Orphaned and alone, Aladdin travels from the streets of his Arab homeland to a strange, faraway place. Growing up in an orphanage, he meets young Lady Kirstyn, whose father who is the powerful Duke of Hagenheim. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion, and their childhood friendship grows into a bond that time and opposition cannot break.
Even as a child, Aladdin works hard, learning all he can from his teachers. Through his integrity, intelligence, and sheer tenacity, he earns a position serving as the duke’s steward. But that isn’t enough to erase the shame of being forced to steal as a small child—or the fact that he’s an orphan with no status. If he ever wants to feel equal to his beautiful and generous friend Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim and seek his fortune.
Yet once Aladdin departs, Lady Kirstyn becomes a pawn in a terrible plot. Now, Aladdin and Kirstyn must rely on their bond to save her from unexpected danger. But will saving Kirstyn cost Aladdin his newfound status and everything he’s worked so hard to obtain?
I have never read an Aladdin retelling quite like this. Aladdin was an orphan who was rescued by Kirstyn’s family, and the two are raised together. They go on many adventures as they are children, but then Aladdin wants to make a life for himself rather than staying under Kirstyn’s family. A little while after he leaves, Kirstyn is found in an extremely dangerous situation, and it may be up to Aladdin to save her life.
This was an amazing romance story/fairy tale retelling. I honestly couldn’t remember much about this novel when I did read it a few months after plucking it from NetGalley, so I was in for a sweet, sweet surprise. Everything flowed smoothly and there was just enough suspense to back up the more typical historical fantasy parts of the story. I fell in love with their romance and wanted for them to be able to get their happily ever after.
There were no editing errors in this advanced copy of the book, and the plot moved quite smoothly. The story was not short but I did not feel like it took me ages to finish reading it. I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading it!
My favorite thing about this novel was the character development. We go to see Aladdin and Kirstyn grow from small children to capable adults who happened to fall in love with one another. They connected in a way that people around them just couldn’t understand, but their relationship did go through several stages as they got older. They weren’t born falling in love with each other, it was a process. I was just happy that the author showed a healthy boy/girl friendship before they became an official couple.
I really have nothing to complain about with this story! It was just such an enjoyable read, and I would definitely recommend it to people who like fantasy-romance stories and fairy tale retellings.
I received an advance copy of this book, and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 5 stars
