[Review] Daughter of Egypt - Marie Benedict

Summary: In the 1920s, archeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle made headlines around the world with the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But behind it all stood Lady Evelyn Herbert—daughter of Lord Carnarvon—whose daring spirit and relentless curiosity made the momentous find possible.

Nearly 3,000 years earlier, another woman defied the expectations of her time: Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. Her reign was bold, visionary—and nearly erased from history.

When Evelyn becomes obsessed with finding Hatshepsut’s secret tomb, she risks everything to uncover the truth about her reign and keep valued artifacts in Egypt, their rightful home. But as danger closes in and political tensions rise, she must make an impossible choice: protect her father’s legacy—or forge her own.

Propelled by high adventure and deadly intrigue, Daughter of Egypt is the story of two ambitious women who lived centuries apart. Both were forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes, yet ultimately changed history forever. (Pub Date: Mar 24 2026)

Lady Evelyn Herbert, has been obsessed with the story of Hatshepsut, a woman who managed to become pharaoh and then had her history suppressed. Even though her father, Lord Carnarvon wants to find the tomb of Tutankhamon, she'll do everything in her power to find out more about Hatshepsut.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

For a long while this book was a klutzy 2 stars, but maybe I got used to this writer's style, maybe I also got curious about Hatshepsut's story, but it grew a little on me. Just not enough to erase how I'm not into a lot of aspects, especially the style. Also, I'm not sure if the plot was that interesting. Choosing a rich girl with rich girl problems, as important as she may have been for women who want to pursue archeology, was probably a mistake. Hatshepsut's story was more involving, although in the end, she was also a rich girl dealing with problems only very few may have—how to keep control of a whole nation. To make things worse, there are huge skips in the timeline that it feels like almost nothing really got resolved in the end. Of course there's a way to tell their stories that will cause more catharsis but the chosen path didn't work on me.

However, as the book advances, interesting themes pop up here and there. However, at least for Lady Evelyn, it always feels like we're with the least important point of view to know more about them. 

In fact, this book compelled me to go looking for more. I wanted to know more about Egypt in the 20's and of course more about that woman pharaoh who would dress like a man. In the end this was a good experience, just not the best read.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.