Sunday 5 January 2014

Mishel Reviews: The Princess of Egypt must die - Stephanie Dray

Mishel reviews

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Release Date:  November 2012
Publisher: Originally appeared in the ETERNAL SPRING anthology of Young Adult Fiction
Pages:  55
My Rating: 4/5 
Source: Kindle Freebie
Cover: She’s wearing the royal purple, I like it =)

Princess Arsinoe came of age in the glittering court of Ptolemaic Egypt. Abused by her ruthless sister, a pawn in the dynastic ambitions of her father, and dismissed by the king who claimed her for a bride, young Arsinoe finds herself falling in love with a young man forbidden to her. She dreams of a destiny as Egypt's queen, but first she must survive the nest of vipers otherwise known as her family.

Review:
Ugh, this is why I dislike short stories/novellas/novellettes. Call them what you want and I’ll pretty much ALWAYS want more! The Princess of Egypt Must Die is absolutely no exception, especially when I became so attached to characters within a mere 55 pages! I mean, COME ON!?! And while I’m moaning and complaining let me underline the fact that this short story was fantastic! 

Doing some vague and mild research I’ve come to see that the heroine of this story is Queen Arsinoe II. While there is a lot of crazy rivalry – sibling, family, political, etc involved in her history (and pretty much everyone in history it seems), this particular story is about young Princess Arsinoe. Here she is portrayed as the sweet, fragile, younger daughter of the pharaoh who wants desperately to be loved. After being reluctantly married off to the King of Thrace she hopes to find some form of happiness in her new life. But Princess Arsinoe soon learns that rivals will always be around and the love and happiness she’s always wanted may continue to be out of her reach. 

I’ve only dabbled here and there in historical fiction so it’s always a treat to find a book that makes me want to go do research on the time period or featured character. Now if I follow through on said research is an entirely different subject matter that we may or may not discuss (probably not) at a later date. Ancient Egypt has continued to fascinate me with the few works I’ve read about the time period by different authors. I’m excited to continue on in the time period and hopefully continue to be just as thrilled.  

Having already read Stephanie’s work, it’s hard for me not to compare this short story to her Cleopatra’s Daughter trilogy. There are many similarities and differences but the bottom line is I truly love Stephanie Dray’s writing.  Her attention to historical detail is amazing and her ability to engage readers on an emotional level is staggering. I’m looking forward to her future work that will encompass the life of Martha “Patsy” Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson’s daughter (the third president of the United States, just putting it out there…) For those who are new to Stephanie Dray I’d highly recommend this short gem of a read as an introduction to her and her writing. P.S. It’s still a Kindle Freebie

35 comments:

  1. Thanks Mishel :)
    Now why is this woman blonde? Cos she is Macedonian? Hm.... yeah

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    1. Yes exactly. Arsinoe II was Macedonian and Stephanie says that the chances are good that she was fair-haired =)

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  2. I have the same comment! And she looks more like a fairy than an Egyptian princess

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    1. Oops! I hit the wrong button...

      I have a love/hate relationship with novelettes too because it's either a cliffhanger or feels so incomplete it seems like you just read a chapter or something.

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    2. Lol I agree the fair-hair does kind of throw things off a little.

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  3. I love and hate novellas, some are so good..but then I want more, I want more!!

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  4. I have a love/hate relationship with novellas too. If they are really good, I hate for the story to end.

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    1. Yes, exactly. I get that novellas are good for specific reasons but I don't like getting so invested and wishing it could be a full-length novel.

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  5. It's almost worse when a short story ends up being good! I know exactly what you mean, they always leave me wanting more.
    But still, this one seems to be worth a bit of suffering.
    Great review.

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    1. Thanks! And my exact thoughts Maja. It is kind of worse when you find a good novella. And yes, I find I am quite happy to suffer for this read lol

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  6. I have the same problem with novellas so I tend to steer clear of them. They frustrate me! I have only read one book by this author, the first in her Cleoptra series. I would like to read more and that new Thomas Jefferson series sounds terrific. I will be watching for it!

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    1. I'm excited about her new series. I haven't read any presidential historicals or any fiction in Jefferson's time period.

      I hope you liked the first in the Cleopatra series Heidi =)

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  7. It sounds good, even if it could've been longer!

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  8. 55 pages and you got sucked in, nice for the writing but killer on the anticipation. :) Nice that you looked up this character, she sounds interesting even though I haven't ever heard of her before.

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    1. I know, right? I hadn't heard of her either Lexi but it was nice to have some background info. Stephanie's portrayal of the young Arsinoe explains what we do know of Arsinoe and her life.

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    2. Yay for Stephanie for bringing some fact into her book! :) I enjoyed your review!

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  9. oh yes it's really really short. I confess I don't read novellas from the authors I don't follow the series because well I always want more.

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    1. Great point Melliane. I think I almost always give novellas and short stories by the authors I follow a chance. Otherwise I don't even consider a new-to-me author's novella.

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  10. I'm glad the short story was good - that's not always the case. I think the cover looks too modern. I do like the era and setting though. So is there a novel that follows this book?

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    1. Not at the moment Mary, although I hope Stephanie would consider expanding Arsinoe's story =)

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  11. Novellas drive me nuts for the reasons you mentioned-this does sound like a good series!

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    1. Good or bad novellas are definitely not my fave to read.

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  12. Thanks Mishel, I snatched it up! Glad you loved it, but well, this is a very short short story!

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    1. I know Aurian! It's crazy short but sooo good. Let me know what you think =D

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  13. Ooh - a kindle freebie and good, I may have to run over and pick this one up.

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  14. Well, it sounds like The Princess of Egypt Must Die need to be a full length novel one day!

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    1. You took the words right out of my mouth Naida =D

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  15. I'm the same way, I pretty much always want more when I read a novella or short story. It's rarely ever enough! :-)

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    1. I like companion stories a lot but I always have a love/hate relationships with novellas and short stories.

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  16. How did I miss this one?? Argh thanks for the heads up, I'll read anything by Stephanie her writing is so gorgeous and I'm not even a fan of novellas or short stories :)

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    1. Ohh I'm surprised you didn't get this on Sheree, I've read your excellent reviews on Stephanie's books and I know you'll love what she did with Arsinoe II!

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  17. Love Stephanie Dray. On my way to get it. (Hopefully its still free *fingers crossed*)

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