Thank you NetGalley and Recorded Books for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

I love Casati’s debut novel and I was thrilled to get an early audiobook of her next book (if you’re thinking to yourself, “you’ve owned this book since its UK release” shhhh). Babylonia did not disappoint, and it’s a beautiful rendering of ancient history. Her characters are complex and compelling and I love the quality of the writing. I loved Semiramis and I loved following her journey, and Casati gives the world a rich depth that makes me love historical fiction. I really loved Casati’s choices and will absolutely read anything she writes.

The audiobook was lovely and Ayesha Antoine did a wonderful job narrating! Absolutely recommend.

This gave Game of Thrones vibes and I was here for it. The cover said it all, “Kings Fall. Queens Rise.” Semiramis is a fighter and you will be craving her resilience by the end of the book. Themes of power, lust, loyalty and betrayal, this book is a must read for mythology/historical fiction lovers.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

4.0

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, and Costanza Casati for this arc in exchange for an honest review!


Thoughts:

“When she was a child, it was her greatest wish to have someone who loved her so much that he would protect her from any danger. But life wasn't kind to her, so she became that person for herself.”

Messy, messy, messy, but BRILLIANT! Ate this one up! I’m in awe. Not much to say, but that I need to pick up another read by Costanza Casati.

P.s. the narration by Ayesha Antoine is AMAZING!


Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:


Audiobook


Pace:


Slow, Fast, Medium (lol - depends on the chapter)


Cover thoughts:


Eye-catching!


Trigger Warnings (Spoilers****):

Death, War, Violence, Suicide, Incest, Mental Illness, Slavery, Infidelity, Sexual Assault, Torture, Genocide, Racism, Homophobia, Murder, Abuse, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Classism, Toxic Relationships, Addiction, etc.

Babylonia is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of Semiramis, the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire, and how her ambition elevates her from a powerless village orphan to a dynamic queen.

This book is part romance, part tragedy, part palace intrigue, and wholly a story of a woman striving not just to survive in a world stacked against her, but to carve out a place for herself within it. Time and time again, we witness Semiramis rise to face threats that seek to destroy both her and the empire, her intelligence and strategic thinking elevating Assyria over its enemies.

The world-building is executed exceptionally well here, showcasing the author's thorough research. I especially enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the hanging gardens, along with the architecture and art that adorned the various palaces within the royal quarters.

Something fascinating I learned is that the Assyrians were terrified of death. They believed that after passing away, people entered the House of Dust, where commoners and kings sat together in darkness, eating clay for food, their wings covering themselves in shame. It's interesting to see, in this novel, how this fear translates into a willingness to do anything to survive.

Two central questions plague this story:

1. Is it better to be the arbiter of violence or the victim of it?

2. When violence is all we have ever known, when it is the very legacy of a kingdom, can we break free from these cycles?

There are also various references to The Epic of Gilgamesh, which add depth to the narrative. Nenus and Onus, two members of the central love triangle, are even based on Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

All in all, this was a powerful but heartbreaking read.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I want to be honest and let you know that I only got to about the 10% mark before the audiobook archived.

I still plan to read the ebook of this one, but the audiobook did not keep my attention. This audiobook is slower and more story telling versus an adventure (at least in the beginning). The narrator has a soft and lovely voice. For me, it was hard to stay engaged while listening.

I am excited to read the story! I’m hopeful that I will enjoy the ebook more than the audiobook.

Semiramis is an orphan whose mother drowned herself. She was found bu the side of the river and brought to a small village. There she has a tough childhood until she is a teenager and gets a chance of changing her life and following a prophecy about her rise. She finds herself in the Assyrian court and there she finds that is she wants power, she must take it.

I really like the author's writing style - she is able to recreate the atmosphere of the places and culture of the people she is writing about. I felt myself really immersed in the story. And I really like how she takes a female character that is seen as a villain and, not only humanizes her, but makes her completely sympathetic and makes the reader root for her. I adored Semiramis. Yes, she is ambitious and she puts her safety above all else. But it's completely understandable. She feels so real and human. It's really fascinating seeing her rise and her decisions throughout the book. I really liked Ribat as well; I was rooting a lot for him and I loved the author's note that explain her decision to give him chapters as the point of view. The interactions between Ribat and Semiramis were really interesting. Ninnus and Onnes were also compelling characters even if I felt they weren't really developed, especially the latter - when their mental state begins to deteriorate it's more told than shown.

The story in itself is pretty interesting and I liked how the author combined historical facts with the myth and with her own interpretations.

The narrator did a great job in bringing the story and the characters alive. I liked how she changed her voice for different characters without feeling weird.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

Babylonia. Where to begin. (TLDR: I loved it, go read it)
I really took my time with this one, so don't be fooled by the one-month difference between starting and finishing. Babylonia emerses you into a culture and a world you probably know very little about, unless you're a historian or an archaeologist or something. This is a peek into a civilization that existed for thousands of years BC, with this story taking place in the 800s BC.
Semiramis has gone down in history as a legend or a myth, and as her story progresses in Babylonia you can see why- abandoned and orphaned as an infant, barely escaping her remote village with her life, and eventually seizing control over her own destiny and rising to power in the Assyrian empire, loved and hated in equal measure. She is a complex character with strengths and faults; like all of us, she was not designed to be liked, but simply to be. This is not a Disney movie-do not expect a perfect princess in Semiramis.
And in that vein, let me say it again- this story takes place in a very different time. Life was brutal in Assyria- the elements, disease and injury, war and violence galore- this book is not for the faint of heart.
All that said, I savored this book. The time period and culture was thoughtfully researched, the characters well constructed and developed. Just as in Constanza's debut, Clytemnestra, I loved Semiramis- not because she was a perfect, moral, honorable person 100% of the time, but because she was gritty and ambitious and real.
Keeping in mind to review content warnings, I absolutely recommend this book and audiobook (shoutout Ayesha Antoine, who did amazing work here!) to historical feminist fiction readers. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Recorded Books for the ALC and ARC of Babylonia, which is available now.

