i will say i really like the i plot of this book it’s very interesting and definitely different then anything i’ve ever seen. My only issue is i was just confused and that’s not the books fault, that’s mine. this is just a book that is really hard for me to follow. I will say i loved the characters especially angie.

Published: 11/15/22

Narrated by Tim Campbell

Thank you NetGalley and Thunder Creek Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks for accepting my request to read and review Cleopatra's Vendetta.

I found this to be 3.5 stars, and am rounding up to four. Tim Campbell was a solid five stars. Should there be another audio Stryker Thriller I'm in with Tim. If I didn't know his name, I would recognize a change in narrators; he was perfect.

The story itself was good and centered around current sociopolitical problems. (Human/sexual trafficking.) There were several hold my breath moments, a few I can't do this, why do I insist on reading thrillers like this, tears, and floods of relief. The book checked all my emotions.

The Stryker and wife relationship was a little contrived. This has been done so many times, I find it annoying. Either have a solid relationship or develop a plan to repair or dissolve the marriage. There are other ways to feign marital problems besides affairs/death of a child. My other problem was the character relationships of those working together to stop the traffickers. This is an adult mystery/thriller, historical fiction book, not a romance book.

This was a three star read for me. Stryker and his daughter chatting at the end earned the 0.5 bump and rounding to 4. I found it beautifully done and a lovely way to clear the horrible sociopolitical true paths aside, not forgotten.
After their chat I felt I could have misunderstood or misinterpreted some relationships.

The Cleopatra historical content was okay. I laughed and gasped. I don't know enough about Cleopatra to distinguish fact from author's creative licensing. The Author Notes provide resources should I or another reader wish to delve deeper.

The ending was appropriate as well as satisfying. I am going to patiently wait for book #2.

We always keep our best secrets in a journal. That’s what Cleopatra did and now, everyone wants it. Her diary, tells the finder where she about her knowledge of Octavian’s cult, “Sons of Adam”. A secret that the present day, Sons of Adam are willing to kill for.

The last words Stryker uttered to his wife Angie was “divorce” as an ultimatum due to her drinking and being absent for both him and their daughter, Harper before Angie and Harper were kidnapped. Who did it and why? Were the girls still even alive by the time Stryker and his group of Special Ops rescue them?

We are given a very detailed life account of Cleopatra, her love, Marc Anthony, and her nemesis, Octavian, and how she killed herself with a kiss from a cobra. Prior to her death, however, she tells a servant about her journal and he must hide it. This is a special journal as it would contain much information and location on the Sons of Adam. She wasn’t able to destroy it in her tune so she’s hopeful this journal would help to destroy the Sons of Adam, at the hands of the reader, in the future.

Told by several pointss of views and each of them is exceptionally engaging. Fascinating detailed history of Cleopatra and the advancement of Egypt was told. That being said, as I was listening to this, I found myself needing to pay extra attention because of all the fine details and how fast paced the action is. Several times I replayed a chapter just to get a better understanding to what was happening and a better understanding of the history.

Great pacing as the story as each chapter’s ending compels you to read another chapter. The very first chapter already hits the ground running.

What especially enjoyed was the showcasing of cleopatra being mite than just the woman who was beautiful and seduced Marc Anthony . She was smart and spoke 9 languages.

Great historical fictional, global threats, and espionage read. This is the first novel of the Stryker series.

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Predictable and full of cliches: 3/5
Entertainment: 4/5

Thank you @netgalley and Thunder Creek Press for this e-audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Triggers⚠️: sex trafficking

Thank you to Avanti Centrae and @tide.phoenix.coffee for the chance to read and review this book.

This was my first of Avanti's books and I was not disappointed!

Cleopatra left a secret behind to ensure she brought down her enemies. In the present day, major political figures are being assassinated and special ops Timothy Striker has been tasked with understanding why, then his wife and daughter go missing.

I really enjoyed the character of Stryker, a bit broken himself with a history and a lot of trauma, he's able to see through and link events others would see as mere coincidence.

