I was disappointed by this book. After absolutely loving Clytemnestra, I had high hopes for Babylonia, but it just didn’t measure up.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially Semiramis, the protagonist. She started out as a complex and intriguing figure, but as the story progressed, she seemed to lose her depth and became, for lack of a better term, a “Mary Sue.” She could do no wrong, easily outmaneuvered her political rivals (mostly other women), and even the male characters—one of whom might be aro/ace—fall hopelessly in love with her without much effort. It was frustrating to see such a promising character lose her complexity.

The standout for me was Onnes, the king’s stoic governor, brother, and possibly lover. Unlike the other characters, Onnes was refreshingly complex and mysterious. Forget "morally gray"—he was borderline sociopathic. However, of course, Semiramis comes along and melts his cold, dark heart. I won’t spoil anything, but the conclusion to his arc felt unfulfilling, even though it’s myth-accurate. I always find it disappointing when characters with trauma are reduced to mere plot devices.

On a more positive note, I really enjoyed the love triangle in the book, mostly because it was an actual triangle! The queer representation was a welcome surprise, and I found that dynamic to be the most engaging part of the story. However, I do wish Casati had explored the relationship between Onnes and Ninus more deeply—what we got felt like crumbs, but I’ll take what I can get.

That said, I did enjoy Babylonia (at least the first half). I learned a lot about mythology and really appreciated the historical context Casati provided at the end. You can tell she’s passionate about these subjects and cares about portraying them accurately. I’ll definitely be reading whatever she writes next, but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting Babylonia anytime soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

Personally, I think this book was very slow-paced (in a negative way), dragged on, the synopsis was inaccurate to the story, and bland leaving me feeling mostly detached from the novel. This was a very good overview of who Semiramis was, and the beginning had a lot of potential for it to be a thrilling and powerful retelling but it fell flat in a few different ways. I was expecting to read about a powerful, bloodthirsty woman who clawed her way to power, relentless in her pursuit of the crown and Assyrian Empire. But that’s not what I got. Semiramis came from “nothing” (even though her foster father was a governor or something like that), and married her way to power. She wasn’t destined to take the power but instead, the crown happened to land in her lap. There wasn’t much of any court intrigue, and it was filled mostly with Semiramis seducing and falling for men, becoming their wives, and then moving on to the next husband. While I can understand that a woman of that age and period couldn’t do much, this story just wasn’t what I was expecting. It was good and kind of informative, but I felt detached from everything going on. Semiramis at the beginning of the novel was my favorite, but her character kind of died out. The ending was anti-climactic, and there was a lot of “foreshadowing” that made everything seem so obvious and plain. There were a few moments and scenes that I enjoyed, however, the majority of the book was kind of disappointing. Again, it was a good novel but mostly for the sake of taking in the information.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

It is reassuring to know that strong women have existed in a man’s world for centuries. This novel begins with a baby left on a rock by a river while her mother drowns herself. She is found and raised by a cruel stepfather. There begins the story of survival and the quest for security, love, and power. Semiramis has learned that to belong in a male-dominated society, she has to think and fight like a man.

The author has done a great deal of research and based this story on as much fact as she could. That a woman could be accepted as a ruler in ancient Assyria and achieve what no woman before her had makes a great read. The descriptions are vivid and characters memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC to read and review.

Graphic battles, deadly power struggles, unhappy love triangles, a pet leopard. Babylonia.

This was a thrilling look at the legendary queen Sammuramat of the Assyrian empire and her rise to power. I'd classify this as more of a historical romance. I wasn't expecting almost 80% of this book to be a love triangle between Semiramus, her husband, and his half-brother (maybe?? parentage in question, incest debatable). I was looking forward to more of her as conquering queen and less of her in a twisty sibling romance, but she only became ruler at 92% through the book. Prior to reading, I assumed the climax here would be Semiramis's failed fake-elephant gambit in India, but the book ends before that part of her reign begins. It's more like a prequel.

