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Nights of Silk and Sapphire
Abducted from a land of wealth and privilege, Dae is chained to a slaver’s caravan crossing the vast Jaharri desert. It is a strange world of blistering sun, rolling dunes, and wind-carved plains, ruled by the Scion Zafirah Al’Intisar, a powerful and mysterious woman with seductive eyes of sapphire blue.
When Zafirah liberates the caravan the rescue Dae prayed for is not as it seems; Zafirah’s carnal appetite is legendary. Dae is taken into Zafirah’s harem, a decadent world of excess and sexual freedom. At first, Dae struggles with desires she has never before experienced, but as love and lust collide these two women slowly forge a bond as one learns to listen to her heart, and the other to the call of her awakening body.
When Zafirah liberates the caravan the rescue Dae prayed for is not as it seems; Zafirah’s carnal appetite is legendary. Dae is taken into Zafirah’s harem, a decadent world of excess and sexual freedom. At first, Dae struggles with desires she has never before experienced, but as love and lust collide these two women slowly forge a bond as one learns to listen to her heart, and the other to the call of her awakening body.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2016
75 people are currently reading
1540 people want to read
About the author
Amber Jacobs
3 books93 followersAmber Jacobs was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She grew up in Victoria, spending most of her adolescent years living on a wildlife shelter and helping to care for a motley menagerie of orphaned and injured native animals. Since graduating from University with a BA in Communication, Amber has worked in a variety of jobs but has always nurtured her creative energy through writing and art. She is always working on new stories and ideas that usually incorporate her passion for animals, medieval history, and lesbian romance.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
July 17, 2016
I'm so glad Amber Jacobs is back in the saddle (and with Ylva no less). She wrote Nights of Silk and Sapphire as online fiction back in 2002 as "a writing exercise to get the hang of erotic scenes better". The original story was great, and this edited and polished published version is even better. I hope she writes diligently, because I'm still waiting for the sequels to Freedom's Heart and Primal Touch. And of course a lot of new stuff. *fingers crossed*
March 28, 2019
Catnip for lovers of a sexy slow burn.
This book is 300+ pages of seduction. Sure there are other elements that come into play like some slight angst and a battle here and there but ultimately that is not what this book is about. I loved getting lost in Dae's journey towards her sexual awakening and subsequent attraction to Zafirah. From resolutely refusing to entertain the idea of two women sleeping together to becoming the sexual equivalent of a kid in a candy store, Dae's story was well paced and very believable.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. I really thought the polyamory aspect would bother me more. Granted i'll never be a real fan of the subject but this book manages oddly enough to keep the romance aspect focused on Zafirah and Dae.
Sinfully seductive with great dialogues and excellent pacing this book turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.
This book is 300+ pages of seduction. Sure there are other elements that come into play like some slight angst and a battle here and there but ultimately that is not what this book is about. I loved getting lost in Dae's journey towards her sexual awakening and subsequent attraction to Zafirah. From resolutely refusing to entertain the idea of two women sleeping together to becoming the sexual equivalent of a kid in a candy store, Dae's story was well paced and very believable.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. I really thought the polyamory aspect would bother me more. Granted i'll never be a real fan of the subject but this book manages oddly enough to keep the romance aspect focused on Zafirah and Dae.
Sinfully seductive with great dialogues and excellent pacing this book turned out to be a very pleasant surprise.
March 28, 2019
I've had this for ages and kept skipping over it to read something else instead. The cover and the blurb put me off a little bit. The concept of a harem, pleasure servants and lack of independence and choice make me uncomfortable even in the erotica genre. So let me start off by saying that everything is consensual and there is an actual story which is a pretty good one.
This is Xena fan-fiction set in an alternate universe. Zafirah, ruler of a wealthy nation of desert people, rescues a number of captive women from ruthless slavers. In amongst them is Dae, a blonde, fair-skinned woman, and Zafirah is immediately attracted to her. Once rescued and nursed back to health Dae is assigned an appartment in Zafirah's harem of pleasure servants. Dae comes from a land where it is forbidden for women to be with with women or men to be with men. She's young and innocent but it's not long before she makes friends with the women in the harem. Meanwhile, though Zafirah is renowned as a fair and well-liked ruler, not all the desert tribes want her in power.
I enjoyed the story and the world created for Zafira and Dae. There is a lot of eroticism but not an excessive amount. I would have preferred more engagement between Zafirah and Dae, also that it started earlier in the novel. Good read, though.
