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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I had expected it to be deeper than what it was. If you want to read a light romance novel this might do the trick.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 Stars
The Lioness of Morocco Provides an interesting story and a welcome appreciation of Arabic and Berber culture. This is a well-researched book, with evocative descriptions of Mogador (modern day Essaouira). There was much that I appreciated about the book and its lovely descriptions of Moroccan culture especially from the perspective of lives of women in harems to the unique lives of Berber women. I definitely felt as if the Drostens both understood, and loved, Morocco. I felt they see the beautiful county I've been lucky to see several times. I also enjoyed Sibylla's openness to Arabic culture and language, a characteristic certainly bound to be rare in a Victorian lady. Her embrace of the world she built for her family was what kept my enjoyment of the book strong.
My greatest problem with the book lies at the heart of whether some of the relationships described, particularly one at the end of the book, could truly have occurred with so few familial and social repercussions in that era and in an Arabic culture. By the end, one has to suspend belief and just go with this being a historical romance with a splash of mystery. I was also frustrated by what I can only assume were inconsistencies in the editing of either the initial German text or in the translation, such as "He paid little heed to her (Aynur's) tears and laments" and two paragraphs later "She (Aynur) made sure he never saw how she cried with exhaustion or loneliness." Sorry, but this stuff just irks me and there were other similar instances in the book. That's bad editing, and the husband and wife team comprising Julia Drosten deserve better.
4.5 Stars
The Lioness of Morocco Provides an interesting story and a welcome appreciation of Arabic and Berber culture. This is a well-researched book, with evocative descriptions of Mogador (modern day Essaouira). There was much that I appreciated about the book and its lovely descriptions of Moroccan culture especially from the perspective of lives of women in harems to the unique lives of Berber women. I definitely felt as if the Drostens both understood, and loved, Morocco. I felt they see the beautiful county I've been lucky to see several times. I also enjoyed Sibylla's openness to Arabic culture and language, a characteristic certainly bound to be rare in a Victorian lady. Her embrace of the world she built for her family was what kept my enjoyment of the book strong.
My greatest problem with the book lies at the heart of whether some of the relationships described, particularly one at the end of the book, could truly have occurred with so few familial and social repercussions in that era and in an Arabic culture. By the end, one has to suspend belief and just go with this being a historical romance with a splash of mystery. I was also frustrated by what I can only assume were inconsistencies in the editing of either the initial German text or in the translation, such as "He paid little heed to her (Aynur's) tears and laments" and two paragraphs later "She (Aynur) made sure he never saw how she cried with exhaustion or loneliness." Sorry, but this stuff just irks me and there were other similar instances in the book. That's bad editing, and the husband and wife team comprising Julia Drosten deserve better.