A Thousand Nights

I had the privilege of reading an ARC of this book (in exchange for an honest review), and it emerged as one of my recent favorites. It features gorgeous world-building and vivid, well-developed depiction of scenery and culture. (I'm not at all surprised to find that the author has spent considerable time in the Middle East.) The characterization is wonderful, with a truly beautiful relationship between the sisters, who remain unnamed, but whose love for each other transforms the world.

I drank in the beautiful, concise prose and the taut pacing, and after I was done reading, my mind kept going back to the underlying themes: the power of storytelling; the power of choosing to sacrifice oneself for another, out of love; the power that can be claimed by women, even in societies where they are afforded little.

I got to read an ARC, but I pre-ordered another copy anyway. I want this book to succeed, and I want more books like it. This is the re-telling of Scheherazade that I've been longing to read.