This is Xena fan-fiction set in an alternate universe. Zafirah, ruler of a wealthy nation of desert people, rescues a number of captive women from ruthless slavers. In amongst them is Dae, a blonde, fair-skinned woman, and Zafirah is immediately attracted to her. Once rescued and nursed back to health Dae is assigned an appartment in Zafirah's harem of pleasure servants. Dae comes from a land where it is forbidden for women to be with with women or men to be with men. She's young and innocent but it's not long before she makes friends with the women in the harem. Meanwhile, though Zafirah is renowned as a fair and well-liked ruler, not all the desert tribes want her in power.
I enjoyed the story and the world created for Zafira and Dae. There is a lot of eroticism but not an excessive amount. I would have preferred more engagement between Zafirah and Dae, also that it started earlier in the novel. Good read, though.
May 22, 2024
An easy new favourite. This delicious book enraptured me from the first page and held me completely enthralled throughout. It's like nothing I've ever read before. I got so blissfully lost in this captivating world Amber Jacobs' created. She is a masterful storyteller who artfully crafts such exquisite eroticism. She takes edging to a whole new level! I can't recommend this book highly enough and I eagerly await anything she writes next.
May 27, 2016
I seriously loved this story! I almost didn’t request an ARC from Ylva Publishing because it just didn’t seem like my thing, but after reading a couple reviews for it I decided to take my chances. And I’m so glad I did! This story was lush, beautiful, surreal, and ethereal all at the same time. You felt like you were there with the characters, but at the same time dreaming.
Dae has been abducted from her home land the night before she is supposed to marry her unknown betrothed. As the slavers and slaves make their way across the desert they are attacked by the Scion’s powerful army. The slavers killed, the slaves saved. Dae’s light eyes and blonde hair aren’t very common in the Jaharri desert region and the great Scion herself, Zafirah, decides she would make an excellent addition to her harem.
Dae is mortified to not only be in a harem (given that she’s barely 19 and still a virgin), but also to have her “master” be a woman. It was taught heavily in her home land that men sleeping with men, and women sleeping with women, is abhorrent and wrong and would condemn someone to hell should they participate in those kinds of activities. Zafirah (who is about 27) has no desire to force the young beauty so she allows her to adjust to her time within the harem, getting to know the other girls, and getting comfortable in her new environment. At this moment I’m thinking we’re going to be seeing some jealous catty behavior between the dozen or so other harem girls, but to my surprise, that was not the case. These girls have been given everything they could ever desire or want, and jealousy truly holds no place for them. That being the case, they also welcome the blonde haired beauty and are all very excited and curious to see I they can get her to figuratively let her hair down, and share in the “festivities” with them.
Throughout the months she spends in the harem her resolve to not participate in any sort of f/f scene starts to wane. As she sees how much each of the girls care about each other, and how happy they are, she starts to wonder if there was really anything behind the lessons she was taught in her home land. If this could make people so happy, and these people are so good and generous, how can them sharing their love with other people really be that wrong? Zafirah’s and Dae’s “relationship” is a very slow burn and I really loved seeing them try to learn more about each other, and deal with their growing attraction to one another.
The other big thing for me was the setting. The author does so well at explaining the desert paradise they are in that I could almost feel the sweltering sun on my face. Her descriptions of the desert, the palace, the harem, the environment, are just so deep and colorful. It truly is its own character in the book.
I would highly recommend this book to romance readers who enjoy f/f fiction. It is just so so good.
I received a copy of this story for free from Ylva Publishing, in exchange for my honest review.
Dae has been abducted from her home land the night before she is supposed to marry her unknown betrothed. As the slavers and slaves make their way across the desert they are attacked by the Scion’s powerful army. The slavers killed, the slaves saved. Dae’s light eyes and blonde hair aren’t very common in the Jaharri desert region and the great Scion herself, Zafirah, decides she would make an excellent addition to her harem.
Dae is mortified to not only be in a harem (given that she’s barely 19 and still a virgin), but also to have her “master” be a woman. It was taught heavily in her home land that men sleeping with men, and women sleeping with women, is abhorrent and wrong and would condemn someone to hell should they participate in those kinds of activities. Zafirah (who is about 27) has no desire to force the young beauty so she allows her to adjust to her time within the harem, getting to know the other girls, and getting comfortable in her new environment. At this moment I’m thinking we’re going to be seeing some jealous catty behavior between the dozen or so other harem girls, but to my surprise, that was not the case. These girls have been given everything they could ever desire or want, and jealousy truly holds no place for them. That being the case, they also welcome the blonde haired beauty and are all very excited and curious to see I they can get her to figuratively let her hair down, and share in the “festivities” with them.
