This book lacked so much depth. It pains me to say that, especially because it cost the book 2 stars. The cast of characters is interesting but for a book about mythology/historical fiction, this story fell short of creating the atmosphere that should exist.

This book was ok for me. It felt like the story was definitely steeped in as much historical fact as we've ever had about Hatshepsut and the times in which she lived. But, I also felt that the story was a bit predictable and boring. Maybe because of the the historical subject matter, I felt as if I already knew what happened. Maybe, this book is for someone who didn't already know some history on the subject matter, so it could be a 'me' thing.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I have a love for Egyptian inspired books and anything revolving Egyptian mythology. I enjoyed the main character, Neferura, and I think she’s a really interesting and strong lead. The political intrigue was a great aspect of this book and really dug into how Neferura couldn’t trust anyone, especially since she was a woman. The whole push back on how women were perceived and how Neferura didn’t want anything to do with that was nice. She’s definitely a feminist so you always have to love that!

I have a couple of issues with the writing itself. This reads like a middle school fantasy book. There’s nothing wrong with middle grade fantasy books (see anything Rick Riordan) but this isn’t advertised as being middle grade.. it’s just fantasy. The writing style felt very watered down and spoon fed. The mythology itself was good, but it did not feel like an Egyptian myth retelling. It felt like a normal fantasy book that someone tried to fit into the theme of ancient Egypt? I’m not sure if that makes sense, but the best way I can describe it is someone writing a fantasy book without descriptions of the world itself and then later on editing them all in. Most of the book was predictable, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it is incredibly hard to not follow a general theme with fantasy books and retellings, but the author does do a good job at telling the story nonetheless.

That being said, I did enjoy the book. It was a nice read but it wasn’t memorable. I loved the main character but didn’t love the plot.

Thank you to Malayna Evans, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

This book catered nicely to my grade school self’s fascination with ancient Egyptian mythology! So well-researched. The attention to detail was beautiful, and along with Neferura’s and her supporting characters’ flowing development, these pieces together elevated a fairly low-paced/largely predictable plot. The first half was slow but everything picked up in Part 2 & 3! It was easy to get caught up in the visualization of the storyline, and not in a way that felt *too* heavy with factual montages (grateful for the glossary all the same)! It was by no means a fluffy read — life couldn’t have been easy for even the daughter of Queen, fictionally embellished or otherwise — but overall, offered a glimpse into an otherwise quiet literary space at the intersection of historical fiction, feminism, and Egyptology.

Plenty of thanks to NetGalley, Malayna Evans, and Sourcebooks Landmark for this arc in exchange for my own thoughts!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this novel

This is a story that will be interesting and engaging for those readers who enjoy historical fiction. The knowledge that the author of this story has PhD in Egyptology makes a lot of sense. I was in need of a good combination of dense characters as well as world building. I have to mention the cover of this novel brings me so much joy, scratching a certain level artististy I didn't know I needed in my life.

Onto the items that I feel could use some refinement. From the historical viewpoint this book is very rich in descriptions which sometimes take away from flow of the story leading to pacing issues. I with this being a story that needs to be accessible for the lay person, the pacing came make a real difference. Due to this that is why I feel it might be hard for certain people to stay engaged. Even for myself who was able to keep up, it made me feel like putting the book down and force myself to come back.

Overall, I think this a good opportunity for those that are already in the historical fiction genre, but may be best if you aren't familiar as much for the historical context.

First, I'd like to say that it is refreshing to read historical fiction that is NOT set in Regency England or World War 2. This takes place in ancient Egypt, and follows the life of Neferura who is the daughter of two Pharaohs. This is a power struggle between Neferura's mother who is the regent Pharaoh and her brother, the Pharaoh. Neferura is a high priestess with her own loyal following. She is caught in the middle and must survive the political war that happens without losing herself.
I love the political intrigue, the sneaking and backstabbing. It does make it fun to read, and this is about soft power, not who has the largest army. It doesn't sit well with me that Neferura is a passive heroine. Events happen to her and around her, only for her to react to them. Her character arc does transform her into someone more proactive, which is satisfying. I like the book, but feel like there could have been more substance to it.

Content warnings: sexual abuse, spousal abuse, animal cruelty, forced marriage, pregnancy complications/maternal death

Neferura is a fictionalized account of Neferura, the only daughter of Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt. Little is known of her actual life, which leaves author Malayna Evans plenty of room to illustrate what her life may have been like.

Similar to Circe and Kaikeyi, this is a retelling with a definite feminist bent. Neferura was more brutal by far than Kaikeyi and close to Circe in terms of violence against women/generally devastating scenes although Circe was probably a bit more graphic in its depictions of the harsh realities women in these settings face.

