Title: A Thousand Nights
Author: E.K. Johnston
Pages: 336
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Release date: 8th October 2015
Blurb from Goodreads:
Lo-Melkhiin killed three
hundred girls before he came to my village, looking for a wife.
When Lo-Melkhiin - a formidable king - arrives at her desert home, she knows that he will take her beautiful sister for a wife. Desperate to save her sister from certain death, she makes the ultimate sacrifice - leaving home and family behind to live with a fearful man.
But it seems that a strange magic flows between her and Lo-Melkhiin, and night after night, she survives. Finding power in storytelling, the words she speaks are given strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. But she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king . . . if only she can stop her heart from falling for a monster.
Set against a harsh desert backdrop, A Thousand Nights by E K Johnston is an evocative tale of love, mystery and magic that would not feel out of place if Scheherazade herself were telling it.
And perhaps she is...
When Lo-Melkhiin - a formidable king - arrives at her desert home, she knows that he will take her beautiful sister for a wife. Desperate to save her sister from certain death, she makes the ultimate sacrifice - leaving home and family behind to live with a fearful man.
But it seems that a strange magic flows between her and Lo-Melkhiin, and night after night, she survives. Finding power in storytelling, the words she speaks are given strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. But she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king . . . if only she can stop her heart from falling for a monster.
Set against a harsh desert backdrop, A Thousand Nights by E K Johnston is an evocative tale of love, mystery and magic that would not feel out of place if Scheherazade herself were telling it.
And perhaps she is...
My Review:
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest
review. Thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley*
2.5/5 stars
The king, Lo-Melkhiin, has had hundreds of wives but they
never last more than thirty days.
When he arrives at the protagonist's village in search of a
new wife, she knows that he will choose her sister. Not wanting her sister to
die, she plans to make Lo-Melkhiin take herself instead and he does.
Every night, she fears that Lo-Melkhiin will kill her but he
doesn't. She tells him stories and as they start coming true, she finds that
she has a power of her own.
Will she escape Lo-Melkhiin's clutches and return home?
What happened the day Lo-Melkhiin went to the desert and
returned a different man?
A Thousand Nights was a mixed read for me.
Strangely, most of the characters didn't have names, even
the protagonist - they were referred to as sister, wife, father etc.
I liked the protagonist - she was very protective of her
sister and she was clever.
I found the plot quite boring and there were only a few
parts where I was interested.
Pacing was a big problem for me - not much seemed to happen
and it dragged a lot.
I really liked the writing style - it was quite thoughtful
and thought provoking.
There were some dark moments/themes in this and hardly any
romance but I thought that it added to the story.
Overall this was an okay read.
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