There's twists and turns with a link to a past long dead and those who feel the need to set the path of vengeance right so many years later. With human trafficking, political corruption and more this book is a fight of good and evil on a different level.

The wee book lady xx

🎧📚 Audio-Book Review 📚
A huge thanks to @netgalley, @avanti.centrae.author and #ThunderCreekPress for gifting me this audio-book in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Cleopatra’s Vendetta
Author: Avanti Centrae
Genre: Action / Thriller with some Historical Fiction
Date published: 2022
Primary Settings: Italy & Egypt, ++

📚Synopsis:
A well needed family holiday in Italy goes terribly wrong when a group of women and children are kidnapped. It soon becomes apparent that the kidnappers are connected with a variety of sinister activities and Special Ops leader, Timothy, must use every skill and resource he has learned or risk never seeing his wife Angie and daughter Harper again.

✍️ My review:
For those times you’re looking for a fast-paced action / thriller, but still want some interesting ideas to think about, you might want to give this book a try. I expected some cliche dialogue
(which there is a bit of), but there is also interesting cutting edge spy gear, and lots of great historical connection to the reign of Cleopatra; the author also did a great job bringing the multiple locations of this story to life.

💕You might like this book if:
🔹 you like action movies like The Mechanic
🔹 you like lots of characters to keep track of and learn about
🔹you like learning about Secret Ops directives / training / gear
🔹you like strong female characters

I stepped into this book not knowing what to expect but was mostly pleasantly surprised. It's more like an action/thriller than I expected from the cover/name but I enjoyed it. It was a bit off-putting to start in the past but once I reoriented myself it was easier to get into the story.

There was a lot going on in this story--high action at some points, some romance, a bigger conspiracy--all the things I tend to like in my books but this one hit maybe just a little below what I tend to like. A little too convoluted of a plot. A little too convenient on some fronts.

All in all, an entertaining read that occupied me during the day while I did chores.

I'd recommend to fans of Baldacci and Lee Child though maybe not quite on their level?

I think there was some langue and some descriptions of action/violence.

My rating: 3.3*

---
Thanks to NetGally for this gifted audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you avanti.centrae.author for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was definitely outside of my comfort zone and probably one of the biggest reasons it took me so long to finish it. It was action packed and the Cleopatra element was interesting. I listened to the audiobook and I enjoyed the narrator.

The book opens with Cleopatra on the brink of death desperate to hide a secret message in a very hidden room. We jump into the present as Tim and his family on our vacation. They are far from a happy family dealing with the loss of one of their children and tensions are high. Angie and their daughter get kidnapped and Tim is determined to find them.

He soon realizes that there is something bigger at play here as the kidnappers are responsible for the assassination of many world leaders. Will Tim be able to rescue his family?

Cleopatra’s Vendetta is available now.

A historical thriller that plays like an action and adventure story. The story has it all, drama, history, action, suspense and mystery. A breathtaking story that is exciting and stirring. The characters and plot are well written. This is a great story that I would like to see become a movie. The narrator has the perfect voice and pitch for this story.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Thunder Creek Press for this review copy, I received this review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book I had a hard time in the beginning so author sent me audiobook. If you like Dan browns divinci code or a thriller with political and history elements then you will like this book. I liked the book overall my only probably was I kept losing track of who was talking due to the multiple story lines in the book

This starts with Cleopatra deciding to end her life rather than be humiliated by the Romans. Her last act before the fabled bite of the asp is to hide a letter. Great start for a historical novel, but then I am suddenly reading g a book of espionage and kidnapping. There is nothing wrong with that except not my kind of book.
While this was excellently written, I doubt I will be reading the rest of the series.
Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I loved the characters and the plot of the story, also liked the narrator. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I did not particularly like this story mostly because of the narrator. Sometimes it can be better to actually read the story to understand all of the story.