Throughout the months she spends in the harem her resolve to not participate in any sort of f/f scene starts to wane. As she sees how much each of the girls care about each other, and how happy they are, she starts to wonder if there was really anything behind the lessons she was taught in her home land. If this could make people so happy, and these people are so good and generous, how can them sharing their love with other people really be that wrong? Zafirah’s and Dae’s “relationship” is a very slow burn and I really loved seeing them try to learn more about each other, and deal with their growing attraction to one another.
The other big thing for me was the setting. The author does so well at explaining the desert paradise they are in that I could almost feel the sweltering sun on my face. Her descriptions of the desert, the palace, the harem, the environment, are just so deep and colorful. It truly is its own character in the book.
I would highly recommend this book to romance readers who enjoy f/f fiction. It is just so so good.
I received a copy of this story for free from Ylva Publishing, in exchange for my honest review.
March 6, 2023
When I learned that this audiobook was a 2023 Audie Award finalist for Erotica narrated by Anastasia Watley, I knew I wanted to give it a listen. And - WHEW - it was definitely hot.
Watley's voice is perfect for erotica, her tone sensuous and her delivery sexy.
While this 13-plus hour audiobook is set in a pleasure harem, interestingly it's primarily a very slow burn romance between the two mains. But not to worry - there's lots of sexual awakening and activity going on among the characters in the book.
What I loved about it - everything was completely consensual at all times. The women were very happy in their lives, treated well and valued. I found the openness in sharing sexuality quite refreshing. All the women in it were incredibly beautiful, which makes sense in this environment. Definite fantasy material all the way around. While it may seem on the surface that a polyamorous environment like this wouldn't be appealing, it was quite the opposite for this reader. I'd never experienced a story like this and it certainly broadened my perspective.
I listened to this through my library and loved it enough to buy it as well. Great to see a Ylva Publishing release be recognized in the big leagues!
Watley's voice is perfect for erotica, her tone sensuous and her delivery sexy.
While this 13-plus hour audiobook is set in a pleasure harem, interestingly it's primarily a very slow burn romance between the two mains. But not to worry - there's lots of sexual awakening and activity going on among the characters in the book.
What I loved about it - everything was completely consensual at all times. The women were very happy in their lives, treated well and valued. I found the openness in sharing sexuality quite refreshing. All the women in it were incredibly beautiful, which makes sense in this environment. Definite fantasy material all the way around. While it may seem on the surface that a polyamorous environment like this wouldn't be appealing, it was quite the opposite for this reader. I'd never experienced a story like this and it certainly broadened my perspective.
I listened to this through my library and loved it enough to buy it as well. Great to see a Ylva Publishing release be recognized in the big leagues!
November 1, 2017
I really loved Primal Touch by her but this... This is something else. This is a 6 star book for me. I lost HUGE chunks of time, it was that engrossing for me. I hate the grind of having to soldier past all the bads and sads. Cause it's just that. A grind. None of that here. Nuh uh. Absolutely loved it. Brilliant.
November 20, 2021
One very sexy, hot and erotic read. Scantily dressed ladies staying in a harem with a strong femme at the helm - all in a consensual polyamorous relationship. I found that Nights of Silk and Sapphire was well written and strangely enough, I actually enjoyed reading it - though I might add you will need to have an open-mind while reading it. Even the sexy scenes where there were 3 or more ladies, at times, were sensuous…I might add.
I don’t quite fancy the ending though and that is just my opinion. I don’t like to share and would rather have a partner all to myself.. but that’s just me 😊 and no judgement there. Live and let live 🙂
If you are gonna cringed reading a polyamorous relationship or when/if there is a third person in a sexual act, then I would suggest that you stay away from this book.
Solid 4 ⭐️
I don’t quite fancy the ending though and that is just my opinion. I don’t like to share and would rather have a partner all to myself.. but that’s just me 😊 and no judgement there. Live and let live 🙂
If you are gonna cringed reading a polyamorous relationship or when/if there is a third person in a sexual act, then I would suggest that you stay away from this book.
Solid 4 ⭐️
May 1, 2016
This story is very different to anything I’ve read before, so that in and of itself made for a pleasant change of pace. Kudos to the author for writing something new and refreshing.
Early on in the story Dae is rescued from slavers, by the powerful and mysterious woman Zafirah. The world she enters is vastly different to the one she knew. A harem of woman, most of whom are pleasure-slaves. Although, Dae does not become a slave, and I never got the feeling that any of the girls were actual slaves. Most days were spent relaxing, swimming, and generally living a carefree life.
Where Dae comes from she is taught about monogamy so it takes her a while to adjust to how sexually open the girls around her are. She was adorably cute and bashful, which made her all the more enticing to the girls in the harem. Many tried to win her affections. Two of them taught her the art of ‘self-love’ which led to Dae exploring her own body, frequently. Voyeuristic readers who thrive on masturbation scenes will be in heaven.
