[review written 2013]

actually i liked this book a lot better than sphinx’s princess. there was more suspense in it, and the plot moved quickly enough for me to keep interested and this time i actually cared about the romance subplot between nefertiti and amenophis.

it was good, but it wasn’t great. one thing i both loved and hated was the face heel turn (i am using tv tropes to describe things again) by thutmose and later, queen tiye. on one hand, i was rooting constantly for them to realize that their paranoia was completely unwarranted, but i was dismayed at how quick it seemed to be.

which was why i used the term face heel turn. (or heel face turn?) but no! i liked it and i liked how everything wrapped up neatly in the end and most of all how it was a happy ending.

i’m definitely going to reread her series about helen of troy now (well, i read the first book, so reread that.) i liked nefertiti in this book, i liked nava, and most oddly of all, i liked thutmose, even though he irritated me through most of the book. by the end, i felt sorry for him.

this book is an 8/10 and once again, for people who like history or strong women rulers. (because even if nefertiti isn’t a ruler when the books take place, she is unarguably strong. in regards to femininity and strength, friesner does not do the thing where nefertiti switches between masculine ideals of strength and feminine ideals of beauty. she is feminine and she is strong because she is clever and smart and ready to fight for herself, and she will not let anyone control her, and i loved that.) ( )

Nefertiti is on the run with Prince Amenophis and little Nava, the freed slave girl. Crown Prince Thutmose and his men are hunting her, and the only way to clear her name is to get to the city of Dendera and present her case to Pharoah. Traveling in ancient Egypt was perilous -- snakes, violent hippo and crocodile attacks, and reed boats that often sank! Nefertiti has to use all of her survival skills to keep the group alive, and then she has to persuade Pharaoh and her Aunt Tiye that she is innocent. Lots of drama, mystery, action, and even a little romance in this historical fiction pageturner! 7th grade and up. ( )

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Nefertiti and Amenophis are on the run. They're desperately trying to escape from Prince Thutmose. Together with an ex-slave, they're floating down the river in an attempt to reach the Pharaoh.

They must reach the Pharaoh in order to clear Nefertiti 's name. After much hardship and a little luck, they reach his side, only to discover that Prince Thutmose has beaten them there. Now, Nefertiti must stand before the Pharaoh and clear herself from the false charges thrown her way by the Prince.

It doesn't help that she has fallen in love with Amenophis - the Prince's brother. It also doesn't help that the Pharaoh himself is in awe of her beauty. She must prove herself before the gods.

How will Nefertiti prove her innocence? With so many people against her, is it possible for her to have a happy ending?

I love Esther Friesner's strong historical female characters, and Nefertiti doesn't disappoint readers. For much of the book, Nefertiti remains isolated, even heartbroken. Still, she manages to gather strength for herself and to instill strength in others. Despite all the hardships she must endure, the author imagines the character as both powerful and vulnerable. ( )

This book is the 2nd book in the Sphinx's series.Nefertiti, the lead character, is a strong, loving young adult. The second book was as good as the first. It is about love, Nefertiti learns to love a slave girl, as well as the accident prone prince. In this book, she is accused of killing the Great King's to be's Cat. After being accused she had to be locked in a room, like prison. She could only have a couple visitors, mostly the slave girl and the younger prince, occasionally one of the may princesses.Amenophis and Nava, the slave girl she set free in the first book, and Amenophis in the youngest prince who eventually help Nefertiti escape. When they escape their boat was crashed by a hippo and Nefertiti went one way while Amenophis and Nava went another trying to escape the hippo's. They spent to next 2 days trying to find each other. once they were united they had to move fast because Amenophis brother was on this way. they were caught, and take back to the palace. Then Nefertiti started to make friends with Amenophis 's bother ( Sorry I forgot his name!!!). They made a deal, it was more like a ran. NO it was a race! it was on lap around the pond. Nefertiti won and was free to marry anyone she wanted, Which was Amenophis! Also adopting Nava, if she wanted to.

This is a great book! it is full of love, adventurer, and Egyptian History. Estner Friesner is my favorite author. I have read 4 of her books. Back to this book, it a great book for anyone with any interest in powerful woman. It is a must read! ( )

One word: Ireaditinaday! This sequel was so good and I was so sad when I finished it since it’s the last book for the Egyptian theme books. As I said in the first books review, Friesner sure did her research. I did a report on Egypt that took a whole year to finish and spent hours on researching for it and I still learned new things.
SPOILER AHEAD! Her characters were awesome sauce and they all developed through the series. I was actually kind of sad when one of the characters, well, died. SPOILER OVER!
Nefertiti was a girl that I really admired and wanted to be. She’s smart, funny, and downright cool. I loved her relationship with Amenophis and Nava. I could feel her emotions coming off the pages.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the somewhat modern language. I give this book an B. ( )