I was intrigued by the premise of the plot, but the book didn't work for me so I wasn't able to finish it.

I'll leave a neutral 3 star review since I didn't finish it.

I thought the narrator was good, though. I love his deep voice & the voices he did for the characters were consistent. He had some trouble with some of the accents he was trying to do for soem of the characters, particularly the ones from the South (I'm from the South & it just sounded off for me). Other than that, I thought he did a good job.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This had a lot going on and in a lot of interesting ways, but it just didn't work for me. I just couldn't connect and couldn't follow along as well as I wanted to. I'm sure it would be a great book for many, it just wasn't for me.

The fascination with Cleopatra continues and in this book we follow links that go back two millennia.

Knowing she was about to die and knowing that she wanted to go in her own way, Cleopatra hid a secret message in a room that was never discovered. What exactly was in that message?

Cut to today where Tim Stryker and his wife and daughter are on vacation. There is trouble in the marriage as they had recently lost a child and Angie is drinking quite heavily bringing the couple into many arguments, one of which sets the wheels in motion for what happens when out drinking Angie and her cohorts are kidnapped along with her daughter.

Stryker is devastated and finds himself on the trail of the kidnappers, discovering they are the ones responsible for the recent assassinations of key figures around the world.

What is the connection between all of these occurrences and will Stryker rescue his family and reconcile with Angie?

Lots of action as the author deftly ties the strings that seemed to dangle in this story. I listened to it and was engaged in the telling.

Thank you to Avanti Centrae, and NetGalley for a copy of this thriller.

Cleopatra's Vendetta is a heart racing read. When a quiet family vacation turns into a race against time there is nothing Stryker won't do to find his wife and kids when they are taken.

This is like a "national treasure hunt, Italian mafia, CIA, family thriller" book all wrapped up with a bow on top and I loved every single moment of it. I enjoyed the historical aspect of the story, very informative and educational. I knew a little about Cleopatra but loved that the story gives you history and facts, makes what is happening feels real.

I enjoyed the writing style. The characters are written in a way that makes them relatable. They have the personal stresses lots of people endure that seeps into their work life. They express very real emotions in moments throughout the story that makes your heart break.

What didn't work for me was the narrative style. At times it was hard to differentiate between which character was speaking and couldn't feel the emotions coming through as much as if reading it. 3.5

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Cleopatra’s Vendetta was a slightly different genre from what I usually read. The format of MANY shorter chapters felt weird in the beginning, but by the middle, I began to groove with the audiobook. At first, I had a difficult time remembering which character was who and how they were related to another, but a few chapters in I was able to follow. I do find I have this issue with audiobooks that have more than 4 or so main characters, because I do not have a good way to separate them (like in a regular book you can easily go back and look at previous pages).

The storyline is a slight suspense-thriller with a minor love story. You get to know 4 different plot lines that intersect at some point to create the end of the book. I enjoyed the plot and the characters.

The narrator was good in their regular voice, I was not a huge fan when he diverted into different voices because they were mostly similar (except when one female voice went southern, that was always clearly hers).

Story 4 our of 5. Narrator 3 out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thunder Creek Press and Avanti CentRae for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in advance of the release date.

Cleopatra’s Vendetta
Avanti Centrae
This tale begins many years ago when Cleopatra refused to be humiliated. She plotted and planned her own demise determined to die on her own terms. She was a very intelligent woman; she carefully planned her revenge and put the plan in action before calling for the asp.
Tim Stryker and his wife Angie are in Italy along with their daughter Harper. The couple recently lost their infant son, and their marriage is suffering; Angie has turned to the bottle to drown her pain. Angie is a CEO, intelligent, focused, and strong. Stryker is the commander of a Special Ops team.
When Angie and Harper are abducted Stryker and his team begin the search, determined to find his family. They soon realize there is a connection between the kidnapping and a string of assassinations. Angie is frantic to protect her daughter. There are several women on the island where they are held captive. Food is withheld the captives must survive on water. Angie knows Tim will search for her and Harper, but she will do all she can to defeat the cruel men holding them. Angie discovers a connection between the Sons of Adam, Cleopatra and a plot to bring down the United States.
WOW! What a tale. Author Avanti Centrae transports readers to the past where they witness the last few hours of Cleopatra’s life. It is obvious that author Centrae spent much time researching Cleopatra’s life. Cleopatra was an amazing woman, intelligent, powerful and quite a trickster. Her story is interwoven into the abduction of Angie and Harper.
This is a fast-paced tale. I enjoyed watching Angie as she came to realize she had a drinking problem. I also enjoyed how she turned the tables on the Sons of Adam. Tim is a multidimensional character. The love he has for his wife and child is strong. He came to realize that neither he nor Angie had truly allowed themselves to mourn their son. The secondary characters were well fleshed out and added much to the plot. I believe this is the first installment of a new series.