Zafirah has her pick of the girls and encourages her harem to ‘share the love’. She’s very patient with Dae and doesn’t push her into anything she’s not ready for. It takes most of the story to get to that point. As in close to 300-pages. By such time so much else had occurred, I was beyond caring what did or didn’t eventuate between Zafirah & Dae. As far as side characters go, Inaya was my favorite.
The story wasn’t all about sexual freedom, thank goodness. The desert is an unrelenting place, especially with Elite Desert Horsemen causing havoc. Battles are fought, lives are lost, obstacles are overcome, and desire is thick in the air.
I recommend this book to readers looking for something different to sink their teeth into.
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review
Early on in the story Dae is rescued from slavers, by the powerful and mysterious woman Zafirah. The world she enters is vastly different to the one she knew. A harem of woman, most of whom are pleasure-slaves. Although, Dae does not become a slave, and I never got the feeling that any of the girls were actual slaves. Most days were spent relaxing, swimming, and generally living a carefree life.
Where Dae comes from she is taught about monogamy so it takes her a while to adjust to how sexually open the girls around her are. She was adorably cute and bashful, which made her all the more enticing to the girls in the harem. Many tried to win her affections. Two of them taught her the art of ‘self-love’ which led to Dae exploring her own body, frequently. Voyeuristic readers who thrive on masturbation scenes will be in heaven.
Zafirah has her pick of the girls and encourages her harem to ‘share the love’. She’s very patient with Dae and doesn’t push her into anything she’s not ready for. It takes most of the story to get to that point. As in close to 300-pages. By such time so much else had occurred, I was beyond caring what did or didn’t eventuate between Zafirah & Dae. As far as side characters go, Inaya was my favorite.
The story wasn’t all about sexual freedom, thank goodness. The desert is an unrelenting place, especially with Elite Desert Horsemen causing havoc. Battles are fought, lives are lost, obstacles are overcome, and desire is thick in the air.
I recommend this book to readers looking for something different to sink their teeth into.
Copy provided in exchange for an honest review
June 30, 2024
Phew!
Yes, definitely! A hot read that walks through the enlightenment of an abducted and enslaved young woman. She is released (sort of) by a fair and strong female leader into a new and foreign land with customs far removed from her upbringing - this story follows erotic awakenings that are written in a way that is tasteful, but undeniably hot!
Yes, definitely! A hot read that walks through the enlightenment of an abducted and enslaved young woman. She is released (sort of) by a fair and strong female leader into a new and foreign land with customs far removed from her upbringing - this story follows erotic awakenings that are written in a way that is tasteful, but undeniably hot!
October 17, 2023
Nights of Silk and Sapphire tells the story of an alluring pleasure harem where romance slowly blooms between Dae, a newcomer saved from slavers, and the enigmatic Zafirah, the Scion to the harem. This book was unlike anything I've read before, and I enjoyed the discussion around sexual awakenings and the beauty of consent. Dae's journey from monogamous beliefs and heterosexuality to embracing this world's openness is endearing. I also really enjoyed reading Zafirah's viewpoint too, as she falls in love for the first time.
Although time in the harem is at the forefront to this novel, it also ventures into desert adversities and clashes with the Elite Desert Horsemen. However, this conflict involving Shakir feels somewhat shallow, lacking the depth that would have elevated the story further.
All in all, an intriguing erotic novel that I'd recommend if you are looking for something different.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
Although time in the harem is at the forefront to this novel, it also ventures into desert adversities and clashes with the Elite Desert Horsemen. However, this conflict involving Shakir feels somewhat shallow, lacking the depth that would have elevated the story further.
All in all, an intriguing erotic novel that I'd recommend if you are looking for something different.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Ylva Publishing for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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November 20, 2016I so desperately wanted to love this one. And there were things about it that I did love--particularly Dae's sexual awakening, the sex scenes themselves were very well done, and it does a great job of interrogating monogamy.
Unfortunately all of the conflict with Shakir didn't work for me AT ALL. I appreciated that the conflict was external to Dae and Zafirah, but there was no depth to Shakir at all. We're often shown his perspective and I don't know why I'm supposed to care that he hates Zafirah. Giving him depth would have made all the difference.
Also, and this is a small point, but one that really bothered me, the hymen is external. Seriously. I expect misinformation in hetero romance, but to see that myth in lesfic. Just no.
Anyway, if this is the first in a series, I will give the next book a shot, because there's a lot of potential here.
