This story reminded me a lot of A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston and also Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher. The plot and characters have nothing to do with those books, or anything with that myth, but there's a certain cadence to those books. Something that's particularly mesmerizing about them that makes them unforgettable.
I think this book all captured that.
An amazon summary, "Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...
But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.
A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology. The Star-touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
Maya lives in Bherta, where she is under constant ridicule by all of the women in the harem. Her father, the king, has a tutor come see her once a week, but for the most part, she loves to become lost in the scrolls of the library. Something I can easily relate to.
She's gotten to the age of 17 without being married off to due the horoscope of her birth. Every child in the kingdom has their horoscope foretold at birth, and hers is particularly cursed.
The kingdom is also at war. As a way to make peace, her father decides to hide her horoscope and marry her off to one of the warring forces. However, since she can only choose one, and she has 15 suitors, the war will continue with the remaining 14. Something her father cannot have.
So he asks her to sacrifice herself for the kingdom, by killing herself with poison. Not a great Father, but perhaps a wise ruler that truly puts the people of the country first? I'm still undecided.
In the moment she decides to drink the poison for the good of the country she loves, Amar appears and takes the poison away. He offers to take her to another land where she'll have the power of a thousand kings.
So begins the journey through the Night Bazaar, and ultimately to Akaran. Into a palace where there are no subjects, but plenty of magic, and whispers to drive you mad.
....that's enough of a summary.
So I kind of loved aspects of this book. I love Maya and how simultaneously wise and flawed she is. I love all of the rich descriptions of the land, the culture, and the world building. I loved how the magic of the book seemed to be it's own character, and that was wonderful in of itself. There were also a lot of elements of reincarnation, threads of fate, but ultimately, I didn't like how it kind of squashed the question of do we decide our own fates or are our fates predetermined?
I found Amar interesting at first, but also very odd. Like that one kid in the back of the class who really wants to raise their hand, but is way too shy to, and he doesn't have a teacher willing to draw him out of his shell. He seemed to be playing a constant cat and mouse game with his own personality. Instead of endearing, it was really just annoying.
I do love how the mystery of the book revealed itself, but I would have loved to see more of the mythical creatures throughout the book. They were present for certain scenes, but based on who Amar is, who Maya becomes, it just seems like we should have seen more of them. There was a lot of concentration on the humans, which kind of makes sense because Maya's love for her country and people. But, but but but, because who Amar is, I was expecting much more interaction with the otherworldly.
It is a good story, a mesmerizing story.
Happy reading!
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