CLEOPATRA ASCENDING

Readers who enjoyed Leah Spencer’s mystical adventures in the first series outing, Shadow’s Edge (2012), will find even more to love in the second.

For a Spencer sister, Rhea lives a relatively normal life. Sure, she’s the reincarnation of Cleopatra, and her boyfriend, Slade, is a shape-shifter and future king of the Dark Créatúir, but up until her 16th birthday, Rhea has gone to school, bickered with her sisters and done household chores just like any typical high school student. However, as soon as Rhea turns 16, she begins to have visions of her former life as an Egyptian queen. Alas, Rhea isn’t the only one intrigued by her growing powers. Soon she finds herself caught up in a war between two ancient, secret orders, one determined to protect the Egyptian queen reincarnate and the other hellbent on harnessing her powers for their own dark and deadly purposes. Rhea is both an entertaining narrator and a compelling heroine, whom readers will increasingly enjoy rooting for as she begins to embrace her fate and battle to protect the ones she loves. Unfortunately (and astonishingly, given the genre), the novel misses an opportunity to explore a potentially intriguing love triangle involving Rhea, Slade and Declan, the handsome young member of the Order of Antony who is determined to protect Rhea, often in spite of herself.

Still, this is an entertaining, quick read.