Arabian Nights

Synopsis:
One stunning bride.
One wedding.
One night with the king.
One execution come morning.
Rinse and repeat.

When the fae king of Naenden returns home to his palace only to find that his human queen has committed treason by conspiring to assassinate him, he has the queen executed and decrees that once every mooncycle, he’ll marry a human woman from the kingdom, only to execute her the following morning.

Unless…

Unless one woman offers herself as a sacrificial bride for the rest.

Asha isn’t worried about being chosen, of course. The decree was quite clear about beauty being among the top criteria for being selected as one of the king’s unfortunate brides. And Asha is no beauty, all thanks to the illegal magic that inhabits her body, leaving her scarred and missing an eye. The same magic that occasionally possesses her voice so it can amuse itself by telling a never-ending story with a string of horrible cliffhangers.

The problem is, Asha might not be a beauty, but her sister Dinah is. When Asha realizes Dinah is in danger of being selected as the king’s sacrificial bride, Asha decides she can’t live with that risk. So she offers herself instead.

Except on the night of their wedding, the king grants Asha a final request.

Naturally, she asks to tell her sister one last bedtime story.

Naturally, the king eavesdrops.

The question is…

Will the story save her life…or ruin it?

A tale of love and betrayal, vengeance and sacrifice, magic and romance, this imaginative retelling of 1,001 Nights will keep you guessing with each turn of the page.

Review:
I would start off by calling this a very different fairy tale retelling. You know that you’re caught up in a fairy tale given the description, but the place, characters, and story really suck you in. Most fairy tales are left open- there aren’t many details and set things, that way they can adapt and change while keeping the same lessons no matter when and where they are told. That being said, the reader is deeply immersed in the world Lawrence designed, quickly enraptured by the unique magic system, balance between fae and human, and between the rich and poor. While the fairy tale itself might have inspired the story, there are so many twists and turns that it truly has a life of its own. There are several beautiful examples of people not always being what they seem/appear to be, as well as cases showing actions prove more of a person’s character than words. Once started, especially toward the last third of the book, it becomes absolutely impossible to put down.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯

Synopsis:
Once upon a time, I was a sheltered princess.

On the night Jafar takes everything from my father, he offers me a devil’s bargain—walk with my freedom and nothing else, or attempt to best him and regain my inheritance. In my arrogance, I play right into his hands. I foolishly assume I have a chance to come out on top. I’m wrong.

Now Jafar owns me, body and soul.

We fight during the day, but when night comes, we play out every fantasy I’ve never allowed myself to admit to having. I can’t hide them from Jafar, though. We know each other—and the dark desires we share—far too well. He sees to my every need, no matter how carnal or extravagant. It’s almost enough for me to be happy…

But a gilded cage is still a prison, and I’ll do anything to obtain my freedom—even betray the man I’m falling for.

Review:
This book was a great romance novel with some properly described BDSM elements. The heat between Jafar and Jasmine is tangible, and it is easy to believe she wanted to trust him and let him give her what she was never allowed to have: a man who actually supported her and her ambitions to move forward in life. While the intertwined fairy tale/myth elements were interesting, especially the use of Rajah, I feel as if this story was quite brilliant and very much could have stood on its own without trying to draw people in with the fairy tale element; that being said, I’m almost certain that’s why I was originally drawn in to purchase said novel.

The one issue I did have was how rushed the ending/climax felt. It seems unrealistic that Jasmine would have changed so quickly to become a much more assertive and self assured person willing to force her position on others, especially given the multiple instances where she’s mentioned/felt/shown that she isn’t that type of person and didn’t have enough life experience/knowledge to be able to do such a thing. That being said, I did very much like the ending, it could have just happened in a more convincing manner.

If you like fairy tales, like the morally grey villain, and like well written smut (romance) then I’d highly recommend you read this.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Amy S. Brown

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