Akhenaten and Nefertiti ruled Egypt over 3300 years ago. They seem to be known particularly because of a beautiful bust of Nefertiti that was found as well as being the parents of Tutankhamun (King Tut). Their reign however, appears to have been controversial mainly because they changed Egypt's religious beliefs from worship of Amun to Aten, and even elevated themselves to the level of god.

I am new to reading about ancient Egypt, but I found this to be a difficult book to read. It's not that the topic is dense or scholarly, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of consensus on what actually happened. The authors of this work try to make it more approachable by including fictional vignettes about what it must have been like for the rulers and ruled at the time, but I'm not a fan of such open guesswork, even when it is based on the historical record. They recognize the various controversies and theories, but I wish they had made it delved more into the competing ideas. Instead, I felt like they were dancing around the uncertainty instead of just making it clear.

The book was 'okay' and I learned a bit about ancient Egypt, although I mainly came away from it feeling like little is actually known for certain and much/most is debatable.

I'm perennially a fan of all things Egyptian and this nonfiction book fulfilled my obsession. Thankfully, I learned from painstaking, extensively researched work, which was one of the reasons for reading it. I had no idea how drastically Akhenaten/Amenhotep IV shook things up, and it was fascinating having the ways in which he did revealed. The book has an interesting layout/approach/storytelling. However, it could very much benefit from including images. And hey, maybe the final project will? I hope so, because it was tedious trying to Google everything and more than half of those searches coming up empty or, erm, complicated. It wasn't always *smooth* storytelling, though, making it difficult to follow at times, even after re-reading 2+ times. And then some things were repeated in later chapters that I didn't think needed to be, so I'm not sure why the Darnells chose to do so.

A fitting example of how different things were during the reign of Akhenaten (and Nefertiti): "For those buried in the large rock-cut tombs in Akhet-Aten’s eastern mountain , conformity to the king’s political theology and sole reliance upon Aten seem to have been the prerequisites of eternal life. From hymns that the elite carved in their tombs to shrines they erected in their homes, we know that their only gods were the new trinity: Aten, Akhenaten, and Nefertiti."

If archeology, history, or Egypt is your cup of tea, then so too will this book be. John and Colleen , in the very least, deserve an award or multiple somethings for how much time and effort was blatantly put into it.

EGYPT'S GOLDEN COUPLE is a richly researched, enthralling look at two of history's most intriguing figures: Akhenatin and Nefertiti--iconoclastic rulers and rule-breakers. John and Colleen Darnell have crafted a volume brimming with splendid detail--easily accessible and fascinating.

Thanks to St Martins and to Netgalley for the opportunity and pleasure of an early read.

I have always loved reading about Ancient Egypt, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was well researched and well written. Definitely a great non fiction for those that are interested in Egypt.

This book was so good! Akhenaten ad Nefertiti have always fascinated me. And I was so happy to get a chance to read this book.
There is so much detail,and information about this Golden couple. They ruled for 17 years,built a whole new city,and God. So fantastically written! Highly recommend.

I have long been obsessed with ancient Egypt and so I was thrilled to be able to read this latest nonfiction work about Akhenaten and his wife Nerfertiti.

Egypt’s Golden Couple is a refreshing and concise look at the family that eventually ended with Tutankhamun. Due to the intentional destruction of Akhenaten’s legacy, up until recently very little has been known about his decision to completely upend Egyptian religious tradition from a polytheistic/cult following society to one that solely worshipped a single deity and Akhenaten and his family as living avatars.

Using actual heiroglyphic texts and first hand evidence left behind in tombs and temples, the Darnells breathe life back into the reign of this forgotten pharoah. Descriptive scenes that imagine what jubilees and processions would have looked like do not detract from the very real archaeological science in the text, but instead work in favor of teaching this time in history to the masses.

