///// English /////

Rating: 8,5/10 – 4,25 stars out of 5

“In a court full of vipers, I truly don’t know which one I should fear most”.

Malayna Evans tells us in this book a story of what life could have been like for Neferura, daughter of Hatshepsut and granddaughter of Ahmose. In her own words,

“Lies. Secrets. Schemes. Deception. These are the wares of my trade, the currency of my nest”.

The author manages to create a perfect story for a historical figure about whom there is not much information and for this, as she clarifies at the end of the book, she takes several artistic licenses when it comes to blurring time and mixing concepts. It's unbelievably well tied and it's perfect.

I would have liked a little more development, a little more descriptive information, but I really liked it and I was hooked from the first moment.

I won't say it's a quick or enjoyable read, but it's witty and perfect for those of us who like historical fiction.

The Conversation with the Author section has enchanted me because it has allowed me to know and also extend the knowledge acquired through her explanation.

It is a feminist story in a certain sense because, despite the fact that it is the man who has the most power in Egypt for the simple fact of being born as such, a group of women manages to infiltrate, plan and govern better.

A big shout out to Hathor and his group of scorpions, which make reading that much more intriguing and intrepid.

I have to say, in conclusion, that I liked it not only for how it is written and what it tells, but also for the fact that it came at a perfect time. Not long ago, maybe a year, I read a book based on the relationship between Ahmose and Hathor, so it has complemented it perfectly despite not being able to consider it completely true as it is not a scientific study as such.




///// Español /////

Puntuación: 8,5 / 10 – 4,25 estrellas de 5

En una corte llena de víboras, no tengo claro a cuál debo temer más.

Malayna Evans nos cuenta en este libro una historia de cómo pudo ser la vida de Neferura, hija de Hatshepsut y nieta de Ahmose. En sus propias palabras,

Mentiras. Secretos. Esquemas. Engaño. Estas son las cargas de mi ocupación, las divisas de mi nido.

La autora consigue crear una historia perfecta para un personaje histórico del que no existe demasiada información y para ello, como así lo aclara al final del libro, se toma varias licencias artísticas a la hora de difuminar el tiempo y mezclar conceptos. Está increíblemente bien ligado y queda perfecto.

Me habría gustado algo más de desarrollo, algo más de información descriptiva, pero me ha gustado mucho y me ha enganchado desde el primer momento.

No diré que es una lectura rápida ni amena, pero es ingeniosa y perfecta para aquellos a los que nos gusta la ficción histórica.

El apartado de Conversación con la Autora me ha encantado porque me ha permitido conocer y extender también los conocimientos adquiridos a través de su explicación.

Se trata de una historia feminista en cierto sentido porque, a pesar de que es el varón el que tiene más fuerza en Egipto por el simple hecho de haber nacido como tal, un grupo de mujeres consigue infiltrarse, planear y gobernar mejor.

Un gran reconocimiento a Hathor y su grupo de escorpiones, que hacen la lectura mucho más intrigante e intrépida.

He de decir, como conclusión, que no solo me ha gustado por cómo está escrito y qué cuenta, sino además por el hecho de que llegó en un momento perfecto. Hace no mucho, tal vez un año, leí un libro basado en la relación entre Ahmose y Hathor, así que lo ha complementado a la perfección a pesar de no poder considerarlo totalmente verídico por no ser un estudio científico como tal.

3.5 Stars

’In the end, everyone’s heart will be weighed.’

’For the poor souls whose lives have rendered their hearts heavy, death is a sad ending. But for those whose hearts are light enough to balance the scales, death is a beginning, a door to a new, eternal life—a life free of unruly bodies and controlling mothers and cruel boys who think they’re men.’

There are many paths to power.
They all come with a price.

Set in the Eighteenth Dynasty, this story revolves around Neferure, a name that, in Egyptian translates as Beauty, was the only daughter of Hatshepsut and Thuthmosis II, and in a ‘tales as old as time’ sense, this story includes some sibling rivalry between Neferure and her half brother, Thuthmosis III.

