The Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurist by Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks

PAGAN & PEN REVIEW

Title:  The Curse of the Pharaoh’s Manicurists
Author:  Angelia Sparrow & Naomi Brooks

Author Site: Click author name 

Buy Link
Publisher:  Amber Allure/Amber Quill Press, LLC

Genre: Adventure/Historical Fantasy/Paranormal/GLBT/Menage

Length: 196 pages

Other:  M/F/M * M/M 

Pagan & Pagan Elements: No/yes

Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

About The Book: Charles Doyle, fresh out of journalism school, signs on to be the secretary for suave, debonair adventurer Edward Kilsby, the Lord of Withycombe. Placed in a competition against Edwards’ rival and former fiancé, the two men must conquer the wilds of Egypt, defend themselves from mummies, appease Anubis, and realize their love for each other.

The Review: In a good romance novel, ambiguities in background details can be forgiven because the reader is so in love with the main characters that the rest of the story is mere framing. Angelia and Naomi--I forgive you. 

Edward is the epitome of a romance novel hero. He’s rakishly handsome, adventurous, brave, experienced and underneath his sophisticated veneer he’s a big softie. He just needs someone to take care of him. Enter Charles Doyle. He’s a city boy, longing to move to Paris to write a novel. He’s naïve, innocent, and adorably romantic; he even drags his giant typewriter through the deserts of Egypt. Though he’s never been with a man or woman, his attraction to Edward, a popular war hero, is undeniable. Reading their love story is a delightful romp through the emotional and physical pleasures associated with a new romance.

The background story is a charming adventure that combines a bit of history with some paranormal interactions with Egyptian deities. Edward and Charlie must race Edward’s ex-fiancé, a sadistically cruel woman named Sarah, to find out what happened to an archeologist gone missing during an Egyptian dig. Once in the tomb, they are possessed by the ghosts of the Pharoah’s manicurists, who also happen to be lovers. Charlie is shot by a member of Sarah’s team and must face Osiris and Anubis in order to be returned to his lover. However, once he returns to life, Edward and Charlie discover that they have incurred the wrath of Anubis who refuses to be denied the souls due to him. Fending off attacks from mummies, they battle their way back to England and perform a poignant and endearingly funny sacrifice to appease the Egyptian God of the Dead.

The beginning is a bit difficult to get into; the scene changes are a bit abrupt and could use additional explanation so the reader isn’t lost. But once you’re into the story, there’s no getting out. Each chapter opens with an excerpt from Charlie’s journal that invariably had me laughing out loud and eagerly anticipating the next chapter. The love scenes are both steamy and romantic, with just enough detail to spice it up, but enough subtlety to leave the best parts to the imagination. I loved the way in which the authors concluded the story, and how they interpreted the necessary sacrifice at the end. I grew to hate Sarah as much as the main characters and would have felt a smidge more satisfied to read a “just desserts” style of ending, though. One simple sentence showing a bit of mummy rot on Nigel’s arm would have left me satisfied by a turn of the karmic cycle. With only a vague mention of an illness, the lack of conclusion on that portion of the story line was the only sticking point for me during the ending.

Pagan Elements: possession by spirits, being weighed and measured after death by Osiris, sacrificing to Anubis,

Cover (Rated 1-10): 5

The cover meant so much more after I had read the book, so it is a good depiction of what will be found inside.

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