Early Review - Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh (Theodosia Thockmorten, Book 4) by R.L. LaFevers (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Middle Grade
Genre: Adventure/History
Size:  400 pages
Publisher: Houghton Books for Children
Release Date: April 4, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0547390185
Stand Alone or Series: Book 4 in Theodosia series
Source: Ebook;from Netgalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the fourth book in the Theodosia LaFevers.  This was my favorite book in the series so far, it really took the story to another level.

Theodosia has journeyed with her mother to Egypt supposedly to help her mom on an archaeological dig.  Theodosia's real purpose it to return the Emerald tablet and other important artifacts to the protection of the Brotherhood so that they don't fall into the evil hands of the Serpents of Chaos.

I really enjoyed this book.  Theodosia takes on more responsibility than in previous books and is really maturing; she has started making decisions that take the welfare of others into account.  We also get some great new characters thrown into the mix.

In general it was just cool to have this book take place in Egypt.  Theodosia finds out a ton of interesting things about her birth and history and about how she is tied into the ages long battle between the Serpents of Chaos and the Brotherhood.  All in all a very solid addition to the series.

I continue to enjoy Theodosia's intelligence, snarky attitude, and ability to work her way through almost anything.  There were a lot of twists and turns in this novel so it really kept me guessing and was hard to put down.

I did have one small complaint and that is things are getting complicated.  Between the secret groups in London and the similar but separate secret groups in Egypt I was having a bit of trouble remember who belonged to what group and what the focus of each group was.  This would have been clearer in my mind if I had read previous novels more recently.  

Overall a great addition to the series.  If you liked previous books you will like this one.  I loved that this Theodosia to Egypt and that she learned so much about her history.  Fans of strong young women, adventure, travel, and ancient magic should enjoy this book.  I highly recommend this series, it is lots of fun to read and appropriate for all ages.