Loosely based on Neferure’s life, there is not much in the way of historical evidence or facts to view this as anything other than fiction, although the story itself is believable. In part, this is also a coming-of-age story, but it is also so much more than that. It is also a tale of sibling rivalry that exposes greed, and adds an edge of danger to this story.

This is a tale of the power that women have, even from those whom you’d least expect it, or perhaps don’t even recognize it in themselves. A power that doesn’t diminish others, but seeks to build them up, allows each to find their own path, to live as they wish, and choose whom they love.



Pub Date: 13 Feb 2024

Many thanks for the ARC provided by SOURCEBOOKS Landmark

I just loved the book. It took me some time getting into it but once I was past the 50 page mark, I was hooked. The story was fast paced, and kept me intrigued enough that I had to finish it in one sitting. I was not wholly satisfied with the ending and felt it was a bit rushed but I wanted more of this world and to read more about the FMC. I was fascinated by how well the author pulled the Egyptian setting and the way she demonstrated the sense of feminism and female friendships throughout the novel.

Trigger Warnings- death, forced marriage, incest, rape, abuse

Read it if you like-
-Egyptian Mythology and ancient culture
-Female driven stories
-Political intrigue and power dynamics
-Women in powerful role
-very little spice

Synopsis- Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet has always put the people first and under the constant critique of her mother, the Pharaoh, she is trying her best to live the life that is laid out for her. Peace, however, never lasts for women who wield power in the open. Especially when they cross a vengeful man. When Neferura overhears her half brother’s plot to end her mother's rule, she knows he must be stopped, no matter the cost. Hence starts the story of betrayal, power dynamics, friendships and womanhood while she figures out how to keep herself and her people safe from the ensuing chaos of the situation.

Things I like- I loved the story. The author has put so much thought and care in this story that it's hard not to. I really like how she introduced a glossary of ancient Egyptian terms to make the transition smoother. The book was fast paced and I loved to see the women in powerful roles and also the solidarity between them. Especially in times when women were treated no better than the broodmare in the family. I loved the story more when I realized that the main characters were actual historical figures and though very little is known about Princess Neferura in real life, the rituals and some scenes are inspired by the actual history. The romance was very little to my liking but I loved the crumbs the author provided more because it seems logical. The female characters in the story were awe-inspiring to say the least. The bravery and strength they showed was just amazing. Also I got to know more about ancient culture which was expected.

Things I didn't like- The starting was a bit slow and felt like an info dump. But given how much the author has to introduce us readers to continue the story it felt logical. There was less mythology than I like in my mythological fiction. I would have loved to read more about some gods and a short version of their stories. Also the ending felt a bit rushed and forced. I would have loved to read a little more between the ending and the epilogue.

Overall I loved it. The small flaws were all manageable considering the justice the author did to the story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has an interest in mythological fiction or Egyptian culture.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am posting this review to my Goodreads and Storygraph accounts immediately and will post it to my Instagram account upon publication on 13 Feb, 2024.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for allowing ne to read this book before publication!

I am an avid fan of all things Egypt! I really like this book was written by someone with a background in Egyptology.

It had a great plot and I found it very enjoyable! Iset was my favourite character!

A good page turner, I was excited to see how it all played out. Would definitely recommend for anyone who had an interest in ancient Egypt

I was blown away by the depth of this book! I really enjoyed learning about Hatshepsut's daughter Neferura and Hatshepsut's reign that was all but wiped away by Thutmose. The story clearly took liberties in the perspectives around Hatshepsut's rise to power and also her eventual demise, but it was so well done and calculated. It felt real in a sense. My heart ached for Neferura's story and it was truly stunning.

Thank you to #NetGalley and to Sourcesbooks Landmarks for an advanced copy of this book!

