The Wisest Maiden [Kindle Edition]

Imagine 1001 Nights, but instead of telling tales, the heroine has to use wits and the skills/assets she's been blessed with. This is a short novelette inspired by the original story. Issalia has been hidden away by her parents as the king of their kingdom has an extreme hatred against women. He takes one maiden as his wife every year, deflowers them, and kills them. So far, he has killed three. Will Issalia be his fourth? When Toridesh lays eyes on her one fateful day in the marketplace, he thinks yes.

She's taken to his palace and becomes his bride...only she doesn't die the next day. Why? She is wise. She uses her skills with herbs, womanly seduction, and just plain simple common sense as she tries to get through to the king. Can she show him that not all women are bad? Can she break this...curse?

In a time when books feel like the same story told over and over, I was very pleased to discover myself shocked at two different turns. DeWinters manages to give an old story many new twists. I'm not big on descriptions, but this author managed to describe things from the food to the decor to the characters in such eloquent prose, I felt I was there eating the fruit, riding the camel, touching the king.

And the best part was...this man will kill her once her deflowers her, yet her body yearns for him. Loved her inner turmoil. "More often than not, her mind and body urged her to simply give in, be taken and suffer the consequences." Imagine wanting a man that bad...I could feel it with the heroine.

There's also humor, most notably when Issalia finds out about her diet. I won't reveal more than that.

Dahlia's writing left me breathless. Her descriptions were rich and beautiful. The world building was superb. I loved Issa and Desh's chemistry and I can't wait to read more from her.

THE WISEST MAIDEN is a delightful retelling of The Arabian Nights, focusing on the part about Scheherazade and her king.

While Scheherazade survived by using her stories, Issa used her wits to entice and beguile the king. I won't tell you how she did it, because that is part of the fun of reading this story! Issa is a strong heroine, she has an inner core of steel that allowed her to be calm and to use her wits in the face of adversity. Of course, it helped that she found allies, but it's because of her character, of her sweetness and simplicity that she was able to find friends in her situation. Of course, though I know all will end well, I still rooted for her and cheered with her when she was able to outwit the king.

The king, Desh, is a jerk (a nicer word for the real one I had in mind, which starts with an "a" and ends with "hole") initially, so heartless. I cursed him a lot when I started reading, especially when we see the scene from his point of view. But of course, the way he objectified women can be be attributed to having suffered his first wife's betrayal, thus he closed his heart and mind to women thereafter, making sure no one touched his heart ever again. Still, he did have a change of heart (of course) later on.

Even while Desh still means to go ahead with his plan, the two share some romantic moments that served to build their relationship somewhat and engender feelings.

I have to commend the author for her vivid description of her world--Kammas, Moulin, the desert wind--and it seems as if I was truly there and heightening my enjoyment of the reading process.

THE WISEST MAIDEN is an enjoyable read into a vivid fantasy world.

Reviewed by Ashia
for TheRomanceReviews.com