Dark Goddess

Dark Reflections #0.5

by Kelsey Ketch

A vampiric retelling of the Eye of Ra.

A famine and an economic crisis have descended upon Kemet (Egypt), causing the people to revolt. Little do they know the wrath their nesu (king) is about to unleash, using his daughter as his secret weapon.

Genres: Supernatural, New Adult

Paperback

Published August 14, 2022

About the author

Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new-adult author, who works as a Wildlife Biologist and Data Analyst. During her free time, she can often be found working on her latest work in progress. She also enjoys history, mythology, traveling, and reading.

Reviews

[Isabelle]

While this was an interesting reimagining, I felt like something was missing throughout the story. At the beginning, there was a hint at a former life that I wanted explained more but that never came. It was something that I felt was a set up to understanding the story better but that was then forgotten about so having waited for that the entire time, I was a little let down by the end because it would’ve given me a better understanding of the main character and her plight.

[Nancy (The Avid Reader)]

After the people revolt against the King, he has lost face, and to regain faith with the people he is about to release something very powerful among them. The King must get back control in any way possible and at any cost.

The King’s daughter Sekhmet thought she was being made into an immortal like her father but something way more sinister has been bestowed upon her. Sekhmet’s days and nights begin to blur, she has no idea or remembrance of what has occurred during her missing days.

She can’t believe what she hears when a trusted confidant begins to tell her what happened during her memory lapse. He tells her that she has slaughtered thousands. When her father arrives he blames Sekhmet for it all. Say she lost control and reigned down chaos upon the people. But did she? Is her father speaking the truth?

Dark Goddess is a short story but it reads as if it was a full-length novel. Although I did have one little problem with it and that is that it was not long enough. I would like to have read more about Sekhmet and her life before everything happened. But at the same time, it is perfect just the way it is.

Dark Goddess is filled with lots of action and suspense to keep those pages turning and racing to the end to see how it all turns out. The descriptions were written so vividly that I had no problem seeing it all as if it was happening right before my eyes. I could even feel what the characters were feeling.

I can see all the people running around in the middle of the street while everything was turning red. I can see the look of horror on their faces as they looked back hoping they would not be next.

As with all of Kelsey Ketch’s books I highly recommend Dark Goddess to all fans of the Gods and Goddess! One-click your copy of Dark Goddess today!

[Kelsey Ketch]

For content warning, click here.

I became interested in Sekhmet after I learned she was my sign under the Egyptian Zodiac. Then, after writing Dark Creation, I saw an opportunity to weave her full story into the Dark Reflections world.

[M.J. Mallon]

Thank you to the author and to Lola Blog Tours for an advanced copy. I review freely and without bias.

Dark Goddess format: short story with author notes at end.

Dark Goddess is a short story inspired by the ancient Egyptian goddess, Sekhmet. I love Greek tales!

It is pretty gory! And a page turner… that keeps your attention throughout as you can see from this quote: “My cravings taking over, I sat up and sunk my teeth deeper into my father’s flesh until I heard the crunching of bone.”

From author notes: ‘Sekhmet was the goddess of the desert sun, plague, chaos, war, destruction, and healing. She was said to be the daughter of the sun god, Ra, and had been created from the fire of his eye.’

“But you are right, my beloved daughter. The blame does not fully lay on you. I am the one who transformed you into that terrifying force of vengeance and destruction. You were brought forth by my fire—my rage. You are merely an extension of myself.”
I enjoyed this short story and would definitely recommend this author.

[Hywela]

While not the greatest fan of vampire stories, there have been one or two I really enjoyed, and I've always had a fascination with ancient Egypt, so I was very interested to read Dark Goddess.

Despite the occasional slightly awkward phrase, e.g. - 'his eyes glanced at the floor', it was, on the whole, well written with vividly described locations putting the reader right there in theEgypt the goddess Sekhmet knew.

I learnt a lot about the customs and myths of Egypt and although Sekhmet killed thousands of people in a blood frenzy, it is difficult not to feel a certain amount of sympathy for her. As depicted in this story, she was not really responsible, but a victim of her father's lust for power.

A quick and enjoyable short read.

[M.E. Aster]

Dark Goddess is a short story that has a lot of potential but fell a bit flat for me.

I love tales of ancient Egyptians so I was excited when I found this book. The author was new to me but I was eager to dive in.

And the first 3/4s of the book was great. I liked the mixture of myth was truth and I was eager to read more. But just when I was getting into the story, it abruptly ended.

I know this is a short story but I think it would have benefited from a bit more fleshing out, especially the last chapter. But overall I enjoyed the author’s writing and I would pick up another book by them.

[Iseult Murphy]

I love stories about ancient Egypt, and I’ve always been particularly interested in the lioness headed goddess, Sekhmet.

I enjoyed how Ketch adapted the mythology to be a part of her story of kings and vampires. There’s enough description to transport you to the time without slowing down the pace or the plot.

I’ll be sure to read more of her dark reflections series after dipping my toes into this delightful novelette.

[M.T. DeSantis]

I got this book while Ketch was giving away copies via BookFunnel. No request to leave a review, but I am anyway because I quite enjoyed it and I'm super excited that I've found new mythology fantasy books to read by giving this a shot.

Really enjoyed this. I don't typically go for vampires or creatures with lots of vampire qualities, butI love mythology so had to try this and am so glad I did. Great introduction to Ketch's writing, and I look forward to checking out more books.

[Stacey Woods]

Short but packs a punch. I'm glad that it doesn't drag out. It was able to hold my attention and I found myself wanting more. It'll give you questions but answer them by the end.

[Keren Kassian]

I read it in one sitting, that's how good it is. A story rich in ancient Egypt mythology with hints of the paranormal, a beautiful short story.

[Cat Bowser]

I love Egyptian mythology but I see so little if it in fiction. That was my initial draw to this short story and the more I read and recognized the myth being referenced, the more I loved it.

It’s obvious the amount of time the author put into the research and it shows. The setting feels authentically ancient but with enough personal touches to make it a unique vision. I loved the reimagined versions of these mythological gods.

And the way the author incorporates vampires—all without ever using the name—is just brilliant.

I’m off to see what followed this work! Definitely give this a read! It’s short but powerful.