Honestly, I was not as engaged as I thought I would be. I love Hatshepsut - so the fate of her daughter quite naturally intrigued me, even if from an historical fiction perspective. I am even open to "alternate" conclusions as to the fate of an equally enigmatic historical figure; however, this just didn't do it for me.

I would most likely suggest that the intended audience is teens / young adults as it certainly was not up to the standard I would expect from a work of historical fiction aimed at an adult audience, especially an audience seeking out something out of the box (and for which they themselves have some knowledge about).

Kudos for taking on Neferura though, and for the line taken to explain her sudden and mysterious disappearance from history, but as I said from the outset - I was not overly engaged.

Thank you NetGalley and Malayna Evans for providing an ARC of Neferura.

I am new to this genre of book and was not disappointed. the book started a bit slow and felt YA, but that changed by part 2 and I was hooked!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with this ARC in return of an honest review.

Neferura is a historical fiction novel by Malayna Evans, an Egyptologist, whose love for Egyptian history and mythology can be clearly felt through her writing. Neferura was a somewhat unimportant figure in history and not much is known about her besides her being the daughter of two pharaohs and the sister of a third pharaoh, which gave Evans the room she needed to write a feminist reimagining about this character. While deities are an ever-present part of daily life for Neferura, there are no fantasy elements in this story. There are scenes where someone practices medicine and it is described as magic, but I believe this is simply due to not knowing enough about certain scientific methods and practices at the time combined with religious beliefs.

Writing
I enjoyed Evans writing style very much. It kept me interested in the story and made me even lose some sleep because I didn’t want to put my phone down.
I think it’s easy to tell that Evans paid close attention to the language she used by trying to balance respect for Egyptian history and accessibility for a modern readership. While I appreciated that, I do wish she had leaned even more into keeping the language factually and historically correct. I chose to read this story specifically for the Egyptian part after all.
But overall, the writing was beautiful and fitting.

Worldbuilding
Every time it comes to worldbuilding, I end up wishing there was more. We see Egyptian clothing, food and everyday items be featured but I found the atmospheric elements to be slightly lacking. I wish there were more descriptions about the weather and the scents. Like looking up into the sky when the sun is beating down onto the character and feeling the unrelenting heat on their dark skin. The world felt real but from a distance when I wanted immersion.

Plot
The plot was not ground-breaking but very solid. The pacing is more on the slower side, which I did not mind one bit. The story is told from Neferura’s POV for 98 % of the time and it is told in a timely chronological order. I think due to the aforementioned distance that exists between story and reader some of the more emotionally charged scenes felt less impactful. Other than that, it felt very logical and easy to follow.

Characters
I liked Neferura as the main character. The others were fleshed out enough, but I cared less about them. I enjoyed that Neferura is intelligent but still naïve due to her upbringing her personality of wanting to see the best in people. She’s a rather relatable strong female protagonist, which I find less and less of in fictional stories nowadays since a lot of strong female characters are either “sassy small girl who is strong but needs to be protected by big dark and sexy MMC” or “emotionless sexy murderer”. It is always a pleasure to read about complex female characters, where the discussion of if they are good or bad people is actually interesting to have, and this story has more than one such character!

Relationships
I know that incest was normalised among certain cultures, eras, and royalty but I would’ve rather not read about how a sister thinks of her brother as handsome or attractive but that is more of a personal ick. To be clear, the incestuous relationship is not romantic in any way and is depicted as problematic in the story too. Not due to it being incestuous but still.
I did like the male love interest but romance played a smaller role in the story, so it was more of a nice thing in the background rather than a couple I shipped.

I really enjoyed reading this and would recommend this to people interested in Egyptian historical fiction.

I was so happy to receive this ARC as I love the books it was compared to and I've always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt. Overall, I think this is a really interesting read with some wonderful female characters and some great relationships. There is definitely a firm sense of place - in that it is easy to invoke the time period from the temples, beautifully wrought stone tombs, lotus-filled ponds, and the shining blue ribbon of the Nile. Even Neferura stands out as an interesting young woman coming into her own and trying to navigate upheavals in power at court and those intrigues. There were quite a bit I enjoyed about the book, one of which was Hathor and her scorpions. It was really great to read about powerful women that existed outside of the typical power constructs of this time period, and that worked for a sense of 'greater good' for the average person, specifically women. This brings me also to the varied and fantastic relationships between women that exist in the story. The friendships were really meaningful and bright, and even the strained relationships felt natural.
With all the great aspects of the story, there were a few things that stood out to me that could have been molded a bit better into the story. For one, the pacing. Part 1 of the book feels very slow and at times, the writing and dialogue felt more akin to YA readership or even coming-of-age. Neferura is very naive and ignorant, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it creates a very slow reading experience. I do wish it was emphasized more that Neferura as God's Wife truly believed in this religious experience and it was often painted as 'ignorance' but this was a religion that many, many people were devoted to so sometimes when it was depicted as just being ignorant it felt a bit wrong. Additionally, for several of the important friendships that Neferura had, we as readers are 'told' instead of shown why these women are so dedicated and loyal to Neferura and Part 1 could have been bolstered a bit more with action in this category. And lastly, the pacing speeds up exponentially in the second half of the book, in Part 2/3, and I think the mismatched pacing doesn't lend itself well to the story.
I think this is a delightful read about a powerful and interesting young woman that has existed in the shadows of history.

