Pharoh, Kleopatra Volume II by Karen Essex

I liked this book but not sure that I loved it as much as the first one. The book picked up in Kleopatra's third year of ruling and jumped back and forth between each year and the 20th year of her reign in which she is watching her kingdom unravel as a result of Roman aggression.

What I really liked about the book is the explanation and logic behind Kleopatra's reputation as the "Roman whore." History has always painted her a the seductress and downfall of Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony without even discussing her motives other than just jumping into powerful men's bed. I really liked that she fully understood that the way to keep Egypt powerful wasn't to fight the Roman power but to manipulate it to become an ally - in any way she could. The book points out that the negative press about her began with Octavian (J.C.'s successor) and just spiraled downhill from there because the winner writes history after all.

In the book she is always saying "In matters of state, let your blood run cold" (which was how she justified many of her harsh decision, including starting her relationship with J.C.) but the author painted such vivid passion she had for both of these men that you would never guess they were also politically beneficial. I really liked that a definite difference was put between her relationship with J.C and M.A. - I was afraid they would just be replicas of each other but though the author painted these two generals very similarly, their relationships with Kleopatra and their own base personalities had enough individuality that it made it very interesting to continue to discover more about these men.

All the reviews of the book discuss its historical accuracy and the minute details she includes that really fill the book...I was curious when reading it how much could possibly be factual and how much was just created but it is interesting to think about the level of detail that is known about her life (the fact that they have CONCRETE dates) is just amazing to me.