I'm not going to rate this one because I'm totally conflicted about how many stars to give it.
Unfortunately all of the conflict with Shakir didn't work for me AT ALL. I appreciated that the conflict was external to Dae and Zafirah, but there was no depth to Shakir at all. We're often shown his perspective and I don't know why I'm supposed to care that he hates Zafirah. Giving him depth would have made all the difference.
Also, and this is a small point, but one that really bothered me, the hymen is external. Seriously. I expect misinformation in hetero romance, but to see that myth in lesfic. Just no.
Anyway, if this is the first in a series, I will give the next book a shot, because there's a lot of potential here.
I'm not going to rate this one because I'm totally conflicted about how many stars to give it.
December 19, 2021
This was just straight up ridiculously good fantasy, and was delightfully sexy to fall into. The main plot revolves around Dae's sexual awakening, being literally stolen from a repressed, traditional culture but (thankfully) landing unexpectedly in a harem. She is trying to understand herself and those around her, most notably Zafirah, the Scion. Her preconceived notions are shaken, her foundation fractured, yet she is surrounded by patience, love, desire, passion and kindness. It's really all about pleasure, folks, so go in expecting lots of sex. The sub-story about a renegade tribe and war and unknown weapons is interesting, but very much back-burnered. It keeps the flow and *lite drama going in an interesting manner.
Leave all expectations at the door and have fun with this one. Apparently a book 2 and 3 are written, but where are they?
Leave all expectations at the door and have fun with this one. Apparently a book 2 and 3 are written, but where are they?
November 14, 2017
Slow start but decent writing for fan fiction . I'd read more from this author.
October 24, 2020
4 Stars - A slow burn erotic harem polyamory romance? Kinda....
So guys, I have mixed feelings on this one. I was LOVING it until about 60% mark.
First off, this is 100% fantasy. This the best harem in the world were all the women are treated like queens. They are gorgeous and gay and love each other and the Scion. Everyone gets on perfectly 100% of the time. The Scion is happy for all her harem of pleasure servants to have relations with each other and her together and separately, its all good.
In comes Dae, virginal and from very sexually repressed country. The Scion saves her from slavers and puts her in the harem. Dae, very slowly goes from thinkin wlw is wicked and sinful to thinking, "hey, I am kind into this" to "yep I am in love with the Scion". It is also made very clear the Scion while she beds any and every woman she has a mutual attraction to she is falling in love Dae too - so there is supposed to be something extra special about their relationship. But really, we don't see why they have such a special connection, we are just told that do.
It does happen gradually and the Scion is very respectful of her journey etc.. its all perfect.
All the harem wants to have sex with Dae and she keeps saying no and they are all like cool but if you change your mind... come find me. Eventually she start participating in stuff all the while telling the Scion she has to wait and its here that the story starts to lose me. The author makes us wait for the union between this 2 main characters for WAY TOO LONG, like, very end of the book, long. And since the author lets Dae start fooling around with the other girls BEFORE the Scion, it kinda steals some of the thunder so to speak from that coupling when it finally happens.
The Scion is supposed to be like some kinda super sex machine with a closet full of toys. I feel, the story would have been more interesting/steamy/sexy if it got them together a lot sooner and explored more of their relationship and Dae's sexual awakening through her. It would have made the "specialness" of their connection more real because it would have been more show and less tell. I think it was a real missed opportunity and it just bugged me. A lot.
The book is written well. The storyline outside of the harem/erotica part was actually really good and interesting too.
So guys, I have mixed feelings on this one. I was LOVING it until about 60% mark.
First off, this is 100% fantasy. This the best harem in the world were all the women are treated like queens. They are gorgeous and gay and love each other and the Scion. Everyone gets on perfectly 100% of the time. The Scion is happy for all her harem of pleasure servants to have relations with each other and her together and separately, its all good.
In comes Dae, virginal and from very sexually repressed country. The Scion saves her from slavers and puts her in the harem. Dae, very slowly goes from thinkin wlw is wicked and sinful to thinking, "hey, I am kind into this" to "yep I am in love with the Scion". It is also made very clear the Scion while she beds any and every woman she has a mutual attraction to she is falling in love Dae too - so there is supposed to be something extra special about their relationship. But really, we don't see why they have such a special connection, we are just told that do.
It does happen gradually and the Scion is very respectful of her journey etc.. its all perfect.
All the harem wants to have sex with Dae and she keeps saying no and they are all like cool but if you change your mind... come find me. Eventually she start participating in stuff all the while telling the Scion she has to wait and its here that the story starts to lose me. The author makes us wait for the union between this 2 main characters for WAY TOO LONG, like, very end of the book, long. And since the author lets Dae start fooling around with the other girls BEFORE the Scion, it kinda steals some of the thunder so to speak from that coupling when it finally happens.
