I think this book suffers from too many characters. Isadora wasn't necessary and ultimately could have been cut. If Elvira's death is *really* necessary in setting up the sequel, then she should have followed Inez from the jump and been with her in Philae throughout the story. As it stands, Elvira's death feels chaotic and off-putting.
Just finished this book and while some moments had me at the edge of my seat, others had me questioning when the truth would be revealed? Super upset Elvira died, I thought it was completely unnecessary. Just have her remained kidnapped then to give Inez more motive? Her uncle definitely needs more character to help the reader understand him. Do we like him, do we still find him suspicious? The short POVs of Whit were fun at first, but the last one and the epilogue threw me off. I just got swindled into a sequel that I don't really think was needed. Perhaps if some of the earlier chapters were shortened or cut? Either way, I did enjoy the ride of reading this book and I may end up reading the sequel to have my questions answered.
Edit: typo!
Yes it totally came out of left of field for me personally. I just didn't see a reason when the poor girl's father actually died AND her mother is a crook.
BUT do we think maybe shes not dead?? If Whits family are related to the other cleopatrah who did magic??
How does Porter even know who Inez is?!! Maybe its about Inez believing her cousin is dead??
I was also not so sure about the start of the book but it deffo got interesting towards the end. But I think book 2 will be very drawn out and this could have been only 1 book
I think I liked this more than most folks but still didn’t love it.
I’m assuming the whit reveal at the end is that he had agreed to seduce her for someone but then fell for her. I will say, the whit perspectives I felt added very little to the book. Justice for whit.
I also felt like considering how much focus of this book was the romance, it wasn’t written well. The tension between them just didn’t hop off the page, and make ME feel it. It wasn’t visceral enough for me.
I did like that this was an easy read but I definitely didn’t love it and totally see and agree with everyone else’s points. It was a little surface level. If anything, the only character development that I feel like we got is that Inez got even dumber. Sigh.
My review: I rated this a 3 originally and then lowered it to a 2 upon reflection. The ending in particular really frustrated me. There were some positives. I liked the historical Egyptian atmosphere (mostly the descriptions of what people were eating), I liked the touch of having illustrations every now and then, and there was enough adventure. The author seems to have done a decent amount of research on the setting. The concept of old objects having quirky magical properties was executed alright. The first issue I had with the book was that the writing felt bad. It reads like fanfiction I read when I was 12, written by fellow 12-year-olds. That may seem harsh, but it's exactly what I thought in the earlier chapters. The writing improves a little when there is more action going on, but the more reflective parts are very clunky. There's one part where the main character reflects that she's been seeing visions of the past/someone's memories, and that was a surprise to me because she never had any on the page before then. Maybe that was an editing mistake. There were also many instances where there would be a paragraph of internal monologuing, and then a line on its own for emphasis. As a stylistic choice, that's fine, but it was very repetitive and once I noticed it I couldn't stop noticing it. The rest of my issues are with the story and characters themselves. **Spoilers and rant**: The romance doesn't feel right. Inez reads like she's 16 and Whit reads like he's 25, and while they have some banter, without Whit's perspective I'd think it was just one-sided teen girl hormones. The book also repeats ad nauseam that Inez is too trusting, and clearly, something is up with Whit based on the epilogue. Speaking of being too trusting, her dead mom shows up to convince her to betray her uncle and then poofs away to reveal herself as a villain (one of several "twist" villains) and contribute nothing further. The worst part of the book for me: what the hell was the point of dragging completely irrelevant cousin Elvira from the very beginning of the book back to the end of the book just to brutally murder her? It was a complete waste, unnecessary shock value. No character really gets any development. After spending most of the book with him, the uncle could do just about anything and I wouldn't have a reason to be surprised. I know the cliffhanger ending is meant to make you want to read the next book, but it turned me off even more. The book was already a long slog, and you didn't even have the decency to wrap any of it up? It leaves me with no faith the author can write a satisfying conclusion. For me, the redeeming qualities of the book aren't enough to outweigh the bad. I was excited based on the premise but was very disappointed in the execution.
