This novel is interesting for its portrait of life within an Ottoman harem during the reign of Sulieman the Magnificent in the 16th century. The characters individually are not particularly memorable, but the lifestyle as seen through the eyes of Khurrem, a Russian slave girl with an exceptional talent for embroidery, is portrayed with some attention to detail that will appeal to enyone fascinated by the Ottoman Empire. ( )

A fairly interesting story, although I hated that it ended when Suleiman and Khurrem were married. I am sure that their reign would have been equally, if not more, interesting than the story told in this book.

The story starts out with Khurrem, a newly arrived slave from Russia, being assigned to work in the Silk Room. She becomes well known for her skill at embroidery, and is given the job of sewing diamonds into a robe for Suleiman's mother. It is at this point that she meets and captures the interest of Suleiman, who soon become sultan, and is moved into the royal harem.

The story of their relationship is pretty brief and unemotional. The biggest annoyance was that in the beginning of the book, Khurrem reminisces about having been raped by slave traders, and is naturally reluctant when she is called to attend on Suleiman for the first time. But she seems to fall in love with him instantly (and he with her) and at one point the author says that it had never occurred to Khurrem to imagine that sex could occur without love. Hmm.... but the girl had been raped repeatedly, so surely she knew that men could have sex without love.

Overall, this was a decent book. However, there are some inconsistencies and the relationship element felt rushed. The two didn't even meet until halfway through the book, and they only met three or four times before they were happily married. I would, however, recommend this book to anyone interested in the Ottoman Empire or Suleiman the Magnificent. ( )