopatra's Daughter begins with the last days of Kleopatra VII and Marc Antony. After thier deaths ,their children Alexander Helios , Plotemy and Kelopatra Selene are taken to More...

0 comments like

Nov 16, 2011

Ceren rated it:

Like wine, I believe this book that will definetly be one of the books I could re-read in the future and still be even more captivated by the sheer story-telling weaved in between historical fact. If your one of those readers who after awhile get sick of reading the same boring, cliched, sickly sweet (and not very good for you!) YA books that seem more interested in cashing in on the "Twilight" and crappily (Is that even a word? haha!) written romance books disguised as "The Next More...

0 comments like

Oct 26, 2011

TG rated it:

Selene, only daughter of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, certainly had an interesting life but I came away from reading this book with the feeling that Moran didn't really focus on the most interesting part of it. The first couple of chapters deal with Cleopatra's suicide and the taking of her remaining children to Rome by Octavian, but following that, the story takes on an 'after the storm' feel and mainly deals with how Selene and her brother Alexander handle settling into day-to-day life in Rome.
More...

0 comments like

Oct 10, 2011

Sharon rated it:

This historical fiction novel details the lives of Cleopatra and Marc Antony's twins after their fall from power and suicide. The story begins with the king and queen of Egypt committing suicide as Alexandria crumbles, leaving behind their three children-- Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene (who are twins) and a younger brother Ptolemy. Octavia is a former wife of Marc Antony who raises the children in Rome, where she lives with her brother Octavian Caesar. No details are spared in describ More...

0 comments like

Oct 07, 2011

Soa rated it:

Although the Dream is Far

Если не так давно я говорила об уникальности Мишель стирать границы между современным миром с его информационным прогрессом и загадочными путами волшебного древнего мира горячих пустынь и палящего солнца, то здесь я предпочту умолчать насчет «сказочности» и романтики. Язык, к сожалению, не поднялся выше должного уровня, о чем свидетельствуют все те же переданные писательскому перу схожие синонимы, а, быть может, во всем виноват переводчик. Ругать здесь мож More...

0 comments like

Sep 26, 2011

Sam rated it:

After the victory of Octavian/Augustus and the defeat of her parents Antony and Queen Cleopatra, Selene and her twin brother Alexander are taken to live in Rome. Although things seem welcoming at first Selene must struggle to make herself useful to Augustus and avoid being seen as expendable.

Score: 3.5 out of 5.

I really wanted to love this book for what it was - a light, easy going piece of historical fiction. But I just couldn't love it. I enjoyed it and found it hard to More...

0 comments like

Sep 12, 2011

Kristie rated it:

I loved this book! Of course I did - it's historical fiction, my favorite genre.

There were several strengths to the story worth mentioning:

1. Moran has obviously done her research. The details about the clothing, the food, the architecture, etc. really added to the feel of the novel.

2. I had to do quite a bit of research to understand the "characters" in the novel. Even though I knew how the story would end based on history, I thought Moran was clever More...

0 comments like

Aug 08, 2011

Heather rated it:

This book is great, in my humble opinion. I want to read more on Kleopatra Selene, and will likely read the book about Nefertiti from the same author. Intriguing look at a time eons ago that was no so different than today in many aspects. Very strong female role model. Would highly suggest to those that like historical fiction. Beautifully written and inspiring topics covered.

This is my first experience reading this author, and in reading the other reviews, I see I should like the Heretic More...

0 comments like

Aug 04, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Cleopatra's Daughter picks up as the Romans, led by Octavian, are capturing Egypt. Selene, the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, along with her brother Alexander, are taken prisoner by Ocatvian after her mother commits suicide. Once in Rome, Selene becomes frightened about her future -will she be killed? Will Ocatavian force her to marry some old Roman senator? And most importantly...will she ever see her beloved Egypt again?

Michelle Moran offers a fascinating view of an ancient y More...

0 comments like

Jun 24, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Another good historical fiction from Michelle Moran. This is not a genre I am usually into, but the three books of Moran's I have read were enjoyable. I read this one in only a few days, which speaks to how engaging it was, and that it is fairly light. If you are at all fascinated with Egypt or the Roman Empire, and like tales of unlikely heroines, you will like this book.

The one thing I would criticize is that a family tree would have been helpful. It might have given away a few More...

0 comments like

Jun 18, 2011

Britni rated it:

Have you ever wondered what happened to Cleopatra's twins when she died? Didn't even know she had twins? Me neither. That's the beauty of historical fiction, you learn things while engrossed in the depth of a beautiful story.

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran is the story of Cleopatra's twins, Alexander and Selene as they are taken to Rome after Egypt is conquered. The story is told from Selene's point of view and a fascinating look at Roman rule and Egyptian culture. It follows Se More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 09, 2011

Frances rated it:

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s revengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two– the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander–survive the journey. Delivered to the household of Octavi More...

0 comments like

Apr 12, 2011

Holli rated it:

By the end of the book, I felt like I had enjoyed it. But I struggled through the first half a little bit. I felt there were too many characters that I knew were interconnected, but I couldn't keep track of who belonged to which person and why they mattered. So it was hard to really connect with the story. It was interesting to learn about the Roman Empire, but again, with the story including Egypt and Greece and Rome, it felt like too many cultures going on at once.

The second half of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 25, 2011

Jim rated it:

I read a lot of Roman material, both fiction and nonfiction, contemporary letters, and so on. So when an author's view of Rome significantly departs from what is known about the period, it yanks me out of the story. We had recently finished Colleen McCullough's masterful multivolume series on Rome, which ended where this story begins, and the contrast was jarring. Perhaps that says more about the quality of writing, but I think it says more about the degree of research. McCullough's bibliograp More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)