Lady of the Two Lands
By Elizabeth Delisi  

     Hattie Williams is a struggling artist. While copying a necklace said to belong to the world’s first queen Hatshepsut for her employer’s book, a ghostly vision of the lady whisks her back in time to ancient Egypt and into the queen’s body. She wants to go home and away from this place where her stepson Tuthmosis hates her, powerful people scheme against her and everything is so strange; but first, she must do what the queen’s shade commands. Trouble is, she is also falling in love with the handsome advisor Senemut…

     Time travel books are always fun, and allow the writer to have a modern perspective on historical times without creating anachronistic characters. You can also have a heroine who can be modern in all senses of the word to appeal to all those who like historical romances but hate demure young virgins! In this well paced and admirably concise novel, we see Ancient Egypt as it would appear to us through Hattie’s eyes and watch as she tries to fit in with the times; all of which is very entertaining and makes a good story. Add the attractive and kindly Senemut, who is a world away from the alpha male of many romantic novels, and you have a highly readable and enjoyable story; although personally a better description of the battle and certain other aspects of Hattie’s sojourn in the past would have made a good tale even better. The ending is particularly appealing and I look forward to the next novel from this author.