Nefertiti Book Review

Title: Nefertiti.

Author: Michelle Moran.

Genre: Fiction, Historical Setting, Ancient Egypt, Romance, Drama.

Plot: When ambitious Nefertiti sees her chance to the throne of Egypt, she takes it - despite the fact that it means marriage to the potentially unstable heretical heir and co-regent Amenhotep the 4th. Her life viewed from her sister's perspective is glamorous; filled with riches beyond her wildest dreams and all the prestige of the ancient world's only superpower, her world really is a dream come true. But it's a hollow world, fractured through with insecurities and jealousies involving Kiya, Amenhotep's other favored wife, religious shifts, foreign troubles, the continuing failure to produce a son, and a widening split between Nefertiti and her once beloved sister.

All Mutnodjmet wanted from life was to live peacefully, quietly tending her garden of herbs away from all the palace scandal and stress. But, knowing her father trusts and depends on her to keep her ambitious sister in check, Mutnodjmet accompanies her family to Thebes and then Memphis and then, eventually, to the famous city of Armana. Along the way, as she watches from the shadows as Nefertiti gives birth to daughter after daughter to her husband and climbs the ladder of power, all Mutnodjmet increasingly longs for is a quite garden and the general she's fallen in love with. But when Nefertiti and Amenhotep/Akhenaten take their need for dominance and control too far, Mutnodjmet's loyalty is gravely shaken and nearly lost. But her time spent in the palace with the royal family isn't over yet. The worst is just around the corner.

Likes/Dislikes: This book had great potential; a fictional biographical look at life in ancient Egypt during the very exciting reign of the heretic king and his beautiful queen. But, unfortunately, this book is more a work of fiction set in a historical setting, rather than a historical fiction - a fact which rather disappointed me somewhat, considering that Egypt is a favorite subject of mine. It is, however, very well written. The beginning was rather slow and a bit boring to me, but it set the stage well and the speed picked up as the story progressed. There is some mention of sex, but it's mostly mentioned in passing {as though it was the weather or some other everyday occurrence}, and between married couples. One minor character is gay but this is only mentioned and not further delved into, thankfully. All in all, a good idle read for a cold winter's day or for curiosity's sake, but not for much else. I also found it sad how the two sisters became so divided and it was all Nefertiti's fault.

Rating: PG-15 and up. Mainly for content, as mentioned above.

Date Report Written: February 20th, 2014.

Splitting Harriet Book Review

Title: Splitting Harriet.

Author: Tamara Leigh.

Genre: Christian, Fiction, Romance.

Plot: Harriet was once a rebel. Now she's a reformed rebel working as a waitress and very involved in the church her father helped build. But with a new pastor, changes are just around the corner and changes are something Harriet doesn't handle very well. When one of those changes includes a motorcycle-riding ex-rebel consultant to help revive the "dying" church, Harriet finds herself facing her past in a very head-on, slightly attractive way. And she's scared silly that she'll end up down the same road again. But will she?

Likes/Dislikes: I didn't really like that the whole central theme of this book involved reviving interest in a church. Going to church shouldn't be about what music is playing. The people in this book were more concerned with all the activities going on, with the music at the two services and getting attendance numbers to soar. It was already a large church to begin with. Additionally, Harriet whined constantly about everything, especially her irrational fears of becoming a rebel again. And when she was a rebel, she seemed to lack the drive for it. Her being a rebel wasn't very convincing at all. On the other hand, I loved how Maddox wooed her with patience and jelly beans. It was a sweet touch. Though if you're suffering from morning sickness while reading this {like I was}, then the descriptions of the jelly beans might upset you further.

Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for reading level.

Date Report Written: Feb 25, 2014.

I received a copy of this book free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I wasn't required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

Frozen Movie Review

Title: Frozen.

Starring: Kristen Bell {Princess Anna}, Idina Menzel {Queen Elsa}, Jonathan Groff {Kristoff}, Josh Gad {Olaf}, Santino Fontana {Hans}, and others.

Genre: Animation, Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Family.

Release Date: To theaters November 27th, 2013. To DVD, March 18th, 2014.

Plot: Born with the amazing ability to create snow and ice, Elsa and her sweet younger sister Anna are enchanted with this gift. Sneaking downstairs one night as children to play, Anna watches in gleeful awe as Elsa creates a winter wonderland in the ballroom. Their innocent fun is quickly shattered when Elsa accidentally hits Anna in the head with a bolt of ice, knocking her out and almost killing her. The girls' parents come to the rescue and take Anna to the trolls who save her. However, they warn Elsa that unless she learns to control her ability, she'll live in fear and it will destroy her.

Her parents then go to what could arguably be extreme measures to protect their daughters. They separate the two and keep the palace locked up. As they grow up, Anna wonders why they went from best friends to suddenly having closed doors between them all the time. When their parents tragically die at sea, Elsa becomes the queen. For her coronation, people come from all over and the gates are finally unlocked. However, having lived for so long by herself, Elsa is revealed to be living in a world of fear and quickly loses control when pushed by an angry Anna who just desperately wants her sister back. Unleashing a horrendous snow and ice storm, Elsa flees into the mountains and builds an ice palace, intending to lock herself away forever. But Anna's love for her proves stronger than she thought.

Likes/Dislikes: With a line of classic princess movies under their belt, you'd think Disney wouldn't be able to top it. However, they've managed to push the limits with Tangled and Brave, and have now outdone themselves with Frozen. This movie intrigued me ever since I stumbled across their Facebook page way back in summertime. The whole theme of being able to create ice and snow - in essence, ruling winter - is a personal favorite of mine. And this movie was well worth the wait because it fulfilled all my expectations for it and then some. It's beautiful, enchanting and so wonderfully wintry! The princesses aren't annoying dumb; they're smart and it's so touching to see their love for each other. It made me think of my sister and I as kids. And the true love twist is wonderfully refreshing. Of course, there is magic and some things {as pointed out by my husband} are left unexplained, but these minor issues don't distract from the film in its entirety. I'll certainly be adding this to my movie collection.