The Scion is supposed to be like some kinda super sex machine with a closet full of toys. I feel, the story would have been more interesting/steamy/sexy if it got them together a lot sooner and explored more of their relationship and Dae's sexual awakening through her. It would have made the "specialness" of their connection more real because it would have been more show and less tell. I think it was a real missed opportunity and it just bugged me. A lot.
The book is written well. The storyline outside of the harem/erotica part was actually really good and interesting too.
December 6, 2017
I give this book a 4.25. I liked it a lot, but not because of the story per se. Bottom line, it was well-written and steamy borderline erotica, with a hint of a plot (outside that of the harem activities). While I'm not normally a fan of erotica, I did enjoy this book. But I was forewarned by other reviewers, and really, the story description says it all.
"When Zafirah liberates the caravan the rescue Dae prayed for is not as it seems; Zafirah’s carnal appetite is legendary. Dae is taken into Zafirah’s harem, a decadent world of excess and sexual freedom. At first, Dae struggles with desires she has never before experienced, but as love and lust collide these two women slowly forge a bond as one learns to listen to her heart, and the other to the call of her awakening body."
One thing I will caution, is that if you're expecting a monogamous romance, this is not the story for you. If you are looking for a steamy exploration of many types of sex and sex practices, group sex, etc, read it. You won't be disappointed. Oh, and there is love, for sure. But it is a harem, so keep that in mind. I'd dub this tale as Innocence Awakened, because that is really what it is.
"When Zafirah liberates the caravan the rescue Dae prayed for is not as it seems; Zafirah’s carnal appetite is legendary. Dae is taken into Zafirah’s harem, a decadent world of excess and sexual freedom. At first, Dae struggles with desires she has never before experienced, but as love and lust collide these two women slowly forge a bond as one learns to listen to her heart, and the other to the call of her awakening body."
One thing I will caution, is that if you're expecting a monogamous romance, this is not the story for you. If you are looking for a steamy exploration of many types of sex and sex practices, group sex, etc, read it. You won't be disappointed. Oh, and there is love, for sure. But it is a harem, so keep that in mind. I'd dub this tale as Innocence Awakened, because that is really what it is.
February 25, 2017
I'm always somewhat scared to buy books that don't have many reviews (especially ones that are $10) - but dang am I glad I decided to pick this one up. Nights of Silk and Sapphire was the first romance book to ever make me stop and think. There were some really interesting philosophical questions throughout such as, "When an answer changes nothing, what purpose does the question serve?" These questions spurred hours of fun debates and discussions among my friends - which definitely isn't normal for this genre.
On top of that, I also really appreciated the progressive society the author created. So many books are filled with women feeling ashamed of their bodies or their desires and I thought it was awesome to read about people who weren't. I loved how honest and open almost all of the characters were.
This concept even extended into the sex scenes - which were incredibly realistic. Like normally, in romance books, the "sexy scenes" are pretty much full of descriptions of what the characters are doing to each other and the feelings they're experiencing - but the ones in this book just felt so much more life like. The characters conversed and teased each other. They explored a variety of different positions and styles. They even openly discussed various ways they wanted to be pleased and the interests they had. In my opinion, this made all of them so much more captivating (plus there weren't any overly ridiculous ones where the two women "bonded their souls" or something).
As if all of that was not enough, I even enjoyed the conflicts in this book - which is rare for me to say. There was this side battle thread that added some intensity to the core plot - but not enough that I felt like I was too stressed out to appreciate the core romance. There was also the "conflict" of Dae being unsure of what's "ok" or not - but, again, it was done in such a way that I felt added a lot to the book; it helped build up her character and made her more believable while also adding some fun tension.
With all that being said, I did have one reasonably significant issue with the book: the core relationship was the literal definition of "insta-love." Both of the two main women admit to falling in love merely from looking at the other. This seemed rather cheesy to me and stood out from the realism presented throughout the book. Maybe my definition or concept of love differs from the authors or the characters - but, to me, love is built up over time based on numerous positive experiences. I would have preferred if there were more interactions between them that weren't just lust filled.
Even though that was annoying, I feel like the other aspects of this book worked so well together that the book deserved to be rounded up to a 5 (if I could I'd give it a 4.5).
I'd strongly encourage anyone interested in the lesbian romance genre to check this book out.
On top of that, I also really appreciated the progressive society the author created. So many books are filled with women feeling ashamed of their bodies or their desires and I thought it was awesome to read about people who weren't. I loved how honest and open almost all of the characters were.