I loved how a lot of this read like a meditation on death: how our parents die, how we die, how we're remembered. The main characters all react to this in distinct (and usually troubling) ways.

The characters were all well developed and flipped between unlikable and sympathetic throughout the book. But when, exactly, did the king Ninus fall in love with Semiramus, after pining over his own brother for his entire life? I did love the Gilgamesh-Enkidu parallels between the two men, but I thought the fresh take here would be a polyamorous relationship between the three of them, and no, that was not it.

I'm also going to make a HORRIBLY uncharitable and not completely accurate comparison... and say that Semiramus here reminded me of a little of Dagney Taggart from Atlas Shrugged. She's super smart and competent, and several important men in the book are hot for her in some way. Never thought I'd willingly bring up Atlas Shrugged in anything ever (particularly in a review of an exceptionally well-written Semiramis retelling), but here we are. Tastes bad.

I cannot in good conscience end a review with Atlas Shrugged, so I will reiterate that this was very entertaining and felt like a 200 page read with how fast I tore through it. It wasn't a happy book and I leave it feeling unsettled, but it was a dazzling and brutal take on a legendary figure. One of the better historical fictions I've read.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this ARC. I’m so excited to read Babylonia, I adore historical fiction and this looks absolutely up my alley. Will update with a full review promptly.

One of my favorite reads last year was the debut novel by Constanza Casati, Clytemnestra. So, when I heard she was writing another feminist femme fatale retelling, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

And she did not disappoint.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘦.

One of the things I love about Casati’s work is her ability to blend meticulous research with her exceptional writing skills, creating a world that fully immerses the reader. This book feels like a journey through time, offering deep insights into a a complicated culture that is equal parts cruelty and beauty.

What truly makes this book stand out, though, is the characters. Told from multiple points of view, each character is richly developed, adding layers of complexity to the story.

I especially admired Casati’s portrayal of Semiramis. She is morally grey, caught between survival and her conscience. Though she won’t hesitate to hurt those who wrong her, she is not cruel by nature. Instead, she is a person forced into impossible situations, doing whatever she must to survive.

Another highlight of the novel is its sensitive treatment of mental health. In her afterward, Casati explains that historical accounts often described kings returning from war changed. Recognizing this as signs of PTSD, she wrote this into her story, including the emotional toll war takes with empathy and care. It was so well done and powerful, several times it almost brought me to tears.

This book has cemented Casati as an “if she writes it I’ll read it” author. I am so impressed with her storytelling ability and cannot wait to see which wronged woman from history she gives a voice to next. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub Date: January 14, 2024

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Babylonia covers the rise and fall of individuals in the Assyrian empire: a commoner, a slave, a governor, and a king. The main character, Semiranis, knows that power is the difference between life and death in her world, and she makes it her life’s work to reach a level of power to protect herself. Based on historical events of real people in the 9th century BC, this was a fascinating historical lesson.

It took me a minute to get into this book; there is a lot of world-building, and it was generally unfamiliar to me. I’m very appreciative of the character list in the front, as I referenced it throughout. It’s easy to get bogged down in the world and the sheer number of people to keep up with, let alone their relationships to each other (which are extremely complicated to say the least). That said, the multiple-POV structure worked extremely well for this story, and my favorite POV was that of Ribat, Semiramis’ slave. Servants always know what’s really going on in royal houses, and I’m so glad the author chose to give voice to that perspective.

It was a little gorey for me, and I didn’t expect that from the outset. However, it is perfectly in line with the historical context and heightened the stakes of the book. In between battle scenes, there’s a lot of sitting around, eating dates and figs, and speculating on each other’s love lives under the guise of geopolitical strategy for a decent chunk of the book. These two paces played more in tandem than in harmony with one another.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic retelling, pieced together history of Semiramis, the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire. We follow her as she ascends from commoner to royalty through her wit, wiles, and relationships.

