Costanza Casati is officially an auto-read author for me after reading both Clytemnestra and Babylonia! Her writing is beautiful and her stories of historical women are inspiring. Definitely check this one out!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the audiobook ARC! Ayesha Antoine is an exceptional narrator, so I definitely recommend checking out the audiobook version.

Dive into a rich history of rags to riches, rivals, and belonging. This story has wonder and has you wanting more from the characters. The narration in the audiobook is not bad but the voices can be a little off.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction, but often get stuck reading too much WWII fiction. That is why this book was so intriguing to me. I have never read a book about Ancient Assyria and knew virtually nothing about this time period. What grabbed my attention the most is the story of a girl coming from nothing and how she rose to power as queen of Assyria. I love a strong female lead that against all, gains a strong sense of self. If you are looking for something a little different, try this book! I recommend listening to the audiobook for pronunciation and continuity.

"Babylonia" is a captivating historical fiction that takes readers on an extraordinary journey through time. The story follows a remarkable woman who rises from humble beginnings to ascend to the throne, and the narrative is so intricately crafted that it immerses you completely in her world. The author's vivid prose brings the past to life, making it impossible to put the book down once you’ve started. As someone who deeply appreciates historical fiction, I found this story to be both engaging and unforgettable. This is a novel that deserves to be read and appreciated by anyone with a love for history and storytelling. I highly recommend it.

🗣💬: "The whole of a life, is but a twinkling of an eye"

👩🏾‍🏫 𝔾𝔼ℕℝ𝔼: Fantasy

📄 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 ℂ𝕆𝕌ℕ𝕋: 432

✍️ ℙ𝕃𝕆𝕋:
You are orphaned and raised on the outskirts of an empire, born into a life of toil and anonymity. But dreams of power and potential course through your veins.

You will have to chart your path from your village of shadows and dust to the hallowed halls your emperors walk.

Legend has it you will rise from nothing to rule kingdoms and command armies.

💟 𝔽𝔼𝔼𝕃𝕊:
This was a surprising one because how gritty it ended up being which I LOVED.
Don't get me wrong, a nice, flowery book is wonderful, but one that gets to the heart of darkness in the name of stepping into your light; totally new levels of reading.

I saw a review that said "I support women's rights, wrongs, and morally dubious choices" and boy oh boy, if that doesn't reflect my thoughts on this book, I don't know what will. I even liked the way the Queen was written, I loved to loathe her 🤣😌
Also, something I love about high fantasy is how subtly the fantasy elements are woven through the plot (making it the kind of story that anyone can read, regardless of your preferred genre) and that makes this the perfect kind of read- especially as the world building happens around you as you read, rather than an attempt to describe EVERYTHING in the beginning which can be overwhelming.

The highlight of the book for me was the complexity of the relationships.

Thank you @netgalley for the gifted audiobook. What an amazing read this book, Babylonia by Costanza Casati was! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this gripping tale of Mesopotamian period!

A fierce, intoxicating tale of power, love, and survival in Ancient Assyria. Semiramis rises from obscurity to become a queen in a world where men kill for the throne—but she won’t be a pawn in their game. Casati’s lush prose and sharp storytelling make this a gripping read, perfect for fans of Clytemnestra and Circe. Plus, the deluxe edition is stunning!

Thank you NetGalley, Costanza Casati, and RBMedia for access to the audiobook version of Babylonia. This ancient historical fiction is about the first Queen of Assyria, and was absolutely incredible to read. It had beautiful prose and amazing parallels.

Casati added a creative twist to the historical accounts about the first Queen of Assyria, Semiramis, which I think made for an incredible story. The parallels to Assyrian literature and mythology like the Epic of Gilgamesh being used to inspire an interesting dynamic between King Ninus and Onnes, and the parallels between Ishtar and Semiramis fit very well. I like a challenging read so I wish I had to work a little harder for the comparison, but it was still beautifully done and made accessible for those who might not be familiar with Assyrian mythology.

