Victoria is a battered woman, a punch-bag for her vile husband Neil. When she tries to leave him, he comes after her with a baseball bat. She takes refuge in the bathroom, and through her terror she hears a strange chant and smells incense. Neil batters down the door, but just as Victoria thinks she's going to die, she's whisked back in time to Ancient Egypt. A handsome man Khaemhat calls her Mayati and tells her that she's his wife. She died giving birth to their stillborn child, but he spoke the words of a rite for the dead and she returned to life.

Victoria works out that Mayati's soul and her own somehow overlapped. She's terrified that she sent Mayati to suffer Neil's abuse in the future while she's stuck in a past she knows nothing about. Khaemhat is unable to believe what's happened - his wife had been a vain woman but Victoria is totally different. As Victoria learns more about what happened and the reality of her new life, she and Khaemhat fall in love. But Victoria still fears her memories of Neil and is terrified that she'll be sent forward in time. She wants this second chance at love, and Khaemhat wants it, too. When her future once again collides with the past, will Victoria be strong enough to stay in Egypt?

Egyptian Nights is a roller-coaster of emotions. I felt angry and sad as I read about the abuse Victoria suffers, then later her anguish and confusion is very real. The reader relaxes into Egyptian life alongside Victoria, helped along with lots of great historical detail that makes the story come alive. I liked the comparison between Victoria and Mayati, Neil and Khaemhat - the irony that the jealous Neil was convinced that Victoria was unfaithful though she was innocent, while the loving Khaemhat had proof of his wife's affairs yet took no action against her. Though it's a romance, this novella also examines human nature and shows the dark and light sides of living. If you're looking for a story with more depth to it, try Egyptian Nights.

Reviewed by: Maija