Armed with a Ph.D. in Egyptian history and loads of research, Evans brings contemporary readers into the world of the 18th-dynasty, when Hatshepsut was pharaoh of Egypt. Her only daughter Neferura is the virgin god’s wife of Amum, a role normally held by the queen. Neferura has spent much of her life trying to stay on the right side of her half brother Thutmose III, a vindictive and cruel man who is back at court challenging the rule of his stepmother. Neferura surrounds herself with people she trusts, her royal tutor, her handmaiden and her priestesses, but when the most important are taken away from her, she seeks out a mysterious tattooed doctor and magician who served her grandmother many years before.
The narrative has a contemporary feel and sometimes uses anachronistic terminology but is a fascinating look at ancient Egypt. Primarily about loyalty and power, Evans takes on the enormity of the political puzzle which is the Egyptian court, with aplomb, throwing the almost unknown Neferura into a favourable limelight and adding a feminist twist.

Interest history but with an uneven pace.
Great mention of egyptian mithology and historial figures mixed with imagined details.
Really enjoyed the end.

1.25 stars out of 5
Trigger Warning: incest, graphic descriptions of animal killing (it's a blip but it made me GAG), rape, absue, death (a lot of it), forced marriage, extreme power differences

Have you ever read a book that has just left you sitting there like *what the actual fuck did I just read?* cause that's how I feel right now. I had hope for this book - I love a good history book, I love a good retelling. But I think there's a VERY fine line between retelling history to tell the story of the victims of time versus making up a complete story.

Evans has a PhD in Egyptology and that is definitely noted. However, knowing the history does not a good author make. I can tell you did the research and know what you're talking about. But the way you go about it is just absolutely disgusting. Historically, Neferura is a blip in history. The encore to a Pharoh we all know - Hatshepsut. But there's a vast differnce between her actual history and this. I know that it was supposed to be fiction and that's FINE - but don't market it as a retelling when it's NOT.

I don't even necessarily know where to start with this as I'm just sitting here - left so confused with everything. I finished the book in a day and enjoyed (that's not right but that's the only word I can think of that fits this) the pacing and the history. I was always a bigger fan of Rome but I spent my time researching Egypt too (Forever on the Search for the Sea People - gone but never forgotten and the Library of Alexandria). However, Evans did a huge disservice to the actual legacy of these people.

There was NO need to include some of the stuff that was there about the abuse and the rape and everything. I understand you're trying to be faithful to what happened, like truly I understand, but I did not need to read about how her brother raped her and then she had sex with her lover who then talked about a dog getting it's head sawed off while it was still alive!

For a so called feminist retelling, the women in this book read like they're written by a misogynistic white man from the 50's. There is an extreme power imbalance between Neferura and Satiah. Someone else mentioned it in a review but even though Satiah consented to it; was it really consent? Neferura was a high priestess of the high god, and Satiah was just a troupe leader. That counts as cohesion in my book. And let's not even get on the topic of how Hatshepsut was characterized. She had to fight her way to the top of everything and even for her name to be rewritten into the books of history. She was not some weak Pharaoh who could easily be shoved away by a death she KNEW was fake. She was Egypt's second female Pharaoh and deserves the respect put to her name.

Some people write because they have a story to tell. Some people shouldn't have access to write. Evan's unfortunately fits into the second section - despite the earnest attempt to tell the story of a forgotten princess who got lost within the long history of Egypt. I wanted to like this. I wanted to care. But I feel like I have to shower in bleach and even then I don't think I will be clean of the mental scars that this book gave me. I wish I wasn't literate! Honestly!

Thanks to NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS and the author for giving me this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Thanks, Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
I LOVED the ancient Egyptian setting mixed with political intrigue, betrayals, finding trust and surviving through palace life where literally everyone wants to take the throne or be close to the one who's sitting on it! VERY INTRIGUING AND LOVABLE main and secondary characters!

Overall a really fun read! The ancient Egyptian setting seems factual to me, a casual reader and non expert, and it’s done really well! But where this story excels is the conflict. Neferura is a girl whose brother isn’t to be trusted, who begins spreading dubious at first rumors about her mother, the Pharoh. But when she investigates the rumors and finds there’s some possibility of truth, she’s betrayed by someone she trusted and the only people she has left to trust are kept away. All the politics and drama of a scheming court, plus a group of scorpion ladies? This book is fun :)

Why did I rate it 4 stars instead of 5?

Kemut was great. Neferura constantly daydreaming about her crush on him wasn’t.

I enjoyed this book but I didn’t ~love~ it. I liked the idea of the book but I had a hard time connecting with the MC and felt like the pacing was a bit slow. However, I did like the concept as a whole which made it unique from a “retelling” standpoint.

So little is known about the daughter of Egypt's greatest female Pharaoh - later rulers of Egypt would systematically erase her famous mother from history and take Neferura with her. So I was curious to see how the author would weave the few facts of Neferura in with a fictional tale. For the most part, it was underwhelming. There was little depth to the story: Neferura was rather shallow and too overidealized as a sweet but naive person to be really interesting and I felt both Hatshepsut (who was portrayed as neurotic and vain) and Senmut (just a inept nice guy in a place of power) were hard to really like or appreciate. The plot devices were silly and didn't make a lot of sense or logic.

Story: Neferura is the important only offspring of Pharoah Hatshepsut. But she treads a precarious position since her mother all but usurped the throne from Neferura's father and is preventing his male heir from claiming his crowns. Neferura is wary of her half brother Thutmos - he resents Hatshepsut greatly and despises her child since Neferura is clearly being groomed to succeed Hatshepsut. But Neferura doesn't want to rule, is tired of her mother pushing her toward that goal, and wants to create a peace with Thutmose in the form of a marriage. With the help of Senmet and the priestesses in the temples she serves, she attempts to navigate the politics of the day and make a life for her own. But what she discovers about her mother will rock her world.

Most of the book is dealing with Neferura being naive and trying to understand her brother, mother, and the politics of both power and religion. Thutmose hates her, tells her that every time they meet, and likes her mother even less. So Neferura has her friends in the temple spy on her half brother in an attempt to understand him better. In doing so, she learns that her mother may have murdered her father to take the throne and (gasp!) is trying to get Thutmose murdered. This is world shaking to the deeply religious Neferura since it would be an affront to kill a god on Earth, as the Pharoahs are perceived. Disillusionment follows as she runs to mother's perhaps-lover Senmut for help until he gets outmaneuvered by Thutmose as well.

For me, I just didn't like any of the characters. Thutmose was a spoiled boy, Hatshepsut was portrayed as weak, easily defeated, and only interested in looking powerful. Senmut was a patsy: he spends most of the book shrugged that Hatshepsut is evil and saying, "But I love her." It's just hard to believe that a woman who overthrew thousands of years of culture was so weak, easily controlled by Thutmose, and willing to kill or let be killed anyone around her so she won't look bad. It's hard to believe that one person saying, "I sorta saw her do something that might have meant she had something to do with killing the already enfeebled Pharoah." would be her downfall.

In the end, it was just too simplistic for me. I needed more depth to really appreciate these characters and the intricacy of ruling a country. I did like the references to Egyptian culture (especially the religious aspects) though. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Thank you to Netgalley, SOURCEBOOKS and Malayna Evans for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The author is an Egyptologist and it shows. Her descriptions of ancient Egypt and the setting of the novel bring you right into Neferura's place and time. I did enjoy Neferura's characterization quite a bit. It was wonderful getting to know her and seeing ancient Egypt through her eyes. I especially loved the troupe of her priestesses and their interactions with her. The stakes for Neferura were high and I did feel that as I was reading the story.

That being said, I had a couple of issues with this book that led me to giving it 3 stars. The first issue for me was the pacing of the story. The pacing of the first half of the novel was very slow. It was so slow that although I was enjoying the story over all, I did get a little bored at times and almost lost my motivation to continue the reading. The last half of the book, especially the last few chapters, was so fast that the closer I got to the end, several times I had to reread certain passages because I got confused about what was going on. I felt the ending came so quickly it was a little bit anti-climatic although I did enjoy the twist in the story.