4.5 STARS
One of the most interesting books I’ve read this year! I really enjoyed getting to explore what it was like to live as not only a woman in Egypt in the Eighteenth Dynasty, but also what it was like to be a female priest. So many tab worth quotes throughout this book. I enjoyed the book emphasis on womanhood and the messaging of being proactive in making changes you feel need to be made within your community/country. The only issue that I had with the book was the pacing and the ending. The epilogue was a bit confusing for me at first and felt very rushed. It was such an abrupt transition from the previous chapter. I would’ve liked a smoother transition. I also felt that the first part of the book was really slow; however, the second and third part of the book was very interesting. Regardless, the book was very interesting and provides readers with an understanding of the importance of womanhood and making the change you want to see. Highly, recommend for those who enjoy feminist themes, Egyptology, and court politics with a drop of romance (and I mean drop).

Thank you, Sourcebooks landmark, for sending me an arc of this phenomenal book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Net Galley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review books. Lastly, thank you, Malayna Evans, for writing a beautiful and meaningful work of fiction.

A story that introduces you to the world of ancient Egypt. The politics, faiths and cetemonies..... Specifically when it comes to the place of women.

The tale starts Neferura, our priestess main character and her mother Hetshepsut the Pharaoh.

We follow our main girl as she navigates her often times cruel world, confronting lies and manipulation perpetuated by her family. It was fascinating to see the world through her eyes and be exposed to what was expected of her as a woman as she went through her own struggles and watched the struggles of others as well.

Throughout the tale there is bonds of friendship and found family, the reality that ties of blood don't always mean love, obligations of role, rank, religion and gender, and the drive to do good for those around you.

A wonderful read, made even better by the information the author provides at the end giving us the known histories of the characters she wove into her tale

I did not like this book at all. It was very slow, the writing felt YA sometimes (which would not have bothered me if it was indeed a YA novel, but it isn’t) and the trigger warnings (like freaking incest) should have been announced. If I knew that it had these trigger warnings in particular, I wouldn’t have picked this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

An interesting take on Ancient Egypt during Hatshepsut’s reign following her daughter Neferura dealing with Thutmose’s plot to end her mothers rule. I personally didn’t connect with the writing but like the ideas overall. I would recommend this book if the summary interests you or you enjoy different stories/interpretations of Ancient Egypt.

I received this book for free for an honest unbiased review from Netgalley.

Sexy and so interesting. It's a new topic of interest for me.

Neferura is the daughter of the female Pharoah Hatshepsut. Kemet is experiencing a period of relative peace, calm, and prosperity which is threatened by the emergence of Neferua's half brother, the Pharoah Thutmose. Hatshepsut was only intended to rule until Thutmose came of age. However, she is not willing to hand over power so easily. Thutmose resorts to threats, schemes, and tricks to regain his power. This puts Neferura in a challenging and dangerous position. As her mother's God's Wife, she is quite powerful under Hatshepsut's reign. Powerful enough that Thutmose justifies using violence to bring her down a few pegs.

This book was very impressive in its historical accuracy and research. There were many tidbits about daily life during this time period that were interesting to read as an aside to the main plotline. The characters were all based on real figures and everything that is known about them was followed in this book. Where we don't know what happened, Evans was able to fill in the blanks with her fictional story. Unfortunately, that's also what limited this book.

There were times that I would have liked Neferura to take more agency, to act more boldly, or to simply do something compelling. But since the real life character did not actually make that big an impression upon the historical record, she could only do so much. There were things that seemed like they were going to be high-stakes, significant points of contention... until they weren't any longer. The characters folded when they might have rebelled. But because they were based on real people, they really didn't have as much of a choice in the matter as it may have seemed.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable. I'm glad to have read it. But it didn't blow me away. I was hoping it would compare to Madeleine Miller's Greek mythologies, but it just didn't really have that much staying power. It was good, but not amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

As a historical Egyptian fiction lover, I am so sad that I didn't like this book. It was so boring and I just did not care about any of the characters.

"Neferura" transports readers to Ancient Egypt, telling a story of power, sacrifice, and a forgotten princess's tenacity. Neferura, the daughter of a renowned pharaoh, who must navigate treacherous court intrigues and face her fate.

I loved this novel and wanted to bring readers to a period and place full with history and intrigue. I'm glad the framework, which uses period terminology. Neferura's struggles and achievements take place in a vibrant Ancient Egypt.

Neferura, Hatshepsut, and the evil Thutmose were painstakingly crafted to give the plot depth and authenticity.

The plot revolves around loyalty and sacrifice, keeping readers interested without overpowering them. The enigmatic wisewoman and her network of spies add excitement to the play.

