City of the Muse by Kate Hilton

In City of the Muse by Kate Hilton, a female researcher/papyrologist named Helen arrives in Egypt to join an excavation crew in the early 1900s, and though she is thrilled to be a part of the team, she learns that the only reason she is there is because her predecessor disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Then, in Toronto in 2019, a different female researcher named Maddie is feeling like her whole career has hit a dead end/stalled out, you name it. But in a weird way, she’s connected to Helen, and when she’s given the chance to uncover what really happened at the dig site in Egypt all those years ago, she’s definitely jumping at the opportunity. But what both women don’t realize is that they’re in for a wild ride.

I was lucky enough to be given this ARC from Simon & Schuster Canada, as I am part of their official Influencer Program, and I was given early access to the book in exchange for my honest review. So first, thank you to Simon & Schuster, Kate Hilton and NetGalley!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts:

This is a cool story, and I’m glad that even within the greater novel itself, as I saw the two storylines of Helen and Maddie mesh together, they were still held distinctly apart by Hilton clearly stating what time and place I was in at the beginning of each chapter. There are a lot of books that frustrate me because I don’t know what time I am “in”, so I’m glad that I clearly knew here.

I wish that Maddie’s story was given a bit more time, because by the end of the book, I cared little about her in comparison to Helen. Maybe that was the idea Hilton had when writing the book—that it was truly Helen’s story and Maddie was just there to finish it—but as a reader, I wished for a little more balance.

The description for this book also says that people who liked Sarah Penner's The Lost Apothecary will like this book, and though they share the dual storylines, I think that's where the similarities end. So just keep that in mind!

But putting that aside, I really did enjoy the story and I think a lot of you will as well!

City of the Muse by Kate Hilton comes out April 14th anywhere you get your books, so make sure you check it out.

#QOTD: Have you ever been to Egypt? If not, is it on your “bucket list”? For those of you who have been, drop a comment to let us know why you think it’s a must see!