To sum this novel up in only a few sentences: it takes place after the Battle of Actium (when Octavian-soon-to-be-Augustus conquers Egypt) and begins, rather depressingly with the deaths of both Cleopatra and Marc Antony. The story itself is about Selene and her twin Alexander during their stay in Rome with Octavian (as hostages). Though the book gave the impression of being a romance, it really wasn't. And I really liked it, which is surprising since I love a little romance.
I mentioned in my last book that I hoped that Selene- the main character and the daughter of Cleopatra and Marc Antony- wouldn't be a tween throughout the entire book. I am pleased to report that she was fifteen by the end of the book. That being said, children were seen as smaller versions of adults and expected to act as such throughout most of history (and by "act" I don't mean that they were expected to have adult relations. Girls could be married off at a very young age, but generally they were not allowed to consummate marriages until they were physically matured. In case you were wondering.) Even though I have known this and written quite a few papers on the topic, it is still hard for me to wrap my head around it, so in my mind Selene was already fifteen and her age increased from there. A ton of research went into this book, and though the author took some liberties with some aspects of it, it paints a rather accurate picture of Rome during the rule of Augustus. The story, if nothing else, is incredibly interesting. I don't think this will be a book I will read again, but I'm glad I did.
Pride and Prejudice
Time and time again, I have picked up P&P only to get frustrated and quit a third of the way through. Well this time I finished it! Oh yeah! And I have to admit, I actually liked the story as a whole. My problem with it is that the characters tend to ramble on and on and on and on and at times, that made it really hard for me to get through. I may have skipped whole paragraphs too. Another issue is that I went in it with the Kiera Knightley version in my head and I kept comparing the two. I know that's a big "no-no" when it comes to books, but I am what I am (and I may have a huge crush on Matthew Macfadyen, who will be in the next Three Musketeers movie -as Athos- and I couldn't be more excited about that.)
I think I'm going to tackle Emma in the near future (but certainly not as the next book I read) since I have refrained from watching any movie based off of it. Wish me luck.
Yes, but when you DO read Emma, pick up the BBC DVD version when you're finished. It's fantastic. I think it came out last year? Anyway, I just watched it, and I was super impressed. PS-If you have not seen the Colin Firth BBC/A&E version of P&P, you must! I refuse to acknowledge that Kiera Knightley was in a P&P movie. :P
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