4,5 stars

What a powerful telling of Cleopatra's story! Though I know this was not supposed to be the point of the story, I found her relationships with Cesar and then Antony (as well as with her handmaiden) to be the most poignant. I cannot believe it's even made me like Cesar.

I was already very familiar with the story of Cleopatra, having done my BA thesis on her and Antony's love. I have read the primary Roman sources, the secondary literature, and I think Saara El-Arifi did a great job taking these documents and telling the story from the pharoh's point of view. But I also found the part of Actium (and the conflict with Octavian) to be a bit lacking, though I also know that the sources are partly to blame for that. I don't know how possible it would have been to flesh out this part without straying further from the historical sources.

The epilogue and ending also left me feeling a bit doubtful. I am not so sure that it was the right direction to go with the story and it left me feeling frustrated. It makes sense with the narrative choices the author has made but still.

As for the audiobook, Adjoa Andoh is a fabulous narrator and was the perfect choice to voice Cleopatra. She did a fabulous job

4.25⭐ (I know we've talked about this before but I really want .25/.75 ratings🥲 both 4 and 4.5 feel wrong and I've gone from one to the other several times while writing this)

"A person is a person, just as a flower is a flower. Scholars rank each other, people, and flowers, prizing the plum blossom over the common wildflowers, but to me, I love all flowers. They bring all delight. They are all beautiful."

What a lovely read! The P&P inspiration is obvious but it's not a beat-for-beat copy so you don't get bored but still enjoy spotting the similarities. I also find the differences interesting and enjoyable. Particularly the younger sister's role, which, while annoying, is a lot more likable than Lydia, if only because her reasons for it are less about vanity and instead rooted in a deep yearning for more than what society demands of women.

The setting is also really interesting. Joseon era Korea ofc, but specifically censorship and book bans from a king/government who was fearful of Western ideology and religion threatening Confusianism and social order by being infiltrated through novels.

It's only said in passing but I also find very interesting and important the idea that (in this instance) the past had more liberties and freedom for women. It's such a common misconception that humanity started at it's very worst and only gets better, and will only get better. Haewon for exemple mentions that 200 years before her time, women had more freedom, and 400 years before, they had rights, and could own lands.. Rights that ended up being taken away. Good to remember in our own times.

But mostly it's a sweet, sweet, love story. So tender, so pure, so full of yearning, woven with a deep love for books. Two love stories really, between two people, and between the human heart and literature. I loved the vivid spring feel of the prose, with descriptions that were not too heavy-handed but showed, like flashes, the blooming of flowers, the shine of tea cups under the sun, the feel of a cool breeze..

Not that it's perfect ofc; there is a misunderstanding trope in there, due to the hidden identity aspect of the story, and the ending wraps up more abruptly than I would have liked. I was enjoying it so much, and there were plot points that had to be solved for the epilogue to happen so you know they were, but I would have rather seen it happen on-page. Still, this might have single-handedly pulled me out of my slump.

"I'm convinced," she said, unable to hide the rawness in her voice, "that to live without a will is to deny the bird the sky, the flowers the sun. I was born with a will. Mayn't I use it?"

"Am I committing a moral transgression? Ought I to stop? I have no answer, but I promise you this: If ever you are discovered, if the world turns against you, write to me at once. You will never be friendless. You will never be entirely alone."

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Bald Kim Kardashian pays a visit to her Skims factory

I feel like maybe, maybe I would care more if I wasn't in the I-don't-care Pit but I'm calling it quits at 50%. It's sweet and funny in an almost cozy, satirical fantasy romance way but the worldbuilding is vague and the plot slow and meandering. Damien and Amma are cute, but it's nothing fresh and I can't bring myself to care enough to keep going. It's grumpy/sunshine, he's an evil half-demon mage who's really not great at being evil but trying, and she's naive and overly positive and quite child-like and sees the good in everyone; it's fine, it's a beloved bunch of tropes, but like, we know.

I tried spoiling myself some of the ending and even some stuff from further in the trilogy, to try and spark some curiosity, but no. It'll work for plenty of people looking for a comforting I-know-exactly-where-this-is-going book to turn their brain off and enjoy.