The juxtaposition between Semiramis who came from nothing versus the people of the palace who were born into higher positions and their views on power, was really interesting to me as well. Semiramis seeing power as a guarantee to safety and to get what she wants, while those around her see it as a burden where they can’t trust those close to them, and the consequences that come with being able to get anything they ask for.

I saw a few reviews by Assyrian readers which were all positive, so that was also really good to see.

Side note: by the time I was done with this, I'd reached 104% on the audio. LOL

Narrated by Ayesha Antoine
Presented by RB Media

An excellent historical fiction that I really enjoyed, though it felt a little too long by the end of it.

Babylonia tells the story of Semiramis, a nobody who rises to become the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire.

Knowing that's how it'll end does not make this story any less enjoyable. I really enjoyed her ruthlessness, and how she was so determined to just live.

The story gives us multiple viewpoints, so we get a well-rounded story that takes into account the thoughts and opinions of those close to Semiramis and allows a glimpse into the motivations of several. I appreciated having more insider knowledge of these other characters.

The story gets brutal at times, but I liked that about it. It added a realness that this story truly benefited from.

I do think the romance side of things worked against it - I loved Semiramis climbing the ranks for power, so as soon as questions of love were raised it started to soften and I wasn't wholly convinced. At the same time, the romance was never drawing the focus away from the progression of the story, so I appreciated that.

The narrator's performance was excellent - I was entranced by her voice and its strength suited this story so much. It was easy enough to differentiate characters, even without huge variations in pitch. A brilliant job and I'd happily listen to this narrator again.

Towards the end, it did feel like it was starting to drag - like the rest of the story had been so spread out that there was more but it had to be squashed in at the end because time had run out. It felt like a cramped ending that perhaps needed more time, or just less time spent elsewhere to balance it.

Still, I was entertained throughout and would happily recommend this to fans of historical fiction.

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

Yet another great read by Costanza Casati!
She writes amazing Greek mythologies retellings. The characters were all well written and well developed. I loved the fact that I couldn't always tell what was going to happen next. This is author I recommend to anyone that wants a Greek Mythology that is feminist instead of a romanticized story.

For fans of:
- Masquerade
- For She Is Wrath
- The Song of Achilles
- A Song to Drown Rivers
- Queen of Shifting Sands

Semiramis is a woman with nothing to lose and a desperation to give her life meaning, purpose. When the opportunity to escape her abusive, stifling household arrives, she jumps at the chance to free herself. Now chained to a life of court machinations, lies, and secrets she now must discover what it means to survive in a ruthless palace.

This book includes:
- ancient retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh
- atmospheric desert setting
- warring brothers
- backstabbing
- secrets and half truths
- an honest portrayal of the cost of war
- politics and manipulation

"Babylonia" is spectacular. When I first started the book, I had my doubts and felt like the story may end up being a little slow. The next thing I knew I was totally engrossed and unable to put the book down at all (metaphorically since this is an audiobook). The prose is gorgeous. The characters and the complex conflicts they come up against are agonizing in the most delicious way. I loved the various portrayals of the kinds of love and how love impacts the characters decisions sometimes in the most grotesque ways. Each character in this book is dynamic and flawed, yet I find myself resonating deeply with parts of each of them. I also love the exploration of ancient Babylonia and am now eager to read up on my history of the region. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story ever recorded - more ancient than the Bible and the Torah - and it is so fascinating that the themes of the story can still speak to us so deeply now in the 21st century.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves cunning women and ancient history. My only complaint is of the audiobook narration; I felt that the narrator did not modulate their voice for any of the characters to give them a unique sound, and this sometimes made it confusion to understand who was speaking.

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Costanza Casati, and RBMedia for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Clytemnestra is perhaps in my top 3 favorite mythology retellings so i simply had to read Babylonia too! although the former was more engaging in its entirety, i thought this one was more thrilling in parts (but dragging in some) since i was not familiar with the story and characters

4.5

This was GOLD!

If Game of Thrones has taught us anything, it’s that power isn’t given—it’s taken. And Babylonia delivers that lesson with teeth. This is the Greek - bad ass woman version of GOT. We are thrown, headfirst, into the ruthless world of ancient Assyria, where survival isn’t a right- it’s a blood sport.

