Moran did an incredible job of bringing her to life. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Nefertari, and I thought Ms. THE HERETIC QUEEN was a fabulous book - one of my favorites this year! I was a little worried about reading it before I read NEFERTITI since there are many references to that novel but I can assure you that it absolutely isn't necessary to read them in order and it didn't take away from my enjoyment (and understanding) of this book. Moran will be joining us via telephone to talk about her book so it should be an extra-special meeting. I can't wait to read it (but I do have to wait a little closer to our meeting so it's fresh) and discuss it with everyone. When Michelle Moran contacted me about reading her latest novel THE HERETIC QUEEN, I almost did a little 'happy dance.' Every single review I have read about THE HERETIC QUEEN AND NEFERTITI has been extremely positive! And one of my good friends has been raving about NEFERTITI for months and recommending it to everyone (you can read her review here.) In fact, she likes it so much that she has selected it for the next time she hosts our book club in February. Sweeping in scope and meticulous in detail, The Heretic Queen is a novel of passion and power, heartbreak and redemption. Destined to be the most powerful Pharaoh in Egypt, he is also the man who must confront the most famous exodus in history. While political adversity sets the country on edge, Nefertari becomes the wife of Ramesses the Great.

Yet all of Egypt opposes this union between the rising star of a new dynasty and the fading star of an old, heretical one. Soon Nefertari catches the eye of the Crown Prince, and despite her family’s history, they fall in love and wish to marry.

But this changes when she is taken under the wing of the Pharaoh’s aunt, then brought to the Temple of Hathor, where she is educated in a manner befitting a future queen. A relic of a previous reign, Nefertari is pushed aside, an unimportant princess left to run wild in the palace. The girl’s deceased family has been branded as heretical, and no one in Egypt will speak their names. A devastating palace fire has killed the Eighteenth Dynasty’s royal family-all with the exception of Nefertari, the niece of the reviled former queen, Nefertiti. The winds of change are blowing through Thebes. Summary: In ancient Egypt, a forgotten princess must overcome her family’s past and remake history.

The heretic queen michelle moran