Audio book. Really enjoyed it ( )

I found The Sultan’s Wife by Jane Johnson an exotic ride to 1677 Morocco and the palace of the murderous Sultan Moulay Ismail and his witch-like wife, Zidana. We are transported from Morocco to England while reading the story of Nus-Nus, the Sultan’s African eunuch scribe, and Alys Swann, an English woman kidnapped and brought to the Sultan.

While both Alys and Nus-Nus are fictional characters, the Sultan and his wife actually did exist and he was as psychotic and blood-thirsty as depicted in this novel. Life at court was always dangerous, no one ever knew when the Sultan would be set-off into a murderous rage, and his cunning wife wasn’t much better. She ruled the harem with fear and those most in danger were the Sultan’s current favorites or those who had had his sons.

When Nus-Nus decides to champion Alys, his life becomes very challenging. Alys trusts him and he, in turn, has fallen in love with her. When she is delivered of a boy child, life becomes all the more dangerous as Zidana is obsessed with removing all boys who she sees as obstacles to her own son’s succession. When Nus-Nus is assigned to accompany the ambassador to England, he seizes the change to save Alys, her son and himself.

The Wife of the Sultan is an excellent story, woven around actual historical figures, it is full of intrigue, deceit and romance. The story cleverly meshes history, culture and religion together which gives it an authentic feel and makes for a very engaging read. ( )

Oh the let down:( I cannot tell you how long I have been waiting to have this book released so that I could read it. I even bought it out of Europe because it had not been released in the US yet. So dissappointed. The story line was great, but her execution was less than desirable. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters and and the settings were vast but not detailed. I felt like this was suppose to be a book of intrigue and a bit of a love story in a historical setting. The historical part I got and was well exicuted, but the romance/love was so minuscule that it did not flow with the ending. And the intrigue was cleaver, but not truly flushed out. Overall I was disheartened that my long wait was for naught. But in Jane Johnson's defense, it is truly hard to top her other two books (especially The Salt Road). So, I am sure when she writes her next I will once again be on pins and needles. ( )

A romantic historical novel with lots of plotting, lots of action. Told from the perspective of a eunuch and an abducted Dutch woman in 1677 Morocco, it’s an exciting tale. Somehow reading this book in Las Vegas made perfect sense – reading about another time in a place that is definitely not of this world. ( )

My favorite book by this author. I have kept wondering after I read it what happened next! ( )