Elm Vince

Not what I expected

I thought this was going to be more of a romantic fantasy but turned into more of an Arabian Knights or Aladdin tale which ate not my thing.

I groaned when the djinni popped into the story because it had been such an interesting plot up until then. I almost stopped reading but kept going because of the author's unique way of mixing serious with a little humor and because I really like Zadie's character. She is a no-nonsense type of girl who speaks her mind. I'm glad I kept going.

I think Kassim is a jerk and can't see that changing but maybe he will have his misogyny slapped out of him.

I'm going to read the next book in the series.… (plus d'informations)

My preferred reads have dragons, witches and magic in them. Yet I don't mind picking up a book with a different subject either. Like a story based on djinn folklore.

In this case not only did I get to read a different subject but also a different format of books. The format is called "episodic fiction". Which I never heard of before.

For those of you who, like me, have no idea what episodic fiction is, let me explain. It's a book that's more like a TV series than a film. It's a novella length book that's part of a series, yet it can be read on its own. You could compare it to an episode of a series. Something you can binge-read on a rainy evening. I guess you can think of episodic fiction books as Netflix for books!

The Girl With The Seven Wishes is fairytale inspired and has a lot of Aladdin and Arabian Nights influences.

The story starts with Zadie preparing for her engagement to the Sultan of Astaran. It's an arranged marriage to unite the kingdom of her father with the kingdom of Astaran. But she's not the sultan's promised bride!

Her sister the most beautiful princess seen in centuries was to be his sultanah. Then why is Zadie preparing to marry him? As the story unfolds we find out her sister ran of to be with her real love, and now it's Zadie's obligation to take her place.

Don't worry though that's exactly what she wanted. For as long as Zadie can remember she wanted to be a sultanah and rule alongside a Sultan. And it doesn't hurt either that this particular Sultan is a young, handsome man.

But, as most everything, things don't always go as planned. So even though she's about the become sultanah she will have to convince the Sultan she's more than just another pretty face. But will she be able to? She's all alone far away from home and both kingdoms are under threat.

This book is about a strong-willed young woman who knows what she wants in life. She's not about to let herself get put in a corner. Zadie is willing to prove herself and takes risks to do so.

The story is reasonably paced and flows rather well. While I can totally understand her rebellious side, I got the impression she's a little ditsy too. A couple of times I found myself thinking "girl, you could have figured out that would happen when you acted". But alas, you can't win it all.

Even though it's not my usual genre, nor the format I'm used to, I liked it. It was enjoyable to be able to finish a read in one sitting, but still get a full story. I can see myself eventually picking up the next "episode" when it's out. Not only because it's a nice and easy read but because ifrits and djinn make for a okay change between fickle fairies and roaring dragons.

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.… (plus d'informations)

We continue to follow Princess Zadie and her attempts to get the respect and attention from her husband-to-be Sultan Kassim in Book 2 of the Desert Nights series.

Princess Zadie has grown on me in this story. I felt she was a bit ditsy and naive in the first book but I think she’s coming more in her own in this one. Which is great!

She is still stuck in the palace grounds “as a good princess should” according to the Kassim. He's still ignoring and disrespecting her in many ways while she is spending her time painting and doing 'princes things' with the sultans sister. But Princess Zadie doesn't take well to being confined and is not about to give up her freedom because Kassim wants it that way! She finds a way to get outside the palace grounds to do her own thing like the independent woman she really is.

Of course she runs in to trouble when she finally gets outside. She unexpectedly runs into the Queen of Thieves (the same one we encountered in book 1) But her quick thinking and ability to read get her out of a pickle. Only to run into the next bit of trouble.

I really like how we get to see more of Aliyah the Queen of Thieves in this book. We get to meet her family and get an inside look on how she operates. She might be the Queen of Thieves, yet Aliyah turns out to be a tough but very likeable woman. I'm looking forward to see how she & her story develop throughout the series.

What I really enjoy about the development of princess Zadie is her loyalty and her sense of wrong and right. When she’s faced with a difficult choice and has to choose where her loyalty lies I can only commend her for the decision she made. It might not have been what you expect a princes to do but for me that’s what I appreciate about her.

Overall this is another great book in the Desert Night series and I think it’s better than the first!

Note: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.… (plus d'informations)