Skip to main content

Queen of the Heavens by Kingsley Guy: A Book Review

Queen of the Heavens
Author: Kingsley Guy
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Middle River Press
Release Date: 2012
Pages: 284
Source: Personal Collection
Synopsis: What is it like to awaken to the divine, and know that our lives are informed and shaped by spiritual guidance from other realms? Queen of the Heavens helps us open the gateway to those unseen worlds.

     Respected journalist Kingsley Guy takes us back to ancient Egypt, where gods and goddesses were not merely images carved in stone. They were as real as the sunset and the wind blowing through papyrus reeds. Known as the neters, they passed back and forth between the dimensions, working magic in people's lives.
   
     Come meet Tuya. Through her gifts as a healer, this extraordinary woman gained the attention of the royal court and rose from commoner to queen. Tuya inspired and transformed the lives of those she touched during the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Allow her to do the same for you. 

     My Review: Tuya was queen to Seti I and the mother of Ramesses II. Yet, she was once a commoner. How did a commoner become the Queen of Egypt? The historical novel, Queen of the Heavens attempts to answers these questions. At an early age, Tuya was marked by the Egyptian gods. Called by Isis herself, she will help restore light to Egypt. A devoted woman to the gods, Tuya is determined to do their will. Little does she know that she is called to be the Queen of Egypt and will give birth to one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs.

     At first, Tuya is a precocious and happy child. Yet, when she is called by Isis, she makes a tough decision to do Isis’s will, even when her family objects. Her family does not understand Tuya’s actions and are befuddled by them. This is because Tuya has the gift of healing and she heals both nobles and commoners alike, which is very improper for a young girl of marriageable age. Yet, Tuya’s healing has captured the attention of Ramesses, who will eventually be Ramesses I. He believes that because of Tuya’s healing powers that she has the ear of Isis. This makes Tuya a very promising bride and marries her to his son, Seti.

     I really admire Tuya. She is a strong and bright woman. I liked how she followed Isis’s will to heal both commoners and nobles. Yet, sometimes Tuya suffered some obstacles. It is because of these difficulties that she questions her faith and her abilities. Eventually, she learns that faith involves both the good and the bad times. Because of this, it is what makes her a stronger and wiser person.

     Overall, this book is about faith, family, and choices. It is about a woman who is determined to follow her beliefs and do what is right. The message of this book is that even though there are difficult times in your life, you will overcome them. The obstacles in your life are what makes you a stronger person. I really thought this book was very well-researched, and I thought all the characters were very complex. The only thing I did not like about this book was the long separation between Seti and Tuya. I thought the reason for their separation was absurd and could easily be remedied. Still, I love how Queen Tuya is portrayed in the book because she is a very caring, tough, and wise character. I recommend this book to fans of Michelle Moran, Stephanie Dray, and Libbie Hawker. Queen of the Heavens is an excellent tribute to this obscure woman.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Potiphar's Wife (The Egyptian Chronicles #1) by Mesu Andrews: A Book Review

  Potiphar’s Wife (The Egyptian Chronicles #1) Author: Mesu Andrews Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: WaterBrook Release Date: May 24, 2022 Pages: 453 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: One of the Bible’s most notorious women longs for a love she cannot have in this captivating novel from the award-winning author of Isaiah’s Legacy .       Before she is Potiphar’s wife, Zuleika is the daughter of a king and the wife of a prince. She rules the isle of Crete alongside her mother in the absence of their seafaring husbands. But when tragedy nearly destroys Crete, Zuleika must sacrifice her future to save the Minoan people she loves.       Zuleika’s father believes his robust trade with Egypt will ensure Pharaoh’s obligation to marry his daughter, including a bride price hefty enough to save Crete. But Pharaoh refuses and gives her instead to Potiphar, the captain...

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn: A Book Review

The Rose Code Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: 2021 Pages: 635 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire.        Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes.       Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts.       1947, London.        Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the roya...

The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative by Gregg Hecimovich: A Book Review

  The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of the Bondwoman’s Narrative Author: Gregg Hecimovich Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography  Publisher: Ecco Release Date: 2023 Pages: 430 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A groundbreaking study of the first Black female novelist and her life as an enslaved woman, from the biographer who solved the mystery of her identity, with a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr.       In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and fled to a farm in New York. In hiding, she worked on a manuscript that would make her famous long after her death. The novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, was first published in 2002 to great acclaim, but the author’s identity remained unknown. Over a decade later, Professor Gregg Hecimovich unraveled the mystery of the author’s name and, in The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts, hefinally tells her story.   ...