Book Review: Kingdom of Sand and Stars: Book 1

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Gosh guys, it has been ages since I have been here. I did get the odd notification here and there about comments on various posts. My bad for not responding. A global crisis has a way of zapping away your…well, everything.

This post isn’t going to be about why I haven’t been around and what I have been up to. I will save that for another day.

One thing I have been doing is READING! I have had my nose stuck in precious books on a regular basis. The most recent being a new novel by one of my faves, Candace Osmond. I’m on her ARC (advanced reading copy) team, so I get first crack at her newest creations.

The latest is another time travel romance, this time taking place in ancient Egypt.

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Book Blurb:

Young archaeologist, Andie Godfrey must conquer her addiction and accept the opportunity to uncover the Egyptian cave where her father and boyfriend were last seen two years ago. But, the pain of the past is hard to forget when you’re thrown at its feet.

Using her father’s secret research, Andie pieces together a clandestine conspiracy, centuries old, that will shatter the world’s idea of ancient Egypt. But before she can solve her father’s cryptic puzzle, Andie’s betrayed by the leader of the expedition, and finds herself left for dead at the bottom of a pit where she accidentally activates a portal carved in stone.

Unsure whether she’s dead or thrown back in the midst of time, Andie discovers an advanced civilization unlike anything she’s ever known and is soon faced with a ruler among Gods; a man from her own past who once ruled her heart.

I finished off this book in two days. I devoured it every chance I got, including my little bit of free time at work. I even pushed through a rotten headache reading this. Usually when I have a headache or migraine, reading is a hardcore no-go. But I couldn’t put it down. It’s like a cross between ‘Outlander’ and ‘The Mummy’. I am a sucker for time travel romance, and romance in general if I am being honest.

Candace is a history buff when it comes to ancient Egypt, and her passion for it shows. While I love history, Egypt hasn’t been on the top of my list for interesting topics. However Candace’s words not only had me wanting to learn more, I also felt as if I was immersed in her setting. At times I found myself hitting up Google. Not because I didn’t understand a topic or anything. But because I was curious as to what characters were based from mythology and what came from the depths of her active and creative imagination.

Andie is a bad ass, strong willed woman who slowly becomes an alcoholic after her father and love of her life were killed in an ancient cave. A few years later she learned that not everything is what it seems. She’s transported to an ancient time that is much different then of the one she learned. And to a place where Gods and other creatures exist. While facing her own demons, she’s trying to save the man she loves from his brother. Luckily she has help of her father, Anubis, God of the underworld and Shadow, a lizard like creature who has taken to Andie.

This book was everything and more that I expected from Candace. If you’ve read other reviews of mine, you know I am a huge fan. And I feel like, even though I have loved all her books so far, that this is her best one yet. The plot flowed, the characters were believable and she took me on a journey I didn’t expect to go on.

This story is has a little bit of everything: adventure, mystery,  betrayal, romance, the supernatural, time travel and a piece of jewelry that is much more then it seems.