Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

On July 10th, 2007, Nefertiti by Michelle Moran will be hitting stores! Be sure and pick up your copy as soon as you can! This post, the review I wrote back when I read this book, starts Michelle Moran Week. She will be guest posting on my blog Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.


Books Completed: 40
Completion Date: March 2007
Publication Year: 2007
Pages: 480
Received an Advanced Reading Copy in 2007

I was so happy to get the chance to read this book. I am writing this review in March, but if you are reading this, it means that it is almost July 10th when the book is released in hardcover.

I have to say, I have not been having much luck lately with quality historical fiction books, so when I was offered this book I was worried that the trend would continue. I love Egyptian history, so a fiction book on the subject always interests me. Over the last few years I have been disappointed with the novels pertaining to this subject matter, so it is about time a book came out that I picked up and could hardly put down!

This book tells the story of Nefertiti, who would go on to be Pharoah of Egypt, and her sister. It is her sister that tells the tale of her life and what life was like for her sister during this time period. Nefertiti is full of ambition, and the moment that she has the chance to marry the man who would eventually become the pharaoh of Egypt, she is determined that nothing or no one will stand in her way. This is unfortunate in a sense to the narrator of this book because she spends her life in her sisters shadow. Her sister wants no one but her, so in the meantime her sister has to always be at her call.

Nefertiti was an ambitious queen. Her family put her into power with the hopes that she would influence the pharoah to keep life the way that it has been before, but Nefertiti will do what she needs to do to remain in power. She is determined to not lose it and to be a ruler in her own right. The book mostly concentrates on Nefertiti, but it is also a novel about living in your sisters shadow. It takes the narrator quite a long time to move away from her sister and have a life of her own. She suffers a lot of hardships in answer to her sisters ambition. Nefertiti would jeopardize anything her sister wants in order to have what she wants, so it takes the narrator a long time to gain her independance.

I love this book, I think everyone should read it because it touches so many bases. It is an adventure novel because Nefertiti overcomes great odds to become a great pharaoh. It is a love story: love of country, love of family, love of gods and goddesses, and the love of lovers. It is a tale of two sisters trying to find their own destinies while still being as close as they were when they were children. It is a novel of power and overcoming great obstacles. It will attract any reader.

One of my favourite reads of the year!