The Sultan and the Storyteller by Lichelle Slater
Fairytale Retelling. 238 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
For thirty-nine nights, the sultan of Zunbar has chosen a new wife.
For thirty-nine dawns, they are pronounced dead.
When Sultan Zayne summons my best friend to be taken as his newest victim, I can no longer pretend to be blind and volunteer in her stead. My only plan–weave a story each night and hopefully learn why he would kill in the first place.
I never anticipated unravelling the tapestry of lies.
But most of all, I never expected to fall in love with him.
The Sultan and the Storyteller is one of twelve short novels in A Villain’s Ever After, a collection of standalone stories featuring villainous twists on some of your favourite classic fairytales. Read the series in any order for magical adventures . . . and fall in love with villains as you’ve never seen them before. Who said villains can’t have happily-ever-afters?
My Review:
This was a fun little novella! I actually really liked this one. I’m vaguely familiar with the original fairytale. I know of it, but haven’t actually read it myself. But that said, I found Shahira’s ability a really cool twist on the 1001 Arabian Nights story.
I liked Shahira’s character. I liked her complicated relationship with her father and her little sister was really fun! I must admit, I was rather confused about her sister’s age. She read off the page as if she wasn’t much younger than Shahira, but I think two-thirds of the way in it says she’s like 13 or something.
I also really liked their shop. We didn’t see much of it, but it was a neat setting within the world. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised at the variety in setting and how fleshed out the world felt. Novella’s don’t have a lot of room for developing things like that sometimes, but Slater did a really good job of immersing us in her culture and world without info dumping or taking up unnecessary room in the story.
The sultan was also well done, I think. He was conflicted and torn and just a little hopeless. I liked the way his character struggled with his predicament and how he slowly came to hope again. The villain’s grip on him (though unsurprising was still fun to watch unfold) added to that struggle in his temperament and behavior, which I thought was really cool.
The family at the beginning didn’t really seem to have much to do with the story except to incite Shahira to action. For being a best friend, they sure didn’t have much interaction at all. And the guy (I can’t think of his name) seemed like a really nice guy, so I’m curious about him. (I think the next book is about him?) I appreciated how respectful he was and how he remained loyal even after Shahira married the sultan. A lot of writers could create tension there, but Slater chose to create an honorable guy (and girl, too) and that was refreshing.
The plot had just enough mystery to intrigue me and it was definitely a page turning. I couldn’t put the thing down! I read over half of it in one night and finally crashed in the wee hours of the morning XD There were a few expected elements, but they still felt like a natural part of the story and I still enjoyed discovering how Slater would weave everything together. The climax was cool, too. Again, there’s only so much room in a novella, but I felt like Slater used the room she had well. And, for the most part, the climax was satisfactory.
I do have to point out that the tiger was really weird. It came out of nowhere and didn’t feel natural at all. So, that little bit before we hit the main climax felt a little disjoined and rushed and underdeveloped. Also, one minute the tiger couldn’t talk to anyone and the next everyone understood it, so that was a pretty big inconsistency. And there were some typos and things I think another round of edits would have really helped, but truly, the story was very engaging and I look forward to checking out more of Slater’s work in the future.
There’s no swearing and only mild, fantasy violence. The book is set in Arabian-like culture and draws from their mythology, so there is magic and ifrits and sorcery, etc. The romance was pretty clean, but there are allusions to the goings on of a married couple and some mild one liners about desiring the other shortly after they were married. There is one fade-to-black sex scene between the two main characters after they marry. I’d probably feel fine giving the book to a 16+ year old.
More:
A Villain’s Ever After Book 1 is The Beast and the Enchantress (3 Stars)
Book 2 is The Sultan and the Storyteller (4 Stars)
Book 3 is Bluebeard and the Outlaw (5 Stars)
Book 4 is The Stepsister and the Slipper (4 Stars)
Book 5 is The Goblin and the Dancer (4 Stars)
Book 6 is Hansel and the Gingerbread Queen (5 Stars)
Book 7 is The Dark King and the Eternal Dance (4 Stars)
Book 8 is Gothel and the Maiden Prince (4 Stars)
Book 9 is The Sorcerer and the Swan Princess (3 Stars)
Book 10 is The Baker and the Wolf (4 Stars)
Book 11 is The Prince and the Sea Witch (5 Stars)
Book 12 is Carabosse and the Spindle Spell (5 Stars)
Check out Goodreads for the full reviews and more info on each story. These are standalone and do not need to be read in order.
On GraceBought
If you missed my thoughts on the previous book in the series, check it out below!