This book will be sending me into the depths of mythological and historical fiction for months to come. I was nervous at first to read this book as I was anticipating it reading similar to a dissertation or research paper- but I was so wrong. My knowledge of Ancient Egypt is minimal so I was excited to learn through this fictional story. I was immediately pulled into the relationships Neferura has with her priestesses and only wanted more as their stories developed. I have not read a story of such loyalty and friendship in a while and it was refreshing to not have the story centered around a romance. I appreciated the liberties Evans took to bring a story to us that sheds the light on Neferura. She could have picked a more well-known woman from history, but this book was exactly why I love historical fiction so much. With Evans' background in Egyptology, I am confident that this story is as accurate as it could be with what is known about Neferura. I can only hope that Evans continues to write and further to continue to write about Ancient Egypt because I will grab it every time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this gifted ebook is return for my honest review.

This is a historical fiction dating thousands of years back to the time of the Pharaohs. If that is not intriguing enough, the book itself, from its very beginning, makes the reader fall for the story.

This story is based on an actual historic character about whom not much is known except that she was subjected to court intrigues and that she died young (Yes, this book made me go check out the Wikipedia page on Neferura). I love the way the author took this character and gave her life. It also paid that the author is a student of Egyptian history.

The underlying theme of this book is how feminine strength prevails and how sisterhoods formed have transcended ages and eras. Even in the extremely patriarchal society of the Pharaohs, women form bonds and ultimately win the freedom to lead their lives independently. I absolutely loved the end and the twist there. The characters, in all their strengths and flaws, were superbly sketched. The plot was well thought out, and the story was well paced. It was an intriguing read. I loved every page of this book.

I would love to read more from this author, and would recommend this book to all fantasy and historical fiction lovers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I liked the blend of magic and history, and the writing was very well done.

Beautiful cover and interesting premise -- Neferura is the daughter of the best-known female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. Very little is known about her life, and this book attempts to fill out her story. Discussion topics are provided for book clubs, and author q and a.

I absolutely adored the setting, historical references, and variations of female power, but would have preferred less palace intrigue and more Ancient Egypt. I geeked out more about the few pages of history provided at the end than much of the story. And I found Neferura just so naive throughout.

Neferura was a bit of a surprise in its content, but as described, the perfect Ancient Egyptian historical fiction novel!

We have Neferura, daughter of the famous Pharaoh/Queen Hatshepsut, who is essentially helping her mother run Egypt when her half-brother and Pharaoh Thutmose comes back to the capital after essentially being exiled to the military as a child. What Thutmose wants, how he tries to get it, and the battles had are our story. There's really something here for everyone - romance, intrigue, mystery, etc. All of the above kept me a,captivated reader..

This book was. . .fine.

Honestly, it was very nearly a DNF for me. I downloaded it ages ago and began reading right away, but the opening chapters were s-l-o-w and the first-person narrator did not draw me in. I thought, "Maybe I'm just not in the right place for this book right now," and set Neferura aside in favor of other titles, unknowingly initiating a cycle of \slog through-utterly lose interest-vow to finish later/ that would continue for months. Finally, I powered through, but even then I had to give myself rewards for reaching certain milestones (e.g. "When I get to 33%, I'll take a break and read a novella from my TBR pile." or "When I finish Part 2, I'll go for a walk and listen to an audiobook for an hour.") Turns out, my initial disconnect with both the pacing and the characterization hardly improved through the rest of the novel.

Don't get me wrong—this book is not bad. It is incredibly well-researched, fairly well-plotted (even if not well-paced), and filled with intrigue. The eponymous main character grows from a naive and artless young lady who is easily manipulated to a canny woman who takes control of her destiny. I would have loved Neferura. . .if I ever felt a connection with her. Unfortunately, I did not.

In a nutshell: it's hard to read 300+ pages of a novel when you never really care about the protagonist.

Neferura by Malayna Evans
Egyptologist Malayna Evans brings the gods and politics of ancient Egypt to life during the reign of woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Neferura tells the story of Hatshepsut’s only daughter, who is responsible for the prosperity of Kemet as the high priestess and god’s wife of Amun. She takes her role very seriously, even though she sometimes longs for a different kind of power—and freedom—she sees in the women around her who don’t bear such a burden.

When her half-brother Thutmose returns to her mother’s court without a summons, Hatshepsut and Neferura both know that he’s planning something—perhaps even challenging Hatshepsut for the throne. Neferura discovers details about Thutmose’s plot and knows she can’t stand by while her mother handles things; Neferura has to take the fate of their nation into her own hands. Full of court politics, gods, and power, Neferura is more historical fiction than fantasy, but the language and richness of Egyptian mythology make this a solid crossover for fantasy readers.

There are many paths to power.

They all come with a price.

Neferura
by Malayna Evans
Pub Date: 13 Feb 2024

Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget. But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise.

Peace, it seems, never lasts for women who wield power in the open. Especially when they cross a vengeful man.

When Neferura overhears Thutmose's plot to end her mother's rule, she knows he must be stopped, no matter the cost. The discovery of a mysterious tattooed wisewoman and her shadowy network of spies offers an uneasy alliance. But the wisewoman wields more power than Neferura knew possible—power with the potential to rival her own. Neferura must decide where her loyalties lie and how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loves before everything crumbles at the hands of a tyrant.