I knew nothing about this time period before reading this. Luckily, this is more of a character driven story with plot points pulled from history. Semiramis is written with such grit, power, cunning, and flaws. She makes for such a compelling character - morally gray but still endearing. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

I would recommend this for fans of Madeline Miller, Natalie Haynes, Jennifer Saint. The writing here is incredible and honestly on par with the beauty of Miller’s writing.

4.5

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review!

damn. she did it again. this book is even better than Clytemnestra.

Casati's prose is gorgeous and really fits these whole antiquity retellings she's done so far. everything feels real, sumptuous and rich but also incredibly dangerous at once. but where this book really shines is with the characters. Semiramis, Ninus, and Onnes, plus the rest of the cast, are super flawed but also utterly fascinating. the dynamic between them was so fucked up but also I could not wait for the next turn at pretty much all times.

as one of the other reviews I saw said, Casati does a great job of not pulling punches with how difficult it was for many different groups of people in ancient times - but she also imbues her work with a lot of characters who refuse to give up in the face of such odds, and also a lot of hope. the character writing is just so damn good.

this author absolutely rules and I will be checking out anything she writes. I have been really disappointed by a lot of retellings of ancient mythology and history, but both her books were excellent. you should definitely put this on your calendars for an early 2025 read.

An enjoyable read. I liked that this was a different sort of mythology than all the other retellings that have been coming out lately. I did find the writing to be a bit juvenile, and would have liked more insight into the characters’ motivations toward the end of the book, which felt a bit rushed. Not quite as good as her previous book, but I will definitely read future ones.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. I was really excited when I was approved because I loved the author's previous book: Clytemnestra. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one, I couldn't really get invested in the story or care about the characters. Maybe the timing was not right because I currently don't feel interested in heavy books due to being so busy.

I loved this book! Costanza Casati is such a gifted writer and storyteller. I loved following Semiramis’ journey from her village to a wife and then ruler. Casati does a brilliant job making Semiramis both incredibly flawed, but also so easy to love and admire. What a phenomenal character and story. Highly recommend!

If I could rate 6 stars, I would...

“Babylonia” follows the rise of Semiramis, the one and only female ruler of the ancient Assyrian empire. This book weaves emotions, culture, and history into a breathtaking story that focuses on themes of resilience, love, and ambition (with a sprinkle of mythology of course). “Babylonia” instantly pulled me in; I was fully invested before the prologue even ended! Casati’s writing style is exceptionally vivid and lyrical and flows naturally.

I knew absolutely nothing about Assyrian culture or history going into this, and everything was explained perfectly in line with the story. I really enjoyed the character list at the beginning of the book too, it was super helpful in figuring out who’s who. I found every character to be well thought out, with their own development and dilemmas. At the heart of it, “Babylonia” is just downright inspiring. I wouldn’t consider myself well-versed in historical fiction at all, but this book is going to have me coming back for more – I can’t wait to see what else Casati writes! I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing this book.

Babylonia is the tale of the Assyrian Empire's only female ruler, Semiramis. Abandoned by a mother who ends her own life and raised as a stepdaughter of a shepherd, Semiramis desires power and freedom and she navigates the courts of the Assyrian Kings and advisors by marrying Onnes, a governor. It's a tale weaved with myth and historical fact giving a voice to the one woman whose reputation should rival Alexander the Great.

I am always a a fan of myths and giving them a new voice in the modern age especially the women of myth. Constanza Casati brings life and magic into the world of Semiramis, a queen I knew nothing about since she had faded from history. Though slower paced, Casati should be regarded as a wonderful storyteller to rival Madeline Miller with ancient tales.

Semiramis is a queen who rises from nothing and becomes powerful and ambitious. the cast of characters is fantastic and the descriptions of the world allows you to dive right in.

Thank you Sourcebooks for inviting me to read an eARC of Babylonia for an honest review and thank you to NetGalley for providing the title.

Costanza Casati establishes herself as a titan of the mythological retelling genre with Babylonia. She expertly weaves together multiple POVS and complex characters and an engrossing plot. Just a year since the publication of Clytemnestra and Casati’s writing has progressed leaps and bounds from what was already impressive. TikTok review to come and recommendations to follow.

