The Sultan and the Storyteller: A Retelling of 1001 Nights by Lichelle Slater (A Villain’s Ever After)

For thirty-nine nights, the sultan of Zunbar has chosen a new wife. For thirty-nine dawns, they are pronounced dead.
The streets of Zunbar are empty, as families flee lest their daughter be chosen as the next bride. Sharira and her sister can’t leave as their father is advisor to the sultan. When her best friend Jade is chosen, Sharira takes her place despite pleas from her sweetheart, Kasim.
Her first night in the palace reveals that all is not as it seems. As Sharira discovers Zayne isn’t the bloodthirsty killer she thought he was, she uncovers a conspiracy that stems back to her childhood.

A fun take on a fairytale that I’ve not read many retellings of. I enjoyed the relationship between the sisters, and the history of magic in the land made a nice intrigue.

There were a few inconsistencies in the storyline that were hard to get past, the most annoying one the way Sharira completely forgot about Kasim and fell for Zayne so quickly.

???? I’m giving it four roses.
No swearing
?? Slightly more passionate kissing between a married couple
⚔️⚔️⚔️ Mostly because there is a lot of death in the story, but not all on the page.