Author: Libbie Hawker
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Lake Union
Publish Date: December 1, 2015
Source: TLC Book Tours
What's the Story?:
From Goodreads.com: "Zenobia, the proud daughter of a Syrian sheikh, refuses to marry against her will. She won’t submit to a lifetime of subservience. When her father dies, she sets out on her own, pursuing the power she believes to be her birthright, dreaming of the Roman Empire’s downfall and her ascendance to the throne.
Defying her family, Zenobia arranges her own marriage to the most influential man in the city of Palmyra. But their union is anything but peaceful—his other wife begrudges the marriage and the birth of Zenobia’s son, and Zenobia finds herself ever more drawn to her guardsman, Zabdas. As war breaks out, she’s faced with terrible choices.
From the decadent halls of Rome to the golden sands of Egypt, Zenobia fights for power, for love, and for her son. But will her hubris draw the wrath of the gods? Will she learn a “woman’s place,” or can she finally stake her claim as Empress of the East?"
My Two Cents:
"Daughter of Sand and Stone" by Libbie Hawker is the story of Zenobia, an ambitious royal woman who dreams of overthrowing the Roman regime that threatens her reign. I did not know much about Zenobia at all and I had been wanting to try Hawker's books for awhile so I was very eager to get my hands on this book. Zenobia is a fascinating character and I really enjoyed getting to know who she was and what made her tick through this book.
I have been loving reading more historical fiction set in ancient times recently. I don't often get a chance to read it and I love reading about times and people unfamiliar to me. Zenobia is a great character. This book covers a wide swath of her life in a relatively small space. There are some events that I wish the book had spent more time on as they felt rushed (such as her upbringing). Because the events are coming at you so rapid fire, it did make the book go quite fast.
The writing of the book was okay. The book is written in third person present tense, which is a hard tense for me to get into. It made the narrative a little shaky for me as that tense often confuses me. Much of this was overcome by the great storyline though! Overall, I really enjoyed this book!
Giveaway:
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Follow the Rest of the Tour:
Monday, November 30th: Peeking Between the Pages
Tuesday, December 1st: Bibliotica
Tuesday, December 1st: Life is Story
Wednesday, December 2nd: Reading Reality
Thursday, December 3rd: A Chick Who Reads
Monday, December 7th: Luxury Reading
Wednesday, December 9th: Book Dilettante
Thursday, December 10th: Mom’s Small Victories
Friday, December 11th: Book Nerd
Monday, December 14th: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s Book Reviews
Monday, December 14th: Book Babe
Tuesday, December 15th: A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, December 16th: The Reader’s Hollow
Thursday, December 17th: Books a la Mode – author guest post
Monday, December 21st: Raven Haired Girl
Tuesday, December 22nd: The Lit Bitch
Friday, December 25th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, December 29th: I’m Shelfish
Tuesday, December 29th: Time 2 Read
Wednesday, December 30th: Broken Teepee
TBD: Thoughts from an Evil Overlord
TBD: Spiced Latte Reads
This captivating novel interests me greatly. The era and the character are fascinating. Thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteZenobia looks like a fascinating character.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour!
ReplyDelete