Library Journal
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El-Arifi (Faebound) branches out from her SF/fantasy titles to focus on Cleopatra in her newest work, beginning with Cleopatra's earliest, most trusted relationship with her servant, friend, and lover Charmion. As Cleopatra navigates multiple betrayals by her siblings, especially by her sister Arsinoe, it is Charmion who remains steadfast. Cleopatra tells her story from the future, reflecting on her choices, relationships, and political moves, all juxtaposed against the context of history's selective facts and patriarchal misjudgment of her life. The narrative moves in a linear fashion, separated into three sections: "The Witch," "The Whore," and "The Villain." Her love affairs with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony are intertwined with the constant threats to her throne, and her attempts to raise children from both men with a sense of clarity and purpose. Cleopatra's relationship with the gods, and their judgments and gifts, occupy a large portion of her personal quest, with the investment contributing to an intriguing and rewarding twist at the end of the story. VERDICT Historical fiction fans who revel in a woman reclaiming her story will identify with this novel, as will readers of Marie Benedict.—Tina Panik

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Filled with carefully researched detail, this action-packed fictional portrait of the ancient and mysterious Egyptian empress follows her from adolescence until her end. Cleopatra VII is a Ptolemy, heir to the throne of Egypt—but as many of us think we know, she came to a tragic end due to her ill-fated love affairs and poor military strategy. Author El-Arifi pulls from many scholarly sources to create her novel’s queen, a woman of Africa who owes nothing to future mythologizing; she’s a healer, a would-be scholar, and a fiercely loving mother. This Cleopatra lives for her people; loves freely, both men and women; and leaves little to chance, employing care and cruelty in equal measures. Her great documented loves, Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius, appear, but so does her life’s companion, Charmion, not to mention her perfidious siblings, sister Arsinoe and brother Theos. At one point, Cleopatra says of her sister, “We had been close once; our secrets were each other’s. But somewhere along the paths of our lives we had diverged”— but she never explains how or why. Cleopatra goes out of her way in other sections to describe her emotions, so her silence on her relationship with Arsinoe feels odd, due both to their kinship and their eventual clashes. This lacuna might indicate cultural difference, as well as attention to context—we now acknowledge that emotions might be different depending on eras—but given the plethora of emotions otherwise imputed to this dynamic queen, it’s a puzzling omission. We also now acknowledge family estrangement, but we usually see a first-person narrator understanding why a breach has occurred. Still, this Pharaoh’s imperious ability to here don gem-laden robes, there order a royal family’s murders, or hold an intimate banquet of boar and goose is a vision of absolute power and absolute control. If Cleopatra occasionally contradicts herself, claiming to care more for her family than for her people, it seems to be such a maverick’s prerogative. A worthy addition to novels about powerful women, despite some shallow glosses on character motivations. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Seductress, man-eater, Elizabeth Taylor—these are the cultural images that come to mind at the mention of Cleopatra, and El-Arifi (The Battle Drum, 2023) is determined to subvert them. Her Cleopatra is a military strategist, a healer, a compassionate ruler, and a single mom desperately trying to hold together her family and her kingdom. She narrates her story from beyond the grave, beginning with her beloved father’s death, through vicious power struggles with her sister Arsinoe and duplicitous courtiers, her legendary encounters with Caesar and Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony), and her eventual downfall. El-Arifi has done her research (attested by an impressive bibliography) even as she imaginatively illuminates Cleopatra's inner life, playing with the unknown Cleopatra, a princess who might slip out of her palace in the night to bring healing herbs to her people, who took pride in the accomplishments of her children, and who mastered statecraft and alliances not out of selfishness but for the greater good of Egypt. But El-Arifi’s Cleopatra is no saint. She willingly sacrifices innocents who represent a threat to her legacy and makes some calamitous mistakes. Yet as a woman with the deck constantly stacked against her, she remains a fascinating figure, not for her seductive wiles but for her tenacious will to survive.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

El-Arifi's (Faebound) new historical novel, told from Cleopatra's point of view, transports listeners to ancient Alexandria. Based on extensive research and creative imagination, the novel recounts her story of love, betrayal, heartache, and death. Marked by the gods but not blessed with their powers, Cleopatra struggles in her early reign against her siblings. Enter Julius Caesar, Cleopatra's first love. Their relationship is rooted in mutual respect and like-minded rule, but it is cut short by the Roman Senate's betrayal of Caesar. Marcus Antonius reaches out to a still-grieving Cleopatra to solidify an alliance between Egypt and Rome, and only their burgeoning love can convince her to side with the Romans, who took her son's birthright. Marcus and Cleopatra's love is intoxicating, resulting in three children and their tragic deaths. This novel brings depth to Cleopatra's life while offering a feminist perspective on her historical impact. Actor Andoh narrates, giving Cleopatra a seductive yet supremely intelligent voice and offering solid Italian accents for the Roman men. VERDICT An excellent addition to historical fiction collections and to those highlighting powerful women characters. The book will leave listeners wanting to discover the facts behind the fantasy of Cleopatra's life.—Amber Owrey