Bookreview: Nefertiti

Author: Michelle Moran
Genre: Historical
Published: 2007
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 1
Book Around the World Challenge, Africa 2/53


This wondeful historical novel about the famous queen Nefertiti is told from the viewpoint of Mutnodjmet, her younger sister. In this epic book Michelle Moran sketches this era in ancient Egypt beautifully. The characters are compelling enough to draw you into the story and the detail of the setting is icing on the cake.

I literally had trouble putting this book down and I'm definitely sold on Michelle Moran's books. I highly recommend this superb book, for those who love ancient Egypt but also for those who just want a good and compelling story.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



This week's teaser comes from Nefertiti by Michelle Moran:

"I will never forgive this," I swore, and Nefertiti knew it was meant for her. "I will never forgive this so long as the sun still sets on Amarna!" I screamed.

My Love For Series

I love series. This page is a testimony to that and that are only the series I'm currenly reading. There are many different things I like about series, too many really to discuss here. So I'll give you my top three.

I like that you can follow a character's growth.

In the course of a book, a character often changes a bit. But in a series, you can show so much more than in a single book. A prime example is the China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert. The main character, China Bayles, goes through many changes during the course of the series and this is reflected in how she thinks and acts. None of these changes happened overnight, nor in a single book. But over all the books the series paints a great picture of China Bayles.


I like that you can take a theme and spin it many different ways.

Often times, books have a central theme. It's nice, but there are so many viewpoints and different explanations to a theme, that you simply can't use them all in a single book. In that case, a series is a great way to deal with it, and if you use the same setting and/or some of the same characters, the series will form a cohesive unit without being 'to-be-continued' stories with a red thread through the books. The Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini is such a series.


I like that you can stay in a favorite setting for more than one book.

Sometimes a setting just strikes a chord within you. It's wonderful, a world to loose yourself in and at the end of the book you're sad to leave it. How great is it that you can return there because the book is part of a series? A great example of this is the world Rick Riordan sketches in his Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. The way he weaves Greek mythology with the modern world is superb and since I read through his first book in one sitting, I'm very happy that the rest of the series is on my reading list this year. They'll let me return to the wonderful world Rick Riordan has created.

Books reviewed in 2010 by Title

This is a list of all the books I've reviewed in 2010, sorted by title. Titles beginning with 'A', 'An', 'To' or 'The' will be sorted like those words weren't in the title. So you can find 'To Romance a Charming Rogue' under the R.

B

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan - review
The Baby Bonding by Caroline Anderson - review
Bedeviled Angel by Annette Blair - review


C

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran - review


D

Dancing at Midnight by Julia Quinn - review
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert - review
Daughter of Kura by Debra Austin - review
Death at Gallows Green by Robin Paige - review


E

The Elements of Mystery Fiction by William G. Tapply - review


F

The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough - review


H

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran - review


I

Indigo Dying by Susan Wittig Albert - review


L

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan - review
Ludmilla by Paul Gallico - review


M

My Favorite Witch by Annette Blair - review


N

Naked Dragon by Annette Blair - review
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran - review


R

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan - review
To Romance a Charming Rogue by Nicole Jordan - review
The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini - review


S

The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Annette Blair - review
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - review
Sword of Hades by Rick Riordan - review


T

The Tale of Holly How by Susan Wittig Albert - review
To Tame a Dangerous Lord by Nicole Jordan - review
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan - review


W

Witch Fire by Anya Bast - review

Books reviewed in 2010 by Author

A

Albert, Susan Wittig - The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree - review
Albert, Susan Wittig - Indigo Dying - review
Albert, Susan Wittig - The Tale of Holly How - review
Anderson, Caroline - The Baby Bonding - review
Austin, Debra - Daughter of Kura - review


B

Bast, Anya - Witch Fire - review
Blair, Annette - Bedeviled Angel - review
Blair, Annette - My Favorite Witch - review
Blair, Annette - Naked Dragon - review
Blair, Annetter - The Scot, the Witch and the Wardrobe - review


C

Chiaverini, Jennifer - The Runaway Quilt - review


G

Gallico, Paul - Ludmilla - review


J

Jordan, Nicole - To Romance a Charming Rogue - review
Jordan, Nicole - To Tame a Dangerous Lord - review


M

McCullough, Colleen - The First Man in Rome - review
Moran, Michelle - Cleopatra's Daughter - review
Moran, Michelle - The Heretic Queen - review
Moran, Michelle - Nefertiti - review


P

Paige, Robin - Death at Gallows Green - review


Q

Quinn, Julia - Dancing at Midnight - review


R

Riordan, Rick - The Battle of the Labyrinth - review
Riordan, Rick - The Last Olympian - review
Riordan, Rick - The Red Pyramid - review
Riordan, Rick - The Sea of Monsters - review
Riordan, Rick - Sword of Hades - review
Riordan, Rick - The Titan's Curse - review


T

Tapply, William G. - The Elements of Mystery Fiction - review

What Are You Reading? and Musing Mondays

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about New Year reading.

With the New Year here already, do you have any reading resolutions or goals (challenges aside) for 2010? Perhaps a new author? Genre? Want to read more non-fiction? Write more reviews?

My goal for 2010 is to read more from my own bookshelf and to read the series I’ve got going, either to finish or to catch up with the new releases. I probably won’t be able to work my way through all my series, nor through my entire TBR stack, but still, I’ll make a concerted effort.



It's Monday! What are you reading?

Books completed last week:

None, as I spend most of the week quilting and writing.

Books I am currently reading/listening to:

I’m currently reading Nefertiti by Michelle Moran and Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. Both are really good books, but since Dragonfly in Amber is a bit heavy (I mean that literally!), I’m also reading another, more portable book. One has to do something in the train, right?

Up Next:

Upon finishing one of the two books I’m currently reading, which will most likely be Nefertiti, I’ll start To Romance a Charming Rogue by Nicole Jordan. Don’t know if I’ll be able to read other books this week, but if I can get another book started it will be The Chrysalis by Heather Terrell.

Sunday Salon: Best Book of 2009

I read 30 books last year and 10 short stories. Of those 30 books I rated 15 books with 5 out of 5 points. However, even among these 5 star books, there are favorites. But out of all the books I rated with 5 stars, the best one has to be Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. You can read the review I wrote about this book here.

My reading year of 2010 has already began and the two books I'm currently reading appear to be just as good as my best book of 2009, so it shaping up to be a good reading year.

How about you? What was your absolute best book of 2009?