What worked for me: There were many relationships that felt very genuine. Neferura shares close relationships with her stepfather and tutor, Senenmut, and her handmaiden Iset. Even her strained relationship with her mother rings true. She grows throughout the book and develops many strong relationships with capable women. Her ongoing crush on her guard from childhood also was very cute. The bits of Egyptian culture also gave the book great and very interesting color.

What didn’t work for me: The extremely black and white villainy of the main antagonist, especially a particular scene that honestly came across as the stereotypical scene where the villain gathers everyone in a room and explains their evil plan while cackling. I also found the modern language to be slightly distracting at times given this takes place in ancient Egypt. Several typos were present (please keep in mind, however, that I was reading an advanced copy).

Overall, I really enjoyed this and found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading and looking forward to going back to it. The author doesn’t shy away from difficult plot points (see content warnings above) but still manages to make the book enjoyable to read. Some of the more “fun” and empowering elements likely take the book in a less historical fiction direction and make it a bit less realistic but this is clearly a work of fiction and that is how I choose to view it. 4/5 stars.

I like historical fiction and this was an okay read. I did appreciate the secret society of women that helped people and infiltrated all the places.

I enjoyed this very much. Since I was a kid I have loved all things ancient Egypt so this was right up my alley. I really enjoyed this and had a great time reading it.
I just reviewed Neferura by Malayna Evans. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Royals, scheming, deception, political intrigue and power struggles are what this book is all about. The book tells the story of Neferura, the daughter of Hatshepsut. While living in the royal courts, Neferura experiences the ups and downs of life through her relationships with her family members, friends, and several influential figures in Ancient Egypt. The first-person narrative follows Neferura as she navigates her position at court, focusing on the power struggle between Hatshepsut and Thutmose.

For anyone interested in ancient Egyptian history and historical retellings - this is a book you should read.

The book has a good premise, exploring the paths to power and the price that comes with it. It is mostly centred around the lives of the women surrounding Neferura and shows the multiple facets of women empowering each other, as well as women fighting each other. I also appreciated that the book was (as far as I am aware) not marketed as a feminist retelling, allowing the story to stand on its own. The recent influx of feminist-mythological retellings has struggled to reconcile the historical/mythological facts of characters and modern readers' expectations of what a feminist version would look like. This does not mean that this book lacks strong female characters. We learn that the people with true power are not the ones we suspect and that power comes in many different forms.

However, I found the ultimate powerlessness of Hatshepsut and Neferura hard to believe. Despite their intelligence, political power and potential for heroism, they fall short and are unable to achieve their goals. All it takes is for Thutmose (by all accounts a spoiled brat) to appear with the accusation of murder and the carefully constructed web of power crumples. He can simply show up and make demands, and Hatshepsut is willing to sell off Neferura to maintain her legacy, seemingly without pushback.

While I liked the premise of the book, my enjoyment of the book was slightly dampened by the fact that the narrative felt flat. The plot hinged on scheming and deception, which could have added intrigue to the story, but didn't feel fully thought out. Neferura, as well as the friends willing to help her with her schemes, feel unreasonably naive in many instances. Having lived through multiple assassinations in her closer surroundings, you would expect Neferura to deploy a little more caution in her scheming. Her unquestioning belief in proper rituals, the gods will and her Mother's innocence and benevolence make her appear naive. Despite the character's interesting roles and potential for complex development, their personalities and motivations (besides their hunger for power) were not fully fleshed out, making it difficult to connect with them.

The novel's fast pace, easy-to-follow plot and interesting premises will likely be appealing to many readers. Despite my somewhat harsh words in the previous paragraph, I enjoyed the book and liked how it transported me back to my 10-year-old self, who was utterly obsessed with watching documentaries about ancient Egypt. I also appreciate the thought that went into the use of names and terminology that would have been appropriate to the period.


*I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this book. I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. *

The few glimpses I've had of Egyptian mythology were from Moon Knight and this book completely immersed me in a new perspective of the gods and history surrounding this culture. Neferura is a strong character forced to part her way in a court full of schemes and secrets. Even though I felt the book was fast/slowed-paced, (it took time to get to the real action) I enjoyed how Neferura started to learn how to pull the strings in a court where women seemed weak with the sole purpose of giving heirs. However, I do feel that some secondary characters that were important to Neferura needed depth in the story, and some of their actions could've been better shown than told. All in all, it was an enjoyable read, and cannot wait for everyone to know the story of Neferura.

Thank you, NetGalley, and to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres and this was a great read, it been a while since I have found a book that goes far back with the story line. It was a good read and seeing the notes from the author at the back sharing some of the facts was very nice.

