When her homeland is conquered by the mighty Alexander the Great, Roxana—the daughter of a mere chieftain—is torn from her simple life and thrown into a world of war and intrigue.

Terrified, the sixteen-year-old girl of renowned beauty is brought before the greatest ruler the world has ever known. Her life is in his hands; her future his to decide.

Without formal education or noble blood, Roxana is chosen by the Greek conqueror to be his bride. Soon she comes to know profound happiness and unyielding desire in her warrior’s arms.

However, being the king’s consort comes at a heavy price. To survive her husband’s treacherous kingdom, she must endure continuous warfare, deadly plots, jealous rivals, victory-hungry generals, and the stigma of being a barbarian. Persian blood will keep her from claiming the grandest title of all—queen—but her reign will seal the fate of an empire.

History tells his story. This is hers.






When reading historical fiction, there has to be a certain type of atmosphere to the writing. One that fits the tone of the entire story. Fortunately for readers, there's a lot of energy in Realm and it all lives up to the unique and engrossing worldbuilding that Alexandrea Weis offers her readers.

Realm is a great deal of a romantic novel that relies on its history and gives readers a front row to this particular interpretation of it. The reading experience was almost addicted for me. Sparks were flying in the historical relationship and that really translated well. But, it was more than just historical and romantic plotlines--it was thoughtful and packed a seriously emotional punch to it.

There aren't too many historical romances out there that take real history and honor it while making it into a story of their own making. Weis doesn't take history for granted and instead builds on it in a way that makes her audience lean forward and listen to their heartbeat. Realm is an experience that is built for the romantic and fully honors the real world.

What I loved was the focus on Roxana and the side of history we so rarely hear about when compared to that of Alexander the Great. This isn't to say that Alexander isn't around and able to have his own voice, but this is ultimately Roxana's time to shine. Realm takes its self down a highly tense and romantic road and benefits from Weis and her compelling prose.

Further, the characters and their connections developed in a way that was completely indulgent but thoughtful. You watched them develop and grow together n real time and that, in itself, makes Realm a fantastic read. The ending feels both fulfilling and bittersweet, given what we know about history and the way that Weis developed their story.

Still, it was breathtaking and vivid. While reading it, I was struck with how easy it was to slip into a different time. And just how real this story felt and, well, was. Weis took something real and was able to breathe life into it.

Not to get overly babble prone and repetitive, but, I genuinely loved Realm and the way that it made me feel.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and the central romance. Its history was certainly not something I'd read about in the past, so it felt like a bit of a learning experience to which I promptly researched after finishing. Sometimes historical fiction can dip itself too far into history that it comes out feeling underwhelming and a bit too polished/modern, but Weis doesn't allow Realm to suffer such a fate--nearly every inch of the novel was engrossing and completely impossible to put down.