The story was captivating and intriguing. It is very reminiscent of Lee Child and his Jack Reacher series, but with a mix of the movie Taken. I could not stop listening.

Really enjoyed listening to this audio book. Tim Campbell did a good job and lent his voice to at least a dozen characters, no easy feat! There were a few moments when I didn't think the accent worked but it couldn't be an easy job getting everything right.

The story itself was very good, what's not to like when you're chasing Cleopatra's treasure? The blend of historical fact and the fiction Avanti brought was spot on. I always think when reading a book that is based on historical fact that if it makes me want to learn more on google and whether something really happened means that I have/had a vested interested in a book. I felt like this at times with Cleopatra's Vendetta.

Great action scenes and a fantastic introduction to a new Stryker series.

ARC audiobook provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Cleopatra's Vendetta” is part thriller and part historical fiction. In the present day, Timothy Stryker (a Special Ops agent) is vacationing in Bari, Italy with his daughter, Harper, and his wife Angie, who is both a CEO and CIA. While out with some friends and their children, Angie and her daughter are drugged and kidnapped, leaving very few clues behind.

Stryker and his Special Ops team, which includes Angie’s sister, set out on two missions: (1) to stop a string of assassinations of high-profile targets; and (2) find and rescue Angie and Harper. Although seemingly unrelated at first, the two missions begin to intersect as the team digs further into the events. While Stryker and his team work to complete their missions, Angie fights to free herself and the other captives of this deadly organization. The past and present come crashing together as connections to Cleopatra become more evident, sending the Special Ops team on a dive into history while Angie fights from inside her captors’ lair.

Will Stryker and his Special Ops team stop the assassinations? Will they be able to find and rescue Angie and Harper before it is too late? What is the connection to Cleopatra, and how can the connection be leveraged to save them all?

I know my review is in the minority, but I just couldn’t give this book any more than two stars. My overall feeling was encompassed in the copious eye rolling I did throughout the book. Everything in the book was just too convenient and coincidental. A Special Ops agent happens to know all the history required to solve the puzzles that so many archaeologists and people searching for thousands of years before her couldn’t? Of course. An agent who just happens to have ties to the organization responsible for the kidnappings? Sure. A quick one-night fling leads to thoughts of spending their entire lives together despite the fact they just met? Why not? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Coincidences abounded throughout the book that worked in the favor of the protagonists. Clues were literally dropped at their feet. The story had an abundant number of moments of conflict and shootouts, but they felt like an afterthought. Everything worked out perfectly and was wrapped up cleanly at the end. There were no real surprises or twists. The characters were flat and boring, their interactions awkward and forced.

Then there’s the whole Cleopatra element. I knew from the description going in that this was a prominent part of the story, and I was completely ready to suspend my disbelief and get caught up in the mystery. Unfortunately, it was just utterly ridiculous. The way it ties into the present and brings all of the pieces of the story together just doesn’t work. The rattling off of the relevant history just felt like a boring school lecture. The way the past shaped the motives and present actions of the “bad guys” in the story was ridiculously silly. It felt like an attempt to write like Dan Brown, but it failed completely. Honestly, it felt as though a high school student was tasked with writing a fictional story from his/her history teacher.

My copy of this book was an audiobook. I felt that the narrator did an okay job. One of the difficult parts for me as a listener was how stilted the story came across, almost as if someone was rattling off an article from the newspaper. I can’t definitively say this was on the part of the narrator, however. It could be the way the author wrote the book. It could be how the narrator read it. Or it could be a mixture of both. Whatever the case, it was just tedious and monotonous, leaving me less than engaged in the story.

