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sarahlreadseverything's review
3.0
To often lately I've read books with excellent concepts poorly executed. Cleo is unfortunately another one for this pile. It could have been great, but suffered from a weak narrative voice in Cleo (who came across mainly as whiney, annoying and much younger than her supposed age. She didn't feel like she could grow into the Cleopatra known to history), and a 'romance' that just never fitted - instalove of the worst kind combined with a poorly drawn love interest. I also agree with other reviewers that believe this would have been better as a one off rather than a series opener.
It gets a three, barely, because the plotting kept me reading and conceptually it really was something new and different. Will I pick up the next one? Who knows.
It gets a three, barely, because the plotting kept me reading and conceptually it really was something new and different. Will I pick up the next one? Who knows.
manoncremers's review
1.0
DNF at 10 %.
No, I can't do this anymore. I have barely read thirty pages, but I think I've had enough. I hate to say it, but this book is badly written. I just couldn't get my head wrapped around the amateurish writing. It was full of exaggerations and did not deliver the overall feel of the beautiful ancient Egyptian empire. I'm very sensitive when it comes to Egyptian mythology and history novels, and I don't like it when a book does not do both of them justice.
Cleopatra herself was the most typical young-adult protagonist you'd ever encounter. I expected to see a queen who fights for what she wants, not a weak girl who lets people walk on her and is a bitch all the way through. I also didn't like how she was modernized. Some historical figures are in my opinion better left with a voice that suits their time period.
A few pages later, I encountered many YA clichés, other flat characters and mistakes in the ebook. Some letters were omitted and formed quite the weird words. This happened several times on a single page. It resulted in another reason why I chose to not continue in Lucy Coat's Cleo, despite the amazing premise and a story I thought I'd like.
No, I can't do this anymore. I have barely read thirty pages, but I think I've had enough. I hate to say it, but this book is badly written. I just couldn't get my head wrapped around the amateurish writing. It was full of exaggerations and did not deliver the overall feel of the beautiful ancient Egyptian empire. I'm very sensitive when it comes to Egyptian mythology and history novels, and I don't like it when a book does not do both of them justice.
Cleopatra herself was the most typical young-adult protagonist you'd ever encounter. I expected to see a queen who fights for what she wants, not a weak girl who lets people walk on her and is a bitch all the way through. I also didn't like how she was modernized. Some historical figures are in my opinion better left with a voice that suits their time period.
A few pages later, I encountered many YA clichés, other flat characters and mistakes in the ebook. Some letters were omitted and formed quite the weird words. This happened several times on a single page. It resulted in another reason why I chose to not continue in Lucy Coat's Cleo, despite the amazing premise and a story I thought I'd like.
alisarae's review
2.0
I had lots of issues with this book, most of which were related to the writing. So many redundant questions and repetitive information that I wouldn't recommend it unless it miraculously gets some heavy editing.
A more detailed review is upcoming on Papercuttts.
A more detailed review is upcoming on Papercuttts.
haia_929's review
2.0
This is a trimmed down version of my review, to view the full review visit The Book Ramble.
This book was provided by Hachette Children's Books on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Cleopatra's sisters take over the throne of Egypt she must run away from them to save herself and to protect the future of Egypt. She goes to the sacred temple of Isis only to learn that Isis is losing power and Cleo is the only person who can turn that around. She must return to the palace and face her sisters to save herself, Isis, and the whole of Egypt.
I have to be completely honest, I could not stand this book. While I think the basic idea of the story was fun and interesting, I think the book really fell flat. The pace was uneven which meant there was a lot of dragging and then sudden shots forward. I didn't relate to Cleopatra and found her voice annoying and hard to listen to. I think the biggest mistake of all was that this book is not a standalone but in fact has at least one sequel in the works.
This book is a work of historical fiction, a history which I'm not particularly knowledgeable about. I found the plot interesting but I didn't have enough background to really understand a lot of what was talked about. There is something of an index in the back to explain all of the terms and individuals mentioned in the book but I didn't feel it really went into enough detail to really explain the context of the novel. I found the plot also lacking in details, things were assumed or skipped over and then explained too late or hardly explained at all. This was especially bad at the beginning of the book when Coats would skip forward without really explaining what was going on at all.
The pace of the book was such a mess, which only made the story harder to understand. There were long periods of time when nothing happened, and there was very little accomplished as the book neared its conclusion. When something finally happened the book just suddenly ended. This book could have continued on, at a good pace for about 5 more chapters and probably would have wrapped up really well.
The characters in this book were unrelatable and hard to really care about. There wasn't really a single character that stood out to me as you don't really get to know anything about them really. Cleo is the only one you get to know and I could hardly stand to read from her perspective. She never keeps focused on the actual goal - getting Isis her power back - and instead seems very focused on getting a boyfriend instead. Her love interest Khai is someone you can hardly trust and barely know and you're supposed to swoon over him? To the point that you forget the goal? I don't think so. I just found everything about Cleo annoying.
Overall I was not a fan of Cleo and would not recommend it. I will not read any potential sequels in the future.
This book was provided by Hachette Children's Books on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Cleopatra's sisters take over the throne of Egypt she must run away from them to save herself and to protect the future of Egypt. She goes to the sacred temple of Isis only to learn that Isis is losing power and Cleo is the only person who can turn that around. She must return to the palace and face her sisters to save herself, Isis, and the whole of Egypt.
I have to be completely honest, I could not stand this book. While I think the basic idea of the story was fun and interesting, I think the book really fell flat. The pace was uneven which meant there was a lot of dragging and then sudden shots forward. I didn't relate to Cleopatra and found her voice annoying and hard to listen to. I think the biggest mistake of all was that this book is not a standalone but in fact has at least one sequel in the works.