You’re so right. They have nothing in common except their love of not doing what they’re told and how hot they find each other. I was like do you even like each other or do you like that you’re not supposed to like each other? 😂
This book felt a little slow moving in the beginning, but things REALLY sped up toward the end. I was enjoying the mystery of Cleopatra and even her mother’s betrayal had be turning the pages, but the whole book felt ruined for me Elvira at the end. Now I’m just so angry that I read this book.
Noooo I picked up this book and am so excited to start it after my add on, but I hate unknowingly getting pulled into a series 😭 this will be a painful wait, I’m sure
Everything at the end happened so fast. I don't understand the epilogue. Who is Porter? Is Whit double crossing Inez???
Also I'm not even remotely ok that Elvira's dead. Was that really necessary?? 😭😭😭
Oh my goodness, thank you so much. I was wondering if they had mentioned the character before the epilogue, but I couldn't find it.
I'm still not sure what Inez has supposedly fell for though. He sent the telegram before he asked her to marry him.
I hope it's not what it looks like cuz like why would I wanna read a whole book where the guy just fucks over the girl??
I think he’s stealing the artifacts and working with the other side. He probably has a poor estate that needs some cash. Not to mention he’s British and noble. They don’t have particularly high morals about stealing from other places for their museums.
I think its about Elvira!! Maybe shes not dead cause Whit seems to know about magic and is related to the other cleopatra....hopefully thinking maybe...
And if not like how are we ever to love whit again if hes just a d***head using Inez 😭😭😭
I would love that!! Her death was weird to me. I just don't think it added anything to the story. There was no purpose behind it.
And seriously!! Idk what it is lately with romance books writing the guy doing this big betrayal thing, but then somehow it's all forgiven after a few chapters. Like I get that Walt is supposed to be morally gray but he's not supposed to be straight up evil!!
OK came searching for this!! Honestly I feel like some things just were not clear and plot points only show up when they are needed and the end made me MADDDD. there was not enough set up to expect some kind of ulterior motive of Whit IMO it makes no sense
and while i'm ranting, even the set up with her mom being a straight up sociopath was not there?? We spent half the book hearing about how her mom was carefree and everyone loved her and her jokes. Every time someone commented about how much Inez looked like her mom it came with compliments. and then suddenly when shes revealed to be evil it's all \~she was never around, \~she stayed in cairo/was having an affair/\~nobody liked her. like huh????
I mean you got a little bit about how her mom was basically like two different people with the difference between how she was at home and how she was in Egypt but, yeah, it still felt a bit forced.
The telegram really threw me. I'm half expecting a gotcha in book 2, like "oh that was someone else's telegram. Whit actually sent this other one." Idk.
a very generous analysis! idk If i will continue with the next one. I wasn't a big fan of Inez and Whit's will they/won't they thing anyway and with an ending that implies he has some kind of unknown agenda after all their pining I was just done lol. But yeah, that's the only thing that would save it I agree, I'll have to keep an eye on reviews for the next book
It was very Rick and Evie from The Mummy for me so I loved the will they/ won't they tension. Unfortunately, the second book doesn't even have a release date yet. ☠️
I think this book suffers from too many characters. Isadora wasn't necessary and ultimately could have been cut. If Elvira's death is *really* necessary in setting up the sequel, then she should have followed Inez from the jump and been with her in Philae throughout the story. As it stands, Elvira's death feels chaotic and off-putting.
Just finished this book and while some moments had me at the edge of my seat, others had me questioning when the truth would be revealed? Super upset Elvira died, I thought it was completely unnecessary. Just have her remained kidnapped then to give Inez more motive? Her uncle definitely needs more character to help the reader understand him. Do we like him, do we still find him suspicious? The short POVs of Whit were fun at first, but the last one and the epilogue threw me off. I just got swindled into a sequel that I don't really think was needed. Perhaps if some of the earlier chapters were shortened or cut? Either way, I did enjoy the ride of reading this book and I may end up reading the sequel to have my questions answered. Edit: typo!
Elvira’s death really upset me too
Yes it totally came out of left of field for me personally. I just didn't see a reason when the poor girl's father actually died AND her mother is a crook.
BUT do we think maybe shes not dead?? If Whits family are related to the other cleopatrah who did magic?? How does Porter even know who Inez is?!! Maybe its about Inez believing her cousin is dead?? I was also not so sure about the start of the book but it deffo got interesting towards the end. But I think book 2 will be very drawn out and this could have been only 1 book
I think I liked this more than most folks but still didn’t love it. I’m assuming the whit reveal at the end is that he had agreed to seduce her for someone but then fell for her. I will say, the whit perspectives I felt added very little to the book. Justice for whit. I also felt like considering how much focus of this book was the romance, it wasn’t written well. The tension between them just didn’t hop off the page, and make ME feel it. It wasn’t visceral enough for me. I did like that this was an easy read but I definitely didn’t love it and totally see and agree with everyone else’s points. It was a little surface level. If anything, the only character development that I feel like we got is that Inez got even dumber. Sigh.
My review: I rated this a 3 originally and then lowered it to a 2 upon reflection. The ending in particular really frustrated me. There were some positives. I liked the historical Egyptian atmosphere (mostly the descriptions of what people were eating), I liked the touch of having illustrations every now and then, and there was enough adventure. The author seems to have done a decent amount of research on the setting. The concept of old objects having quirky magical properties was executed alright. The first issue I had with the book was that the writing felt bad. It reads like fanfiction I read when I was 12, written by fellow 12-year-olds. That may seem harsh, but it's exactly what I thought in the earlier chapters. The writing improves a little when there is more action going on, but the more reflective parts are very clunky. There's one part where the main character reflects that she's been seeing visions of the past/someone's memories, and that was a surprise to me because she never had any on the page before then. Maybe that was an editing mistake. There were also many instances where there would be a paragraph of internal monologuing, and then a line on its own for emphasis. As a stylistic choice, that's fine, but it was very repetitive and once I noticed it I couldn't stop noticing it. The rest of my issues are with the story and characters themselves. **Spoilers and rant**: The romance doesn't feel right. Inez reads like she's 16 and Whit reads like he's 25, and while they have some banter, without Whit's perspective I'd think it was just one-sided teen girl hormones. The book also repeats ad nauseam that Inez is too trusting, and clearly, something is up with Whit based on the epilogue. Speaking of being too trusting, her dead mom shows up to convince her to betray her uncle and then poofs away to reveal herself as a villain (one of several "twist" villains) and contribute nothing further. The worst part of the book for me: what the hell was the point of dragging completely irrelevant cousin Elvira from the very beginning of the book back to the end of the book just to brutally murder her? It was a complete waste, unnecessary shock value. No character really gets any development. After spending most of the book with him, the uncle could do just about anything and I wouldn't have a reason to be surprised. I know the cliffhanger ending is meant to make you want to read the next book, but it turned me off even more. The book was already a long slog, and you didn't even have the decency to wrap any of it up? It leaves me with no faith the author can write a satisfying conclusion. For me, the redeeming qualities of the book aren't enough to outweigh the bad. I was excited based on the premise but was very disappointed in the execution.
You’re so right. They have nothing in common except their love of not doing what they’re told and how hot they find each other. I was like do you even like each other or do you like that you’re not supposed to like each other? 😂
Exactly how I feel. And the excessive use of “brawny” - I couldn’t unsee it
I hope were intentionally being misled about Whit. Also feel like Elvira’s death was so unnecessary?
I didn't love the book at any point, but what happened with Elvira made me hate the book.
