Saara El-Arifi's Cleopatra offers a picture of a feminist, cutthroat, passionate, dedicated woman who is a mother as well as a ruler; she is a lover and a deadly enemy; and her singular focus on Egypt and its future leads her in all ways. This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived. My knowledge of Egypt is limited, but my interest was sparked by one of my favorite childhood reads, The Egypt Game . In Saara El-Arifi's Cleopatra , the author tells from Cleopatra's poi

The slim novel Blue Hour explores ambivalence about motherhood, unflinching details of the experience of miscarriage, relationship...

In case you missed it: Aimee Molloy's page-turner is a quick read with a major--if manipulative-feeling--plot twist. The characters in...