KIYA: Hope of the Pharaoh

KIYA Trilogy, Book 1

By: Katie Hamstead

Narrated by: Dara Rosenberg

When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

©2013 Katie Hamstead (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Fascinating and engaging

In Kiya, Hope of the Pharaoh, Egyptian soldiers visit a Hebrew village to find a new wife for the Pharaoh. The Egyptians desire one of Naomi's younger sisters, but Naomi bravely volunteers herself in order to protect her sisters' virtue. When she arrives at the palace, she continues to show strength and bravery, as she stands up for the other wives and concubines, fights the tyrannical first wife, and stays true to her religious beliefs despite threat of death.

I usually do not read historicals, but I'm so glad I made an exception for Kiya. I was immediately fascinated by the world she created and rooted for her characters. I loved stepping into a different world and was impressed by all the detail, such as social norms, culture, food, clothing, and marriage traditions. However, a world is nothing without its characters, and this book has fantastic ones. Naomi/Kiya is a wonderful strong, female character. She is courageous, moral, and easy to root for. I also found the Pharaoh's character to be complex and fascinating. I expected him to be more of a traditional "bad guy" type, but he was very layered and unusual. And the love story between Naomi and Malakai was noble and heartwarming. When he told the story of Rachel and Leia, I admit to tearing up a bit.

I'm so excited to read the rest of the series! Well done Katie Hamstead!

Cheesy

I liked the story but listening to it made me feel like I was watching one of cheesy old Barbie movies and it was a little irritating

Couldn't put it down. Fantastic!

The story went from drama to more drama. Fast paced! Great Read. On to the next one.

Can't get to the story

The narration of this story is just awful in my opinion... over acted. I can't even get past it to find out if I like the story. I'll try reading it myself as it received good reviews for the story itself.

terrible reading, bad writing, good story

This is a terrible reading that makes not-great writing sound even worse. Somebody else described it as "A kindergarten teacher reading Cinderella," which is accurate. Her villains' voices are AWFUL. However, the story of this trilogy is very interesting, and I'm finishing it because I'm still into it despite its faults. I feel bad to be harsh, but I kind of just wish someone else had written it. The writing is almost entirely free of any color, e.g. "I felt fear for my family, knowing that the army would be nearby." (Not quite a direct quote, but as good as). I think maybe the author was trying to achieve the tone of a simple ancient lifestyle, but it comes off as a lot of telling and little showing. I would recommend "Child of the Morning" and "The Red Tent" as better-written alternatives with similar aspects of this story.