Soft dnf for now but thank you netgalleyfor the arc💗

I tried to start this twice but I’m not liking the pacing and writing but I am very interested in this somtort so I will reread this book eventually! I’m excited to pick it up again because I love reading about Egyptian mythology

I enjoyed reading this novel. I will admit that I highly admire Hatshepsut and her accomplishments, and I don't see her as she was portrayed in this novel, but I will admit that she might have to do questionable things to stay in power. I also don't see Thutmosis the same. Neferura, though, what a character. I loved reading her story, I loved her viewpoint of history., and personally, I've wondered if Hatshepsut's daughter was in fact fathered by Senenmut. I gave this book 4 stars because I love books about ancient Egyptian history and enjoyed reading it.

Neferura is a good read for those that enjoy Egyptian history and female empowerment. This follows the life of Neferura, the daughter of Hatshepsut. If you aren't familiar with Hatshepsut, I would recommend the Puppet History episode on Youtube about her as one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs!

My main struggle with getting through this was the pacing. It was kind of all over the place, with Part One being incredibly slow, and Part Three being so fast it barely felt like it existed at all. The "climax" was... underwhelming? It was very rushed, and then BAM, the book is just over.

I do think that the amount of female representation, especially in a historical context, should be applauded in itself. It is following in the trend of mythology retellings from female persepctives.

Other note, I think categorizing this as Sci-Fi / Fantasy is not okay. It is historical fiction, and that's it. There are no scifi or fantasy elements. So! Just keep that in mind.

I received the ARC copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

I’d love to say that I liked this book, but this is not the case unfortunately. “Neferura” is the story of Pharaoh Hatshepsut’s daughter, Neferura, and how her life changed with the return of her ruthless half brother, Thutmose. In the book, we follow Neferura in an intricate network of secrets and conspiracies, born from the rivalry between Hatshepsut and Thutmose, who both want to be the only Pharaoh to rule over Kemet (Egypt).

I had great expectations for “Neferura”, because I’m deeply fascinated by Egyptian history and mysteries. Although, while I was reading the book, I found really few things to like about it. I’d like to start listing them. I really enjoyed how Malayna Evans used the terminology an ancient Egyptian would have used. I perceived the solidity of her studies on the subject, and I appreciated her ending notes, where she explained where some of her narrative choices came from (for example, Neferura mysterious ending). I also liked how the relationships between the different female characters were handled. Except for some cases (like the difficult relationship between Neferura and Hatshepsut or some disagreement never solved), most of the women were bound by strong bonds and they supported each other during hard times.

These are the things I liked. Sadly, the things I dislike are more. I found the writing style childish and too casual. In my personal opinion, it isn’t suitable for the context or the target of the book. “Neferura” is sold as an adult book, but I think it would have been better as a ya. The main character felt like a two-dimensional character (maybe this impression is due to the fact that I’m not a big fan of first person narrative). Regarding the side characters, at the end of the day, it was like I haven’t read about them at all. Some of them were more interesting than others (like Senenmut and Hathor), but I couldn’t empathise with any of them. The pacing was irregular: some parts seemed to have no end, others were too rushed and messy.

Even if I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I wanted to, I have great respect for the author, who choose to write a feminist retelling an ancient and mysterious figures of ancient Egyptian history.

**thank you to net galley for my advance reader copy
3.5/5 rounded up to 4

Neferura transports you to ancient Egypt in a largely fictionalized account of an Egyptian princess born of two pharaohs with an unusually prominent role in the court for this time.
Very little is known of the real Neferura's life, allowing the author to intertwine themes related to coming of age and gender roles with ancient Egyptian politics, history, and mythology. She navigates friendship and romance with those of "lower rank", family tension and power struggle, religious devotion, and grief without positive role models and thus behaves naively, often bringing more danger to those she loves.
I recommend this to anyone interested in Egyptology, Egyptian mythology, gender studies, and for lovers of The Royal Diaries series.

This book was really good. I read this during a reading slump and was pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a historical novel on Egypt.