Rating: Official rating: PG. My rating: G. Highly recommended for all ages, especially sisters.

Date Report Written: March 5th, 2014.

Rebellious Heart Book Review

Title: Rebellious Heart.

Author: Jody Hedlund.

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Action/Adventure, Romance.

Plot: All Susanna Smith desires is to be educated like her younger brother and to read books to her heart's delight. Unfortunately, being a woman in Colonial America, the only thing she's expected and allowed to do is to find a suitable husband and produce children. When she runs into her childhood friend Benjamin Ross, the faintest hint of hope begins to flare. However, Benjamin is a poor country lawyer who has to make a good marriage as well - preferably to someone with lots of money. In addition to that little complication, he still hasn't forgiven her for the snide remarks she made to him as a child.

When the two become involved in helping an abused runaway indentured servant, they start to find common ground and begin to fall in love. But with danger close on their heels in the form of British officer Wolfe, the hints of revolution beginning to rumble, and Susanna's mother proving a formidable force to be recounted with, with their growing affection be too fragile to withstand the challenges ahead?

Likes/Dislikes: This was a well written historical fiction set during a very interesting {though perhaps, overly popular} time. Susanna's lack of education is overly expressed to the point of boredom and she flip-flops a lot. She has good intentions and a good heart, but after awhile she just whined too much for me to really like her. Benjamin was more likable but even he became a little too whiny - going on and on about the same thing for pages and pages. But if you take out those minor flaws, it was a very colorful story and I did rather enjoy it once it got started. It took me a long time to get interested though.

Rating: PG-14 and up for content; a young woman is pregnant after being abused {not shown, only mentioned in backstory}, and two young woman are found brutally murdered.

Date Report Written: February 20th, 2014.

I received a copy of this book free from the publishers in exchange for a honest review. I wasn't required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

A Caribbean Mystery Book Review

Title: A Caribbean Mystery.

Author: Agatha Christie.

Genre: Classic, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Suspense, Drama.

Plot: Her nephew Raymond, having paid for a refreshing trip to the West Indies, has shown how capable he is of taking care of his Aunt Jane. But while the sunshine is warm and relaxing, Miss Marple isn't as happy as she should be. In fact, she's rather bored and restless. Surrounded by chattering cheerful people and a rather noisy steel band, scandal and murder seem so far away and forgotten. Yet secrets lurk just under the surface and when Major Palgrave dies suddenly, those secrets are no longer safe.

Suspicious that Palgrave was killed, rather than dying of complications due to high blood pressure {who even told her that he had high blood pressure anyway?}, Miss Marple subtly hints as much to the local semi-retired doctor who, already uneasy himself, brings the local detective down to snoop around. With an increasing sense of urgency, Miss Marple begins to piece the puzzle together, enlisting the somewhat unwilling help of wealthy semi-crippled Mr. Rafiel. When a servant girl is found dead by the lady of the house, suspicions abound and people begin to leave the hotel. But the real murder hasn't even been committed yet and Miss Marple may just have made a grave mistake.

Likes/Dislikes: This novel, the third to last in the Miss Marple series, had a different feel and flow to the story. With a wonderful tropical setting as a backdrop, the characters are free to act out their drama and leave you wondering who will be unmasked as the villain right up to the explosive conclusion. I quite liked it.

Rating: PG-14 and up, for reading level and content {an adulterous husband and several murders, nothing graphic}.

Date Report Written: May 24th, 2013.

2014 Reading List

A new year has dawned, bringing with it new resolutions {if you're that kinda person}, goals and {most importantly} new books to read, giggle over, fall in love with, dunk in the trash can if they're bad and make lots of lists about. Last year, I set out with a very simple reading goal in mind: finishing things. I wanted to finish the 19-book Amelia Peabody Mysteries series by Elizabeth Peters {I almost did it too; the last book just got picked up from the library today}, read all of Julie Klassen's books that I haven't read yet {I hit a minor financial hiccup with that one and was only able to read The Tutor's Daughter}, and to finish The Princess Bride - which I did. {See the original post here: http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-to-read.html}. Now, with so many new changes ahead of me {no more Peabody mysteries *sniffle*} that include the imminent birth of my first baby {who doesn't like it when I rest books on my big belly}, my reading goals are a little different this year. In fact, I have no idea what I'll end up reading. But I needed something to fall back on/start from so I dug around in my GoodReads To Read shelf and compared some of the books there with what my library has to offer and, combined with my continuing interest in Egypt, came up with the fourteen titles below. The beginning ones I figured I'd sample and use as a buffer between all the Egypt books, and the last one I threw in because I still haven't finished it yet.

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles {4 books} by Patricia C. Wrede.

DragonSpell by Donita K. Paul.

The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson.


Nefertiti: A Biography of the World's Most Mysterious Queen by Evelyn Wells.


Nefertiti by Michelle Moran.


Nefertiti: An Archaeological Biography by Philipp Vandenberg.


Nefertiti by Joyce A. Tyldesley.


Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner.


The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells.


Dragon Hunter by Charles Gallenkamp.


In the Valley of the Kings by Daniel Meyerson.


Ilium by Dan Simmons.

Right now, my GoodReads goal is to read twenty books this year. I've got one down so far. We'll see how that progresses as I learn the basics of being a new mother. It shouldn't be too hard though; I managed to read fifty-three books last year and spent four months throwing up while doing so. I'll see ya around!

What are your reading goals for 2014?