Written by Kelly O’Hearn, ARCANUM: In The Temple Shadows is a book for those romantics who want a strong, magically gifted, wealthy, and gorgeous heroine to identify with, as well as a passionate lifetime-spanning romance sparking with electric heat. It intertwines two lifetimes of the same soul: ancient Egyptian Sarrah, whose magical gifts and seductive wiles make her an indispensable adviser and lover to the young Pharaoh, and modern Sarah Fuller, who has wealth, her own fragrance business, and a seemingly perfect family. Both women find themselves drawn irresistibly to a man who threatens to upend the secure life they’ve built, and both must figure out for themselves how to respond.

Both modern Sarah and ancient Sarrah are rather overpowered with gifts both worldly and spiritual, but that’s a feature (not a bug) for a story like this: pure wish-fulfillment fantasy. In this stressful world, there’s certainly a place for escapist mind-candy, and this book fills it neatly. O’Hearn manages to make Sarah a sympathetic character whose feelings of frustration and stagnation are understandable, rather than the whining of a rich woman who has everything and can’t be satisfied. Sarrah’s story, intertwined with Sarah’s, is exotic and magical; it’s set in a romantic version of ancient Egypt, and features a satisfying character journey that (unlike Sarah’s) is relatively complete by the end of the book. In both cases, the romantic tension is combined with personal internal conflict and betrayals for a satisfying emotional roller coaster.

This is not a book for historical sticklers, what with all of the anachronisms. To list a few, there was no Pharaoh Metis, though there was a Pharaoh Khufu (here reduced to an adviser); Arabic and Hebrew names are used for Old Kingdom Egyptian characters; Metis orders his recently deceased father’s name replaced with his on monuments “as is tradition” (in reality, only done occasionally as an act of profound disrespect intended to wipe out a defeated/disgraced predecessor’s memory; or later by Rameses II to promote his enormous ego); and while there were likely sex workers in ancient Egypt, calling them by the Greek term “hetaera” (first used about 2000 years later) is a bit odd (and unnecessary: “courtesan” would have worked fine).

Still, this is enjoyable if read as a fictionalized romance with a rich and beautiful background, rather than an accurate history. Also, readers who dislike being left hanging shouldn’t read this novel without the next book (Arcanum: Whispers in the Forest) at hand. With that in mind, this is a great read for those who just want a couple of hours to escape into a hot romance with a gifted, strong-willed protagonist.

A deliciously sensual wish-fulfillment romance story, Kelly O’Hearn’s ARCANUM: In The Temple Shadows will appeal particularly to readers who love predestined soul mates, star-crossed lovers, and powerful heroines to identify with.

~ Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader