UGH...PFFT...HEAD SHAKE and a wind-rustling SIGH about sums up my feelings for this MEHstorical bore festival. For this level of detail on life in ancient Egypt, I could have stuck with:

*** By the way, for those taking a trip down Nostalgia Boulevard right now seeing Steve Martin’s SNL masterpiece, I have added the lyrics in a spoiler so that those who don’t care can skip over it…otherwise…enjoy…
(view spoiler)[ King Tut

King Tut (King Tut)
Now when he was a young man, He never thought he'd see (King Tut)
Peopl (hide spoiler)] More...

This book was rather disappointing.

The story of Nefertiti and Akhenaton, two of Ancient Egypt's most emblematic leaders was always one of my favorites. Perhaps because of this, I had very high expectations for this book... and in the end, they weren't met.

According to several summaries I've read about this book, "Nefertiti" tells the story of the Royal (or First) Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton and it's also somewhat biographic. I was always a little dubius about the "biographic nature" of the book, a More...

Remind me next time I'm looking for a new book NOT to buy one that is advertised on perezhilton.com! I should have known what I'd be getting myself into...

This was totally a summer beach read - although next time, I will wait for paperback (too heavy)! I felt like it was just ALL dialogue ALL the time - the author never went into too much detail in her description of places, people, etc (this reminds me of my high school English teachers constantly telling us to "show, not tell" in our writing) More...

Diana Gabaldon tagged this debut novel 'Compulsively readable!' and she's not far off the mark. I'm sure I won't be the first blogger to draw this comparison but this book was like The Other Boleyn Girl - Egyptian style - and for three main reasons:

Firstly, thematically. For as much as this was a novel of sisters, it was a novel of rivals. Moran demonstrated unflinchingly the horrible acts women are capable of commiting to gain power over one another through Nefertiti and her dealings with Kiya More...

It’s 1351 BCE. Tuthmosis, the older brother of Amunhotep is dead and the wise men of Egypt have concluded that Amunhotep has killed his brother for power, to become the pharaoh.

And as the author Michelle Moran puts it
Whatever the truth, that night the crown prince, Tuthmosis, dies, and a new crown prince rose to take his place.

Thus begins the story of greed, unlimited power, dirty politics and one family’s journey into royalty.Nefertiti is chosen by Amunhotep’s mother and her aunt as his wife an More...

Ovako kvalitetna knjiga rijetko se nalazi! Možda je to moje mišljenje jer sam oduvijek pokazivala zanimanje za drevnim Egiptom, a ova mi je knjiga upravo dala ono što sam i željela... Ne znam, ali sa sigurnošću mogu reći da je knjiga čisto savršenstvo, po meni nema praznog hoda, svaki događaj je na svom mjestu i svaki je lik savršeno okarakteriziran.
Znimljivo je čitati o stvarnim osobama koje su postojale gotovo 3000 godina unazad.
Nisam imala pojma da je Nefertiti bila toliko jaka žena sve dok n More...

Fairly weak novel with sketchy historical research.

What I found to be fascinating about this book is that compared to other periods in history i.e. Tudor England, very little is known about it. Michelle Moran has woven an interesting and credible tale. What an amazing imagination she has!
This story is told in first person by Mutny, Nefertiti's younger sister. As a character Nefertiti has been portrayed as a beautiful and passionate woman, who will go to any lengths to get what she wants. There are many characters in this novel and I must confess More...

I am still reeling from this delicious book! Power, royalty, wealth and a sweet love story all rolled into one, this book swept me up and did not put me down until the last page of the preview to the sequel. Told through the eyes of Nefertiti's younger sister, Mutnodjmet, who was the exact opposite of her - but both were compelling and strong characters. I couldn't help but liken Nefertiti to Anne Boleyn: both driven by their families and their own ambitions for power, both used religion to seal More...

This is the story of Nefertiti's reign, told through the eyes of her quiet and intellectual sister, Mudnojimet. Nefertiti was awe-strikingly beautiful and fiercely ambitious. She wrestled her way up to First Wife to the cruel and foolish pharaoh Akhenaten and even up to the position of Pharaoh Co-Regent which was nearly unheard of in those times.

This was an intriguing novel. MM did an excellent job portraying the intricacies of the Ancient Egyptian court. What I thought was most lacking was the More...

This story really grabbed me. I read for 6 hours straight before I paused for dinner, and then continued on until the end. The booked appeared fairly formidable in size, at least my library edition did, but the font and margins were large and overall a fast read. (Please note I don't in the least consider myself a FAST reader, just a 'dedicated' one.)
I did find it funny that one reviewer was relieved this was *not* a rip-off of "The Other Boleyn Girl" because I could not stop thinking how simila More...

At first the back cover had me ready to read when I saw "meticulously researched" stated by the Boston Globe's review on the back. I tore through it in 9 hours because it was such an easy read. While the story was decent, I was rather disappointed.
Although her character portrayal was good, she never really made me SEE Egypt. It also lacked the one thing every other "meticulously researched" book on ancient Egypt lacks. No one ever> uses the actual Kemetic names of cities or gods. If it was s More...

I am a great fan of (well done) historical fiction - Gabaldon, Gulland and Koen all come instantly to mind - but this certainly doesn't come close to any of them. In fact, I never got beyond the first 50 or 60 pages. I've had a lifelong love affair with ancient Egypt, especially the Armana period, and I've never seen it depicted quite like this. Amunhotep (Ahknaten) was depicted as a headstrong, foolish kid,bad enough, but where oh where did she come up with her idea of Nefertiti's character? Va More...

This book was amazing historical fiction. It covers the time period between Nefertiti's acsension to queen (or chief wife of Pharaoh) and her death. It gives an indepth view of these people about whom so little is known for sure. The author does a phenomenal job of bringing these characters to life. Nefertiti is a character that you feel sorry for and are angry at simultaneously for most of the book. Anyone who likes Philippa Gregory's historical fiction novels of the English court (The Other Bo More...

Read it in one evening, just to give you an idea of what kind of a page-turner this is. Moran does an excellent job of pulling you deep into an ancient world with characters who are so very reminiscent of our modern selves. The narrator- Nefertiti's less well-known sister- is such a beautifully constructed character. She is, like all the characters mentioned in this novel, based on reality, though some of the details surrounding her life were conceived by the author. Either way, this book is an More...

I truly have mixed feeling about this book. The author in her note at the end of the book tells us that she is faithful to the history of the period, but from my own search into that time I know that it is not true. I also can't like the way she portrayed Akhenaten and Nefertiti at all, nor do I think that that was the way they were, based on what little I know of them.

Take away the historical references, and you've got a good story. The interactions between the two sister, was a very good stor More...

As a fiction novel, I found this to be an entertaining read. However, there were several times throughout the book where I found myself getting extremely annoyed at Nefertiti’s constant self-centered, ego-centric, bratty behavior and tantrums. I had to keep reminding myself that for most of the book, Nefertiti and Amunhotep were teenagers. I don’t know that I can believe that this has any ounce of truth in regards to her personality. Maybe the author was trying to build a connection with the rea More...

This book was so so hard to put down! I am a voracious reader anyhow but I literally could not do anything else but read this book. I loved the dialogue! I loved the storyline. The characters were so interesting, perhaps not always fully fleshed out but interesting as heck! It was a really emotionally charged ride and I loved it. I also just got back from the Tutankhamen exhibit in Melbourne and they had a number of pieces that featured the great Nefertiti so that made it doubly fun. The only re More...

Starting from when Nefertiti is thirteen and first married to the soon-to-be Pharaoh, Nefertiti portrays the rest of the queen's life as seen through her sister's eyes. Nefertiti has been chosen by the reigning queen to be Chief Wife to Amenhotep IV, heir to the throne and Nefertiti is obsessed with staking her claim and protecting her position. As her husband sinks further and further into madness, Nefertiti chooses to support him, even if it means betraying her own family.

Moran's descriptions More...

