I chose to read this book because it’s not often you get to read a book about Egyptian mythology. This book’s central story is around the myth of Isis and Nephtysis, Egyptian gods, sisters, and sisters in law, who find that after multiple rounds of betrayal, grief, and violence, have nothing but their bonds of sisterhood left to embrace them. This novel touches on the British Invasion of Egypt, Egyptomania and its subsequent grave robbery, plundering of stolen goods, and illegal trade/black market sales. Along the way, questions about how we respect the dead, our responsibility to preserve cultures and prevent cultural robbery, and the impacts of imperialism are all addressed in this novel. Those are the parts of this novel that resonated the most for me.

What I struggled with though, was the characterization and pacing. The author makes a note in her author’s note that she is influenced by the Victorian era and a love for Dickens - so no surprise that there is a touch of the Victorian melodrama in this work. It works for some, but it’s not my cup of tea. As a result, I feel like the four central characters are a bit one dimensional and flat. Clemmie is your stereotypical female protagonist who is just “different” because she likes to study and doesn’t care for romance. Rowland is the brooding but handsome soldier with a tortuous past. Celia is the epitome of superficial girlhood and a vacuous mind. Oswald is the typical brash British man, happy to kill, loot, plunder. And along the way we have the stereotypical evil villain, the evil native countrymen who undermine their nation’s history, and the wise indigent character who is somehow the trust sidekick and yet the impetus for any of the character’s growth. For some people that sounds like a good plot, but for me, it falls flat.

My other big qualm was the pacing of this book. It took 50-60% of the novel for the plot to actually move forward, so I definitely struggled in the first half of this book. I think the overall quality of the book suffers a little because of that - especially when each chapter is oscillating in time between the present day to up to five years prior to the current timeline. In all, this was an interesting read and a promising debut read, but there were some elements that just weren’t for me.

My thanks to NetGalley, Random house publishing group - Ballantine books, and the author for allowing me to read this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I can’t resist a good book about Egypt, especially when ancient Egypt lore and mythology comes into play, and while this book has absolutely beautiful prose, a twisty plot, and completely haunting imagery, it fell short for me in regards to the characters and the pacing.

The story here focuses on the protagonist — a woman, Clemmie, who believes her and her family to be cursed after a string of tragedies befell their house. The origin of that curse? Her father’s theft and subsequent ‘unwrapping’ of a particularly unique mummy from Egypt. Seeking to shift her family’s circumstances, Clemmie travels to Egypt to return part of what was stolen, and atone for her family’s sins.

While this was a gorgeous story, the characters were a bit bland, lacking the meat and depth to their personalities which made the emotional crux of the story fall a little flatter than it should have. And while the story was intentionally and thoughtfully designed to slowly unfold over flashbacks, I struggled with staying focused through the first half of the story.

A beautiful, interesting story about curses, colonization, and circumstance amidst the backdrop of a complicated family history and Egypt, but one that isn’t particularly memorable.

I’ll definitely check out this author’s next book, though — her writing is immersive and lovely!

Pick this up if you’re in the mood for some Egyptian and British history, complicated family dynamics, mysterious side characters with traumatic backstories of their own, and a twisty boat ride down the Nile.

3.5 ⭐️

The beginning was really strong and gave really heavy The Mummy vibes, which I really enjoyed. Envisioning Clemmie as Evie was fun, and the whole premise of the curse was really interesting. I felt it was a little too slow and repetitive once I got to the middle and through the last half of the book it lost a bit. While I felt it wrapped up nicely, and what a surprise that her father had been illegally purchasing all along, I felt this didn’t need to be as long as it was. Clemmie keeping this secret for so long in the book just made all the action happen at once and I think I would have enjoyed it if it built up a little earlier. Overall though I very much enjoyed this and I loved that the author included so much of the terminology. I don’t know much about the Egyptian gods and goddesses, so it was enjoyable to learn in this form

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine and NetGalley for this Arc!

I really enjoyed this book! I will say that it took me until almost halfway through to really feel like there was movement in it. The first half felt slow and lacked an emotional connection to the characters. It felt very matter of fact in its delivery of the plot. Even still, I was intrigued and wanted to continue on, especially with the inclusion of the flashbacks. Once I hit about halfway through, the plot picked up, I felt more invested in the characters, and the romance felt more tangible (this isn’t my typical genre, I usually read something that’s more overtly romance, so I’m not going to knock it for it lacking more gratification in that department). The end really sold this for me (I loved the epilogue) so I ended up giving it a solid 4 star rating.

