A leap through time. A choice to make. A destiny to change. Dismissed by her professors, ridiculed by her classmates, Serena Metcalfe is determined to prove the existence of the Samu Aqaru, the powerful stone of the ancient pharaohs - even if it means travelling through time. But her study of Egyptology did not prepare her for the dangers and passions of the real Egypt of 2361 BC. Crocodile attacks, kidnapping, betrayal, murder...and a pharaoh who believes she is a goddess and wants her as his queen. But Serena isn't about to give herself to a king - not when finding the precious Stone could mean saving the man she loves. Irresistible playboy Shepseskaf, fated for an early death, and his loyal yet ruthless cousin Pepisenkaura were once the closest of friends, but the right to the throne of Egypt and their rivalry for Serena threaten to transform them into bitter and eternal enemies. Only Serena knows the tragic destiny that awaits, and only Serena can rewrite history... by following her heart.
I GIVE THIS BOOK: 3 1/2 Stars
MY THOUGHTS:
The Scholar was a very easy book to read and I enjoyed the romantic aspect, though it played a much larger role than I was expecting I couldn't help but love it and it was a clean romance.
The book begins with Serena clinging to ledge of a building (1,200+ ft. up) in New York (which I think is the Empire State building but it's never clearly said so I'm not sure) and she hear the voice of her dead mother telling her to "let go and fly". Which she does. This is the way she ends up time-traveling to Egypt to the year 2361 B.C., which I found so strange and I'm sure how I feel about it. On one hand it makes it more understandable then how more people aren't time-traveling, if you have to be so sure that you will or you'll die. But on the other hand it was never clearly explained, hardly at all really, so when Serena is talking about finding any tall building later on in the book to jump from I was confused. Was it supposed to be just falling from a certain height that triggered the time-travel? Or was it her knowledge that it was possible and therefore made it happen? So confusing!
I very much enjoyed where the story was set, have always loved reading about ancient Egypt, but even though I've always had an interest in Egypt's history I haven't retained many of the names of rulers so I'm not sure how accurate the characters are...or if they're meant to be. If they represent real ones or if the authors made them up was never said, which is a little annoying. Not terribly annoying but it does bug me.
I do wish the story would have mentioned the time of year, such as every time the week or month changed, instead of not at all. It's not that big of a deal, just something that I always prefer books to have when the details in the story don't tell you.
The details of the story made me feel as though I were there, which is always nice. I enjoyed the use of Egyptian words, even though it was hard to follow sometimes as the words weren't always explained right away, it made me relate with how Serena must have felt. At least at first because she didn't recognize them either. However, it was hard to remember them and when Serena knew them in the story the English translation didn't appear as often so I either had to flip back and try to find one of the earlier uses or just ignore the word (which is what I usually did). I don't think this hurt my enjoyment of the story though, the only reason I mention it is so that if you choose to read the story maybe you'll write them down and save yourself the hassle of either searching or trying to remember what they meant. But the richness the use of them brought was worth the struggle, so I'm glad they were used.
Every chapter also starts with lines that I came to realize gave a short little story of their own. I think this is what Serena writes at the end, but it's never put together in one place so you's have to read the beginning of each chapter all at once (instead of reading the story in between) to get the message, at least I did. It was nice, but I felt it kind of took away from the main story itself so wish it wasn't where it was. Not sure where I would have put it in the story, but maybe when Serena's writing whatever she's writing at the end (since as I said this is what I think she's writing).
When Serena first meets the the cousins I didn't care for either of them! However, either one of them soon changed or I was able to see his true nature because I quickly loved him. Yes, he could still be very annoying, but his sweet side more than made up for it.
I would recommend reading The Scholar if you love historical romance and are looking for a book that's a very quick read and brings a smile to your face.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.
The Scholar was a very easy book to read and I enjoyed the romantic aspect, though it played a much larger role than I was expecting I couldn't help but love it and it was a clean romance.
The book begins with Serena clinging to ledge of a building (1,200+ ft. up) in New York (which I think is the Empire State building but it's never clearly said so I'm not sure) and she hear the voice of her dead mother telling her to "let go and fly". Which she does. This is the way she ends up time-traveling to Egypt to the year 2361 B.C., which I found so strange and I'm sure how I feel about it. On one hand it makes it more understandable then how more people aren't time-traveling, if you have to be so sure that you will or you'll die. But on the other hand it was never clearly explained, hardly at all really, so when Serena is talking about finding any tall building later on in the book to jump from I was confused. Was it supposed to be just falling from a certain height that triggered the time-travel? Or was it her knowledge that it was possible and therefore made it happen? So confusing!
I very much enjoyed where the story was set, have always loved reading about ancient Egypt, but even though I've always had an interest in Egypt's history I haven't retained many of the names of rulers so I'm not sure how accurate the characters are...or if they're meant to be. If they represent real ones or if the authors made them up was never said, which is a little annoying. Not terribly annoying but it does bug me.
I do wish the story would have mentioned the time of year, such as every time the week or month changed, instead of not at all. It's not that big of a deal, just something that I always prefer books to have when the details in the story don't tell you.
The details of the story made me feel as though I were there, which is always nice. I enjoyed the use of Egyptian words, even though it was hard to follow sometimes as the words weren't always explained right away, it made me relate with how Serena must have felt. At least at first because she didn't recognize them either. However, it was hard to remember them and when Serena knew them in the story the English translation didn't appear as often so I either had to flip back and try to find one of the earlier uses or just ignore the word (which is what I usually did). I don't think this hurt my enjoyment of the story though, the only reason I mention it is so that if you choose to read the story maybe you'll write them down and save yourself the hassle of either searching or trying to remember what they meant. But the richness the use of them brought was worth the struggle, so I'm glad they were used.
Every chapter also starts with lines that I came to realize gave a short little story of their own. I think this is what Serena writes at the end, but it's never put together in one place so you's have to read the beginning of each chapter all at once (instead of reading the story in between) to get the message, at least I did. It was nice, but I felt it kind of took away from the main story itself so wish it wasn't where it was. Not sure where I would have put it in the story, but maybe when Serena's writing whatever she's writing at the end (since as I said this is what I think she's writing).
When Serena first meets the the cousins I didn't care for either of them! However, either one of them soon changed or I was able to see his true nature because I quickly loved him. Yes, he could still be very annoying, but his sweet side more than made up for it.
I would recommend reading The Scholar if you love historical romance and are looking for a book that's a very quick read and brings a smile to your face.
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. I was asked to give my honest opinion of the book - which I have done.
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