This book was so much better than I expected. I went in not knowing what was happening or going on. I am super glad I stuck with it b/c once I got into the heart of the story I was hooked! And once I figured out/learned the views of the kidnappers the focus on Cleopatra made sense. I would totally recommend this book and can't wait to read more of this series!
#CleopatrasVendetta
#NetGalley

This is another winner from the "listen now" section on netgalley.

If you love books above crazy ancient world-wide conspiracies like I do, you will probably enjoy this. A special ops officer and his family are on vacation in Italy when their daughters are kidnapped, and they find that the kidnappers are linked to an organization - the sons of Adam - that has been behind a lot of high-profile assassinations. But the organization has very deep and ancient roots.

This is part thriller, part historical fiction, and part espionage.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook and finished it in just a few days.

Thank you netgalley and Thunder Creek press for this advanced copy of this audiobook.

I really enjoyed this book. There was action and the way the author wove in some of the history of Cleopatra was very interesting. All in all, I think the execution could’ve been better. At times it was pretty slow and some of the jumping around viewpoints seemed confusing and unnecessary. I will read the next one in the series though whenever it comes out!

Cleopatra's Vendetta
by Avanti Centrae

Cleopatra reportedly killed herself rather than be imprisoned by Octavian. This legend forms the basis for a high intensity thriller where Angie, wife of T. Stryker, Special Ops think tank leader, is kidnapped along with their 4-yr old daughter. They choose to fight and fight they do. His team of hit men cross 3 countries in the Middle East and Angie stages her resistance from beside the fortress. It’s page-turning thrills and chills packed with action to get to the conclusion. Highly Recommended.

Fantastic historical based fiction! Cleopatra was used contextually to provide a sense of wonderment to a thrilling storyline. Intrigue around every corner with betrayal, espionage, and a little bit of a love story mixed in. This thriller takes you through the gambit of emotions that everyone craves in a character. If this were a series, I’d be checking weekly for the next installment! Hope everyone enjoys this wonderful story as much as I did!

Ever since school I’ve been fascinated with ancient Egypt and Cleopatra so when the email for this book dropped into my inbox I jumped at the chance. During the first 10% of this book I didn’t know how it was going to work as a story with Cleopatra and Special Ops, but as I listened to more of the book mysteries started to unfold and make sense. I loved the mix of history with present day treasure hunt an almost modern day Indiana Jones (which I absolutely loved).

We have many well developed and complex characters, I appreciated being able to see real growth throughout the story. The author tackled some really dark issues such as sex-trafficking which I don’t believe is highlighted enough in todays media.

We have a few different points of view happening in countries all over the world. This is so fast paced and action packed that I listened to it all within two days. Cleopatra’s Vendetta is the first book I’ve read by Avanti Centrae and it won’t be the last.

Action meets history is this thriller by Avanti Centrae.

Timothy Stryker is on a special ops mission when he gets the call his wife and daughter have gone missing. He quickly joins forces with his sister in law and fellow special ops members to save his family before its too late.

Along the way the team start to unravel an ancient mystery involving Cleopatra's mysterious journal that has been hidden since her death.

Will Styker and his team be able to find his wife and daughter in time and learn how it is related to the mystery of Cleopatra?

Fans of the TV show Blood and Treasure will love this thriller with its ties to history.

This was an easy audio book to listen to (often hard to stop listening to it) and it keeps you on your seat right up until the end.

This was my first time reading this author's work, and it definitely won't be my last! The book is extremely well-paced, and told from multiple points of view in a way that will keep you hooked. Some of the story-building took a while for me to appreciate, but once I hit chapter 20 (and these are short chapters), I was fully-immersed in the story and couldn't put it down. From the role propaganda plays throughout history, as well as in the current age, to strong female characters, to well-executed strategic plans, this book ticked a lot of boxes for me.

It's like "Taken," if the movie had a book adaptation that was even better than the original story.

A huge thank you to Henry Roi PR, the Publisher, and NetGalley, for the ebook and ARC versions of this incredible book!