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Arabian Nights
Blair Bakhtiar always wanted to be royalty. Zayn al-Haydar wanted to be anything but. When one fateful summer brings them together, the two discover that maybe it's not that much better on the other side... but the journey there is always full of surprises, with love being the biggest surprise of them all.
[Book #2 in the Fairytale Series, but can be read as a standalone. a 1001 Nights & Aladdin retelling]
[Book #2 in the Fairytale Series, but can be read as a standalone. a 1001 Nights & Aladdin retelling]
449 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 21, 2023
41 people are currently reading
679 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 20, 2023
“You and me, hayati. You and me.”
I had my doubts about thus book but Simone PULLED THROUGH. if your looking for a middleastern Muslims romance than y’all THIS BOOK ATE. Now don’t get wrong, heading into this book you’ll probably hate the annoying fmc whose Muslim but does not adhere to any of the rules of Islam and tries to get one of the good Muslim men to falter his religion. You’ll hate that at first…but as my friends said TRUST THE PROCESS.
The beautiful thing about this story is not just the way the romance evolved, but the way the characters were trying to find themselves and the right path. It’s how the romance even came to be. Zayn is a good Muslim, although not perfect he does what he can to respect the religion he’s always loved. Lelah grew up in a household not very respective of it. She was constantly neglected by her own father and it caused her to take a path not so pure. Eventually Zayn and lelah met and even though it was love at first sight for Zayn, to lelah it was trying to break his interior and seduce him, only to realize he’s such a good man that she would hate to make him do something he wouldn’t want.
Zayn fell in love with lelah but he always made sure to lower his gaze and not touch her to the best of his ability till the time was right. He knew she did things she wasn’t supposed to do but HE NEVER, not once forced her into anything. He waited until she was ready to make her own choices, which eventually got her to reflect and become a better person to the point that in the days of their marriage she would be the one to wake him up for fajr.
Words cannot describe enough how beautifully written this story is. And how the journey in Islam is different for evreyone but eventually it will be a path of understanding. The plot was even immaculate.
So if it wasn’t obvious READ THIS BOOK OR UR DANIAPHOBIC🙅🏻♀️
I had my doubts about thus book but Simone PULLED THROUGH. if your looking for a middleastern Muslims romance than y’all THIS BOOK ATE. Now don’t get wrong, heading into this book you’ll probably hate the annoying fmc whose Muslim but does not adhere to any of the rules of Islam and tries to get one of the good Muslim men to falter his religion. You’ll hate that at first…but as my friends said TRUST THE PROCESS.
The beautiful thing about this story is not just the way the romance evolved, but the way the characters were trying to find themselves and the right path. It’s how the romance even came to be. Zayn is a good Muslim, although not perfect he does what he can to respect the religion he’s always loved. Lelah grew up in a household not very respective of it. She was constantly neglected by her own father and it caused her to take a path not so pure. Eventually Zayn and lelah met and even though it was love at first sight for Zayn, to lelah it was trying to break his interior and seduce him, only to realize he’s such a good man that she would hate to make him do something he wouldn’t want.
Zayn fell in love with lelah but he always made sure to lower his gaze and not touch her to the best of his ability till the time was right. He knew she did things she wasn’t supposed to do but HE NEVER, not once forced her into anything. He waited until she was ready to make her own choices, which eventually got her to reflect and become a better person to the point that in the days of their marriage she would be the one to wake him up for fajr.
Words cannot describe enough how beautifully written this story is. And how the journey in Islam is different for evreyone but eventually it will be a path of understanding. The plot was even immaculate.
So if it wasn’t obvious READ THIS BOOK OR UR DANIAPHOBIC🙅🏻♀️
January 27, 2021
this book is gorgeous, and i mean it. SIMPLY GORGEOUS.
this book not only has an absolutely beautiful plot that unravels a bit at a time, and leaves you guessing, but also very intimate, intricate details, rich aesthetics, poetic dialogues, and an overall stunning vibe. no matter how many times i reread this book, my love for it will never falter, not even a bit.
this book not only has an absolutely beautiful plot that unravels a bit at a time, and leaves you guessing, but also very intimate, intricate details, rich aesthetics, poetic dialogues, and an overall stunning vibe. no matter how many times i reread this book, my love for it will never falter, not even a bit.
