At the young age of fifteen, Nefertiti marries Akhenaten, Prince of Egypt, and becomes his Chief Wife along with her dreams coming true as she rises to fame and fortune. Well known for her beauty, her body servants decorate her each day enhancing her natural beauty to make her mesmerizing as she fights for her husband's attention to draw him away from Second Wife and rival, Kiya, who is already pregnant. She soon however, becomes the people's Queen and works closely with her husband, becoming his closest confidant as they set out their plans for Egypt's future. Akhenaten however decides to break a thousands years of Egyptian tradition, making dramatic changes in religion and ignoring threats from other countries pushed forward to him by the military. It takes all of Nefertiti's wiles to keep the nation from being torn apart, whilst she also tries to provide Egypt with a future heir and prince. Told through the eyes of her sister, Mutnodjmet, Nefertiti's story is brought to life in this story of power, ambition, love and loss.

Ever since being taught about Ancient Egypt in primary school, I have long held a fascination into this ancient world. I have read books, watched countless TV programmes and dreamt of going to visit ancient tombs and temples in Egypt. I'm also a fan of historical fiction and so it's no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I came across Michelle Moran after reading a recommendation for her books on a forum, and I managed to get this book from Amazon. I have countless amounts of books however so this was forgotten about until recently when I was choosing something to take with me on holiday. From the moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down and I finished the book within 2 days.

Moran does an excellent job of bringing the mysterious world of Ancient Egypt to life as how she imagined it would be, and whilst many of the main events actually happened, a lot of things are uncertain and she tried to imagine what actually happened. Of course we can never truly know the real personalities of the people mentioned in this story, but again she has tried to use as many facts as possible when basing their characters. The story is told through the eyes of Mutnodjmet, who was Nefertiti's sister. Nefertiti and Akhenaten were well known for attempting to channge the religion of Egypt, who worshipped many gods, and by solely worshipping Aten, the Sun. In the story Moran puts across how against this Mutnodjmet is, and this is based on the image found of her in Amarna where she is seen standing along, her arms at her sides, while everyone else embraces Aten. Art was significant in Ancient Egypt and so Moran sees this as a significant image, and is a basis for the character of Mutnodjmet in the book.

The story starts from before Nefertiti marries Akhenaten, and is concerned about winning his affections and drawing him away from the embrace of Kiya, Second Wife. From the moment Akhenaten sees Nefertiti he can't take his eyes off her, and she quickly builds a close relationship with her husband, closer than any other Chief Wife in Ancient Egypt has ever had, even sharing his bed chamber. The story passes through Thebes to the great capital city which the royal couple built together, their images plastered all over the city along with the images of Aten. Nefertiti has to stop the nation from being torn apart, as building a new capital and breaking a thousand years of tradition is not too popular with the people, however the people love her and are quite happy to go along with the royal couple, but will this last?

The story is a thrilling read and it's easy to get lost in the life of Ancient Egypt. If you are a fan of historical fiction then I can't recommend this book enough, especially if like me you have an interest in this period of time. Moran draws a new light onto the story of Nefertiti, and whilst we can never know of her real personality, the one shown here fits very well. Michelle Moran has also written other books set in Ancient Egypt and I am looking forward to reading the others.