Elements: Jinn, magic
Rating:
- Characters - 4 - A good selection, though I would have liked a few more female characters. I was pleased the one main female character at least had a good role in the story.
- Setting - 5 - Excellent setting. I would have loved to spend more time in this world.
- Plot - 3 - Needed a lot of work. It's fairly cliched, and there's a rather large gap. I think we either didn't need to see their first meeting except in flashbacks, or I would have liked to have seen a lot more of the intervening time.
- Genre Elements - 5 - A fabulous take on the Jinn mythos. I loved the rules regarding them and how their society works. Very nicely done.
- Voice - 4 - Quite good. Few difficulties determining who's speaking.
- Romance Elements - 4 - Sweet romance, though as I said, it felt a bit saggy in the middle, and I would have preferred a more consistent flow to their romance, instead of the choppiness we got.
- Overall - 4 - A good story with a few flaws, but overall quite enjoyable.
Neriah, crown prince, manages to escape an assassination attempt with the help of a Jinn. Many years later, when their paths cross again, the memories the Jinn took from him of their one night together, begin to complicate his attempt to regain his place in the kingdom.
My thoughts -
I enjoyed this. It is flawed, but in a good-writing way that just suggests it needed a different flow to make it work better. The characters are interesting, though there's only one major female character, which is a problem on its own. The two main characters are interesting, but their romance was problematic. All in all, I would read this again, but I do wish that a few of the flaws weren't there.
I have a fondness for folklore and fable, so I love anything that touches on those themes, and Jinn are one that I've not seen done much, and would love to read more. Obviously Anthony has a fondness for them as well, as she gives the Jinn society a great deal of detail that works very well with what we all know from tales like Aladdin and other tales of Jinn out there, while still being very distinctly hers. I would have loved more detail on their society and the rules they have on serving humans. Tamir is an interesting character, and I would have loved to read more about him before this or others like him.
Really, for me the biggest flaw in this story is the jump in time from the prologue to the main part of the story. I understand why it was there--she wanted us to see them together for their one night--but I think it would have worked better as a flashback from Tamir, and then later from Neriah's point of view. Either that, or I would have loved to see some of the time they lived between that moment and when they met up again. Got some of those characters around them fleshed out a good deal more.
So given that my biggest complaint about this is that I want more, I'd say it's definitely a good buy. I may have to see what else Anthony has written, because she definitely has a great grasp on middle eastern culture and folklore.
Warnings -
Slavery in a very mild sense, threat of rape, and unequal society. Nothing huge, but they are there, so if you are especially sensitive to those aspects, to be cautious.
Overall Recommendation -
Definitely worth a read, especially if you like middle eastern folklore.
Link to the story - Dream of a Thousand Nights (on Goodreads)
Author Link - Shira Anthony (on Goodreads)
If you liked this story, try -
- Brendan and the Beast by Czarina Kodora (AO3) (read my review here)
- The Mist Behind and the Light Before by Cathalin (AO3)
- Soulless by T Baggins (on Goodreads) (read my review here)
- The Quartz Key by Lianne Burwell (Online link) (read my review here)
- The Fall of the Dragon King by MomsDarkSecret (Fiction Press) (read my review here)
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