I really liked how Malayna Evans brought the characters to life and created a secret society of women.

This was absolutely wonderful! It had it all: strong, likeable heroine, excellent plot and writing, wonderful historical accuracy and world-building. Fans of Kate Quinn and Michelle Moran, along with those who loved Madeline Miller's "Achilles" will be very satisfied with this lovely novel. Highly recommended!

This book reminds me my teen years where I was so obsessed with the archeology. Well I still am and that’s why I guess, that I liked this book so much. This book was full of history and mythology. This novel follows the personal and political journey of the title character Neferura through the shifts of power in the Pharaoh's palace.

Y’all, This book did not disappoint me at all because, one: the author has an extreme world building to take us to the ancient Egypt and second: there is intriguing characters. . There are so many side characters that interact with Neferura throughout the novel who made me love and root for them. this book was full of strong women supporting other women, which is something that I adored.

However,This book did have a slow start, and it took me a long time to get into the flow of the story. Once the plot got moving, though, I was hooked. The internal and external struggle of Neferura kept me turning the pages to see how she would react to the next obstacle thrown at her.

I would like to thank Sourcebooks and Malayna Evans for the opportunity to read this ARC (advanced reading copy). I love books on Egypt and was pleased to find that this covered a time in Ancient Egypt that has not been written much about-the rule of Hapshepsut, the female Pharaoh. The detail was amazing and the plot line was fantastic. It kept me intrigued from beginning to end. The descriptions were amazing and made you feel like you were right there in Ancient Egypt. This book will not disappoint in terms of suspense and immersion of one into the reign of Hapshepsut. I highly recommend it.

This was an okay read for me, it was kind of boring and predictable but I enjoyed learning some new historical info and I liked the setting. I didn't find myself particularly rooting for anyone or like the characters and I don't think the story was as interesting as it could have been.

It’s been a minute since I’ve got to dive into a book about ancient Egypt, so I was extremely happy when @netgalley and @bookmarked allowed me to have an early copy for review.
This book has one of my favourite things, a historical figure I knew nothing about. I love finding new people in history to learn about and Neferura was definitely an interesting one.
I highly recommend reading the author’s notes at the end of this one, @malaynaevans gives an excellent description of what we have actually been able to learn about this hidden woman and where she made some guesses and got creative.
Covering a short but interesting snapshot out of a long and fascinating dynasty we get to watch a young priestess, daughter of two pharaohs, get thrust into a vipers nest disguised as a marriage. Though raised at court she has been blissfully unaware about the schemes and machinations of those she loved best. Her life now hangs on her ability to learn to navigate this underworld, fast.
Hitting shelves Feb 13 2024.
#bookstagram #read #egyptianhistory #pharoah #womenofhistory #booklover #bookaddict #bookworms #reading #readersofinstagram #reading #readmorebooks #reader

I enjoyed Neferura!
I don't think I've read any books set in Egypt so this was my first and it definitely won't be my last.

The characters weren't the best but I really enjoyed the story so it didn't bother me much.
The writing was good and the book definitely felt like it was well researched.

I definitely recommend this book.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing an ARC of Nefurura! While I did enjoy this novel, I did find myself struggling to get through the story at times. In my opinion, the title character was portrayed with a naïveté that did not seem accurate to her position and power. While I am no historian, this made it difficult to jump into the novel and root for the character. Additionally, I didn’t find myself particularly invested in the events of the story. The end was somewhat predictable, and I didn’t feel shocked or enthralled by the twists and turns of the plot. The pacing definitely played a role in this; it took nearly half of the novel for things to ramp up.

While I did struggle with the story, however, I did appreciate its setting in ancient Egypt. I’ve never read a novel of this kind, and I thought it provided really interesting insights into Egypt’s history. Given all of the recent influx of Greek mythology and historical fiction, it was nice to read something different and well-researched. While this novel had its strengths and weaknesses, it still made for a fun read—one that will be enjoyed by fans of historical fiction and ancient Egypt.

I liked this book well enough. I loved the historical aspect of it, the lies, the deceit, just everything about the various relationships. But u will say it was a bit of a slow pace read for me and took a while to get into it. I think the author did well with atmospheric descriptors. There were times eye I felt like I was really there.

I subtracted a star for pace, which for me was slow, but might not be for others. Overall I did not feel this was a 5 star book but it's at least 3.5. The other half star comes from the authors PhD in Egyptology, which makes sense as to why the book is fictional but detailed and rich in history.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Malayna Evans, and sourcebooks for the opportunity to read this book for my personal review.