A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Simply beautiful! The cover, the pages, the writing, was all so enchanting and poetic. I immediately enjoyed the writing style. If I were to imagine sitting around a cozy campfire, with all my favorite people, the stars bright, the moon high, the weather perfect, and someone was telling us a beautiful story from memory, that was how this book made me feel. I loved it, and have been recommending it to everyone who will listen.

This was a love story, but not your typical love story. There was no romance, no love-triangles, and no explicit scenes, but there was the strongest love I have read about in a while. The love between sisters, family. There were a few times where I rolled my eyes and thought E.K. Johnston was about to create sexual tension, a love triangle, or a possible Stockholm syndrome situation, but he never did. Although I read this book with a lightness in my heart, there was no shortage of intrigue or excitement.

The "girl-with-no-name" was a very strong woman. I use woman, because her selfless act to preserve her family and village at the beginning of the book, made the distinction between child and adult in terms of maturity. Yes, she was strong, but I liked how she was also terrified, and used the knowledge that she would more than likely be dead in the morning to do all so could for the safety and security of those around her. We also saw her strength when she visited Lo-Melkhiin in the bath house. Although she thought she wouldn't survive another day, she never gave up, and that was inspiring. Just because she was strong, didn't mean she had any shortness of kindness and beauty.

Now, Lo-Melkhiin, what can I say? I kept wanting him to become a better person, the person he was deep down inside, but he just kept showing my his "horns". He was a terrible person, two-faced, selfish, and conceited, the worst kind of person. However, for the story's sake, he was perfect.

I really enjoyed the ending. Hell, I enjoyed the whole book, and have noted this is on my favorites list. If you get a chance to read this enchanting story, DO IT!

Read from October 05 to 09, 2015

Top 5 Genres*: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Fantasy/Fairy Tales, Fantasy/Magic
*According to Goodreads
_________________________
My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)

View all my reviews