Thank you to Malayna Evans, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The energy put into this book is phenomenal. The atmosphere is there, as is the historical aspect, albeit with some liberties. Honestly, the 5 stars are deserved, for the work that goes into it, whether it's research or the desire to share the story of Neferura, the child of the famous Hatshepsut, about whom we know almost nothing.

I was immediately immersed in Egyptian antiquity, with the characters, both main and secondary, who have a soul, a story and a purpose. I particularly liked Kamut, even though I didn't see as much of him as I would have liked. But at least the story doesn't focus on an imaginary romance but on political intrigue and Neferura's evolution in a court where everything is deception and lies.

What's more, I was absolutely delighted to find the characters I discovered in the manga La Reine d'Egypte, which follows the footsteps of Hatshepsut and features a glimpse of Neferura and her brother. The treatment of these two works is quite unique, and the emotions of the characters are handled differently, as are the political choices, but I enjoyed both versions.

I gave this one two tries, but it just failed to capture me. It *should* have been right up my alley, but just felt so flat and uninteresting. 40% in, I was bored with the scheming that never seemed to go anywhere. I grew weary of Neferura and found myself thinking that she didn't deserve to succeed since she was so manifestly bad at the game she was trying to play. If I can't root for the main character, especially in a first-person POV, the book becomes very hard to enjoy. DNF at 40%.

Neferura is a story for people who like "The Wolf Den" and "Kaikeyi" - and I find that to be partially true - I say that because the two books in reference were both five star reads and paced perfectly in their respective stories. Neferura on the other hand took me so much longer to get into, and I felt like the pacing was just very all over the place. I think the story overall is well-done, but I was struggling at times to keep my attention on this book. I just didn't feel very enraptured by it, I found myself picking up my phone quite a bit. I wouldn't say I had to force myself to get through it, but I was already thinking about my next read before I had even finished this one.

I honestly didn't finish this book. The fantasy aspect was too far for me and I didn't "get into" the story. It was well-written, but the story just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

One of my favourite topics to study is Ancient Egypt to this was right up my street. This comes from the perspective of a character in Ancient Egypt that isn't well known and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.

I think the author did a brilliant job at creating the scenery of ancient Egypt. I liked how they merged historical characters with the characters that have been created. If you wasn't familiar with Ancient Egypt you would never know. You can tell the author put in a lot of research for this story which I can appreciate.

This had high stakes, espionage, power struggles and a love story. However, it was really slow until part 3 and there was just too much political intrigue for me.

A fascinating take that will satisfy any reader looking to explore more of Egypt. I couldn't help but root and hope for the main character, while learning about the history that was taking place around her.

don't get me wrong, it's not that i disliked the story. i am just very confused about the execution.

this is generally a very interesting story involving family drama in kemet (egypt nowadays) which i believed to have some fantasy into it, but not really. i thought that it could end up like circe or ariadne, but also... not really.

there is nothing wrong with the beginning or middle, but more towards the end. i feel like the ending has no consistency or connection with everything that she went through in the beginning, and everything felt like a circle from a little girl barely knowing what she was doing to try to have some advantage over her throne. i was waiting for a great moment but... there wasn't really?

i also feel like since we were stuck inside her head all the time, we couldn't see anything else about other characters. they didn't feel very "alive", they were just people in there to make a plot. i also don't feel like neferura was a strong protagonist herself.

so generally speaking, i will give it three stars. not because it's terrible or anything of the sort, but just because i liked the story in a middle term level even though there were minor disappointments.

and a small useless observation: using the term "Adam's apple" to refer to the man's neck doesn't sound coherent with a kingdom that existed 4,500 years before Christ. i get it that it's just a very common term now but this is just a detail i noticed that could've been avoided.

The second I saw that this book was being compared to Kaikeyi I knew I had to get it. I, in retrospect, really with I hadn't. This book is not anything like Kaikeyi- the characters are flat, the novel reads like a YA Egyptian mythology novel, and the third act pacts so much into it you get dizzy.

Neferera had a lot of promise, and I really do feel like I was transported to Ancient Egypt. The smells, the colors, the fabrics, everything felt like a movie in my mind. I could feel the hustle and bustle of the market, of the maids in the Palace, of a comb running through my hair. I couldn't wait to get deeper and more immersed into such a beautiful and scary world. However, Neferera herself was so childlike, and flat that I couldn't find it in me to care about her journey. The plot moved at a snails pace, predictably, and then crammed an ending into the third act. At this point I was so far removed from what happened I was wishing I had DNFd a while back and saved myself the time.