August 9, 2023
no matter how many times i read this book, it will always be more beautiful than the previous time
February 24, 2021
Hope someone one day turns this into a (really good) film.
March 1, 2018
A story that will leave you guessing about what's going to happen next. The story holds the interest of the Reader from the starting and continues till the end. The story is about the crown prince named Zayn, of a place called Malikbahr. He becomes the crown prince when he least expected it and then he meets Laleh, a beautiful girl and sister of his roommate. Laleh has an image of her own which is not likeable by her family. Still, she manages to make her place in Zayn's heart.
This story is not only about love but it is full of mysterious secrets, family, suffering, friendship, betrayal and so much more. It is a complete package and the story is very wonderfully written.
I was engrossed in the story from the beginning till the end. I loved everything about this book. I would recommend everyone to read it because it is one of a kind.
This story is not only about love but it is full of mysterious secrets, family, suffering, friendship, betrayal and so much more. It is a complete package and the story is very wonderfully written.
I was engrossed in the story from the beginning till the end. I loved everything about this book. I would recommend everyone to read it because it is one of a kind.
April 28, 2018
This book left me speechless.
I am so happy I found this book and decided to read it. You know that feeling, when you're going through Wattpad, just browsing, hoping to find something exceptional. Well, once upon a time, I was doing just that. And I found this jewel.
I am so happy I found this book and decided to read it. You know that feeling, when you're going through Wattpad, just browsing, hoping to find something exceptional. Well, once upon a time, I was doing just that. And I found this jewel.
September 28, 2023
4.5 stars ( ★★★★☆)
Zayn and Laleh/Blair are my Roman Empire.
Note: this review is written years after having read the book multiple times on Wappad and off Radish
WHERE TF DO I START? I rarely get into Contemporary Romance/Drama books as I mentioned in my The Ex Talk review because I rarely get impressed by them. Not this one, no.
This book managed to instill such beautiful relationships of subtlety and pure romance in it that I fell in love almost instantly. The MMC (Zayn, a prince and an heir to the throne of a small middle-eastern country) is extremely pious, and finds his faith to ground him to the best version of himself. This also means that premarital intercourse is not something he is remotely interested in. He is next in line for the throne and looking for some peace in his life before he gets thrown into a world of politics and royal secrets.
Alternatively, the FMC ( Blair Bakhtiar) is like Ruby from Sex Education and her confidence matches Maddy Perez from Euphoria. She's rich, hot, in tune with her sexual needs and she knows her worth. At least, she shows that she knows it. She's been sexualized at a young age by her father, where he forced her to find suitors at an age when she should be worried about college and grades. She has internalized such feelings, which means that she sees seduction as her biggest weapon. Forced to have a marriage of convenience that benefits her father's business, she has to find a suitable partner before her father throws her at some random man's feet in exchange for power. When she meets Zayn, it becomes crystal clear that she has to bag him in order to get out of her living hell. The issue? Zayn isn't baggable.
All her plans come to a halt when she realizes that she just can't simply seduce the MMC in her ways, because he isn't someone like that. He's soft, kind, and extremely self aware. I loved watching Zayn time and time against blow her off, and her realizing that Zayn isn''t someone to fawn over sexy bikinis and promises of wild sex. Hell, he won't even wait long enough for Blair to finish her sentence. I love how his softness and truthfulness creates such an a positive environment around Blair that she begins to find her walls breaking down, and Simone captures her emotions perfectly. There is so much accurate representation in this book, which is a strong point in its favour. The way these two come to a beautiful unification in a way that uplifts both of them as individuals and as lovers is SO WELL DONE.
Review: I read it a while ago when it was available on Wattpad/Radish, which means that nothing I say now should ever be held against me, but I strongly recommend this book. Although Romance is it's main genre, it deals with so many sub-plots that I absolutely enjoyed. I loved seeing their romance blossom in such a non-sexual way, which reminded me of my favourite characters from Skam (Yousef and Sana).
P.S: the letters at the end??😭😭😭😭💫 Zayn is literally MY BOOK BF. FUCK BOOKTOK AND BOOKSTAGRAM BFs, THIS MAN IS THE REAL DEAL. HE IS LITERALLY A MODERN-DAY DARCY.
gonna go re-read it asap.
