A Captive Queen

She is the daughter of the infamous queen who dared challenge Roman supremacy, she grew up in the most sumptuous court of the ancient world where she was worshiped as the child of living deities, she was crowned a queen in her own right at the age of eight ... and her world has just been torn apart.

Kleopatra Selene and her twin brother Alexander Helios are the prizes of war for a victorious Octavian. Paraded through the streets of Rome adorned in chains they are the symbolic representation of Egypt's eclipse. They are told to forget their heritage and embrace Roman culture ... to do otherwise would almost certainly cost them their lives. But Selene never surrenders, always remembering who she rightly is and where she belongs. From her perspective we witness the revolutionary changes the new Caesar makes to Roman society as he masterfully manipulates the political rivalries of the Senate and brings ever more domains under his rule. Is there a place in this Roman world for the daughter of a rebellious queen maligned as a whore and a tyrant? Knowing that her only chance of one day returning to Egypt is to do just that, Selene sets about learning to play the cutthroat game of empire, illusion, and survival.

Personally, I found Selene to be a little too perfect. She is, however, a fascinating personality and the events and aspects of Roman life she describes are illuminating. Moran has done a wonderful job researching -- bringing this character and the time she lived in to life (but then she always does). She has also grown as an author, as many of the weaknesses I found in her previous books are either improved on or completely absent in this work. As we have come to expect there is a lovely romance central to the plot, and (happily) it is true to the historical record. I always find it nice to read about a world-class romance that really happened! Bravo!