Realm

I have really loved Realm. It was the first book of that author that I have read. That book make me laugh, cried and also get angry at some point.

This is the story of Roxanna who’s homeland is conquer by Alexander the great. She’s the chieftain daughter and Alexander choose her to be his bride.

She’s gonna be thrown into a world of war and intrigue, deadly plots and rivalry.

i have received an arc of this book with Eldeweiss.

Realm by Alexandrea Weis is an intriguing insight into the past. The horror of war and greed.

We are introduced to sixteen-year-old Roxanna immediately. She is the daughter of a Persian leader and loved by him. Roxanna is strong-willed. Hunting, fighting, and riding horses are her world, but war is at their door, brought by Alexander the Great. Roxanna’s beauty catches his attention, and soon we see the value of women at the time. She becomes a bartered wife of Alexander despite the ill-will of many of his generals. Shortly after the marriage, she is taken away from all that she knows and loves.

Conflict of a world at war and the repercussions, especially on the women and children of the period is the overwhelming theme tying the book together. The sub-conflict between Roxanna a Persian and the world of the Greeks. Long-standing animosity between these two cultures drives the plot forward. The love that grows between Alexander and his wife takes a backseat to the treachery, war, and powerplays.

As a history buff, I found the world building quite good. Ms. Weis obviously spent a long time researching the time and place where Realm is rooted. For those who enjoy the deep immersion into the intricacies of history, it will be enjoyable. For my taste, often the details took over and away from the characters. There is nothing right or wrong here, only a matter of preference.

The main characters of Roxanne and Alexander, in my opinion, were well developed. Alexander is not someone I actually liked. I chose this book, thinking it would be an epic romance. In fact, it was more of a historical docu-drama. Again, not right, or wrong but a matter of preference. Instead of engaging with the characters, I felt as though I were on the outside looking in. In my opinion, the most intriguing relationship was between Roxanna and Alexander’s general, Hephaestion. The respect and friendship that grew between them were some of the deepest of the character developments.

The Point of View seemed more of a narrator telling than the characters speaking. This gave me the feeling of being on the outside, looking in rather than immersion.

The tale of Roxanna is not a happy one, though there are moments of joy. Realm seems to give a realistic picture of the terrible history of women and children in a world torn by war, greed, and ambition. If you enjoy history and lush descriptions, you will enjoy this book.

3.5 stars

When I read the blurb for Realm, I was intrigued. Like everyone else, I have heard of Alexander the Great. I have watched movies made about his life. I have read books about his exploits. But I had never heard of Roxana. There were mentions of a beautiful Persian princess, but no details were given. So, when I read that this book was about that mysterious Persian princess, I needed to read the book. I am glad that I read it because I got an insight into what being a woman was like back in those times. I also got a great insight into what being the wife and consort of Alexander the Great was like too.

Realm was hard to read at times. I am not a shrinking violet when it comes to violence, but I couldn’t get past certain scenes. An example would be Roxana witnessing the execution of some of Alexander’s troops. I was disgusted by the description. I will never be able to look at elephants feet the same way again.

I did like Roxana at first. I liked how she handled Alexander from the moment she met him. She wasn’t afraid to back down. But, after he died, her spirit dimmed. She wasn’t outspoken enough, in my eyes. I mean, she was being used as a political pawn. All because she was the mother of Alexander’s child. She did regain some of her fire in the middle of the book. Only to lose it at the end. I was disappointed by that. I would have loved to see her fire present the entire book.

I liked how Alexander and Roxana’s relationship was allowed to go at its own pace. There was no Instalove, well at least on Roxana’s part. It took her a long time to develop feelings for Alexander.

I know that many marriages were common back in those days. I loved how the author chose to portray Roxana’s reaction to it. Loved it!!

Once Alexander died, the book became confusing and boring for me to read. I know that the author was following timelines and real events but still. It became a dry read for me. There were only so many assassinations, murders, and generals out for themselves that I could take. But, it did illustrate how trapped Roxana was. I couldn’t even imagine living as she did. After her son was born, she was on the run for seven years. I can’t even imagine doing that.

The end of Realm broke my heart. I knew what was going to happen and was hoping so bad that the author would put her spin on things. Of course, it didn’t happen, and my heart broke into tiny little pieces.

I received a complimentary advance copy of this book to give a voluntary honest review. This review contains only my own thoughts and opinions of this book.

Realm was a maelstrom of every kind of emotion for me and not at all what I had expected. Just one book made me feel everything from immensely thrilled to tear-filled sorrow. To be honest, had I known when I got the book what an emotional coaster-ride it would be I probably wouldn’t have read it. However now afterwards, I do not regret reading it at all.

Let me start of by saying that I know very little of Greek history or Alexander the Great. As a matter of fact, I usually don’t read anything historical. What drew me to read Realm was the romance aspect of the story and being that’s how the book started, with Roxana and Alexander meeting for the first time, I was hooked. However, I soon started to get a bit pissed because it felt like the romance was put on the back burner with Roxana being isolated and alone in the middle of war and politics, having to be okay with mistresses and potential future wives. I felt for her and the unfair treatment of being a woman at that time. This feeling came back to haunt me at several points in the story where the woman who dreamed of a life where she could ride horses, go on adventures and see the world was nothing but the obedient wife outside of all the action.

Still, knowing that this was based on history and the author wanting to keep it accurate to that (as well as me knowing the romance was just a personal preference for me), I tried to keep an open mind. And it payed of. The relationship between Alexander and Roxana strengthened and developed beautifully, as well did the plot with the wars and travels and relations to other characters like Hephaestion and the other generals. Suddenly I wasn’t all in for the romance but also the history aspect, the characters and the adventure. I loved every part of it and I got really curious and made the mistake of looking up the history online. I wanted to see over it’s accuracy and what would happen next. If anyone reading this review and like me knows very little of history I won’t spoil anything, but what I found out abruptly put a damper on things and made me dread to keep reading.

Of course, what I dreaded came to pass, but also some surprises, both happy and sad, on the way that made it bearable. Starting this book I don’t think I ever expected that I would ever cry. Several times at that. I didn’t think I would feel anger or jealousy for Roxana on such a deep level, or regret or confusion. This was a completely different kind of story than I thought it was going to be, but I’m not disappointed at all. Sure, there were things I did not like, such as how Roxana always had to accommodate Alexander and be okay with everything he did. But I understand that it was written that way because of the way the look on women was at that time. There was also some confusion for me when it came to the war and politics, especially near the end, but Roxana and the other characters compensated well for that so I didn’t care that much that I didn’t fully follow what exactly was happening.

The one thing however I would have preferred, and this may just be a personal and a bit of a corny wish of mine, but I would have liked to see Roxana and Alexander reunited in the Elysian Fields at the end of the book. It would have given me the perfect closure I needed after such a riveting and emotional read.