Zayn and Laleh/Blair are my Roman Empire.
Note: this review is written years after having read the book multiple times on Wappad and off Radish
WHERE TF DO I START? I rarely get into Contemporary Romance/Drama books as I mentioned in my The Ex Talk review because I rarely get impressed by them. Not this one, no.
This book managed to instill such beautiful relationships of subtlety and pure romance in it that I fell in love almost instantly. The MMC (Zayn, a prince and an heir to the throne of a small middle-eastern country) is extremely pious, and finds his faith to ground him to the best version of himself. This also means that premarital intercourse is not something he is remotely interested in. He is next in line for the throne and looking for some peace in his life before he gets thrown into a world of politics and royal secrets.
Alternatively, the FMC ( Blair Bakhtiar) is like Ruby from Sex Education and her confidence matches Maddy Perez from Euphoria. She's rich, hot, in tune with her sexual needs and she knows her worth. At least, she shows that she knows it. She's been sexualized at a young age by her father, where he forced her to find suitors at an age when she should be worried about college and grades. She has internalized such feelings, which means that she sees seduction as her biggest weapon. Forced to have a marriage of convenience that benefits her father's business, she has to find a suitable partner before her father throws her at some random man's feet in exchange for power. When she meets Zayn, it becomes crystal clear that she has to bag him in order to get out of her living hell. The issue? Zayn isn't baggable.
All her plans come to a halt when she realizes that she just can't simply seduce the MMC in her ways, because he isn't someone like that. He's soft, kind, and extremely self aware. I loved watching Zayn time and time against blow her off, and her realizing that Zayn isn''t someone to fawn over sexy bikinis and promises of wild sex. Hell, he won't even wait long enough for Blair to finish her sentence. I love how his softness and truthfulness creates such an a positive environment around Blair that she begins to find her walls breaking down, and Simone captures her emotions perfectly. There is so much accurate representation in this book, which is a strong point in its favour. The way these two come to a beautiful unification in a way that uplifts both of them as individuals and as lovers is SO WELL DONE.
Review: I read it a while ago when it was available on Wattpad/Radish, which means that nothing I say now should ever be held against me, but I strongly recommend this book. Although Romance is it's main genre, it deals with so many sub-plots that I absolutely enjoyed. I loved seeing their romance blossom in such a non-sexual way, which reminded me of my favourite characters from Skam (Yousef and Sana).
P.S: the letters at the end??😭😭😭😭💫 Zayn is literally MY BOOK BF. FUCK BOOKTOK AND BOOKSTAGRAM BFs, THIS MAN IS THE REAL DEAL. HE IS LITERALLY A MODERN-DAY DARCY.
gonna go re-read it asap.
December 30, 2023
wanted to see if the best Wattpad book i can remember was actually good or not. It was decent
February 25, 2021
An amazing and gripping story from the very first page. Riveting, new, exciting and thrilling, this novel is among the few that can boast of a deep romance, plotting and revenge, friendship and rivalry all in one.
Blair might not resonate with a lot of people, because let's be honest, many have had their guys stolen by such Divas, but Laleh is a wonderful person. Swapping the varying personalities, the author keeps you glued to find out which one is the real her. There is no deep similarity to Arabian Nights, except when Zayn reads her mother's letters to her, in the night, stopping at dawn; much like Princess Scherzade. Yet, in its own right the story is a marvel.
Blair might not resonate with a lot of people, because let's be honest, many have had their guys stolen by such Divas, but Laleh is a wonderful person. Swapping the varying personalities, the author keeps you glued to find out which one is the real her. There is no deep similarity to Arabian Nights, except when Zayn reads her mother's letters to her, in the night, stopping at dawn; much like Princess Scherzade. Yet, in its own right the story is a marvel.
December 18, 2018
I think I have a new favorite female character.
