The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: His Face is the Sun

Series: Throne of Khetara #1

Author: Michelle Jabes Corpora

Genre: Young Adult, Mythology, High Fantasy

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

A new reign is coming…Romance, magic, adventure, and horror collide in the start to this lush, epic, Ancient Egyptian inspired trilogy perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tahereh Mafi, and Sabaa Tahir.

Princess. Priestess. Rebel. Thief.

Tensions run as hot as the Khamsin winds in the great kingdom of Khetara. Rumors of the pharaoh’s mysterious illness abound, and with them, murmurs of rebellion grow. Meanwhile, in the quiet desert, a forgotten oracle begins to unfold, setting a dark prophecy into action and drawing together four strangers…
Princess SITA lives in the abundance of the palace, and in a moment of passion, she unmasks a betrayal that will put her life―and the entire royal court―in grave danger.
A priestess-in-training, NEFF strives to understand her intense visions from the gods, except theirs is not the only magic at play in the grand temple.
As a farmer’s daughter, RAE knows how much the pharaoh’s men have taken from her land, her people. Still, who will step forward to confront the king?
KARIM was raised among the pyramids of the Red Lands and survives on the wealth of the dead as a tomb robber. But amid the spoils, an ancient evil awakens…
Bloodshed is coming. Only together do these four have the potential to save the kingdom from destruction. But when the dust has settled, who will sit on the throne of Khetara? – summary from Goodreaders

This is the high fantasy book I’ve been searching for!

This reminded me so much of Victoria Aveyard’s Realm Breaker trilogy, expect it took place in ancient Egypt and is centered around Egyptian mythology.

There were four perspectives throughout the book, which I adored. There was the perspective of Princess Sita, thief Karim, priestess-in-training Neff, and farmer’s daughter Rae. I loved all these different perspectives and all of them really helped give a full picture of this world and the political climate of the world.

There were also many other characters, which really deepened the world. My absolute favorite side character was Kenna. He was amazing and there was something about his character that drew me to him. I hope he becomes more of a full-fledged character as the series progresses. Kenna was very kind and observant, and he seemed steadier than some of the other characters in the perspectives he showed up in.

There was also a dog in this book! I loved the dog and was so glad it was a decent part of the story. Here is a quick spoiler, the dog is hurt a few times throughout the book, but it does not die.

I want to touch on some of the main characters really quick. I enjoyed Sita and I think she is going to go through some amazing character growth. However, at times throughout this book she rubbed me the wrong way. She was a little obsessed with having a physical relationship with someone. Nothing on page happened, but some things were alluded to. She also turned to heavy drinking because she was feeling guilty about something, which didn’t quite sit well with me.

I adored Neff! Her and Kenna’s friendship was everything. Neff goes against the modern mold of female main characters. She was a force unto her own, but she was sweet, kind, and shy, which I don’t see in modern FMCs very often.

I enjoyed both Rae and Karim and I am looking forward to seeing more of their stories. Karim had much more of an adventure arc this book, while Rae had a rebellion arc, both of which I enjoyed.

I think our antagonists are going to be wonderful! Mery totally ogeed me out, which is rare for antagonists to have that effect on me, so I applaud Michelle even more. I don’t mean to spoil this, but I had to share.

There was a little romance, but not much. I wouldn’t classify this as a romance book quite yet. With the next installment I am sure that will change.

The chapters were decently long, which isn’t my favorite, but there were chapter breaks and, honestly, the story was so easy to get sucked into, you hardly noticed how long the chapters were.

I will say that there is a really big prophecy that guides this book, and the four main characters are the people from the prophecy (Percy Jackson vibes anyone?). To this I add that the characters don’t come together as a team at all in this book. The only person that has met every member of the team was Karim, and that was spread throughout the book.

I really enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it, but I almost recommend you read it after the second book comes out next summer. This book was amazing, and it set up a lot of things, but I think this book would have been even better if you could read the sequel immediately and then the things that have been set up would be beginning.

This book was infused with ancient Egyptian practices, mythology, and culture. It was beautifully done, and you could feel the author’s knowledge on every page.

His Face is the Sun is an intricately written beginning to an Egyptian mythology trilogy. With four amazing main characters, a host of intriguing and realistic side characters, an in-depth political climate, as well as magic and prophecies, this book is one you don’t want to miss!