My second issue was the characterization of Satiah. Satiah is one of the priestesses in Neferura's troupe who worship the god, Amun. She is beautiful, she is clever, she is manipulative and she is overall likable. However, when Satiah is weaponized to seduce Thutmose, Neferura's half brother and the co-ruling Pharaoh, something felt really wrong with it to me. Even though Satiah expresses her consent to this plan several times, the power imbalance between her and Neferura made me uncomfortable. Satiah is an orphan and poor. Everything Satiah has is due to Neferura's patronage and her place as a priestess given to her by Neferura. I just didn't enjoy that Satiah using her beauty, charm and literal body by putting herself in a dangerous position to spy for Neferura was her story arc. I would have liked to believe Satiah had agency in this but I just didn't. Perhaps if Satiah had been shown to be more intelligent and scheming I would have been ok with it, maybe not. But we were reminded over and over about her beauty and her body and how men responded to her that if felt as if she was just a tool in Neferura's belt and a plot device for the author..

By no means did I hate this book. I actually quite enjoyed it at some points. I would say the author definitely knows her stuff about ancient Egypt and it shows however this book could very much benefit from some editing for pacing. There were also some repetitive phrases used like the description of sandals clacking on the stone floor which I feel like I read way too much. Basically, I desperately want this book to be better than it is.

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This review is my opinion**

Ancient Egypt, along with anything related to Egyptian culture and history, will always have a special place in my heart. When I got approved for this ARC, I was beyond ecstatic! I don't know much about Neferura, but her mother, Hatshepsut, was a badass woman and ruler. This book did a great job introducing Neferura. Sure, this is considered a fictional take on her life, but it definitely whet my desire in doing more research about her. The story paints a beautiful of Ancient Egypt. The author added a glossary of some Ancient Egyptian terms, which is super helpful for people who may be unfamiliar with the terminology. I enjoyed this very much and will be on the lookout for future books.

And now I'm gonna return to my Obsessed With Ancient Egyptian Mythology phase.

I really really really wanted to like this book. After reading the summary, I thought it was right up my alley. I love retellings of any kind of mythology and was looking forward to learning more about Egyptian mythology. However, I felt like this book was more of straight up fantasy with a background element of being set in Egypt. I didn't learn nearly as much as I had hoped going in. The book definitely had a larger focus on the conflict than the history/mythology. It didn't feel like a retelling. (which would be okay if it wasn't called a retelling).

Additionally, I felt like it was hard for me to get into. I wasn't very invested for the first half of the book and then once the plot picked up, there were several characters introduced in confusing ways. I felt like there were a ton of names to remember but some only reappeared once or twice with no unique attributes to make them memorable. With that said, I didn't feel very connected to the main characters either. Senenmut's "death" should have shocked me and I felt nothing.

One of the things I thought was creative (I don't want to say liked... because that is definitely the wrong word...) was the relationship between Neferura and her mother, Hatshepsut. I thought it was a dynamic I haven't really seen before and it added more intrigue and familial strife. It made the issues all seem larger because Neferura really didn't have family besides Senenmut to rely on. That said, Hatshepsut was a difficult character for me to like or root for. As a feminist, you want to like a strong female queen. But, she was just totally unlikeable. I felt like she could have had a single redeeming quality.

But my main problem with this book was that I felt it struggled with wanting to make each character or relationship one way and then making them do things that were completely contradicting what was already developed/developing
Some examples
- the queen is said to be strong enough to put her legacy before her daughter and her lover. She is portrayed as being powerful and capable with all of these accomplishments under her belt. She doesn't show any weakness. But then, following Senenmut's "death" which she was pretty much entirely at fault for, her body starts to fail, she develops a lisp, she gets inflamed joints, tooth pain, blotchy skin, etc. She lets Thutmose take her resources for his military. And Neferura has to find a way to help her. Then after Neferura's help, she almost immediately starts being rude to her daughter again.
-At the beginning, Neferura seems annoyed by Iset. You do see their relationship grow throughout the book but I felt like it went from being annoyed she had to talk to anyone and all of the sudden they are best friends?
-the relationship with Kamut was barely formed. It had a solid back story but just didn't make sense. Neferura was supposed to be sworn to Amun and then all of the sudden was having a secret relationship with Kamut. At the beginning, she goes off on Iset for just implying that Kamut could be noticing her because her loyalty to Amun must be absolute. She says that "the perpetual recreation of the cosmos depends on it" and well as all the people that depend on her estate for food. It seemed like she sort of just gave up on the Gods wife thing and it became a very minor thing. It started out as her whole life.

