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Misplaced
What if the opportunity to rewrite history was standing right in front of you?
In 2181 BC, Khara, daughter of Pharaoh Pepy II, stands on the brink of becoming Egypt's first woman pharaoh—until betrayal shatters her world. Her coronation day ends in bloodshed, forcing her into exile through time itself. Cast into the vast deserts between the U.S. and Mexico, Khara believes she’s fallen into the Underworld—until she meets Victoria Barron, a modern-day attorney with a guarded heart and an unflagging sense of purpose.
Their quest takes them through cursed lands, forgotten legends, and the shadowy edges of history—testing the strength of friendship, the weight of destiny, and the cost of sacrifice. As an opens a portal back to Khara’s time, the question lingers:
Can the past be saved without losing the future?
In 2181 BC, Khara, daughter of Pharaoh Pepy II, stands on the brink of becoming Egypt's first woman pharaoh—until betrayal shatters her world. Her coronation day ends in bloodshed, forcing her into exile through time itself. Cast into the vast deserts between the U.S. and Mexico, Khara believes she’s fallen into the Underworld—until she meets Victoria Barron, a modern-day attorney with a guarded heart and an unflagging sense of purpose.
Their quest takes them through cursed lands, forgotten legends, and the shadowy edges of history—testing the strength of friendship, the weight of destiny, and the cost of sacrifice. As an opens a portal back to Khara’s time, the question lingers:
Can the past be saved without losing the future?
420 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2025
1 person is currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
S.L. Hulen
3 books6 followersS.L. Hulen (the "S" is for Sylvia) is an author shaped by borders—geographical, cultural, and imaginative. Born to a Mexican homemaker and an American aerospace engineer who met in the flower shop of Hotel Sylvia’s in Ciudad Juárez, she grew up in El Paso, just blocks from the U.S.-Mexico line. Her stories are infused with the duality of that upbringing—caught between languages, traditions, and worlds both real and imagined.
From a young age, Hulen found escape in the stacks of her local library and in late-night talks with her father about space, science fiction, and the possibility of life beyond Earth. Her mother—a gifted seamstress and master gardener—modeled a different kind of creative force, grounded in ancestral strength and quiet magic. “The women in my family never asked for permission.”
Today, Hulen writes full-time in Phoenix, where she lives with her husband. Her fiction centers strong, complex Latina characters—women shaped by heritage, resilience, and imagination. “If you can’t see her, you can’t be her,” she says. Hulen’s work speaks to that visibility, inviting readers to find themselves on the page.
From a young age, Hulen found escape in the stacks of her local library and in late-night talks with her father about space, science fiction, and the possibility of life beyond Earth. Her mother—a gifted seamstress and master gardener—modeled a different kind of creative force, grounded in ancestral strength and quiet magic. “The women in my family never asked for permission.”
Today, Hulen writes full-time in Phoenix, where she lives with her husband. Her fiction centers strong, complex Latina characters—women shaped by heritage, resilience, and imagination. “If you can’t see her, you can’t be her,” she says. Hulen’s work speaks to that visibility, inviting readers to find themselves on the page.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 20, 2015
A Rich, Complex Tale From a Talented Debut Author
S.L. Hulen recreates an enthralling world in the opening chapters of MISPLACED and right from the start tugs at readers hearts. When the groomed sands of Egypt suddenly change to the seedy El Paso/Mexico border, the bright and highly educated Princess Khara finds herself swept to modern America leaving her no time to mourn the assassination of her beloved father.
She would have had little chance of surviving the ruthless Mexican coyotes if not for the intervention of resourceful immigration's attorney Victoria Barron. As Victoria becomes more and more embroiled in Khara's incredible stories about crossing the boundaries of time and protecting priceless Egyptian artifacts, they are chased by greedy antiquities dealers who will stop at nothing to get those items.
The story takes on a more mystical tone as Khara struggles to replace the complex religion from which she'd been torn, and ends at the base of a jagged stone obelisk on a barren mountaintop. The ensuing confrontation between the women and their pursuers leads to a startling resolution.
