The characters are great, but the plotting and writing are awkward and tedious. I tried hard with this book and was hoping to love it, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me.

3.5/5 stars

A very enjoyable time slip novel in which three teens are transported to ancient Egypt for mysterious reasons. The characters were enjoyable and offered varied points of view. The twins, particularly, went through a lot of challenging experiences, and I look forward to reading more from this author (view spoiler).

NAMES/TERMINOLOGY USED:
There are a few ancient Egyptian references that I felt were not completely accurate. The first thing I noticed was the name Tasherit. Tasherit is the female form of "junior." Typically it was used as part of a name. If Tasherit is living in the temple without her family, she would probably not be going by that reference. I don't know too many men who call themselves "junior" in their daily life instead of by their first names. Unless there's a secret to come, I was not a fan of the author's choice in this regard.

Another incorrect term used was "edubba," which references Sumerian schooling (in Mesopotamia). In ancient Egypt, schools for higher levels of society were called "The House of Life."

There is not a Pharaoh Anen that I know of, which is the current pharaoh during this story, though there have been advisers named Anen. While there have been pharaoh's named Seti (who is the prince during this story), none of these pharaohs' fathers were named Anen (both Seti fathers were named Ramses). There IS a Princess Neferure in the historical record, who's father is commonly believed to be Thutmose (also referenced in the book) and who had a brother named Thutmose, but Thutmose's successor was Amenhotep who's son was Ahkenaten, the ruler who proposed monotheism, and then Tutankhamun. So I'm not sure if Josey was just picking names out of a hat to use in her book, but the dynasty lineage is not historically accurate.

Josey uses the term "Iteru" as reference to the Nile, however, she does not use the correct term for Egypt, which is Kemet. Instead, she uses the modern name for the country. I found this a bit inconsistent. While she probably used "Egypt" as the shock-reveal to for her main character, I still was not a fan of this words use. In terms of "iteru," this is typically used in reference to a unit of measure during river travel. So when characters called the Nile "iteru," I was confused especially since Josey did not use the correct term for the name of the country. There were a few other words I could not find reference to include "rekhet" (hinted via context that this means the lowest class of people) and "kalasiris" which was noted as a form of clothing. This does not mean the words are incorrectly used, but as someone who has researched ancient Egypt extensively, if I couldn't find definitions for these words, others might have a more difficult time understanding them.

WRITING STYLE:
The author has a few repetitive references that needed to be re-written, particularly sucking air through a person's teeth. Everyone seemed to suck air through their teeth in every chapter. Editors should be catching this, so hopefully the repetitiveness was fixed before the book was released.

Josey has a great sense of humor. I loved the sarcasm of her MC, Portia. However, there were a few times that modern references were used in ancient Egypt that made me cringe. I mean, Portia should know better when to use modern terms to ancient peoples. Most people seem to shake off her odd references, but when she keeps referencing "we have to meet this guy," "do you trust this guy," it gets a little annoying and completely takes a reader out of the time period. However, Josey also has some great lines that I delighted in, like when an ancient person responds to Portia's sigh: "Blowing your air like a hippopotamus is unbecoming."

(view spoiler)

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I did enjoy the book. While the setting was only mildly brought to life for me (again, I read as many books set in ancient Egypt as I can, so I found the details in this book sparse compared to other books I've read), but the characters and the magic surrounding them captivated me. I would not recommend the book on its historical accuracy, but it does have goo character moments and "magical" intrigue. Josey is a talented author, and I look forward to more.