Which makes the ending of the series all the more devastating. You enter their worlds and you don't want to come out. They grow and learn and the reader shares their triumphs and failures because you become so invested in their stories because of the writing. There isn't a single character that is simple or one-note they are all that complex mixture of good and bad that makes us all human. In the novel Selene is always trying to do what is best for her family, her dynasty and herself while trying to keep Augustus at bay. They brought a period of peace that hadn't been seen before or sadly after they died. You never feel as if you've fallen down some rabbit hole never to return.Selene and her husband, Juba were historically good rulers of their country.

Dray adheres to history she does add a fair bit of magic and mysticism into the tale but it fits both the times and the character. This book covers the period of Selene's life where she truly comes into her own as queen of Mauretania, mother to her children and goddess of Isis. I simply did not want it to end but like all good things, end it did.

It's not a short book at just under 600 pages but it read like a novella. I had a very hard time putting it down and I suspect had I not been reading it around the holidays I would have finished it within two days but the obligations and general busyness kept me from reading as much as I would have liked. It's a time period that fascinates me and this book is no exception. Dray's writing skills.I must admit to a partiality to books that take place in Ancient Rome. You do have to have read the first two books to enjoy the third but they do add to the richness of all of the characters' back stories.

Daughters of the Nile wraps up the trilogy on Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the legendary Cleopatra of Egypt and Marc Antony of Rome that started with Lily of the Nile and continued with Song of the Nile.

Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray