• The Sekhmet Bed

  • The She-King, #1
  • By: L.M. Ironside
  • Narrated by: Amanda C. Miller
  • Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (139 ratings)

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The Sekhmet Bed  By  cover art

The Sekhmet Bed

By: L.M. Ironside
Narrated by: Amanda C. Miller
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Publisher's summary

Is Ahmose's divine gift a blessing or a curse?

The second daughter of the Pharaoh, Ahmose has always dreamed of a quiet life as a priestess, serving Egypt's gods, ministering to the people of the Two Lands. But when the Pharaoh dies without an heir, she is given instead as Great Royal Wife to the new king - a soldier of common birth. For Ahmose is god-chosen, gifted with the ability to read dreams, and it is her connection to the gods which ensures the new Pharaoh his right to rule.

Ahmose's elder sister Mutnofret has been raised to expect the privileged station of Great Royal Wife; her rage at being displaced cannot be soothed. As Ahmose fights the currents of Egypt's politics and Mutnofret's vengeful anger, her youth and inexperience carry her beyond her depth and into the realm of sacrilege.

To right her wrongs and save Egypt from the gods' wrath, Ahmose must face her most visceral fear: bearing an heir. But the gods of Egypt are exacting, and even her sacrifice may not be enough to restore the Two Lands to safety.

©2011, 2013 Libbie M. Grant (P)2013 Libbie M. Grant

What listeners say about The Sekhmet Bed

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Never listened to a story about Egypt before...

What made the experience of listening to The Sekhmet Bed the most enjoyable?

The narration was really enjoyable. I have never listened or read a story about ancient Egypt before and the way the story was told pulled me in and I didn't want to stop listening!

What did you like best about this story?

I really loved the all the small details and descriptions of the characters day to day lives but it was the dramatic twists in the book that made it a "page-turner". All of the Characters were very well developed and it had me on edge wondering what was going to happen next. I loved the whole thing from start to finish!

Have you listened to any of Amanda C. Miller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't before, but will in the future!

If you could rename The Sekhmet Bed, what would you call it?

I think the name suits the book well, I wouldn't change it.

Any additional comments?

I am really hoping that the other books in this series comes to audiobook soon!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Entertaining but bad narration

Entertaining book. Writing somewhat juvenile. Would not have chosen this narrator. Didn't fit the story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Took me there!

What made the experience of listening to The Sekhmet Bed the most enjoyable?

The narration and the storytelling were both so beautiful

What other book might you compare The Sekhmet Bed to and why?

I haven't read much about Ancient Egypt in historical fiction, so I don't know.

Which character – as performed by Amanda C. Miller – was your favorite?

The narration was the best. I wasn't a huge fan of the character voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I almost did. I finished it less than 24 hours after purchasing.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Sekhmet Bed

I found the traditions of the ancient Egyptians in this story extremely fascinating. Did take me a while to really get in to the scheme of things, but once I did I was happy I'd discovered Libbie Hawker's series. The narration was not very imaginative, at least in the beginning, but once I played with the speed settings, I adjusted to Miller's narrative. She did amp up the excitement towards latter portions of audio and it helped me visualize an empire ruled by Pharaohs, sisters fighting for control of a kingdom, gods and godesses appearing in visions, heirs born to rule. I will be continuing on to the second book in the series, THE CROOK AND FLAIL. Haven't decided which format to choose. I have the Kindle version. Maybe I'll read it instead and use the imaginative voices in my head to create the characters.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • LA
  • 10-30-16

Beautiful and compelling

An intelligent, well written , informed historical fiction piece. I enjoyed being a part of this characters life and feeling the richness of detail in this epic land. Weaving history, myth, religion and culture together inextricably was done with great skill.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

08Jun2016

After listening to several chapters it's just not my preference of story line -- too much "bedroom" but it's not erotic. I was hoping for more mystery or adventure or suspense.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great book - really get a feel for ancient egypt

Would you consider the audio edition of The Sekhmet Bed to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the printer version so I can't be sure.

What did you like best about this story?

It really makes you feel like you're in ancient Egypt.

Have you listened to any of Amanda C. Miller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this is my first, but the narrator did a great job.

Who was the most memorable character of The Sekhmet Bed and why?

Ahmose, she had the most 'screen-time'.

Any additional comments?

My only complaint was that I feel like it had a slight leaning towards a female perspective. There was more focus on motherhood and the protagonist's rival sister that I (a male reader) was especially interested in. However that did not detract enough from the book to result in my dissatisfaction of the whole.I love historical fiction, I've read most of the work by Conn Iggulden and James Clavell, as well as some by Bernard Cornwell, Robert Fabbri, Jane Auel and Ken Follett. I am not educated in Egyptian history, so I cannot judge the actual accuracy of Ironside's details (though they all seem legit as far as I can tell). However I can say she did as good a job of making the reader truly experience the historical setting as any of the those authors did. The story itself was also great, and the writing itself was too.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

overall it was ok

I enjoyed the overall story. I did think that some aspects were historically very unlikely. Such as the times when Ahmose was unsupervised or when she dressed or bathed herself. I doubt any royal would have not bee. surrounded by servants or slaves to see to every need.

The narrator has an unfortunate voice. She sounds annoyed and disinterested. She puts inflections on the wrong words.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

I could not finish this book

I tried. I really did. Miller was great to listen to. But the writing seemed more the day dreams of a 14 year old child than the product of an adult. The writing style was clumsy and primitive and juvenile. The author is supposed to be *a historian* but since she never went to college I find that hard to take seriously, and the story makes it hard to believe. Reading a couple of books does not make you 'a historian'. Some bits were ridiculous. No, a royal princess marrying the Pharaoh would not be choosing her own clothes and dressing herself so her sister could 'trick' her into looking 'plain' while the sister got to skank out and 'steal the show'. That's what servants are for. And they would wear new gowns specifically made for the occasion. I DO know that much. And I think she got her Thutmoses confused. A cursory bit of research on line says the pharaoh in the book was royal blood. There WAS a Thutmose who was a general, elevated to the rank of ruler, when King Tut died and left no heirs but that was a long time later. This book felt like a book written for young teens, by a young teen. I have 4 more hours of the book to listen to and I cant. I just can't.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!!

This was a wonderful book! I’m so happy it’s part of a series so I can keep following this excellent and well written tale of the incomparable Hatshepsut, fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty Egypt!

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