A terrific start to a new Historical Fantasy series rooted in the history and mythology of Ancient z Egypt.

As the author tells us in her note at the close of the book, this is a love letter to her family’s culture and history, and her passion for the material shines through the story in an irresistible manner. But it’s also wildly inventive and creative from a Fantasy standpoint, and (as the best Fantasy always does) blends magic with plausibility.

This is long (you’ll be grateful for that once you get into the story, and it does take a while to click at the beginning, but once past the preliminaries, the story becomes captivating pretty quickly, and the characters begin to win over the reader.

It’s well-balanced in the sense that the POVs are equally interesting, and the central characters’ stories begin to merge meaningfully in the second half of the book. The adversaries, too, are well-drawn. But is the bigger threat the megalomaniac on the throne or something far older and potentially much more dangerous? You’ll just have to read it and find out. I’m already looking forward to the next installment in the series.

I feel like this book was very chaotic, but I'm not sure if it was in a good way or a bad way. There were four different points of view (five if you include the cat), but they were all pretty easy to follow and each character has distinct personality traits that made it easy to determine the different chapters. This book definitely was mainly focused on the worldbuilding, character introductions, and lore. I don't think this was a bad thing, but I also wish there was just a bit more. Most of the mysteries and secrets were introduced in this book, but only a few were solved at the end. I will say that the cliffhanger was very good. I feel like I would read the next book because I want answers. Overall, it was a very good first book in what seems to be a very complicated series (in a good way).

His Face is the Sun centers around four characters—a princess, a priestess, a rebel, and a thief—whose lives are mysteriously linked by a cryptic prophecy. When the Pharaoh dies of a sudden illness, the question looms: was it natural causes or something more sinister?

This was everything I hoped for in an Egypt-inspired fantasy, and it absolutely delivered. So many Egypt-based books I’ve tried focus too much on treasure-hunting adventures or rushed romances, and I’ve DNF’d quite a few because the writing didn’t click. But His Face is the Sun blends mystery, mythology, and a touch of political intrigue in a way that felt fresh and immersive.

The story leans more character-driven than plot-heavy, which makes sense given the four POVs. I actually really enjoyed how the worldbuilding unfolded through each character’s perspective—it made the story feel layered and interconnected. And when their paths finally start to cross? So satisfying. There were definitely Game of Thrones vibes at times, especially with a certain "Red Wedding"-esque moment that caught me off guard.

This first book does end on a cliffhanger, but I’m already looking forward to the next installment. If you’re into character-rich fantasy with Egyptian flair and a slow-burn build, definitely check this one out.

Wow. At first it took me a little while to learn each of the characters (as each chapter alternates POV between a handful of them), but to say when I reached the end I needed more…is a HUGE understatement. I cannot wait to read the next installment of this trilogy!

Highly recommend for anyone who likes mythology, murder / mystery, history, and unsealed good storytelling. Not only was I completely entombed (😉) within the story, but I also could visualize everything - the descriptions were that good!

This book is available now, topping charts, and stealing hearts - PLUS the sprayed edges are DIVINE! 🤩

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Michelle Jabès Corpora for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4 Stars
This fantasy swept me into a vividly imagined world inspired by ancient Egypt...dark, rich, and full of unexpected twists. The worldbuilding is detailed but never bogs down the story, and the characters are layered, complicated, and sometimes morally gray in ways that made them feel real. I was hooked by the blend of magic, political intrigue, and personal struggles. The pacing has its ups and downs, but overall it kept me guessing and turning pages. If you’re into fantasy with depth and atmosphere beyond the usual, this one’s definitely worth your time.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book and was excited to read it. Unfortunately, I had to DNF it at 30% in. While the story was intriguing, it was slow paced and introduced too many character point of views upfront to bring me in as a reader. After learning that this is a series, that further solidified my decision to DNF. While this is a young adult book, it read somewhat juvenile at times despite having some mature content involving violence, drinking, and sexual undertones.

As a normal human person, I fell in love with ancient Egypt and the like at a young age and never outgrew it. This cover, the name, and what the synopsis said drew me in easily.
The world building is a bit slow, but I have no issues with that. You get such a feel for the time and I could vividly picture it, understand these characters. I read this while doing the treadmill every day for a week and enjoyed it immensely.

Like every good Gen X child, I never grew out of my fascination with ancient Egypt, so when I saw there was a new series set in what is essentially ancient Egypt, I was all over it. HIS FACE IS THE SUN is the first in a new trilogy by Michelle Jabès Corpora. Complete with pyramids, entombment, pharaohs, and the Egyptian pantheon, it hit all the right notes for me.

HIS FACE IS THE SUN is not without its issues. Namely, Ms. Corpora spends a lot of the novel establishing the characters and their beliefs and motivations. She also builds the setting for readers, getting them familiar with a land and a time that they might not know. The politics of the book are a key element to the conflict in the story and also require time to explain. All this means that there is quite a bit of explanation before we get to any action, and all of it can be a bit of a slog.

Once Ms. Corpora has done all the explaining and world-building she feels is necessary, however, the story explodes into action. Suddenly, all four main characters find themselves forced to take hasty action as the prophecy draws ever closer to fulfillment. All are either running from or towards danger, and their fates remain unknown. There is no doubt that Ms. Corpora has much more planned for her heroes in the next two books.

Even better, the imagery within HIS FACE IS THE SUN is worth the time Ms. Corpora takes to build it. Every bit of it is evocative. Whether you are familiar with the era and the culture or not, Ms. Corpora brings Khetara to life. While she doesn't glorify the age, exposing the harsher side of life next to a desert, she does make it extremely appealing in its vibrancy.

While HIS FACE IS THE SUN is a young adult novel, this categorization is misleading. The main characters are all very young; all of them are still in their teenage years. However, their experiences make them older than today's teenagers. Neff leaves her family as a youngster to travel to a new city and study to become a priestess. Rae bears the burden of being an only child on the family farm and works harder and longer than most people to meet the demands of the farm. Karim robs tombs for a living and reports to a local gang of robbers for orders. Only Seff is naive and lacks the worldly experience the others have, which makes sense given her status as princess and future queen. What's more, based on several of the festivals some of the characters attend, children of this age were exposed to "adult" issues at a much earlier age. So, yes, the characters technically meet the definition for young adult literature, but as a reader who has long passed her teenage years, it was very easy for me to forget their age because of what they experienced and how they acted.

I thoroughly enjoyed HIS FACE IS THE SUN. I did hit a bit of a reading snag as the world-building dragged on more than I expected, but the scenes involving the prophecy or when one of the main characters takes action are exciting. As the novel drew to a close, I wasn't certain where the story was going and was surprised at where it ended. I'm excited to see what happens next to all four characters, as I have a feeling it's going to be explosive.

I absolutely loved this book!! Fantasy, well thought out characters, fast paced, historical aspects, and multiple POV that were very well done.

Well, I get what the hype was about. This was incredible. Told from alternate perspectives of each main character, this novel creates a world that sucks the reader in from page one and leaves you wishing there was more by the end (luckily there will be, but it can’t come soon enough). I particularly enjoy that as the story progresses it is obvious that our protagonists are moving toward one another, but Jabes Corpora ensures that the reader knows the characters as themselves before they join together.

Manipulation and betrayal abound in Khetara, with a long buried secret waiting to erupt and evil to spill into the world. A marvelous novel that I will be recommending and most definitely purchasing for our library!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

I loved ancient Egypt growing up, but my access to resources on the topic was quite limited (much different times than these days). Because of this, my favorite aspect of this book was the setting. The author mentions in her note that while the places in this book are fictional, everything is heavily inspired by ancient Egypt. I wasn't sure at first how well it would work, because the names of the gods weren't changed and I don't always like that mix of fiction and history, but it worked wonderfully here. The amount of research the author did was evident and the setting and world came to life in a powerful way, from details relating to food to the sights and smells of a market to rituals that very few Egyptians would have witnessed firsthand. The cultural details were just excellent.

The work is told from several POVs, but as the characters are from such different backgrounds, it's relatively easy to remember who is who from the very beginning. None of the POVs ever felt redundant or unnecessary, and the amount of depth they provided the plot and world was well done. I honestly found all four of the protagonists well written and quite relatable, which surprised me in the best of ways.

The main aspect of this work that reminded me it was YA was that all of the MCs are in their teens. While I would have loved some of the protagonists to be older, it still worked well in this book. There were some hints at romance, but it never took center stage. Fingers crossed it stays thay way for the next book as well. Even those of you who don't prefer YA reads may still love this one if you like fantasy set in worlds heavily inspired by the real world.

This is one of the best YA fantasies I've read in some time, and I cannot wait to get my hands on book two. If you're interested in a YA fantasy that is set in a beautiful world with strong characters and an intriguing plot, then this is a must read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

I technically finished this a few days ago, but I forgot to update...whoops. Anyways, I'm not normally a fan of books that have more than 2 POVs and this has 4 BUT I like how this was done. It's centered around a prophecy that the 4 characters find themselves in. I loved loved loved the Egyptian elements of this, especially as it has a nod toward just how old the civilization was (e.g. the current ruling family doesn't do things like they did 1000 years ago....until the end of the book). I also like how all 4 characters are from different parts of Egypt and different social classes. I'm SO angry about the cliffhanger, and I can't wait for the next book.

game of thrones gets the YA treatment in this ancient egyptian-inspired fantasy centered around four strangers and the prophecy that draws them into the unrest threatening their land. as something ancient and evil awakens in the desert, rumors of rebellion and the pharoah’s mysterious illness swirl and a princess, a young priestess, a grave robber, and a rebel find themselves at the center of a bloody power struggle.

