Ramses, Volume I: Son of Light by Christian Jacq

I can't even begin to remember where I heard about this book but boy am I glad that I did. I was entranced by this novel which is about Ramses before he became king of Egypt. It begins with the first time that Ramses meets his father, the Pharoah of Egypt and Ramses is fourteen years old. From then on Ramses is never sure if his father is training him to be the next Pharoah or whether his destiny might lie as something other than king. The book continues on with the struggles that Ramses faces as well as the triumphs. Because not everyone wants Ramses to come to power including Ramses' older brother who plans on being Pharoah himself.

I loved this book! I was transported into Ancient Egypt with this novel and I was entralled. The writing was gorgeous and I was marking passages to share left and right. The best part of the book though was that the author captured my interest and I was caught up within the story. There were times that I just couldn't put the book down. Ramses was a strong and likeable character but realistic at the same time. He wasn't without his flaws and as the reader I wanted to see him overcome his enemies and become the future Pharoah. I'm really looking forward to the 2nd book in this series! Here is a little teaser to share a taste of this wonderful novel:

"A courageous man goes to the limit of his strength. A king goes beyond it. If that is not in you, you are not meant to rule and we will never see each other again. No test should daunt you. Leave, if you wish; otherwise, capture the bull."

All in all, this was a wonderful novel that I highly recommend to anyone that enjoys historical fiction. I'll be requesting the next one from the library asap. And this was my 3rd and final selection for the historical fiction reading challenge. I completed a challenge...woohoo :) I'll be posting a wrap-up soon for this one.

My Rating/Recommendations: 4.5 out of 5 and recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction!
Challenges: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, New Author challenge, 100+ Book Challenge, Support Your Library Challenge, A-Z Challenge ("J" Author), 1st in a Series Challenge

The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick

Wow! What an amazing beginning to this trilogy and I am hooked. The Kingmaking is Hollick's story of Arthur and the king that he might have been. It begins with our first introduction to Arthur as he meets Gwenhwyfar and finds that someday he might be king. The Kingmaking takes the reader on a journey, both Arthur and Gwenhwyfars', and the struggles and triumphs that may lead to Arthur becoming king. It is a journey filled with blood and battles, love and redemption, and so many other things that make up a great novel.

Can I just say right now that I loved this novel? I mean this is historical fiction at its' best and I was entranced. I fell in love with Arthur and Gwenhwyfar's relationship right at the beginning of the story. I felt like Hollick portrayed Arthur realistically so that the reader could see all of his faults along with his strengths. This just helped me to like his character even more although there were times that I wished I could shake him when he was making the "wrong" choices. This was a gritty novel that brought to life the legend of Arthur and made it come across as realistically as possile.

Helen Hollick is a very talented writer and the writing flowed for me. For such a long novel (over 500 pages), I found myself knocking off huge chunks at a time as I couldn't put the book down. I flew through this story and when I was finished I instantly wanted more. I'm so excited to read the next portion of this story and can't wait to get my hands on the 2nd book. Here is a taste of Hollick's writing:

"Gwenhwyfar smiled at him, her eyes crinkling. She remembered her hand, and shyly withdrew it. She liked him! He made her laugh. With mock sincerity Arthur said, 'I grant you are an exceptional girl, Gwenhwyfar, but a man needs other men.'

'A man needs a woman to comfort him through the night and to give him sons.' Gwenhwyfar's retort came with a knowing grin."

All in all, I absolutely enjoyed this book and am going to highly recommend it. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction should give this one a try as it is an epic tale that kept me on my toes. Seriously, this was a really great read and a huge thanks to Paul at Sourcebooks for sending this one to me. I'll be posting a guest post from the author so check that out as well :)

My Rating/Recommendations: 4.5 out of 5; Recommended to anyone who enjoys historical fiction

Challenges: New Author Challenge, A-Z Challenge ("K" Title), 100+ Challenge, Historical Fiction Challenge