(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Discover what’s hidden–a powerful, mythic race, an ancient Egyptian prophecy, and a love strong enough to shatter the boundaries of time.

Alexandra Larson isn’t human…but she doesn’t know that. As far as Lex is concerned, she’s simply an ambitious and independent archaeology grad student with a knack for deciphering ancient languages, especially the various forms of Egyptian. When she’s recruited to work on her dream excavation, her translating skills uncover the secret entrance to an underground Egyptian temple concealed within Djeser-Djeseru–the famous mortuary temple of Queen Hatchepsut. Lex is beyond thrilled by her discovery…as is the enigmatic and alluring excavation director, Marcus Bahur.

As the relationship between Lex and Marcus heats up, a series of shocking revelations leave the young archaeologist reeling. Once Lex discovers the truth of her ancient Egyptian roots–the truth of her more-than-human nature–the people she trusts most make one final, terrifying revelation: Lex is the central figure of a four-thousand-year-old prophecy. She is the only thing standing between the power to alter the very fabric of time and an evil megalomaniac…who also happens to be her father. As events set in motion over four millennia ago lead Lex and Marcus from Seattle to the heart of Egypt, the fate of mankind depends on one thing: the strength of Lex’s love.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

As you guys all know, I’m an ancient Egypt fanatic.  There’s just something about ancient Egypt that appeals to me, so it was pretty much a guarantee I’d pick up this book and at least give it a try.  So did Echo Prophecy measure up to my expectations?

Absolutely!  Lindsey Fairleigh knows far more about ancient Egyptian mythology, culture and language than I ever could have hoped for.  She actually knows something about how hieroglyphs are translated and that there isn’t only one form of Egyptian (i.e. Middle Egyptian is an entirely different animal from New Kingdom Egyptian).  I very nearly fainted when she actually used the properly translated names of the Egyptian gods like Heru, Aset and Set instead of the more commonly used Greek translations like Horus, Isis and Seth.  I was just blown away by the way she incorporated the Egyptian mythology into the story and used it to create a believable explanation for the Egyptian gods.

As for the characters, I loved Lex.  She was believable because not only does she react like a normal person would to finding out about a whole secret race, she is also flawed.  Throughout the story she seems pretty unsure of herself until she gradually grows more and more confident.  It’s a natural progression and I love Lindsey Fairleigh for doing it that way rather than having her accept everything all at once.  Marcus was also a great character and I found that his actions were very well explained by his major secret.  I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say that obviously Marcus isn’t everything he appears to be.

In the beginning the plot is pretty slow.  That didn’t really bother me because it let me get my bearings for a little bit as Lex’s dreams became more and more frequent.  But Lindsey Fairleigh didn’t dawdle for too long because soon everything was happening at once and Lex’s world changed completely.  Despite the insanely fast pacing at some points, I never felt like the character development was forgotten.  Even in the moments where there was huge suspense, everyone grew as a character either through their actions, words or when more backstory was revealed.

Even if you aren’t the biggest ancient Egyptian fan, I highly recommend Echo Prophecy.  It’s a well-written, fast-paced novel with just enough romantic tension to keep the slow parts interesting.  I can’t wait for the next book to see how Lindsey Fairleigh handles that huge cliffhanger she left at the end.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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