"Immortality doesn't mean living for ever. It means surviving even after your heart stops beating and your body is burned. It means living in myth, in stories."

From the start, I knew this story was going to be special. I knew I had to request the retelling of Queen Semiramis from Mesopamain legend and myth. The story went above and beyond what I imagined. Constantza delivered on this story and then some.

I cannot recommend this story enough. An easy five stars.

I’ll admit I often judge books by their covers, but in the case of Constanza Casati, both her writing and the artwork are breathtaking. I dove into *Babylonia* with little prior knowledge of Ancient Mesopotamia, having only skimmed some tales and the legendary gardens that may or may not have existed. However, I was immediately captivated.

From the outset, I was transported into a world so vividly imagined that I felt as if I were witnessing it unfold before me—like an epic HBO series I’d binge-watch for eight seasons. The characters are deeply complex and richly developed, showcasing a remarkable journey from humble beginnings to power, juxtaposed against those at the top spiraling into madness.

The fighting and war scenes are particularly visceral and brutal, pulling no punches in their depiction of the chaos and violence of battle.

Casati masterfully portrays fierce female warriors who have historically been labeled as demons or witches, challenging the male-centric narratives. I was fascinated to learn that this story is inspired by the real-life Queen Semiramis, and I’m eager to explore more about her, especially the intriguing detail of her rumored pet leopard.

I can’t wait to see what Casati will create next; her storytelling is truly exceptional. Thank you to NetGalley for providing this advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Costanza Casati is becoming on of my new favorite authors! I really enjoyed Clytemnestra. Babylonia did fall just a little short for me, but only because I had really high expectations. This book was still really interesting and entertaining and I could not put it down! I can’t wait to read more from Casati!

Babylonia by Constanza Casati completely blew me away, and it builds on everything I loved about Clytemnestra while still feeling fresh and unique. Casati’s writing is as beautiful as ever—seriously, her writing style reads like poetry, which is what I loved most about Clytemnestra as well. Every sentence pulls you deeper into the world she’s created. The way she brings ancient Assyria to life is incredible, with rich details that make you feel like you’re part of it.

I had never heard of Semiramis before reading this, and I was hooked from the start. Just like with Clytemnestra, Casati gives us a powerful, complex woman who feels real, with all her strengths and flaws. Semiramis’s story is full of ambition, love, and betrayal, and I found myself rooting for her even when she made tough or questionable choices. The dynamics between Semiramis, Onnes, and Ninus is full of tension, passion, and heartbreak. It’s messy and emotional, adding even more depth to the characters and their relationships.

I’m really grateful to have gotten an ARC of Babylonia. This is my first ARC ever and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Having loved Clytemnestra, I was excited to see what Casati would do next, and this book totally delivered. I’m excited for everyone to get to read it!

I really enjoyed Clytemnestra, so I was so excited with I was approved for the ARC from Net Galley!

It was a fun historical fiction, mixed with tragedy and romance, and Costanza Casati is very good at portraying complicated relationships on a visceral level. However, the book did suffer from the slow build up, and it felt like the book was written in design for the reader to identify with the main character, rather than letting the main character be a unique character on its own. That being said, it was quite immersive and it was fun to be in ancient Mesopotamia. The central love triangle was so angsty, but the most intriguing relationship in the book for me was, without a doubt, Onnes and Ninus.

It was a little bit of a disappointing follow up to Clytemnestra, because the themes and tone of the book was very similar. Clytemnestra and Semiramis essentially felt like the same character, except perhaps the former was more cruel and the latter was more sentimental. The prose feels a little bit like a "young adult novel" that graduated to being adult content.

It actually reminded me a lot of the manga Red River/Anatolia Story, which also featured ancient Mesopotamia and angsty romance so for people who enjoyed Babylonia and want to stay in that world for a little longer, that would be a fun series to delve into afterwards.