Easy to read and follow, Egypt’s Golden Couple is a fascinating history book for anyone who is interested in Ancient Egypt. My only complaint is that my advanced copy did not have any photographic inserts, so I found myself googling images within every chapter, although this just further increased my interest in the subject.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and John and Colleen Darnell for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved learning so much about the golden couple. Ancient Egypt has always been a history that I feel I’ve never read enough about. This book gave me a huge jump on my reading and knowledge journey! Great read for anyone wanting to learn more about the golden couple and very easy read!

Enjoy this book I hope as much as I did!

This a very well researched book depicting the life and reign of Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti and how it influenced the future of Egypt. There is very little information generally in the public domain although everyone has heard of their son – Tutankhamun.

The Darnells manage to keep the information contained in these pages fairly simple so that it would be accessible to anyone whether or not they have a background in Ancient Egyptology.

Slow pacing but very informative.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a free ARC of Egypt's Golden Couple When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth in return for an honest review.

I tried my best to get into this book but could not and I love Egyptian history and lectures but this book just didn't do it justices. It was like trying to watch a reenactment of an event they thought occurred but could not paint a great picture out of it. I would not recommend this book to anyone but like I always say that is my opinion and you are open to give it a try and please share what your thoughts are.

I read this as an ARC from Netgalley.com.

Egypt's Golden Couple by John Darnell and Colleen Darnell took a hard look at a dynasty who ruled about three thousand years ago that tried to change the beliefs of a nation and, ultimately, failed. Amunhotep IV (later known as Akhenaten) and his wife, Nefertiti were stuck from the historical record by their son, King Tut, for their and Akhenaten's parents' efforts to create an Egyptian monotheism that only worships one aspects of the sun god, Aten.

While this book is very interesting, especially as the authors sought to mesh facts with imagined anecdotes about the lives of both the rulers and common people of Egypt, I found it to still be a little too technical for a layperson. The authors go into detail with hieroglyphics, measurements, and geography. Skimming these sections allow you to understand the basics without having to go into too much detail.

All in all I found this to be a pleasant read and I enjoyed the speculation of authors made as to what the royal couple may have been thinking, since there are no existing records that would allow for any certainty.

There was so much filler in this book. The actual information about Akhenaten and Nefertiti would make a good essay or chapter in a book. There is just not enough known of their actual lives for a full length book. I think the author would have been better to have written a fictional account since 1/3 of the book was fictional vignettes anyway.

Egypt's Golden Couple
By John and Colleen Darnell

This book is a combination of fact and supposition about the ancient Egyptian 18th dynasty which included Amunhotep III and his wife Tyie, and his son, Amunhotep IV (subsequently to be known as Akhenaten) and his wife, Nefertiti.

Akhenaten and Nefertiti were to drastically change the religious faith of Egypt by turning from the previous multiple deities to a monotheistic worship of the one God, Aten. These changes were not accepted gladly by the Egyptian people, and after his death, the Egyptians tried to expunge all things associated with Akhenaten and his reign.

I have read previously about this period and the strife it caused. This book, while full of information, gets bogged down in the multiple names of gods, the various interpretations of hieroglyphics, place names, etc. I found it to be a hard go to get down to the meat of Akhenaten and Nefertiti's story.

Although I haven't spent tons of time digging into it, I've always been interested in Egyptology, so this seemed like a no brainer to give a shot. I'm of two minds on my review of this--my favorite biographies are those that establish a smooth narrative voice and bring the historical figures to life, and this doesn't quite accomplish that. Each chapter opens with a dramatic recreation of a scene from an artifact that somewhat makes that attempt, but they're too disjointed to create a real flow. On the other hand, I always admire authors who obviously know their subject, and this is very much that. The Darnells go into a lot of detail about what's been found from the time of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, giving their own interpretations and translations with lots of justifications and use of historical precedents to explain how their establishment of Aten as a singular deity was not as unique and heretical a concept as it is frequently presented. Sometimes the amount of detail put me into a bit of an overload state--I'd zone out and have to re-read passages I realized I'd not processed the first time. I was hoping for a bit more insight into the royal couple's relationship, and particularly into Nefertiti's actions as a ruler, but I realize now that there is not any remaining evidence that would allow anything other than speculation on that topic. I also found myself wishing there were pictures of the various tomb paintings and artifacts that they used as their narrative basis, but there is a list of figures in the back of the book, so maybe that lack is only a problem with the electronic ARC that I was reading.

