Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi

Jun 8

MAIN THEMES:
- Female Power
- Deep Friendship
- Political Intrigue
- Love & Duty
- Egyptian Mythology

I went into “Cleopatra” thinking I knew her story (I mean, childhood Egyptologist dreams and all) but WOW, I was not prepared for this.

Saara El-Arifi takes Cleopatra, the untouchable empress, and turns her into someone achingly human: vulnerable, sharp, emotional… and still fully capable of ending you with a snap of her fingers. That balance? Obsessed.

And that ending?? I genuinely didn’t see it coming. El-Arifi took managed to humanize the legend of the last Pharoah of Egypt while amplifying the myth AT THE SAME TIME.

I actually caught myself slowing down because I didn’t want it to end (you know it’s good when you start rationing chapters 😭). When I finally finished… yeah, I was ugly crying.

One of the most beautiful parts for me was Cleopatra and Charmion’s friendship; so real, so grounding, and honestly one of the emotional cores of the story. Reminded me of my own friendship of 20+ years 🖤

I also appreciated that the romance/sexuality stayed more PG-13; present but not overpowering the story (1 pepper spice-level).

And can we talk about the Illumicrate special edition?? Absolutely STUNNING!

No notes. No complaints. Just hoping this is the start of many more “historical figures we thought we knew” retellings from El-Arifi.