MISPLACED is an engrossing story, especially for fans of Egyptian history and I recommend it to everyone. I loved it!
S.L. Hulen recreates an enthralling world in the opening chapters of MISPLACED and right from the start tugs at readers hearts. When the groomed sands of Egypt suddenly change to the seedy El Paso/Mexico border, the bright and highly educated Princess Khara finds herself swept to modern America leaving her no time to mourn the assassination of her beloved father.
She would have had little chance of surviving the ruthless Mexican coyotes if not for the intervention of resourceful immigration's attorney Victoria Barron. As Victoria becomes more and more embroiled in Khara's incredible stories about crossing the boundaries of time and protecting priceless Egyptian artifacts, they are chased by greedy antiquities dealers who will stop at nothing to get those items.
The story takes on a more mystical tone as Khara struggles to replace the complex religion from which she'd been torn, and ends at the base of a jagged stone obelisk on a barren mountaintop. The ensuing confrontation between the women and their pursuers leads to a startling resolution.
MISPLACED is an engrossing story, especially for fans of Egyptian history and I recommend it to everyone. I loved it!
November 19, 2015
Amazing book! It combines mystery, a twist of paranormal, history, love line, and many, many more subjects I love to see in a good book. First of all, the author clearly knows her history and did a wonderful job in connecting mysteries of the past with the events of the present.
I loved the whole idea of time travel of an Egyptian princess Khara to the present day United States, where with the help of Victoria, a young woman working in the immigration center, she tries to find a way back home. Khara tries to learn and understand as many things as she can so she’d be able to bring the knowledge back to her people. It’s really awesome to think that her time travel to our time was the key to the rapid development of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Kudos to the author for that, I loved the idea!
The character development is great, I particularly enjoyed reading the story of Victoria’s childhood and the reasons why she was trying to help as many people as she could. Khara, and her decision to sacrifice her new found love for the sake of her people, deserves an utmost respect, a true future pharaoh’s way of thinking.
A very-well researched, beautifully written novel, I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it to everyone!
I loved the whole idea of time travel of an Egyptian princess Khara to the present day United States, where with the help of Victoria, a young woman working in the immigration center, she tries to find a way back home. Khara tries to learn and understand as many things as she can so she’d be able to bring the knowledge back to her people. It’s really awesome to think that her time travel to our time was the key to the rapid development of the ancient Egyptian civilization. Kudos to the author for that, I loved the idea!
The character development is great, I particularly enjoyed reading the story of Victoria’s childhood and the reasons why she was trying to help as many people as she could. Khara, and her decision to sacrifice her new found love for the sake of her people, deserves an utmost respect, a true future pharaoh’s way of thinking.
A very-well researched, beautifully written novel, I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it to everyone!
May 12, 2015
Reviewed by: Celia
A Latina Book Club
Review: This story begins with Khara, an Egyptian princess destined to take the throne. Before her coronation, her father is brutally murdered. That along with tension and jealousy of a rival sibling gives the story a rather Shakespearean undertone that is both melancholy and theatric.
Suddenly, Khara is on a fierce run for her life and is inexplicably leapfrogged into another body hundreds of years into the future. I still don’t get how she was able to do that. At least we knew it was the Delorean that sent Marty McFly to the future.
We fast-forward somewhere to present-day Texas, to a lost, confused, little girl, who is supposed to be Khara, but this isn’t very clear to the reader at first.
A typical time-travel story blended with historical fiction, Misplaced follows the adventures of a young princess fighting for both her life and the fate of her future. Story seems to be cloaked in a suspenseful mystery that I failed to recognize on account of a slow and uninspiring start followed by an exquisitely convoluted plot. Having read and enjoyed other time-travel stories in the past, I anticipated to enjoy this novel, but, sadly, that wasn’t the case for me. I do, however, see a potential readership for this type of work.
A Latina Book Club
Review: This story begins with Khara, an Egyptian princess destined to take the throne. Before her coronation, her father is brutally murdered. That along with tension and jealousy of a rival sibling gives the story a rather Shakespearean undertone that is both melancholy and theatric.
Suddenly, Khara is on a fierce run for her life and is inexplicably leapfrogged into another body hundreds of years into the future. I still don’t get how she was able to do that. At least we knew it was the Delorean that sent Marty McFly to the future.
We fast-forward somewhere to present-day Texas, to a lost, confused, little girl, who is supposed to be Khara, but this isn’t very clear to the reader at first.
A typical time-travel story blended with historical fiction, Misplaced follows the adventures of a young princess fighting for both her life and the fate of her future. Story seems to be cloaked in a suspenseful mystery that I failed to recognize on account of a slow and uninspiring start followed by an exquisitely convoluted plot. Having read and enjoyed other time-travel stories in the past, I anticipated to enjoy this novel, but, sadly, that wasn’t the case for me. I do, however, see a potential readership for this type of work.
July 4, 2015
I received a free copy of this book in a first reads drawing, and it was such a great find!
Misplaced is the enchanting story of an Egyptian princess and an immigration lawyer, and it features time travel, magic, and an insight into multiple religions.
The author, SL Hulen, managed to completely entrance me with her vivid descriptions, characters with incredible depth, and a premise that is quite different from other time travel novels.
Yes, there are a few plot holes, but if you suspend disbelief just a bit and go with the flow, it's a story that will leave you wanting more.
The *only* reason that I'm not giving this 5 stars is the formatting and grammar issues. Sometimes it wasn't clear who was speaking and there were points in the book where there were sentences that just didn't make sense. Luckily, this issue didn't distract too much from the beauty of the story.
It is spectacular to me that this is only her first novel. Please, please keep writing! I will be among the first to buy your next novel!
Misplaced is the enchanting story of an Egyptian princess and an immigration lawyer, and it features time travel, magic, and an insight into multiple religions.
The author, SL Hulen, managed to completely entrance me with her vivid descriptions, characters with incredible depth, and a premise that is quite different from other time travel novels.
Yes, there are a few plot holes, but if you suspend disbelief just a bit and go with the flow, it's a story that will leave you wanting more.
The *only* reason that I'm not giving this 5 stars is the formatting and grammar issues. Sometimes it wasn't clear who was speaking and there were points in the book where there were sentences that just didn't make sense. Luckily, this issue didn't distract too much from the beauty of the story.
It is spectacular to me that this is only her first novel. Please, please keep writing! I will be among the first to buy your next novel!
June 6, 2015
A friend of mine told me about Misplaced and I was pleasantly surprised when I read it. It’s an action packed time travel tale that involves two young women, Khara and Victoria. Khara is misplaced in time, and Victoria is misplaced due to the tragic events that took place in her family when she was a child. While Victoria helps Khara find her way back through the portal of time, Khara helps Victoria come to terms with the issues and unanswered questions in her own life that have held her back emotionally. Throw into the mix a chase by one extremely creepy guy to obtain the bracelet that Khara unintentionally brought into the future, set it in the southwest, a place with its own unique magic and beliefs, and you’ve got a novel you can’t put down until you’ve read the last page. I’m hoping SL Hulen writes a few more like this.
July 16, 2015
I won this book on Goodreads.Very good read.Keeps you wanting to read and not put it down.Liked the story line with Kara and her time travels.A history lesson is here too and was happy with the ending of the story.
February 8, 2016
interesting time-travel yarn - starts in Egypt and then in the Southwest (El Paso & New Mexico). compelling main characters. beautiful descriptions of the deserts.
April 9, 2017
A thrilling and fascinating journey into the west Texas desert and an ancient Egyptian court! I've struggled with the concept of time travel in literature, but was delightfully caught up in this story from the start! S.L. Hulen's characters are full and engaging, including those dark and violent. I loved the mystical influences of Khara & Celeste, and the resistant, intellectual Victoria. Rumor has it she is returning in Hulen's next novel. I'll be a return customer..can't wait!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews