So Bookalicious!: Review: KIYA: Mother of a King (KIYA Trilogy #2) by Katie Hamstead

Monday, 13 January 2014

Review: KIYA: Mother of a King (KIYA Trilogy #2) by Katie Hamstead

Synopsis

Nerfertiti has forced Naomi to flee Amarna with Malachi and the three children. But even under the protection of Naomi's family in Thebes, Nefertiti still hunts her and Tut. Neftititi sends assanssins to kill them, and while Naomi fights to protects the children, Malachi fights to keep her safe.

With three children in tow, one of which isn't her own, she is labeled the harlot outcast wife of the pharaoh and is shunned. She isn't safe among her own people, and flees from being stoned to death. Although her family protects her, she must find a way to survive.

While Naomi struggles to keep herself and Tut alive, old adversaries return as Smenkhare takes advantage of Akhenaten's ailing health. Naomi must rely on Horemheb's promise to protect Tut's birtrights, but her feelings for Malachi could cause more problems with Horemheb than she expects.

- Goodreads -

Opinion

I read the previous book KIYA: Hope of the pharaoh last summer and I was pleasantly surprised by it. So I was eager to found out what happened next to Kiya, her friends and her family. The book takes of right after we left the first book. But you don’t have to read the first book in order to understand this one. The author gives the backstory in the beginning and refers to some point of the previous book throughout the story.

Kiya has fled Amarna with her kids for her own safety and that of her family. Back home she faces some troubles, some of the townspeople won’t shun her because she once was and still is and Egyptian princess. Nefertiti still wants her and Tut dead. And most important she wants Malachi but she knows she can’t have him as long as Akhenaten is still alive.

Just like in the first book Naomi (Kiya) is a strong woman with her own mind. But at times she lost the independence but I guess that’s normal since it’s set about 3000 years ago. It was also interesting to see Tut grow up like a normal boy although he’s aware that he’s going to be the future pharaoh of Egypt. So many things happened in this book that it was almost impossible to put it down. That is not until you know what happens next. Besides all the drama and the romance there is also a lot of humor in this book.

The only thing that bothered me at times was the writing style, at times I felt like the story was told in a descriptive way instead of in a narrative way. Anyway it’s hard to explain and I can’t quiet remember if I had the same experience in the first book. But I really liked this one and I would recommend KIYA: Mother of a King to anyone who loves historical fiction, especially Egyptian historical fiction.