I respect the author being an expert in Egyptian mythology, but I feel like this killed the pacing of the book. I also don't get why this was labelled as fantasy? I see this in a lot of other reviews for this novel as well- there really isn't anything in this to make this book a Fantasy novel except for a 'seeing' woman, Hathor, who is sort of like a Holy Woman for the palace.

In the end, I wish we had gotten more of some of the side characters, or dual POV's- I think these could have saved the book a bit more, and I would have been more interested to get away from Neferura because I felt that she was absolutely insufferable.

I, unfortunately, just did not enjoy this book much. The premise is very interesting, especially since Neferura was a real person, but the execution is just lacking. I think my major problems with this book is a mix between writing and character development. First, the writing in this novel is glaringly anachronistic for historical fiction; why are we referring to Osiris and Isis as a "brother-sister duo"? Second, Neferura goes through virtually no change in terms of character. She shares the same ideals at the end as she does at the beginning, and all she's done is maybe gotten a little more daring. Her circumstances change drastically, but never her. This story also lacks urgency; despite the worry that Thutmose is building up to something, there are these months-long time skips that really slow down the story, and although Neferura tells us she's in a rush, she doesn't really act like it. I did like her relationship with her tutor and her mother (for different reasons), and the look into historical Egypt was very interesting, but this was just an unsatisfying read.

If you love Egypt, politics, religion, and slower easy writing this is for you. The story is interesting but not for me. It felt flat and I couldn't get invested in the characters.

First of all, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this!

This was right up my alley, with history, political maneuvering, spies, and most importantly, women taking back their power in whatever ways are available to them.

I wish the timeline had been a little more clear and consistent, but overall I really liked this one.

I feel like it is such an integral part of being female to have been obsessed with a niche period of history when we were growing up. I have friends who were obsessed with Ancient Greece, the Titanic, the Roman Empire, WW2, and so many more!

I’ve got to know, which period of history were you weirdly obsessed with when you were younger. Let me know in the comments!

I was so obsessed with ancient Egypt and I desperately wanted to be an Egyptologist. I taught myself to read and write hieroglyphics. Seriously, OBSESSED. So I was so happy to find such a beautiful written, historical retelling of an Egyptian princess who was lost to History. I can feel my childhood hyper-fixation coming back.

I love a strong FMC, and we get court politics and espionage, but in an ancient Egyptian setting. The found family and sisterhood is so good too. Most historical retellings are set in Ancient Greece, so it was nice to read something a little bit different!

Thank you so much @netgalley for this ARC!

#bookblog #booklover #readersofinstagram #bookaesthetic #bookcommunity #neferura #neferuramalaynaevans #historicalfictionrecs

I really didn’t like the storytelling. It dragged and the main character constantly has weird monologues in her head and totally drifts off from what she is doing. I also did not get enough sparks and snippets to actually care what is going on in the story.

Also, this definitely feels like a very young YA - why is it marketed as an adult novel?

"Neferura" intricately weaves historical accuracy with captivating storytelling, offering a vivid portrayal of Ancient Egypt's court intrigue and gender politics. Malayna Evans masterfully crafts Neferura as a compelling protagonist, navigating the complexities of her lineage as the daughter of Hatshepsut and Thutmose II. The book's rich worldbuilding and meticulous research shine through, bringing the era to life with every page.

From Neferura's duties as the God's Wife of Amun to her tense relationship with her brother Thutmose III, Evans deftly explores themes of power, betrayal, and personal agency. Readers are drawn into a world of political machinations where even the most sheltered characters are forced to confront harsh realities.

While some may find the pacing slow, the attention to detail underscores the author's genuine passion for the subject matter. Neferura emerges as a relatable and resilient figure, her journey from innocence to strategic prowess a captivating arc.

Overall, "Neferura" offers a mesmerizing blend of history and fiction, perfect for fans of Ancient Egypt or those intrigued by the untold stories of remarkable women in history.