Book: Unmasking The Mummy: A Monsters and Masks Novella by Sayla Masse
Reviewed by A.Hampton Reads
Rating: 4.5/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐½ 4.5/5
I received an ARC from the author and went into Unmasking the Mummy expecting a fun, quick novella and came away genuinely impressed by just how much story it manages to tell in 98 pages. It reminded me not to underestimate a story before I've actually stepped inside it!
Mary is an Egyptologist living in New York whose growing obsession with a recent excavation has left her increasingly isolated outside of work. When she meets her new neighbor Kayvon, a Persian professor at the same University, there's an immediate sense of recognition between them that neither can quite explain. What begins as an easy connection between two people quickly becomes tangled with an ancient threat, past lives, and histories neither of them fully remembers.
One of my favorite things about this novella was how efficiently it used its limited space. The pacing is quick, but the story never felt hurried. Small details are planted early and allowed to sit quietly until later revelations give them new meaning. Even the accelerated romance worked for me because the story gives that immediate familiarity an actual narrative foundation rather than simply asking the reader to accept insta-love.
I also really enjoyed the way the Egyptian and Persian elements were incorporated. The mythology wasn't delivered through long explanations or information dumps. Instead, we learn what matters as Mary and Kayvon encounter it, remember it, and figure out how they fit within it. The story trusts the reader to bring some basic familiarity with ideas like Egyptian tombs, mummies, archaeological digs, and curses, which leaves more room for the characters and central mystery.
Mary and Kayvon were equally enjoyable outside of their supernatural connection. Their dialogue felt natural, their present-day relationship had its own identity, and I appreciated that neither felt reduced to a caricature of their respective cultures. Their intimate scenes also felt like natural extensions of the relationship rather than interruptions to the story.
What impressed me most is that I never felt this story needed to be longer. It tells the story it came to tell and completes it satisfyingly. That said, I absolutely wanted more because I enjoyed Mary and Kayvon enough that I could easily see myself following them through an entire series of supernatural adventures!