You know when you have a name that is on the tip of your tongue but you can’t recall the word? The story of Shahrzad was that tale that I knew I had heard before and as I started listening to the audio book I immediately searched for it. The re-telling of that story stays pretty close to the original. However, instead of a husband who has each wife killed as the sun rises to save himself from infidelity, our hero Khalid’s reason is a mystery for most of the book. Don’t worry, I’m not going to give it away here in my review. It is not because he is trying to save himself from the hurt infidelity brings, it’s a more “honorable” reason. If you can call having hundreds of women killed, honorable. When our heroine, Shahrzad volunteers to be the kings next wife, she surprises everyone. Why would you volunteer to die? That reason is what is at the heart of this story, and she and Khalid’s budding relationship is what kept me listening.

Not only is Shahrzad a great storyteller, keeping Khalid hanging on the plot each night, she is the type of heroine that I enjoy reading about. She is strong, willful, smart, and emotional. Shazi’s original intent for volunteering is soon betrayed by her feelings. How can someone fall in love with a man who has had so many women killed? Her internal struggle was riveting.

Taking place in Persia when women were seen behind screens and through wispy bits of fabric, Renee Ahdieh modernized this version allowing Shazi to be bold and adventurous. Her King, Khalid, seemed to actually be more reserved and traditional than she, but as we get to know his reasons for his actions, we see why she would be attracted to him. That reserve was self protecting. I couldn’t really see how this novel could have a happy ending, and just as in one of Shahrzad’s own tales, I was left wanting more.

The narrator for this story, Ariana Delawari, took a more traditional route for her storytelling. She did a straight read, delivering emotion well, but not really changing her voice for the different characters. Once I got used to her style I found that this really fit the pace of the novel. This isn’t a story that you rip through. You need to enjoy the flavors, sights and smells of Persia through this authors words without any special effects to detract from them. I really enjoyed listening to it and will also listen to the sequel too. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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