Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction
ISBN: 9781601425997
Series: Treasures of the Nile #1
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Summary via Goodreads: “You will be called Anippe, daughter of the Nile. Do you like it?” Without waiting for a reply, she pulls me into her squishy, round tummy for a hug. I’m trying not to cry. Pharaoh’s daughters don’t cry.
When we make our way down the tiled hall, I try to stop at ummi Kiya’s chamber. I know her spirit has flown yet I long for one more moment. Amenia pushes me past so I keep walking and don’t look back. Like the waters of the Nile, I will flow.
Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile.
When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.
As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all?
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My Review: I very much enjoyed reading Mesu Andrews' Pharaoh's Daughter, which told the story of the woman who found Moses. The author brought the culture of the time and Ancient Egypt to life while the characters, history, and story line held my interest. I was also very happy that the story stayed true to Old Testament Biblical principles even though it is a fiction novel. The only negative for me was it took a bit to get the characters straight. The beginning is a bit monotonous with all of the characters, but the chart at the front of the book helped keep the characters in order.
As for the cover, it is absolutely beautiful. I love everything about it: the font, the woman on the cover, but especially the photo of Egypt morphed into the background. The next book in the series, Miriam, has a very similar and beautiful cover.
I really did enjoy this book. The story line and characters held my interest, but the beginning was a bit slow. So, I am giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars for an enjoyable Biblical fiction novel.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book as part of Blogging for Books. You can read my review on the Blogging for Books site, here.
