This turned out to be a time travel book (1st in a series). Chloe Kingsley is visiting her archaeologist sister in Egypt when she enters a forbidden chamber at the right time and place and wearing a special significant necklace. She is suddenly transported to ancient Egypt into the body of RaEmhetepet, a not-so-nice cow headed HatHor priestess. Chloe still has her twentieth century mind, reasoning, and historical knowledge to figure out what is going on. This is also a romance novel so she meets Lord Cheftu, a magus (magician) and physician who is sent to attend her. There is the proverbial love/hate relationship till they figure each other out. He also has some secrets of his own. Also interwoven in this novel is the Exodus and the ten plagues of the Old Testament. Frank has an interesting take on who the Pharaoh was at the time. In her story Pharaoh Hatshepsut is fighting her nephew Thutmosis III for her throne, and he is the one who confronts Moses at the time of the plagues. An interesting aspect of the story is the Egyptians reactions and experiences during the plagues - told from their viewpoint. There is a lot of political intrigue, mystery, and romance.Since I am a huge devotee of anything Egypt, I enjoyed this book. It did get a little slow reading in the middle, but sped up, once again, at the end. A little too much sex description for my taste tho. You could tell that the author did thorough research on the history of Egypt with the "you are there" quality in descriptions and story telling. I will definitely read the rest of the series.
I read "Reflections in the Nile" for a book club. Having loved Outlander I thought this might be a lot of fun. Time travel? Ancient Egypt? What could go wrong? A bit, as it turns out. Chloe is a girl from the twentieth century visiting her sister, and Egyptologist on a dig, for the Christmas holiday and her birthday. One night, while exploring the temple of Karnak, Chloe is thrown out of her time and wakes up in the body of an ancient Egyptian priestess in the reign of Hatshepsut. It sounds like it could be a pretty good adventure, and in some ways it is, but he book is muddied by poor pacing (sometimes we sprint through a week or two with barely a mention of how much time has passed). The characters, particularly Cheftu and Chloe, though interesting fail to really develop leaving them a bit boring and two dimensional. Lastly-- and this isn't really the fault of the book so much as the kindle version, I guess-- the kindle edition is RIFE with typos! So many all the time. Kind of funny, but mostly just sad. I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book, but the last 1/3 felt like a bit of a mess. Overall, a fun read, but not worth getting into the series for me.
What do You think about Reflections In The Nile (1998)?
“Why do we have to travel as brother and sister?” Chloe asked at atmu. Cheftu sighed; though he rode the donkey to ease his leg, he was still weak. “It's protection. As your brother, if someone harms you, I have recourse. Either they have hurt my family's standing and future, or they have insulted my forefathers.” He groaned, shifting on the gray animal. “Unfortunately, as your husband, they have simply hurt my feelings. I have no greater, claim on you.” “So it is better to be my brother than my husband?” “Absolument.” “That makes no sense to me.”
—Apricity
REFLECTIONS IN THE NILE - NRFrank, J. Suzanne - 1st in seriesImagine that you, a contemporary tourist, are standing awestruck in an ancient Egyptian temple. Suddenly a vortex in time and space sends you back thousands of years to a desert kingdom of glittering splendor. Your body has merged with that of a scheming, beautiful priestess, yet your sensibilities, your intelligence, your terror remains that of a modern woman who is trying to get back home, trying, in this place of strangeness and wonder, to stay alive...Rich in sensuality and authenticity, imbued with a mesmerizing "you are there" quality, J. Suzanne Frank's wonderful series makes its highly acclaimed debut. Set in the decadent Egypt of the woman pharaoh Hatshepsut, this stunning novel portrays Dallas artist Chloe Kingsley on an unforgettable journey. A twist in time has plunged her into a world of deadly politics and dark secrets that culminates with the chaos and terror of the biblical Exodus ... and challenges a modern woman to fight for her love, her beliefs, and her true destiny.Ancient Egypt - just not my cup of tea.
—LJ
Obviously, I'm biased. I wrote these books because it seemed to me the COOLEST thing in the world to go back in time to ancient Egypt. But if a person knew all the details and was just confirming (or rewriting) what she'd expected, then ... where would be the fun? The adventure? The growth? Enter Chloe -- modern woman, multi-cultural, forward-thinker, but with enough understanding to comprehend the history she's living, and the skills needed to (barely) make her way through. I loved writing this, writing the whole series. Chloe and Cheftu are some of my favorite people! Thanks to those who loved them, too!
—Suzanne Frank
