Review by asims723 - Babylonia

asims723 's review for:

Babylonia by Costanza Casati

3.25

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read Babylonia as my first by Costanza Casati. It is a daring look at the only woman to rule Assyria as regent while her son came of age to be King, yet nearly the entirety of the book engages with her upbringing and ascension to the throne, with the birth of that future king delayed for dramatic effect. Her story is intriguing, layered with ambition, love, and fear of not being enough. The narrative feels heavy-handed though, and the characters are often unpredictable, which is odd in a historical fiction novel. This is very researched, but also a true work of fiction. I did not enjoy reading this as much as I thought I would, though I deeply appreciate learning from both the author and my inspired research about this very interesting character from the past.

I read both the ebook and audiobook. I strongly recommend the audiobook as I struggled with some of the names in the ebook, but found the audiobook narrator's pronunciations really helped me keep track and understand the story better. Ayesha Antoine did an excellent job of narrating.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Recorded Books for the advanced copies to review!

Content Warnings