Author: E.K. Johnston
Publication: October 6th, 2015
Source: Own
Read: January 8-21, 2017
Summary (from Goodreads):
Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.
And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.
Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.
Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
And so she is taken in her sister’s place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin’s court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time. But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.
Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.
Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.
My Thoughts:
For only someone special could learn to love a beast. Lo-Melkhiin has killed 300 girls and when he comes to her village he originally wants to marry her sister, but she decides to take her place. She is forced to leave her desert home in order to come to his palace. She waits every night for death, but every night Lo-Melkhiin visits her and every morning she wakes up alive.
The writing in this book was really unique. As you can probably tell this book is a retelling of beauty and the beast. The difference is that it takes place in the desert. Lo-Melkhiin isn't a true beast, but a man who has killed hundreds of women. This whole book was wrote in third person and the main character the girl was the narrator. What was unique about this book is that Lo-Melkhiin was the only character to have a name. For the first almost one hundred pages it was confusing whether the main character was talking about herself or her sister. Then her lady in waiting begun to call her Lady-Bless and that became her name throughout the book. All the other characters were referred to by their titles. I imagine it must have been difficult to write a book where the characters have no names. I personally wish that I knew this about the book beforehand because I most likely wouldn't have read. I struggle with books without names and often times do not like them.
A Thousand Nights does have a wonderful story and I think that is what kept me going. There were parts that were very slow, but overall the story kept the book going. Lady Bless had to find a way to defeat Lo-Melkhiin and save her own life. Little did she know that her sister was doing her part to keep her sister alive. Overall I would recommend A Thousand Nights if you can get over the names, but I can see why this story has gotten such mixed reviews and although I enjoyed it I will defenity read better books this year.
Hosted by Because Reading
A Thousand Nights was my January To Be Read List winner.
