Nefertiti

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran, reminds me alot of 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory - both books tell the story of two sisters, one sister is beautiful, intelligent and ambitious (Nefertiti; Anne) to become queen and the other young sister is loyal and loving to that sister until she is pushed away by her sister's selfishness (Mutnodjmet; Mary). It's actually scary how both stories run in parallel to each other in regards to both the characters and the plot (apart from the 4,000 years between settings).

Nefertiti tells the story of two sisters, against the backdrop of ancient Egypt. Nefertiti is beautiful, intelligent and cunning and is destined to become chief wife to the next Pharaoh, Tuthmosis . However Fate intervenes, and Tuthmosis, the favoured son dies, leaving the younger son Amenhotep to rise as the next leader. The story at its essence is the story of two sisters and their relationship, but is also about the hubris of Amenhotep IV (aka Akhenaten) and his chief wife Nefertiti.

I absolutely love everything to do with Ancient Egypt and have read about the era of Akhenaten. Obviously with the passing of thousands of years, facts about what really happened are quite limited, but Moran does an excellent job of putting her own spin on events. She has done her research and similar to 'Cleopatra's Daughter' doesn't overburden the reader with too much information. She uses historical information to tell the story, not drown it so you keep turning the pages effortlessly. I read this book in a day, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and am giving it 8 stars.

One of the main reasons I docked a star was because of the romance element concerning Mutnodjmet. It seemed to just happen, there was no build up. Mutnodjmet seemed almost removed from it, I felt I never got to see her actually feelings. It just didn't seem to connect.

Apart from this minor issue (because it's not a romance book), it was a great read, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wanted a historical page turner.