I Am Cleopatra by Natasha Solomons

 

I Am Cleopatra was a fictional retelling of Cleopatra's life that will immerse the reader into ancient Egypt and ancient Rome.  Cleopatra is a fascinating woman and this book does a great job telling her story. 

  This story starts with Cleopatra as a girl and takes us through her love affair with Julius Caesar.  It does not go into Cleopatra's later years or her death.  I thought the author did an excellent job with her research and I liked how she brought the historical figures to life.  Cleopatra was a force to be reckoned with.  She was smart, ambitious, and didn't let herself be completely ruled by men in a patriarchal society.  The amount of bravery and courage to do what she had to do to rule Egypt is impressive and even more so when you think about the time period.  This story did a great job showing her ambitions but also her vulnerable side.  Her friendship with Charmian was not something I had ever read before when reading about Cleopatra so I enjoyed that aspect of this novel.  I also liked that the author included a second point of view, that of Julius Caesar's other mistress ,Servilla.  It brought an interesting perspective to the story.

Overall, this was a solid historical fiction novel.  Even if you know the story of Cleopatra, there were enough unique elements in this book to hook one's interest.