his face is the sun is a nice change of pace from the recent YA romantasy trend; while it falls into some common YA traps (and i really wish the author had taken even 10 minutes to research injury recovery times), it’s an enjoyable fantasy read and a solid start to a new trilogy! i particularly enjoyed the court (and temple) politics and sitamun and nefermaat’s POVs (as well as the cat’s); karim and raetawy were the weak links for me. karim, as the sole male POV, could have been interesting but instead seemed rather pointless compared to the three girls; rae’s role as a rebel was interesting, but she fell into the increasingly common YA fantasy trope of “this tall, athletic, not particularly feminine character is obviously a lesbian,” and while i’ve seen it done well, here it just felt lazy (like the author needed to check the “queer rep” box). ultimately his face is the sun attempts to accomplish a lot and mostly succeeds, ending on a cliffhanger that promises more plot in the sequel.

I really liked His Face is the Sun because the characters felt super real and easy to connect with. The main character isn’t perfect, which made her journey way more interesting to follow — I was rooting for her the whole time. The relationships, especially with the people around her, felt natural and added a lot of heart to the story. It’s not just about the plot, but how these characters grow and change that kept me hooked. Sure, there were a few slower moments, but honestly, it’s the people in the story that made it worth reading. If you’re into stories where the characters really drive the action and emotions, this one’s a solid pick.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire for this e-ARC of His Face Is the Sun in exchange for an honest review. I think for everyone who loved the What the River Knows duology for its exploration of Egyptian roots, this would be a good book to pick up. They're vastly different and tackle different themes and plots, but in my opinion, His Face Is the Sun is the Egyptian backdrop readers are interested in when they picked up the Secrets of the Nile duology. However, the writing struggled from the same thing that What the River Knows did, surprisingly, which was that the characters felt pretty immature. Not even just in the usual YA, but just really lacking common sense, and it honestly got pretty frustrating.

Embarking on this fantasy novel felt like stepping into a richly woven tapestry inspired by ancient Egypt. The narrative unfolds through the perspectives of four distinct characters, each with their own compelling arcs. Initially, the pacing felt deliberate, allowing the intricate world-building to take center stage. As the story progressed, the intertwining destinies of the protagonists became increasingly engaging.

Would I recommend it? Yes, for readers who appreciate immersive fantasy worlds and character-driven narratives.

One of my passions is learning about Egyptian mythology and Ancient Egypt and I’m always on the hunt for some fantasy books with it. His Fave Is The Sun by Michelle Jabès Corpora is the start of the Throne of Khetara trilogy.
 
The book starts off amazing and, in the prologue, you get the view from a cat and that already had me hooked. Afterwards, the book is told from four different povs and those characters are all very different and so intriguing. I loved how you get to see this world from so many different perspectives.
 
I was especially fascinated with Neff who’s a priestess-in-training and this was such a vital role in Ancient Egypt, and you almost never get this perspective. I also really liked Sita who is a princess and she’s so witty and curious. And Rae was igniting a revolution and she has not a lot but that doesn’t stop her and that was so inspiring. All the female characters were so good. I was so immersed in this story and already can’t wait to see what happens to the throne of Khetara.
 
If you want to read a unique and captivating fantasy with Ancient Egyptian mythology, definitely check out His Face Is The Sun. 4 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

This is a beautifully written story with multiple points of view from various characters. The fates of these characters are so intertwined by a prophecy that was created years ago. One is a princess; one of a triplet that was born on a stormy night - then we have a young priestess, a farmer's rebel daughter, and a grave robber. These 4 individuals must surge forward in order to save their kingdom.

I loved the setting of this one as it was set in ancient Egypt and I found myself really just thoroughly enjoying the mythology as it was told. The atmosphere was really captivating as it was - and although there is a minor subplot of romance, its for sure not the main focus - this is more focused on politics, magic, and the history.

I did struggle at times - especially in the first half of the book, as I really struggled with connecting with the characters or really understanding the plot. It was a slower read but I did end up becoming engaged with the characters and really loved seeing how all of their lives intertwined.

I loved the writing style - it wasn't too difficult or easy. The details and descriptions helped to paint a vivid picture in my mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Such an great tale of an ancient-Egyptian-esque culture & society. I would definitely recommend for someone who loves both historical fiction and/or fantasy as it does both very well.

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC. This was such an incredible read. I loved reading the multiple POVs and seeing how their journeys came together. Each character was super interesting, so I was never bored, but my favorite POV is definitely paws. As a cat lover, I love how there are so many cats. Each POV character is in a different place in life so it was so interesting putting together the world through the perspective of a princess, priestess, tomb robber, and rebel. This book really takes so many different genres and puts them together so well, there is romance, political scheming, learning magic and about the temple, fighting against an unfair ruler, tomb robbing, and horror. The world building was amazing, I really liked the Ancient Egypt setting, the mysteries and secrets were super intriguing, and the politics and scheming kept me on my toes. This was a great first book and I can't wait for the sequel after that ending.