The Princess of Egypt Must Die by Stepahnie Dray #weeklyshorts

Weekly Shorts is a fun meme hosted by Kriss at Cabin Goddess. This is a great way to find something to read that doesn't take long and doesn't cost much. Kriss generally posts hers on Sunday but this isn't a day specific meme so you can find new reads all week long.
I've been having lots of fun adding free books to the Kindle Fire HD that I won back in December. Unfortunately, I can already tell that I'm probably adding more than I'm actually going to have time to read. So when the four-year-old fell asleep on top of me last week and my book was elsewhere in the house I was quite happy my Kindle was within reach. I didn't want to start a full-length novel because I wasn't sure how long the quiet would last. The Princess of Egypt Must Die (a novelette) by Stephanie Dray was the answer to my dilemma. I already knew that I was a fan of Stephanie Dray's historical fiction because I loved Lily of the Nile and Song of the Nile. I'm eagerly awaiting the last book in the trilogy of Cleopatra's daughter. If you haven't read any of Stephanie Dray's books yet The Princess of Egypt Must Die would be a great introduction. This story is about how Queen Arsinoe II shifts from the mild mannered daughter of the Pharaoh whose life was manipulated by others for their political gain into a ruthless ruler in her own right. Dray's story is short but powerful as it only gives the reader the barest glimpse into Arsinoe's life at a critical moment. A wide range of emotions is present within these few pages. My only disappointment was that the story was not longer. I reached the end of the actual story at 67% of the file. The rest was the author note and the first chapter of Lily of the Nile. I do love Stephanie's author notes because she expands on the historical details she puts into her fiction. This one was particularly interesting because it tells more about the reign of Queen Arsinoe II in the time after this story takes place.
The Princess of Egypt Must Die is currently free at Amazon but it would definitely be worth the regular price of 99 cents. This story was originally published in the anthology Eternal Spring (paperback).
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