Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

Daughter of the Sun by Zoe Kalo is the first book in the Cult of the Cat series. Trinity was raised in a convent since the day someone dropped her off on the doorstep. She's known for her temper which flares up when she sees bullying or cruelty to cats. When she's called to Mother Superior's office, she meets a woman claiming to be the assistant of a grandmother she never knew existed. Trinity is swept away to an island in the middle of the sea of Marmara. An island full of cats, Egyptian statues, and even more secrets. She meets her new cousin, Ara, and the handsome Seth, but the only one she knows she can trust is her cat, Slugger. When her grandmother dies, no one seems to want to answer any of her questions until she learns of her unique inheritance. To solve the mystery of the papyrus left with her as a baby, she looks into her family history and must trust a surprising ally.

Zoe Kalo weaves together a brilliant story centered on Egyptian mythology and one teenager's search for the truth about her family. Trinity has spent her whole life in an orphanage, keeping her unique gift for healing a secret, but everything changes when she's taken to meet her grandmother on a mysterious island. Suddenly she has this whole other world to learn about and to find her place within. She goes from a strict and proper environment to an island described often like a paradise or getaway. It's full of cats and allows for more subtle rebellion and night life which Ara takes full advantage of. Ara is her opposite with her social personality, group of friends, and modern knowledge such as her use of the internet and cell phones, which is a whole new world to Trinity who never had those things. Kalo often plays the two off each other as they're both strong willed and stubborn.

Mythology is woven into this grander plot as Trinity slowly uncovers her destiny which isn't what she thought it would be. A mystery is underneath the story as Trinity works to solve why she was left at the convent and the secrets her grandmother wasn't able to share about their family. A little romance is woven into the plot through her sweet flirtation with Seth, who is a charmer and someone she is drawn to from the beginning, but this connection is full of danger. Those who love Egyptian mythology, mysteries, and cats will savor every bit of Daughter of the Sun.