An enthralling historical mystery set against the backdrop of Victorian-era Egypt, where fate, myth, and reality blur in a race against time.

Essex, 1887 – Clementine Harcourt has always been her father’s greatest asset. With a rare gift for deciphering hieroglyphs, she adds an air of spectacle to his famed Egyptian relic soirées—elite gatherings where scholars, collectors, and socialites converge over ancient artifacts. But when an unassuming guest places an obsidian amulet into her hands, the words she translates chill her to the bone.

What begins as a curiosity soon takes a darker turn. Tragedy creeps into the Harcourt home, one misfortune at a time, and the childhood stories Clementine once adored—the myths of Isis and Nephthys, the sister goddesses who safeguard the dead—begin to feel like something more than legend.

Cairo, 1892 – Determined to break the chain of misfortune, Clementine arrives in Egypt with one goal: return the amulet to its rightful place before it takes anything more from her. She joins an eclectic group of travelers bound for Denderah, the sacred temple of Hathor, where she believes the key to undoing the curse lies. Among them is Julian Rowe, a rogue antiquarian with motives of his own—one who might hold the answers she seeks or lead her further into peril.
#rachellouisedriscoll #thehouseoftwosisters

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and to NetGalley for the ARC of The House of Two Sisters by Rachel Louise Driscoll.

I was so excited to read this ARC -- I really love a Victorian era Egyptian mystery adventure - especially if there is a potential paranormal edge to it. My most recent five-star in this realm is Jacquelyn Benson's Tomb of the Sun King, and I thought the plot description for The House of Two Sisters was adjacent enough to be a slam dunk for me.

It's a bit difficult to describe the plot of The House of Two Sisters without spoilers because I think about 50% of the book ends up being in flashback from Cammie's perspective. The way the chapters are laid out, all the present movement of the story is held captive by the next chapter about the past to explain Cammie's actions. In the first half of the book, this irritated me - I even stopped to write that the chapter "Mania" at 53% "could have been used much earlier to set the stage for the story instead of the numerous flashbacks to it previously. Because the story is so dependent on the flashbacks to move the plot, we don't actually connect with Cammie or Rowland or any of the other characters because we have to keep waiting for new news of the past to emerge." It's right after that chapter that the story seems to snap solely into the present and we have enough background that Cammie can move forward without constantly rehashing the past, and we finally see her take control of her own actions, the actions of her father, and her reactions toward Rowland. It's also the point where what Cammie doesn't say in her flashbacks comes into action as well, really helping to add movement and drama to the plot that I didn't expect.

If I had full control over the editing, I wish the flashbacks were a "Part 1" of the novel and "Part 2" was us moving on with Cammie into Egypt. Because of how much the flashbacks got in the way, I felt like every time Rowland tried to start a conversation she would shut him down so their mutual attraction later seemed out of the blue, or every time Cammie seemed like she would think for herself she instead forced herself into a flashback instead. I think splitting them instead of threading them would have made for a story that allowed Cammie to show her growth more, and to show off her Egyptology knowledge, and grow her friendship with Mariam, etc.

As is, I still really enjoyed the novel, especially after that 53% mark. I really enjoyed how Driscoll took care to note the damage done by the British and other colonizers in their excavations and looting of temples, and how Mariam and Cammie conversed about any way to rectify that level of cultural damage. I liked the slight edge of the paranormal / Egyptian curse and how it played out here. I appreciated Driscoll diving into some of the myths to explain the curse, but also to explain the characters and to provide appropriate metaphors and symbolism. I thought the twists fit the story when they came about, both because they had enough drama that you could fully engage with "oh man, this curse is SOMETHING" or you could settle them with what we expect of some of the worst levels of humanity - the time in the flashbacks lent itself well here.

Overall this is an enjoyable read and it has great bones and layers to it.

I loved this book so much. I have always been obsessed with anything to do with Egyptian mythology. This storyline was unique and interesting and keep me intrigued for hours.

this was a really good book! I liked the themes of family, past secrets, growth and family power. I like the way that the story flowed and the pacing of the book was also good! I enjoyed it over all!


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!