The ending was probably the most confusing part of the book for me. Honestly though, I liked it. I just think it could have benefitted from fifty more pages before. I really thought that I had skipped some pages on accident or something because I felt like it was picking up and then all of the sudden I was reading the epilogue. I was also confused how Neferura was supposed to be this strong supporter of women and then she gives one of her priestesses children to Thutmose. Previously, she had asked Hathor to care for her because she was pregnant and alone with no family and then she hands the child off to an abuser. I felt like knowing all the damage he had caused and how he treated her and others, she shouldn't have put him anywhere near any child (but especially not one that was related to a friend). Also, did she just leave her friend Satiah to Thutmose? I know she wanted to be a spy and she was loyal to Neferura but it just seems like a bad gig to be stuck there forever?

Again, I feel kind of bad writing this review. I didn't feel like this was a bad book. I've read a lot of mythology retellings and I definitely wouldn't call this the worst. But, there was just so many problems with the characters and relationships that I, personally, couldn't get over. Honestly, I think this book would have benefitted a lot from being longer. I think having more time to develop the characters and backstory and dive into the history and customs would have added at least a star or two. I think it had a lot of potential and I would definitely read something else by this author. unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this book. The beginning is a bit slow, but midway it starts do pick up the pace becoming almost compulsive to read.

In an era of strong female characters that are strong because they behave like men, it is refreshing to read a book full of strong female characters that are strong, not in spite being women, but also because they are women. The author was able to do this without totally putting the male characters down. We still have some great male characters in this book.

Besides this, I did not know much about ancient Egypt and it was nice to learn so much. I really appreciated the the Author's Note at the end of the book where she explains the background of the characters and where history ends and fiction begins.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC!
I was excited to dive into this but I did not enjoy this as much as I thought I would.
It is not a bad book though, the opening was very intriguing, and the writing was very accessible.
The setting I realized however is not for me.
If you like ancient Egyptian history you might enjoy this!!

Unfortunately, this one did not do it for me. I love ancient egypt but the characters fell flat. I would love a bit more chemistry between any of the characters, or a bit more of a sense of them as real people

The first part was so slow for me, but the pace picked up in the latter parts. I like the writing however Neferura as a character doesn't have the traits that have me rooting for her as she went through struggles and how she handled them. However, it gave a good insight into Egypt's history.

Neferura by Malayna Evans was an exciting, expressive look into the world of Pharaohs and court, and the politics that run not just a country, but a family. Daughter of the self-proclaimed female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, Neferura is left to take on the title of god's wife, fulfilling the role that should be allocated for queen, not princess. Dedicating her life to running the priesthood and ensuring favour and blessings for her people, Neferura is appalled to discover the dedication and selflessness of ruling Egypt is not the guiding principle for her mother and brother. Caught between their stubborn struggle for power over Egypt, Neferura tries to ensure the safety of the people trusted to her, and avoid being the tie-breaking pawn in her family's battle for domination.

Though not able to claim being prettiest, cleverest, or most capable, Neferura trusts her own abilities, and learns to reach out to the women around her, all of them together weaving a net that can keep Egypt safe. Strong themes of the power of women, in every station of life, learning to trust others, learning to question those you love, and how to keep the balance of doing the right thing and not letting yourself be used for the wrong thing.

It was written spectacularly, and I was immersed so easily into the world and culture. I loved the characters and the historical relevance. Fantastic work!