At the center of it all is Semiramis, an orphan who refuses to stay in the corner. Tuis badass doesn’t wait for fate to hand her a damn thing. She fights, schemes, and seduces her way up the ranks, caught between a husband, a king, and a destiny bigger than all of them. The writing is so damn good; it drags you into the dirt and gold of a court filled with ambition, desire, and enough political backstabbing to make Westeros look stable. Life or death, with no in-between.

Semiramis is the kind of queen legends are made of—the kind who doesn’t wait for a crown. She takes it. And I am here for it. I would LOVE to a follow up to her story, and better yet - a mini series. We need a woman to root for, to bleed for and hope for. Thanks to Costanza Casati, we have one.

Final Grade: A, sharpen your daggers, it’s time to take a crown

*Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my always honest reviews*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was hooked from the start. The writing is beautiful and makes you feel like you’re right there, experiencing everything. The story is full of politics, betrayal, and war, but it’s told in a way that keeps you wanting more.

I loved that it’s about a strong woman who has to make tough choices to survive and find her own way. It reminded me of Game of Thrones with all its twists and turns, just on a smaller scale.

What stood out the most for me was the writing—it’s stunning. And the audiobook? Absolutely amazing!

It takes a lot of research to write a book that combines history and myths into one cohesive and realistic story, but Costanza Casati did that perfectly in "Babylonia". The story follows the Assyrian empire’s only female ruler, Semiramis, a strong and powerful woman who was born a commoner and became queen. The way Semiranis is depicted with all the suffering, resilience, and strength of a powerful woman who knows what she wants and doesn't feel the need to apologize for pursuing that, and manages to do that in a world of men and what's most fascinating is that we are talking of a real woman, who ruled an empire, not a maid up story!
This mythological retelling captured battles, politics, and the Assyrian empire's raw power and showed us the emotional part of historical figures, it showed that PTSD provoked some of their actions and that even civilizations that are known for being brutal also had feelings.
The writing itself is also beautiful and poetic, and there was a lot of character development, enough for you to love a character and then hate it or the other way around, this is not a predictable plot.
As for the audiobook part, I sometimes feel that the voice of the narrator doesn't manage to communicate the feelings of the characters very well, but I didn't feel that way with this book. I feel that the narration style is not for every book, but it was perfect for this story, the calculated pauses and the voice tone captured the ancient setting perfectly.

3 ⭐️

This book is all over the place in terms of quality. The best parts are amazing. They are emotional and gave me chills. The weakest parts are dreadfully boring and dragged on.

I think this book would’ve benefitted from a little bit of a faster pace (especially towards the end). It got really slow and I felt like nothing was really happening for chapters at a time.

I think that Semiramis is a great main character for one of these mythological “feminist retellings”. I am obsessed with this genre and I will never get tired of them. This book tried to do something a little different in the genre and had multiple POVs. At first I thought it was working, but overall I think it hurt the story more than helped it. I feel it should’ve focused solely on Semiramis’ story. Often times (this story being no exception) the characters are all morally gray and I think leaving the butterfly effect caused by these horrendous decisions hidden from the reader helps with the story. It forces us to consider and imagine the worst instead of literally see the bad things happening. Our imaginations are usually worse than the reality.

I enjoyed the first half a lot. The last half was more a struggle but I thought the writing was consistently great throughout. Very poetic. Very quotable. Very good imagery.

I know that Casati is a very talented author and I am still eager to see what else she releases in the future.

Disclaimer: I got an eARC of the audiobook through netgalley. Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for the advanced copy!

I do love a good historical fiction and Babylonia definitely falls within that category. Casati has decided to build her tale around a motherless abused girl who from the start can be seen as not being afriad to use her brain and push against gender barriers.

She shows ambition and jealousy, greed and political machinations at court. The triad of love-hate-jealousy formed by our main characters is particularly interesting as we follow how everything moves within and without to move them together and apart.