This concept even extended into the sex scenes - which were incredibly realistic. Like normally, in romance books, the "sexy scenes" are pretty much full of descriptions of what the characters are doing to each other and the feelings they're experiencing - but the ones in this book just felt so much more life like. The characters conversed and teased each other. They explored a variety of different positions and styles. They even openly discussed various ways they wanted to be pleased and the interests they had. In my opinion, this made all of them so much more captivating (plus there weren't any overly ridiculous ones where the two women "bonded their souls" or something).
As if all of that was not enough, I even enjoyed the conflicts in this book - which is rare for me to say. There was this side battle thread that added some intensity to the core plot - but not enough that I felt like I was too stressed out to appreciate the core romance. There was also the "conflict" of Dae being unsure of what's "ok" or not - but, again, it was done in such a way that I felt added a lot to the book; it helped build up her character and made her more believable while also adding some fun tension.
With all that being said, I did have one reasonably significant issue with the book: the core relationship was the literal definition of "insta-love." Both of the two main women admit to falling in love merely from looking at the other. This seemed rather cheesy to me and stood out from the realism presented throughout the book. Maybe my definition or concept of love differs from the authors or the characters - but, to me, love is built up over time based on numerous positive experiences. I would have preferred if there were more interactions between them that weren't just lust filled.
Even though that was annoying, I feel like the other aspects of this book worked so well together that the book deserved to be rounded up to a 5 (if I could I'd give it a 4.5).
I'd strongly encourage anyone interested in the lesbian romance genre to check this book out.
June 6, 2016
Hmm... how to review this one? Let's split it in two, shall we?
If I just consider it as a story of the sexual awakening of a sheltered noble girl that is rescued from slavers and placed in a harem, I guess it is a nice story, with some very steamy scenes. End review.
If I were to look beyond that, I did have some issues with it.
You see, Dae is rescued from some barbarian slavers, only to be placed in a harem, and she isn't allowed to leave. Granted, the life in the harem is not anywhere near the horrors that would have awaited her if she wasn't rescued, but a gilded cage is still a cage, no? Not too mention Dae's companions, who were basically forced into servitude to work off their debts, because that's the law of the desert. OK, then.
The scion, a beautiful woman that is the ruler of the desert lands, takes an extreme interest in Dae, because, well, Dae is beautiful as well. That's OK, but that interest starts as she looks at the sunbrunt, dehydrated and unconsious blonde and figures she is the most beautiful thing she ever laid eyes on. Thing is, I simply did not see what made Dae so special and why Dae seemed equally smitten. Dae is blonde, has beautiful green eyes and somehow that makes her special. Or is it Dae's flat refusal to participate in harem activities that makes her all the more alluring? That must be it, because there already is a blonde, green-eyed girl in the harem.
Then the author felt the need to 'spice things up' (hah) by including a completely unnecessary rebellion from some tribe. But wait! They have an unknown magical weapon that no one has seen before. Whatever are they going to do to counter it?? And guess who is the one that can identify the weapon? Yup.
It takes an entire book before Dae and Zafira finally end up in a bed together, and it is by far the most boring scene of the book (excluding the battle with the rebels). The sexual education by Dae's peers is hotter by an order of magnitude.
But maybe all this wasn't the point of the story. But then I'm wondering: why include it then?
If I just consider it as a story of the sexual awakening of a sheltered noble girl that is rescued from slavers and placed in a harem, I guess it is a nice story, with some very steamy scenes. End review.
If I were to look beyond that, I did have some issues with it.
You see, Dae is rescued from some barbarian slavers, only to be placed in a harem, and she isn't allowed to leave. Granted, the life in the harem is not anywhere near the horrors that would have awaited her if she wasn't rescued, but a gilded cage is still a cage, no? Not too mention Dae's companions, who were basically forced into servitude to work off their debts, because that's the law of the desert. OK, then.
The scion, a beautiful woman that is the ruler of the desert lands, takes an extreme interest in Dae, because, well, Dae is beautiful as well. That's OK, but that interest starts as she looks at the sunbrunt, dehydrated and unconsious blonde and figures she is the most beautiful thing she ever laid eyes on. Thing is, I simply did not see what made Dae so special and why Dae seemed equally smitten. Dae is blonde, has beautiful green eyes and somehow that makes her special. Or is it Dae's flat refusal to participate in harem activities that makes her all the more alluring? That must be it, because there already is a blonde, green-eyed girl in the harem.
Then the author felt the need to 'spice things up' (hah) by including a completely unnecessary rebellion from some tribe. But wait! They have an unknown magical weapon that no one has seen before. Whatever are they going to do to counter it?? And guess who is the one that can identify the weapon? Yup.