This book is a work of historical fiction, a history which I'm not particularly knowledgeable about. I found the plot interesting but I didn't have enough background to really understand a lot of what was talked about. There is something of an index in the back to explain all of the terms and individuals mentioned in the book but I didn't feel it really went into enough detail to really explain the context of the novel. I found the plot also lacking in details, things were assumed or skipped over and then explained too late or hardly explained at all. This was especially bad at the beginning of the book when Coats would skip forward without really explaining what was going on at all.
The pace of the book was such a mess, which only made the story harder to understand. There were long periods of time when nothing happened, and there was very little accomplished as the book neared its conclusion. When something finally happened the book just suddenly ended. This book could have continued on, at a good pace for about 5 more chapters and probably would have wrapped up really well.
The characters in this book were unrelatable and hard to really care about. There wasn't really a single character that stood out to me as you don't really get to know anything about them really. Cleo is the only one you get to know and I could hardly stand to read from her perspective. She never keeps focused on the actual goal - getting Isis her power back - and instead seems very focused on getting a boyfriend instead. Her love interest Khai is someone you can hardly trust and barely know and you're supposed to swoon over him? To the point that you forget the goal? I don't think so. I just found everything about Cleo annoying.
Overall I was not a fan of Cleo and would not recommend it. I will not read any potential sequels in the future.
katsmiao's review
3.0
I was so excited to read this book. I love Egypt, and Cleopatra has always been one of the most captivating subject.
Because of that, it's hard for me to review this. I was hoping for so much more.
My review copy on the kindle was missing lots of letters, so it was very difficult to compensate and figure out what words meant. That would have made me give up on most books and DNF. But with this one I persevered. I wanted to read the whole story.
Cleo is pretty whiny and very child like....but since she was a princess/goddess and very young, I suppose that fits. The story was very different from what I was expecting. To me it didn't really feel like the story of Cleopatra as a child, but rather a YA book drawing on supernatural and ancient religions.
Ultimately, this was a middle of the road book for me, so I would give it 2.5 stars.
Because of that, it's hard for me to review this. I was hoping for so much more.
My review copy on the kindle was missing lots of letters, so it was very difficult to compensate and figure out what words meant. That would have made me give up on most books and DNF. But with this one I persevered. I wanted to read the whole story.
Cleo is pretty whiny and very child like....but since she was a princess/goddess and very young, I suppose that fits. The story was very different from what I was expecting. To me it didn't really feel like the story of Cleopatra as a child, but rather a YA book drawing on supernatural and ancient religions.
Ultimately, this was a middle of the road book for me, so I would give it 2.5 stars.
thebookandfilmcorner's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
m3l89's review
2.0
I don't think I've read anything about Cleopatra before and don't know how I feel about this novel. The language used was very modern and didn't fit with the setting; I didn't mind this at first but as the story progressed, it got on my nerves. I felt like not a lot happened.
nicolet2018's review
3.0
I was excited to read this as a book based in ancient Egypt sounded fun and mesmerizing. However as I leave my teens, YA can be tricky as it is written for those within ages of 12-18. To be accurate, the statement on the cover should say "two thrones, three sisters" but I guess "one throne" is more catchy. This discripency should have been taken note of. One throne means ma'at will be broken. Quoting the book....
Lets start on the characters. Cleo seemed rather bratty throughout the book. But I felt sad that she grew up in an environment where people could not be trusted and betrayal was a norm. I was not really pleased with the way people just fell to their knees and had to give in, but I suppose it came with the culture at that period. She was brave and strong. But also naive. I was surprised that she had brown hair and blue eyes. I would have thought she was of Egyptian descent, not greek.
I did not like the instalove between Khai and her. It isn't believable. The two of them meet for a few moments during two occasions. One while Cleo is younger and the second when she bumps into him. They don't speak but for pleasantries. Is this the recipe for love? Oh and it is veryyy convenient that they both have steamy dreams about each other. So those two points brought together equals true lurveee. Errr nope. The only thing that I could see Cleo attracted to was Khai's looks and smile. That is superficial. Their proclaimations of love sounded so stiff and corny. Nobody use them as a romantic example, please....
The plot was good. It was exicting as Cleo goes on her quest to infiltrate the place she grew up in and pretend not to hate her step sisters. Even though finding the map was quite straight forward. The intrigue of the court and Egypt was captivating. The tone of the book was quite dark. There is implications of rape and violent beatings. Killing happens quite openly in the royal palace. But I don't know of I will read the next book.
Lets start on the characters. Cleo seemed rather bratty throughout the book. But I felt sad that she grew up in an environment where people could not be trusted and betrayal was a norm. I was not really pleased with the way people just fell to their knees and had to give in, but I suppose it came with the culture at that period. She was brave and strong. But also naive. I was surprised that she had brown hair and blue eyes. I would have thought she was of Egyptian descent, not greek.
I did not like the instalove between Khai and her. It isn't believable. The two of them meet for a few moments during two occasions. One while Cleo is younger and the second when she bumps into him. They don't speak but for pleasantries. Is this the recipe for love? Oh and it is veryyy convenient that they both have steamy dreams about each other. So those two points brought together equals true lurveee. Errr nope. The only thing that I could see Cleo attracted to was Khai's looks and smile. That is superficial. Their proclaimations of love sounded so stiff and corny. Nobody use them as a romantic example, please....
The plot was good. It was exicting as Cleo goes on her quest to infiltrate the place she grew up in and pretend not to hate her step sisters. Even though finding the map was quite straight forward. The intrigue of the court and Egypt was captivating. The tone of the book was quite dark. There is implications of rape and violent beatings. Killing happens quite openly in the royal palace. But I don't know of I will read the next book.