Rating: 
Summary: Great book!
Review: Her deep gray eyes, silky raven hair, magnificent body, and astonishing beauty rival the qualities of her legendary ancestor, Cleopatra, and indeed, at her birth, her stars proclaim she will be lucky-and very accomplished- in the arts of love and war. The daughter of a powerful desert cheiftain, Zenobia witnesses at an early age the shocking brutality of renegade Roman soldiers and vows to hate all of the blue-eyed strangers forever. Yet after she's become a woman and the revered queen of Palmyra, Zenobia finds the exquisite passion all women dream of-with Marcus Alexander Britainus, a blue-eyed Roman. And it will take all her cunning and skill in war to keep the precious erotic rapture she can find only in his arms. This novel is based on a real life herorine. Bertrice captures her true character I think. It is a marvelous book.
Rating: 
Summary: Cartoonish
Review: I bought this book looking for something a little bit lighter and racier than the usual historical fiction I enjoy regularly. I was sadly disappointed. The entire plot is engineered to create situations for sex (and sometimes poorly engineered - take the Unconquerable Sun episode as case and point). I did not find the sex provocative because the characters were so one-dimensional, and the setting so thin. The story of Zenobia Queen of Palmyra should be great material - but I got so little sense of the historical background and characters that the novel was almost cartoonish. If you are a lover ROMANCE, you may not be disappointed, but if you are a lover of the HISTORICAL, you are bound to be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Cartoonish
Review: I bought this book looking for something a little bit lighter and racier than the usual historical fiction I enjoy regularly. I was sadly disappointed. The entire plot is engineered to create situations for sex (and sometimes poorly engineered - take the Unconquerable Sun episode as case and point). I did not find the sex provocative because the characters were so one-dimensional, and the setting so thin. The story of Zenobia Queen of Palmyra should be great material - but I got so little sense of the historical background and characters that the novel was almost cartoonish. If you are a lover ROMANCE, you may not be disappointed, but if you are a lover of the HISTORICAL, you are bound to be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Best of Small's Books but Not Bad.
Review: I had a hard time getting through this book and I not sure why. It seemed to take forever for Marcus and Zenobia to get together. I realize that Small was writing a saga here, but it seemed to drag on forever. Zenobia and Hawk's part of the story so very poignant. She seems to care for Hawk alot. She also recognized that Marcus was an attraction she could not ignore. I guess the real problem I have with this story is the time period. I have always felt the Romans got what they deserve.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Best of Small's Books but Not Bad.
Review: I had a hard time getting through this book and I not sure why. It seemed to take forever for Marcus and Zenobia to get together. I realize that Small was writing a saga here, but it seemed to drag on forever. Zenobia and Hawk's part of the story so very poignant. She seems to care for Hawk alot. She also recognized that Marcus was an attraction she could not ignore. I guess the real problem I have with this story is the time period. I have always felt the Romans got what they deserve.
Rating:
Summary: My first Bertrice Small book...
Review: I have never before read anything by Ms. Small but 'Beloved' was immensely enjoyable. The depiction of Palmyra was so gorgeous I am off to the library to read up on this wonderful city as well as Zenobia herself. My only disappointment was Aurelian's departure from the book. After all those chapters where he was the main character along with Zenobia, he fizzled from sight. He is treated almost as an afterthought. I was aching to know how Zenobia and Marcus would escape Aurelian's grasp (for he was such a strong, ruthless individual) and yet his character went out with a whimper. His descent into madness could have been more detailed. Aurelian went from almost pitiable to monstrous in just a few pages. All in all however, I will gladly read more of Beatrice Small...
Rating:
Summary: Zenobia, Our BELOVED Queen
Review: It had me gasping at the gruesome scenes, it had me crying when Aurelian assasinated the Council of Ten (especially Zenobia's best friend Cassius Longinus). I loved Zenobia's courage (remember when they had her march through the streets of Rome nude?), spirit, and the fact that she only loved ONCE. Marcus Alexander vow was truly heartening. I found myself confused by Aurelian's character - at times I despised him and then he would do something kind . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not Great
Review: Maybe it's just me, but I can only take so much drama before my eyes roll up inside my head, my brain explodes and I start rooting for the bad guys: "For the love of god, would someone just kill her already?" This book was kind of like that. Zenobia, god bless her, is a wonderful main character. She's smart, beautiful, witty. In fact, she's everything except lucky. First, her mother is raped and murdered. Then her husband is murdered. Her lover (Marcus) weds another woman, and Caesar her hated enemy, captures her and makes her his mistress. But wait! It gets worse. Her oldest son is a wimp. Her youngest son's a fool. Her friends are beheaded. Her city and everyone in it is destroyed. And while she goes a little crazy, she is still forced to bed the enemy because her daughter will be murdered if she doesn't. I think it was around the time Zenobia was forced to have sex in front of spectators I threw 'Beloved' out the window and haven't picked it up since. Oops. My recommendation? IF you dig drama and angst... you'll love this book. If you don't? Read something else. And if you are bi-polar, OCD, or are presently taking medication for depression? AVOID AVOID AVOID. *wink*
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Great
Review: Maybe it's just me, but I can only take so much drama before my eyes roll up inside my head, my brain explodes and I start rooting for the bad guys: "For the love of god, would someone just kill her already?" This book was kind of like that. Zenobia, god bless her, is a wonderful main character. She's smart, beautiful, witty. In fact, she's everything except lucky. First, her mother is raped and murdered. Then her husband is murdered. Her lover (Marcus) weds another woman, and Caesar her hated enemy, captures her and makes her his mistress. But wait! It gets worse. Her oldest son is a wimp. Her youngest son's a fool. Her friends are beheaded. Her city and everyone in it is destroyed. And while she goes a little crazy, she is still forced to bed the enemy because her daughter will be murdered if she doesn't. I think it was around the time Zenobia was forced to have sex in front of spectators I threw 'Beloved' out the window and haven't picked it up since. Oops. My recommendation? IF you dig drama and angst... you'll love this book. If you don't? Read something else. And if you are bi-polar, OCD, or are presently taking medication for depression? AVOID AVOID AVOID. *wink*
Rating: 
Summary: Rapture!
Review: This is not only my favorite Small book, but one of my favorite historical novels ever. The triumphs of Odenathus and Zenobia for the halcyon city of Palmyra are all but lost in history. Yet Small captures everything down to the smallest detail. In one graceful sweep small delivers an exquisite story of an admirable woman along with an excellent portrayal of the late Roman Empire. As a reader, I was pulled into the rapture. When I surfaced again, I was off to the library to research the historical Zenobia and her Palmyra. Personally, I can't think of a better effect a book can have.
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