The Series I'm Reading - Jagger Jones, Plus One

This Time Reading - Finished July, 2024
I finished Jagger Jones sometime last July, but I don’t remember when. I first read this book back in 2019 when it was published. I was in a debut group with the author, Malayna Evans.

I was thrilled to meet a real Egyptologist. Of course, she wrote about her favorite subject, and the setting, two of her favorite places – Egypt and the south side of Chicago. And, her two kids inspired the main characters, Jagger and Aria Jones. Aren’t they cool facts to know?!

I know very little about Egypt, but historical fiction is a fun way to meet Pharoah’s royal family, to visit the pyramids. Add in the historical detail about what they wore and ate, and it’s a great way to learn history!

And the plot – imagine having a real Egyptian princess call and ask you for help. That’s the heart of the story. I reviewed Jagger back in 2019. Here’s the link to the review on My Reads. I also posted it on Amazon and Goodreads. Link: Rinda Beach - Beach Reads - Rinda Beach

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This Time Reading – Finished August, 2024
I finished Aria Jones sometime in August. The main characters from Book 1 are back – Jagger, Aria, and the princess. Book 2 begins with a field trip to a Chicago Museum. Waiting for Aria, two statues, who were once bodyguards to Egyptian royalty.

When one of the statues drops a bracelet into Aria’s hand, she recognizes the message. Within the hour Aria and Jagger are back in ancient Egypt. This time the stakes are higher. The princess is dying, and so is her family. Even worse the Gods have stopped talking, and no one knows why.

Get ready for an Egyptian adventure! Take a trip to the Pyramids of Giza. Meet a few mummies and puzzle out a riddle from the Sphinx. Here’s the link to my 2020 review on My Reads.
                                                    Link: Rinda Beach - Beach Reads - Rinda Beach

                                                                  Tomorrow – Take a look at Book 3.
                                I didn’t think it was ever published, but I stumbled across it this summer!

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Finished June 24, 2024
​Neferura is the plus one in this series. She’s not related to Jagger Jones, but they’re written by the same author . . . who happens to be an Egyptologist.

There aren’t many stories of ancient Egypt, and this one is fascinating. Travel back to a world 1400 to 1500 years before Christ when the pyramids were built. The author paints a picture of Neferura’s life. From the food she ate, to her clothing, to her job as priestess.

Add in political drama as Neferura battles the intrigues of her mother and half-brother. They’re fighting for wealth and power, and they don’t care who lives, or dies. The main characters are real. The author took the plot points from their lives and connected them into a novel.
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When I read historical fiction, I always wonder what’s true and what’s made up. This is a statue from the British Museum. The man is Senenmut, and he’s holding Princess Neferura. They’re both in this book, and they both lived in Ancient Egypt.

The real Neferura was the daughter of two pharaohs. Her mother, Hatshepsut. Her father, Thutmose II. She didn’t become pharaoh, but she had some great opportunities.
The back matter said Neferura was the wife of the god Amun. Her mother and grandmother were too. Her grandmother, Ahmose-Nefertari, is long dead, but her influence isn’t. It’s the spark that sets the plot in motion.

The story focuses on how and why Neferura might have married her half-brother, Thutmose III. There’s no record of it, but there’s research that points that way. It centers on the fight to be in charge. In other words, politics as usual.

Senenmut is also in the novel. His first job, ‘Steward of the God’s Wife.’ That’s Hatshepsut. She fights to become pharaoh in her own right. Senenmet’s next job, ‘Steward of the King’s Daughter. That’s Neferura. In the novel he’s her tutor and art patron, and he did have multiple statues made with a young Neferura.

                                                    Sources: Neferure - Wikipedia   &   Senenmut - Wikipedia

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​Meet Neferura’s mother, AKA Hatshepsut. She was an incredible woman in any age, but she ruled during her lifetime.

​She was the Great Royal Wife of Thutmose II, her half-brother. She went on to become regent when he died. Thutmose III was two years old, too young to rule. Eventually Hatshepsut made herself Pharoah. She wasn’t the first, but she was the most successful. When Thutmose came of age, they became equal pharaohs.  I bet that went over well. NOT!

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The most unusual thing about Hatshepsut is that she’s a woman and a man in statues. That’s strange, but Neferura’s author said pharaohs are Horus the god, come to earth. No wonder she gave herself a beard. People will do almost anything to gain power, then to hold onto it.

After she died, her statues were destroyed. Her monuments vandalized, and her achievements given away to other pharoahs. That was 20 years after her death, and Thutmose III  was pharoah for most of that time. You’d think he would have done it sooner.
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Historians still wonder who did it and why. Was it Thutmose or his son Amenhotep II? Was it for ritual/religious reasons or hate? Either way, it didn’t work. Hatshepsut was the longest female ruler in Egypt, and, the most successful.  

                                                                             Source: Hatshepsut - Wikipedia

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Meet Thutmose III. Hapshepsut was his stepmother, and aunt at the same time. In this story he’s positively evil, but deservedly so. That’s because Hapshepsut sent him off to the army as soon as she could get rid of him, and if he died, so much the better. But it is true –Thutmose really was the commander of Hapshepsut’s army.
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It’s also true that Thutmose had a Royal Wife named Satiah. She’s in the story, and her son was Thutmose’s first son and heir, Amenemhat. He died young and never got to become pharaoh.
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                 Link: Thutmose III - Wikipedia

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And the last major character is Satiah. She didn’t get a statue, but she’s on a painting in Thutmose’s tomb. Her father may/may not have been Ahmose Pen-Hekhebet, who has a minor role in this novel. And her son was Amenemhat. Some sources say he was Neferura’s son.

This is that painting, from the tomb. On the top half, Thutmose III is in a boat with his mother, Iset.

In the bottom half, start on the right. You’ll see Thutmose as a child with his mother represented as a tree. Behind them Thutmose is leading a family procession. Next in line is the King’s Wife, Meritre-Hatshepsut. Her son became the next pharaoh. Satiah comes next as a King’s Wife because her son died before he could become pharaoh. The third queen is another King’s Wife, Nebtu, and last in line is the King’s Daughter, Nefertari.

                                                                                     Link: Satiah - Wikipedia
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Amazon’s Description:
There are many paths to power. They all come with a price.

Neferura, princess and high priestess of Kemet, knows her duty is to her people. When your mother is the great Pharaoh, it is hard to forget. But Neferura's unique position at court comes with high stakes for her country, especially when she's forced to serve her vile half-brother, a man determined to stop Neferura's potential rise.

Peace, it seems, never lasts for women who wield power in the open. Especially when they cross a vengeful man.
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When Neferura overhears Thutmose's plot to end her mother's rule, she knows he must be stopped, no matter the cost. The discovery of a mysterious tattooed wisewoman and her shadowy network of spies offers an uneasy alliance. But the wisewoman wields more power than Neferura knew possible -- power with the potential to rival her own. Neferura must decide where her loyalties lie and how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the people she loves before everything crumbles at the hands of a tyrant.

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