Among Sand and Sunrise

Beginning in the early 1900s, teenaged Syble Rinecroft is on a Nile cruise with her family, where her fascination with Egypt starts. Fellow passenger and friend of the family, 19-year old Marcus Brandt, tries to befriend her but their personalities clash in a big way, and his lack of belief in the authenticity of a map Syble buys at a bazaar fuels her resentment, setting them up as frenemies of sorts. Fast forward eight years, Syble is invited by her grandmother to check on an excavation site she is sponsoring in Egypt… where Marcus is the archaeologist. Syble and Marcus’s grandmothers, along with their friends, are determined to get the young couple together. Will the grandmother’s matchmaking schemes allow them to work things out, or will past hurts keep them from taking a chance on the biggest discovery of their lives?

This story is beautifully written, and the reader will get pulled into it from the first page! The details and descriptions of some of Egypt’s most famous landmarks, along with the descriptions of the excavation sites are truly fascinating. There are just enough details to enhance the story without overwhelming it or making it feel like a history book. The evolving relationship between Syble and Marcus, from frenemy to ‘the one’ is delightful and touching. The slow burn of their changing relationship has the reader rooting for them to work things out. The Wandering Widows and their meddlesome shenanigans add a humorous note to the story, along with anecdotes of wisdom that can only come from life experiences. A lovely story from start to finish!

Katy Nielsen