Outcast

The Amarna Princesses #1

by Kylie Quillinan

Tey always knew she was different. She didn’t grow up wanting the same things as the other girls. The only thing she ever wanted was to be a soldier like her father.

When the queen’s younger sisters need to be sent away from Akhetaten, Tey volunteers to go with them. She will leave both her home and her life to shepherd the two girls to safety and protect them for the rest of their lives.

But Tey gets more than she bargained for. One of the sisters is too young to understand why she must be sent away. She doesn’t want to go and she has a powerful magic that will endanger them all.

Join Tey and the princesses as they journey across the ancient world in search of a safe place to call home.

For readers of historical fantasy who enjoy women having adventures against a background of 18th Dynasty Egypt.

Genres: Historical Fiction

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 28, 2022

About the author

Kylie writes about women who defy society’s expectations. Her novels are for readers who like fantasy with a basis in history or mythology. Her interests include Dr Who, jellyfish and cocktails. She needs to get fit before the zombies come. You can find her online at kyliequillinan.com.

SWAN – the epilogue to the Tales of Silver Downs series – is available exclusively to her mailing list subscribers. Sign up at kyliequillinan.com.

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Kylie Quillinan

1. I studied Ancient Greek at university because I wanted to read Homer in his own language.
2. I’m fascinated by miniatures and tiny things, and am building my own dollhouse.
3. I studied to be a journalist because I thought that would provide a more reliable income than writing. I hated it because I wasn’t telling my own stories, only repeating what somebody else had already said.
4. If I wasn’t a writer, I would have been a marine biologist except that I get very, very sea sick. I’m also claustrophobic under water so that was never going to work out.
5. I never ever look into a mirror in a dark room.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not horrible, but not great either. I didn't find the protagonist very likable or believable as a character. The whole "I'm such a badass! I'm not like other girls!" thing wore thin after a while. And I just didn't really feel like her motivations made a lot of sense.
I also really, really disliked Seti. Arguably, it makes sense that such a character would be bratty and spoiled - but she was just SO obnoxious and unlikable. After a while, I found myself almost hoping she'd be eaten by a crocodile.
There are also some historical inaccuracies, for example, Rome is mentioned, but Rome wasn't even founded until centuries after the events in this book.
I also feel like she makes ancient Egypt more sexist than (based on what I've read) it actually was. True, it was a patriarchal society, but women still had equal rights to men in most matters. Women could own property, inherit, run businesses, choose who they married, and get divorced if they wanted to. They weren't just their husbands slaves.

[Kylie]

New series! This is a companion series to The Amarna Age series.

All three books now available for preorder.

Book 1 (Outcast) releases 28 September (21 September for direct orders through my webstore).

[Fred Winters]

Ok

A little slow, good for young people to read not much for a strong story. I don't think most will enjoy.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character in this book is obnoxious. She gives the vibe of “strong female character” but played absolutely straight and it’s grating within the first chapter. She just decides that she is qualified for this quest when it’s clear she has no training, no experience, and not a clue. Also a more minor nitpick but the author clearly didn’t do her historical reasearch because she mentions Rome existing in roughly 1300BCE when Rome famously wasn’t founded until 753BCE, a whole 550 odd years later. DNFed it from sheer annoyance.