June 14, 2019
I absolutely hate Blair when I first had a glimpse of her (or maybe more) in OUANS but here in Arabian Nights, I kinda pity her like Amelia kind of pity (a character from another book) because inside that strong and bratty facade is a weak and insecure girl who just wants happiness. All her life she was treated like trash by none other than someone who should be her confidante, her protector, her fortress: her father. Then came Zayn who at first made her feel so much worse but later on, someone who is truly that kind of balance she needs. They may be polar opposites but they have so much more in common. Zayn is definitely one of my favorite male characters because...just because (lol). He's such a gentleman and pious and well-mannered and using Laleh's word, he's just so good. And Laleh, I luv her as well, she really changed like from being someone who's just a play thing in her dad's life to being someone so strong and influential in the future. I love these two characters, really. They both garnered this soft spot inside my heart already. I need a special chapter! Harhar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2022
i have been obsessed with this book since i was 16 and i have read it no less than 4 times. ZAYN AL-HAYDAR is the standard i have said what i said. this man is just everything i will ever ask for in a man. the way he is so fucking poetic is so beautiful and precious and the way he talks about laleh is everything i want to have.
laleh esfandiary is my queen and she is who i want to be when i grow up. yes i am aware she is my age. she has been through so much shit and yet she still came out on the other side victorious with a man candy for a husband. their relationship is nothing short of phenomenal and heart warming. the care and love they had for one another even before they were together makes me want to scream. i just i love them so much. and if this is the last book i read for 2022, then truly this is a good reading year. happy new year everybody!
laleh esfandiary is my queen and she is who i want to be when i grow up. yes i am aware she is my age. she has been through so much shit and yet she still came out on the other side victorious with a man candy for a husband. their relationship is nothing short of phenomenal and heart warming. the care and love they had for one another even before they were together makes me want to scream. i just i love them so much. and if this is the last book i read for 2022, then truly this is a good reading year. happy new year everybody!
August 29, 2019
I have to say hands down this one has been my favorite of the fairytale series.. I’m just at a loss for words. I love the play on her own version of Aladdin and Simone captures so much more than that. She is so talented and I find myself searching for more of her work.
September 26, 2019
This entire series is just mind blowing. But Arabian nights is such a magnificent book. I literally cried so much reading it. Simone has captured such raw emotions which is absolutely mind boggling!!!
I have read the series quite a few times now!!!
I have read the series quite a few times now!!!
December 2, 2021
Read it on Wattpad. A rollercoaster ride, some good some bad. Words can’t describe how much I love Laleh and Zayn as individuals and even more so as a couple. Definitely meant to be. I love their love story.
June 18, 2022
Loved loved this book!
Both leads had really see personalities and development throughout the book.
Blair is a flawed but beautiful flawed woman. And Zayn, oof, this man is the sweetest.
I loved the buildup throughout the entire series and all the influential characters.
Definitely a must read!
Both leads had really see personalities and development throughout the book.
Blair is a flawed but beautiful flawed woman. And Zayn, oof, this man is the sweetest.
I loved the buildup throughout the entire series and all the influential characters.
Definitely a must read!
May 5, 2024
This is the OG. I fell in love with this book when it was just on Wattpad. Now that I have spending money, I went and looked for its published copy just to safekeep.
Although it's 3rd POV, the storyline and dynamic of the characters is worth it. Simone will not disappoint.
Although it's 3rd POV, the storyline and dynamic of the characters is worth it. Simone will not disappoint.
April 14, 2018
I don't think ima read the other books in this series, but this one was AMAZING. I might no think so tomorrow, but right now I am in love
March 10, 2019
blair bakhtiar will always be my favorite wattpad female character.
April 25, 2019
I’m in love. Zayn must be protected at all costs. ‘Hayati’ 🤧
September 23, 2019
Loved every thing about it. The character development is amazing and eventhough i didnt like the heroine at first she’s absolutely one of my favorites right now.
January 29, 2020
One of my favorite book!!!! Blair and zany you stole my heart 💕💕
January 7, 2022
My favourite book in the world. Stole my heart.
January 13, 2022
love love love
March 7, 2022
Loved it!
February 22, 2023
This book to this day is the one of those books I will continuously re read. So beautifully written and reminded me of my love for the Arabic language.
August 19, 2023
4.25 stars
November 3, 2023
No words. Amazing
October 28, 2024
Blair bakhtiar you don't know how much you've affected my life
February 8, 2024
Listen I read this book in my tween phase and I think it still holds up. I love the romance and the tension and honestly the nostalgia <3.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews