First, let me set expectations. . . .
I read almost anything about ancient Egypt and everything that even remotely touches on Isis and Osiris. I call it research. :-)
That being said, I'm picky about what I like, and I'm often disappointed. A whiff of a camel plodding by the newly built Pyramids? Nope. Camels came with the Persians around 700 BC, and the Pyramids were built around 2500 BC. What about descriptions of tombs as cool and shady? You lost me. OK, they ARE shady, but I've been in those tombs. They've been baking in the sand under the hot Egyptian sun for a couple thousand years, and they are freaking ovens. Need I mention, how many novels go horribly, horribly wrong trying to sort out Egyptian mythology?
OK, so I said all that. Now, I'm saying Kiersten White's The Chaos of Stars delighted me!
From the Amazon blurb: Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up—which comes with the territory when you’re the human daughter of the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris.
Isadora is tired of her immortal relatives and their ancient mythological drama, so when she gets the chance to move to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic—and dangerous—complications . . .”
Kiersten White, you had me at hello!
Chaos of Stars is set alternately in Abydos, Egypt, and San Diego, CA. Isadora struggles with life, love, the modern world, and ancient enemies in a way that kept me turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning.
White's mythological research is top-notch. I had no quibble with her using the stereotype of Osiris as the feckless Father. Isis as the interfering Mother worked well. Because, seriously, when the Great Mother is your mother, how do you cope? It ain't easy. Add to that, what if your main purpose in life is to ensure your parents' immortality? (In ancient Egypt, Isis and Osiris's schtick was eternal love, fertility, and immortality. Did we expect them to give all that up?) Who could blame a girl for wanting to get away? Better yet, it works for Isadora's character arc.
I didn't figure out the bad guy until the very end, always a plus. The "surprise" twist about the love interest was not altogether unforeseen, yet it made me hope this novel might be the beginning of a series. Sadly, a series doesn't seem to be in the stars.
Highly recommended.