Review: Flawlessly blends ancient Egyptian history and mythology with riveting paranormal YA fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
After reading this book, I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to review it! I love YA fiction (when it’s well written), and I love paranormal fiction (again, when it’s well written), so this YA paranormal thriller (which is, in fact, very well written) was a win all the way around for me. I’d heard of Laura DeLuca’s other books before (she seems to be quite prolific!), but this is the first (thought definitely not the last) that I’ve read by her.Julie Gerber’s Egyptologist parents are out so solve an ancient mystery, and have brought their reluctant, willful teenage daughter along with them to Egypt (since no one else is willing to care for her after her past behavior). Julie feels a strong romantic connection to both the English teenager Flynn, the son of her parents’ colleague, and to rich American college student Omar, he of the Egyptian heritage and vast fortune that’s funding the entire project. The romantic tension between the two young men (and within Julie herself) adds another layer to the story.Laura DeLuca paints an entrancing picture of modern-day Egypt in the midst of the strange goings-on in her novel. As an added bonus, this work of fiction has history and archaeology and Egyptian mythology, all topics I have an interest in. (Thanks, Indiana Jones! No melting Nazis here, though there’s plenty of other creepy stuff). Ms. DeLuca obviously did her research on Egyptian history and the story of the forgotten Pharaoh Djedefre.The author did a great job at creating a character that teens will be able to identify with – Julie is, overall, a good person, but she’s rebellious and has some definite character flaws. As a fan of history and archaeology (and the mother of a disinterested teenager myself), I did find myself wanting to smack her a few times as she grumbled about having to dig for artifacts or stifled her yawns while listening to the sponsor of the archaeological dig share Egyptian history with her.Highly recommended for fans of the genre!*I received a complimentary ecopy of this book for review purposes; all opinions remain my own.