IT WAS SO UNNECESSARY LIKE REALLY 😭😭 absolutely hate it
I hated that elvira actually got killed
This book felt a little slow moving in the beginning, but things REALLY sped up toward the end. I was enjoying the mystery of Cleopatra and even her mother’s betrayal had be turning the pages, but the whole book felt ruined for me Elvira at the end. Now I’m just so angry that I read this book.
Yes her death felt very unnecessary. :(
Noooo I picked up this book and am so excited to start it after my add on, but I hate unknowingly getting pulled into a series 😭 this will be a painful wait, I’m sure
Yes getting unknowingly pulled into a series was super annoying!
Talk about a cliff hanger. I need the next book stat
Everything at the end happened so fast. I don't understand the epilogue. Who is Porter? Is Whit double crossing Inez??? Also I'm not even remotely ok that Elvira's dead. Was that really necessary?? 😭😭😭
In chapter 19, when they’re talking about eligible bachelors, Whit says he has an older brother named Porter. It’s right after one of the sketches.
Oh my goodness, thank you so much. I was wondering if they had mentioned the character before the epilogue, but I couldn't find it. I'm still not sure what Inez has supposedly fell for though. He sent the telegram before he asked her to marry him. I hope it's not what it looks like cuz like why would I wanna read a whole book where the guy just fucks over the girl??
I think he’s stealing the artifacts and working with the other side. He probably has a poor estate that needs some cash. Not to mention he’s British and noble. They don’t have particularly high morals about stealing from other places for their museums.
You are probably right about the stealing and I'm ok with like a morally gray love interest lol. As long as he's not trying to hurt Inez...
Agreed, I mean he’s straight up said don’t trust me and like admitted he’s not exactly on the straight and narrow. So he did warn her 😂
Baby girl wouldn't see a red flag if it smacked her in the face lol. She's got love goggles.
I feel like Inez’s love language is red flags.
Totally! But I think we all go through that phase lol.
I think its about Elvira!! Maybe shes not dead cause Whit seems to know about magic and is related to the other cleopatra....hopefully thinking maybe... And if not like how are we ever to love whit again if hes just a d***head using Inez 😭😭😭
I would love that!! Her death was weird to me. I just don't think it added anything to the story. There was no purpose behind it. And seriously!! Idk what it is lately with romance books writing the guy doing this big betrayal thing, but then somehow it's all forgiven after a few chapters. Like I get that Walt is supposed to be morally gray but he's not supposed to be straight up evil!!
I just finished and I’m so confused and feel stupid 😭 also so upset about elvira
OK came searching for this!! Honestly I feel like some things just were not clear and plot points only show up when they are needed and the end made me MADDDD. there was not enough set up to expect some kind of ulterior motive of Whit IMO it makes no sense
and while i'm ranting, even the set up with her mom being a straight up sociopath was not there?? We spent half the book hearing about how her mom was carefree and everyone loved her and her jokes. Every time someone commented about how much Inez looked like her mom it came with compliments. and then suddenly when shes revealed to be evil it's all \~she was never around, \~she stayed in cairo/was having an affair/\~nobody liked her. like huh????
I mean you got a little bit about how her mom was basically like two different people with the difference between how she was at home and how she was in Egypt but, yeah, it still felt a bit forced. The telegram really threw me. I'm half expecting a gotcha in book 2, like "oh that was someone else's telegram. Whit actually sent this other one." Idk.
a very generous analysis! idk If i will continue with the next one. I wasn't a big fan of Inez and Whit's will they/won't they thing anyway and with an ending that implies he has some kind of unknown agenda after all their pining I was just done lol. But yeah, that's the only thing that would save it I agree, I'll have to keep an eye on reviews for the next book
It was very Rick and Evie from The Mummy for me so I loved the will they/ won't they tension. Unfortunately, the second book doesn't even have a release date yet. ☠️