I love reading about archaeology and hope those in the middle of the research try to solve the mysteries of the past. This book has a lot of solid research but also some interesting conjecture. I learned a lot and it got me thinking outside the history I thought I knew.

I was provided an advanced copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s press. Thank you!

As someone who has been fascinated by Ancient Egypt since childhood, I have began to read up on Ancient Egyptian history in the past few months. I wanted to expand my learning beyond what I learned in brief lessons I had in high school. Before reading this book, I took a couple courses learning the overall history of Ancient Egypt. I tried to take courses that took into account recent developments of findings in Ancient Egypt. I have also been reading articles from perspectives of Egyptians as they learn about their ancestors history. While the overall history of Ancient Egypt is a lot to take in, I enjoyed these courses immensely. However, I wanted to start reading books and literature that examined specific points in Ancient Egyptian history. When I came across this upcoming book providing a history on Akhenaten and Nefertiti, I was very excited to read this. I was lucky enough to be provided the advanced copy by NetGalley and I dived right in to discover the lives of these fascinating rulers.

The book starts each chapter with a narrative that looks into the lives of how Ancient Egyptians lived based in many historical articles. This openings allowed for me to get a glimpse into how the Ancient Egyptians lived. Past books I have read on Ancient Egypt have been hard for me to read as they are filled with facts and dates that start to get confusing for me. As someone who is just reading about Ancient Egypt, this is a great book to start with as it is easy to read and it provides readers with translated writings from the Ancient Egyptians. The authors provide a lot of context and explanations on some of the complex matters they discuss. This helps the reader understand the social and political impacts of phrases used in the book. When talking about the lives of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, the authors show us every aspect of these two historical figures reign and their impacts on Ancient Egyptian history. In the past courses I have taken, the names of these two have come up in various lectures but it was so amazing to find a book that brought together recents findings and discoveries of these figures. I enjoyed this book immensely and it allowed me to learn so many new facts about Ancient Egypt that I never knew before.

The subject matter of this book is fascinating, but personally I found the way it’s written too dry and technical. My knowledge of Egyptian history is not as limited as other subjects, and yet most of this material went over my head. I liked the parts that recreate the time of the pharaohs, but the descriptions of the temples, for instance, were so detailed as to specify the measurements of the columns, in cubits. There are too many dates, geographical details and names to hold my attention for long. I’m sure that readers who enjoy historical treatises will love it, since it’s very well researched, but it’s too technical for laypeople with only a casual interest in the matter.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#St. Martin's Press!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love love love anything there is to learn about ancient Egypt. So much so that it's one of the big reasons I ended up studying anthropology, archaeology, and classical civilizations. That is to say that I've read a lot about pharaohs, deities, and ancient culture specifically related to Egypt.

While I have no doubts about the knowledge and experience professionally of the authors, this book was difficult to get through. It's not that it's lacking in historical information, it's that it feels hard to take it all seriously. It reads a little too on the historical fiction side and gets blurry as to when the authors are stating facts or fiction or when they're just wanting to talk about and promote themselves. If it had stuck to one or the other it could have had the potential to be a decent read.

Egypt's Golden Couple by John Darnell and Colleen Darnell is a great nonfiction. Super interesting and love the way it was written.

This is a really good book. The writing is quite enjoyable. The afterword is wonderful. There are no pictures or maps, but I read a pre-publishing proof. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read it.

I have to admit that I struggled with this one. I’ve always been intrigued by ancient Egypt, but my knowledge is minimal. My lack of knowledge, combined with a (what I felt was) a hard to follow flow, I had a hard time enjoying this. To me, it felt like it was a little confusing to figure out when the authors were sharing research or telling stories.

Art and religion are discussed at length, and I think visual representations would have added tremendously to both the readability and enjoyment of this book.

Without a doubt, this was well researched and I learned a lot. That being said, it wasn’t always easy to follow.