Semiramis is determined and calculating, using what she has gained through marriage to learn and rise where she is not wanted. The supporting cast also drives the story forward with glimpses of their own agendas and machinations at court. Here is a story that centres a woman who has only been given bare bones mentions in the annals of history. I think Casati has done a really good job of bringing her story to life.

"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.”

This story follows Semiramis, from Mesopotamian myth and legend, and her journey from orphan to queen. It's set in the Assyrian empire, and it follows Semiramis from her childhood in a small village to her life as a governess and then her rule as queen.

For the audiobook specifically, I really liked the VA's voice and accent throughout, but I felt like there was not enough variation between different character's voices which makes it difficult to follow the series. The sound was very crisp! I think that it was difficult at times to really be entranced with the story because the VA wasn't engaging and was monotonous at times. I found myself having to rewind because I had zoned out, which is incredibly rare for me with audiobooks.

For the novel as a whole, I will say that I really enjoyed Semiramis. I compare every retelling I read to the Song of Achilles because that story made ancient figures so relatable, and it was heartbreaking. I feel like this novel failed to do that. Semiramis was a likable character. She was tenacious and cunning, but she managed to remain fair and sensitive. I often was able to forget that I was reading a historical retelling because I was so invested in her relationships and what would happen. I think the main reason that I am giving this book 3 stars is because it was rather slow. I did not expect to spend the entire book reading about Semiramis's life before her rise to true power, and I thought that climax(es) in this story failed to reel me in. I found myself, regrettably, a little bored at times. However, I thought that Casati's balance of grim, dark realities beside sensitive domesticity was expertly done. I thoroughly appreciated the respect she showed to Semiramis's life in this story! I think I would have enjoyed this book more via reading than audio - it definitely lost a bit of its spark in a less than ideal narration.

This was a very interesting listen.

I usually really enjoyed most of historical fiction books; however, this one was a struggle for me.
This book is full of very interesting content that often made me feel quite uncomfortable. I really with there had been content warning. Despite this, I do believe this was a well done retelling of a historical story. I enjoyed how the author used a variety of POVs throughout the story, giving us a variety of perspectives. I also really appreciate how well researched this book was.

Overall, I think this book was well written; however, due to much of the content I was not able to enjoy the book while listening.

I would've never been able to finish this without also being approved for the audiobook. The beginning was very slow and I was going to give up. I was only 30% through after more than a week. I just had no desire to pick it up. Once I got the audiobook, I cruised through it. I was interested in what was happening, I was engaged. But the story also picked up itself. I enjoyed the narrator a lot. Future historical fiction like this will be audio only for me.

I want to start off saying, I don't think this book is for me. I know a lot of people love it and Costanza Casati and I wish I had the same experience picking up Babylonia for the first time but I just couldn't get there. With that out of the way, there's a lot going on here that I want to touch on - in particular the narration.

Thank you to #NetGalley and RBmedia for providing me with a copy of the new audiobook version of #Babylonia in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

A book about the rise of the only female ruler of the Assyrian empire sounds so captivating and interesting, and yet I found myself drifting away from this story at every turn. There were long periods where I put it down and didn't come back to it unless I actively told myself I should and I often found my attention turned to other things while the audio was playing. This I feel is entirely due to the writing style and not Ayesha Antoine's narration. I do not think it lends itself well to being read out loud. There's too much depth to the story and the particular word choice for it to work in this way.

That said, something I did have an issue with narration wise was how painfully slow it is at 1x speed. I admit, I almost never listen to an audio book at 1x speed. Generally I'll have things around 1.5x but even then, this narration felt really slow. I'm sure that Ayesha was trying to be very deliberate with how she read this but it just makes things so difficult to get through. However, her tone of voice and character choices feel pretty spot on for what you'd expect in this type of novel. So while it did not work for me personally, I think if this work would be of interest to you and you wanted to experience it as a narration, this would fit the bill.

I really wanted to like this book. It touches on so many things I enjoy which is why it's very frustrating to have missed the mark for me. I'm going to give it another show in the physical version in the future to give the content a second chance, but as of right now as an audiobook it's not doing very well.