What We’re Reading

The Hour of the Cobra | Maiya Williams

Rating:

The second installment of the Golden Hour series, this is a much heftier story than its predecessor. Beginning with a short summarization for those might have missed the first trip to Owatannauk, Maine, there’s little slowing down once the adventure begins.

Xanthe, home without her twin for once, is busily beating herself up for having done so poorly in the contest that won Xavier the trip he’s currently off on. When her mother suggests studying to take her mind off it, Xanthe heads to the porch to do some math. Not long after she discovers something struggling in their pond. A something who happens to be he dearest friend, Rowan Popplewell.

Coming to visit with exciting news, Rowan miscalculated a bit and landed his alleviator (time machine) in the middle of the pond. The news: Aunts Agatha and Gertrude want their assistance with a special project. Collecting the goods sold in their curio shop. More specifically, obtaining rare manuscripts from Ancient Egypt.

No sooner has Rowan shared the news and headed back in the alleviator, Xanthe’s Nana calls wanting her to come visit.

Arriving to find a very different Nina than she met the previous summer, Xanthe is excited. Not only to go to Egypt, but to go without her brother. In fact, she’s a little too wrapped up in having something he won’t.

When Xavier later shows up in Alexandria to join the rest of them, Xanthe feels personally slighted. Her anger, and the unlikely chance of stepping out of an alleviator right in front of Cleopatra, lead her down a treacherous road, with dire consequences. Uncertain if they pull it off, the four children band together to return to the past, repair history, and restore the natural order of the universe.

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