Excellent take on a timeless classic. Audio was fantastic. I gave this a 4 star for new perfect execution. The plot was was balanced, pacing was great and the immersion read experience was fantastic due to the narration.

This book was absolutely fascinating. I love a strong, confident, take-no-prisoners FMC.

Semiramis was not supposed to be here, climbing through society, garnering power, becoming a legend - destined to be the topic of myth. This is an origin story of the only female Queen of Assyria and the infamous love triangle between the two brothers who loved her, died, and paved way for her to rule. An orphan raised by a cruel shepherd in a village, Semiramis catches the eye of the new Governor Onnes and using her cunning she exacts revenge on her abuser while securing herself a way into higher society. Her climb is a fascinating tale of war, power, and tenacity toward her destiny.

I loved the way secondary characters of lower status, like slave Ribat and the spymaster Sasi, connect and interact with Semiramis throughout the book. The parallels drawn between them, all seeking power and control in their own ways, was grounding amidst Semiramis’s rapid ascension.

I chose this book as my Book of the Month, and then was also granted an Advance Listening Copy. The narrator for the audiobook had the perfect accent and sound to bring this story to life. I didn’t want the narration to end!

There were a few parts that felt a bit long and drawn out, and other areas I wish the author had spent more time on. Semiramis’s war contributions I wish had been more about her actions and less about the love story, but I understand the focus where aligning with the myth is concerned. I also feel like there was a huge gap with Semiramis keeping the women and children after they win the campaign… I thought this was building to something and I either missed it, or it was a lose end that never tied up.

Thank you to Netgalley and RBMedia for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clytemnestra was such a good read that Costanza Casati because an auto read author for me! I love her storytelling and I felt the same way about Babylonia. I had actually heard of Clytemnestra before Casati's novel but the story of Babylonia was new to me. I was very fascinating.

The audiobook was a great listen. The narrator read the story very well, she kept it entertaining and not over the top. I would definitely look for this narrator again!

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia | Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC Copy!

Yet another beautifully told mythology by Costanza Casati. This just salifies that she will forever be an auto buy author for me. This story follows Semiramis in the Assyrian empire, which is not a mythology that I was familiar with at all so can not say how accurate it was according to history, but I can say that it was a really good time, even when it wasn't. The love story was beautiful, but it was never at the sacrifice of our character and that is one thing that I love about Costanza's books.

Loved the narration, did not love the book. Some parts of it was just way too much for me. Loved the writing and the author’s style.

A great audio book. I would reccomend listening to this book and the narrator was clear and easy to listen to. I appreciate a strong female lead and suggested this for my book club. The take from an Assyrian perspective was super different as most books tend to focus on Roman and Greek gods. I found myself intrigued and googling for more information as I read.

When you love a audiobook you buy a physical copy and that is what I did! To no one’s surprise I loved every second of this. I need Costanza Casati to send me everything that is currently in the works. I did not think anything would top my love for Clytemnestra but Babylonia was wonderful. The characters, the writing, the narration. If you like retellings do yourself a favor and pick this one up,

I unfortunately really struggled getting through this book. I decided at 18% not to continue reading. I didn’t feel any sort of connection to the characters and was struggling to follow the plot.

3,5 stars

While I liked the overall plot of "Babylonia", the story dragged on in several places and I think the love triangle as well as most of the characters weren't really all that developed.

The quality of this audiobook was 5/5! The narrator was fantastic as was the production. I enjoyed listening to the audio.

Although the quality of the audiobook was excellent, I don't think this was the right format for this novel. I sometimes had a hard time following along as a lot of the characters had similar names. The story itself was interesting and seemed like it was well researched. It was also interesting to have a story about an era and area that are not as commonly discussed.

I was hooked to Babylonia within the first few minutes of listening. I got lost in Casati's writing, the incredible world building, character portrayals, and FEELING. Semiramis is cunning and brave, tackles adversity with poise, and overall was just so incredibly resilient. Every time we left her, I was eager to get back in her perspective. That's not to say I didn't also enjoy Onnes and Ninus, who were incredible in their own right. I think it just speaks to how beautifully written Semiramis was. I was so impressed and cannot wait to read more from Casati.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

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

Casati nailed it again! I love how she brings these strong women from history to life and makes them feel so real. The way she humanizes them is always so well done. That said, I do wish this book had focused more on Semiramis as a ruler instead of her relationships with the two men. That part of her story was interesting, but I feel like her time as empress would’ve been even more exciting to dive into. I also would have loved to see her as more of a villainess - we don't know much about her actually as a person so while it is nice to imagine that she didn't want the power that was thrust upon her, I would have loved to have seen her grasp that power and run with it.