Hello, lovely readers!

We’re back with our May pick for ILVN’s 2023 Reading Challenge!

This month, we’re doing a throwback to Anne Rice, but we’re not reading one of the vampire or witchy novels. Nope! We’re going with her latest book, published posthumously by her son, Christopher Rice: Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris.

This is the third in a series, and whereas I will be reading the entire series during may, the reading challenge and book club will only count book number three.

Check out this description:

The gilded adventures of Ramses the Damned, iconic creation of the legendary bestselling author, continue in this breathtakingly suspenseful tale of a titanic supernatural power unleashed on the eve of war.

A pharaoh made immortal by a mysterious and powerful elixir, Ramses the Great became counselor and lover to some of Egypt’s greatest and most powerful rulers before he was awakened from centuries of slumber to the mystifying and dazzling world of Edwardian England. Having vanquished foes both human and supernatural, he’s found love with the beautiful heiress Julie Stratford, daughter of Lawrence Stratford, the slain archeologist who discovered his tomb. Now, with the outbreak of a world war looming, Ramses and those immortals brought forth from the mists of history by his resurrection will face their greatest test yet.

Russian assassins bearing weapons of immense power have assembled under one command: all those who loved Lawrence Stratford must die. From the glowing jewels at their necks comes an incredible supernatural force: the power to bring statues to life. As Ramses and his allies, including the immortal queens Cleopatra and Bektaten, gather together to battle these threats, Ramses reveals that the great weapon may have roots in an ancient Egyptian ritual designed to render pharaohs humble before Osiris, the god of the underworld. The resulting journey will take them across storm-tossed seas and into the forests of northern Russia, where they will confront a terrifying collision of tortured political ambitions and religious fervor held in thrall to a Godlike power. But the true answers they seek will lie beyond the border between life and death, within realms that defy the imagination of even an immortal such as Ramses the Great.

In Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris, brings us another thrilling, seductive tale of high adventure, romance, history, and suspense.

I am excited about how Osiris, the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, is depicted and what they do with him. Total geek button from my time working at a funeral home.

Since I’m a fan of all underworld and god stories, I can’t wait to dig into this one.

Okay, time to pick a prompt. This one is a little trickier, so I’m nabbing the magic prompt this month. Gods definitely have magic, and our protagonist took an elixir to make himself immortal. Yup, totally fits.

Let’s fill in our magic graphic. I am ready for a different kind of fantasy, and that description promises me some themes and elements that I’m not so used to. Bring it on!

We hope you’re as excited about our choice for May as we are, and we will be discussing Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris as our May ILVN Book Club pick! So remember to set yourself a reminder for May 27th at 1pm CST, to come join our discussion.

Join our list for more information about the book club!

Tag us at @ILoveVampireNovels to share your pick.

Happy reading!