Overall, this was a big disappointment for me. I hate giving poor reviews, but I just couldn’t find a way to offer a better review of this book. I am a huge fan of thrillers, historical fiction novels, fiction in general, and, coincidentally, Cleopatra and her relevant history. Upon first glance, this book appeared as though it would tick all the boxes for a story I would greatly enjoy. The majority of the reviews as of the time I obtained this book were very positive. Compared to other books I’ve read in similar genres, this book just completed failed. I did give it two stars because it wasn’t so bad that I didn’t make it to the end. I listened to the whole audiobook, and it is sadly time I will never get back. This book may work for young adults who are very new to the thriller genre. It’s a simple formulaic book that could be an okay stepping stone for young adults into this type of fiction. As for adult readers, especially those who are well-read in the applicable genres, you probably want to avoid this book. All in all, this book was a let down.

Book Title: Cleopatra’s Vendetta
Series: Stryker #1
Author: Avanti Centrae
Audiobook Narrator: Tim Campbell
Publisher: Thunder Creek Press
Genre: Mystery Thriller - Historical Fiction
Pub Date: November 15, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars

Past History: ~ When Cleopatra is trying to escape from the Roman group who is after her, she hide in a secret area with her treasures, but the storeroom has never been discovered.

Bari Italy Present Day: Special Ops commander Tim Stryker and his wife Angie need a vacation and decide to go on a holiday to Italy.
The first night there Stryker and Angie have a nasty argument ~ Stryker is upset that Angie is drinking too much. Needless to say, that didn’t go well with Angie.
The next day Angie and college friends along with their little daughters go out for lunch. They decide a little later to stop in a little tavern which actually is okay with children. While the little girls are coloring the adults are enjoying a mid-afternoon drink; which was paid for by a handsome man across the room.
Hmm but after their second drink the women find they aren't feeling well. The next thing Angie, her friends and Harper, Angie’s four-year old daughter are kidnapped.
Stryker is desperate to rescue Harper and Angie and also to reconcile with Angie.

He discovers that the kidnappers are responsible for other kidnappings as well as assassinations and fears their daughter is in a lot of danger.
Stryker tracks the assailants across India, Egypt, and Greece he has find the connections back to the time of Cleopatra.
There is a lot going on this story
 Was Angie and her friends targeted because of Angie or Stryker’s positions?
 Were the women kidnapped because they are females?
 What does Cleopatra have to do with any of this?

This action packet story kept me interested!
Narrator Tim Campbell did an excellent job in performing the characters. I am look forward to Avanti Centrae’s next Stryker story!

I always enjoy reading the ‘Author’s Note’ however they are not always available in audiobook but it was included in this audiobook!.
Loved author, Avanti Centrae’s research. She tells us what is fact and what parts were products of her imagination. I enjoyed knowing things about Cleopatra. Ms. Centrae has suggested other books for those of us wanted to learn more.
Want to thank NetGalley and Thunder Creek Press for this early audio eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 15, 2022

#CleopatrasVendetta #AvantiCentrae #TimCampbell #ThunderCreekPress #IBPA #NetGalley
**SPOILERS**

This is a rollicking tale of action and adventure spanning continents and centuries.

When Tim Stryker with Special Ops learns that his wife Angie and daughter Harper have been kidnapped by an unscrupulous group called the Sons of Adam, he initiates a frantic search across the globe.

Tim learns that this shadowy group has existed for centuries, waging a covert war on women, trying to demean and belittle them by molding public opinion and influencing narratives, using propaganda, misinformation and in the modern era, deep fakes.

This brand of virulent misogyny takes various forms, one of which is to kidnap and brutalize women and children.

Even Cleopatra was not spared this defamation and how she chose to deal with this on her own terms, gives an interesting dimension to this story.

Tim with his team races against time to unravel the clues from past and present and save his wife and child.

This nefarious group also plans to sow chaos and disruption on a global scale by assassinating key figures and seeding conspiracies and violent discontent.

Will he be able to stop this evil?

This was an entertaining ALC with familiar overtones.

The narration is expressive.

This was an excellent book. This historical aspect was very educational. I love learning about Cleopatra, and this was an interesting look into her history. I would definitely recommend this book to others. It was a very well written story and the plot was just awesome. I am giving this five stars.