I really loved this book. I thought the characters were very interesting and the research put into the book very well done. I loved the setting descriptions, learn the time period, and their ways of doing things. I feel like I learned even more about this time period and I find it so fascinating, their beliefs and the way they ruled. Funny how things relative to that are not very different from how things are today. I thought that Mutny was a wonderful person, forgiving and I admired her ability More...

I really enjoyed this book. It seems an Egyptian version of the Boleyn books by Phillipa Gregory. The story isn't as much about Nefertiti as it is about her sister Mutny. Since much of this time has to be pieced together from what little information we have take the events and people with a grain of salt and enjoy the story.

I believe that Ms. Moran had a formidable job trying to take the research of the Amarna period (or should I say the lack of available material) and turn it into a gripping novel. While some diehard people will quibble and say parts of the novel are patently untrue, her story came alive and if nothing else made me try to learn more about this interesting woman, her sister, and Akhenaten. It was a remarkable period in Egypt's history, and this talented storyteller made me want to learn even more. More...

While this book is obviously not going to be terribly accurate, since a lot of the story was lost to history, it was a great interpretation of what it might have been like to live during the Amarna period of Ancient Egypt. The story is from the perspective of Nefertiti's younger sister, Mutnodjmet, so at first I was a bit put off, expecting it to be a rip-off of The Other Boleyn Girl. Definitely was happy to see it wasn't. Some readers have complained about the way Moran chose to characterize Ne More...

Egypt and the 18th dynasty (1351 BCE). The story of Nefertiti and Akhenaten told by Nefertiti's sister, Mutnodjmet. Even though it is a novel, the author did quite a bit of research on what is known about Nefertiti and Akhenaten. Archaeologist are in Amarna now uncovering the city that Akhenaten built to the God, Aten, which failed. Akhenaten and his 1st wife, Kiya are the parents of the well known King Tut (Tutankhaten) who marries his half sister (Ankhesenamun)the daughter of Akhenaten and Nef More...

I liked this novel quite abit. It was written in a very similar format to The Other Boleyn Girl-with the less famous sister telling the story.
This tells the story of Nefertiti and Akhenaten-focusing on thier break from traditional Egyptian gods to the one god-Aten. They moved the capital to Karnak. It is similar to The Other Boleyn Girl in that way as well-basically you have a monarch changing the way the system has been run for years-the effect that has on the people, etc.
It was interesting to More...

This was such a great read! The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because I like to reserve those 5ers for something really really really special. But it's a very strong 4. I would be happy to loan it out to anyone who wants to read. I could not put it down, the story is so intriguing. It's funny, I assumed I would read it and fall in love with Nefertiti all over again and think she was the greatest, but this book made her sister more of the heroine and I loved her character, and was kind o More...

This was a really good read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The title is misleading because the book really is about the sister of Nefertiti and not herself, but she does have a good place in it. I remember learning things about Egypt and Mummies in elementary school, but not much since then and this book was a good little history lesson as well as a good novel. Mutny, the main character and narrator goes through so much and the way that this novel is written you (the reader) go right with her. You fe More...

I found this to be captivating. So little is known about this period of time that it may be only 10% fact, but it was still great. I wasn’t expecting it to all be from Mutnodjmet’s point of view, and I think it gave the story an extra oomph. Only through her sister’s eyes can the reader see the true Nefertiti, who was never truly happy — even when she reached the pinnacle of power. The political maneuverings are incredible, and I found everything to be believable. Books like this tend to send me More...

Good story, vivid characters, and strong writing. I was really invested in this story told from the point of view of Nefertiti's younger sister, Mutnodjmet. Although the book is entitled Nefertiti, this is really about Mut and her struggle as the younger sister of the Queen of Eqypt. I ripped through this book in half a week and enjoyed every second of it. This is based on facts as they were known when it was written, the fiction in the rest of the story is believable and, in fact, probably how More...

This book was a page-turner and a very fast read! I learned a lot and became fascinated with Egyptian history and that Dynasty that changed Egypt's religion. I am looking forward to reading Michelle Moran's The Heretic Queen.