It takes an entire book before Dae and Zafira finally end up in a bed together, and it is by far the most boring scene of the book (excluding the battle with the rebels). The sexual education by Dae's peers is hotter by an order of magnitude.
But maybe all this wasn't the point of the story. But then I'm wondering: why include it then?
July 15, 2016
Nights of Silk and Sapphire is a book for all the little girls who grew up dreaming they could be anything a man can be – an artist or a warrior, or, apparently, a slave owner and a rapist.
This is a long and very angry review. If you’re interested in the gist of my critique, stick to the bolded paragraphs.
As someone with a degree in Islamic and Gender Studies, I’ve spent a fair share of time reading and thinking about Orientalism – the portrayal of ‘the East’ (yes, often it’s as vague as that) as a passive, beautiful-but-backwards entity overflowing with poorly controlled emotions – in contrast to the proactive, rational, modern ‘West’. So when I ordered a book that promised a ‘harem setting,’ I was prepared for a certain amount of exoticism. Admiration of the (often rather unspecified) place and culture as ‘passionate’, ‘free-spirited’, ‘beautifully exotic’, etc. is a common theme in portrayals of ‘the Orient’. The problem of this is that these positive, but othering images are often the flipside of more negative, just as generalizing views. So for this review, I was prepared to walk the line between appreciating positive elements of the plot and characters, and critiquing this exoticization.
Instead, I stumbled into a racist mess of pseudo-admiring, pseudo-historical storytelling, a textbook definition of contemporary Orientalist writing.
For some context: Orientalism is a term coined by Edward Said, a Palestinian-American literature scholar, in the 1970s. He used the term to describe the condescending distinction between East and West, often expressed through academia and art, particularly though not exclusively in its relation to colonialism. And this is exactly what makes the implication of an underdeveloped East in need of a ‘strong guiding hand’ so upsetting. It was and is used to justify political moves with a total disregard for ‘Oriental’ subjects’ agency: from historical and modern military missions to laws limiting women’s wearing of the hijab for their ‘liberation’. The message Orientalism sends can be – roughly – broken down into three parts:
1) ‘the East’ and ‘the West’ are fundamentally different, and can never overlap or adapt to each other.
2) ‘the East’ is fascinating and has its merits, but unlike ‘the West’, it is unable to control itself and its emotions.
3) ergo, ‘the East’ needs to be controlled or at least educated by ‘the West’, and when it is not, it is dangerous.
Very often, Orientalism is transported through portrayals of ‘Eastern’ sexuality – virile rulers, seductive harem dancers, shy veiled beauties. This made the prospect of reading Nights of Silk and Sapphire doubly interesting to me –I was excited to see if a portrayal of female/female relationships in a harem setting could break through troubling stereotypes of uncontrollable male lust, irresistible female seduction, and relationships fraught with power imbalances – which, incidentally, often echo the Orientalist idea behind East-West relationships.
No such luck, I’m afraid.
Let’s start with the setup of Nights of Silk and Sapphire. Part of the reason why Orientalism is so effective is that it makes sweeping generalizations, while giving specific information about a certain event/country/religion. This way, the credibility of the writer/scholar is established – after all, they’ve shown their knowledge! – and the notion that ‘Orientals’ are all fundamentally the same is reaffirmed. As Said (1981, p. 78) says, because they satisfy pre-existing expectations of their readers, Orientalist writers get away with painting an “orientalist panorama” by throwing together references to Islamic(ate) culture, Biblical stories, and historical and geographical factoids from all over human history and ‘the East.’
Which is exactly what happens in Nights of Silk and Sapphire: Other than it taking place sometime after the invention of firearms, we don’t get many clues as to which point in history the novel is set in. It might be easier to determine if we could place the narrative geographically. Is the city of El’Kasari related to Kayseri in Anatolia? Is the ‘kingdom of the East,’ from which Dae apparently hails, a reference to one (or all) of the states established by crusaders around Jerusalem, which might place Zafirah’s territory somewhere in Northern Africa? We just don’t know.
Not even the vague localization which a predominant language would grant is any help in this matter, since Amber Jacobs uses a merry mix of Arabic (“tahirah”, “aziza”, “Zafirah al’Intisar”), Turkish (“Effendi”, “spahi”), Farsi (“chador”) and assorted other languages in her narrative. To be clear, different languages often influence each other and/or are spoken in the same region – the problem here is that their relation to each other is never acknowledged. For the most part, in fact, they are not even recognized as separate languages.
Lastly, the way Nights of Silk and Sapphire deals with religion contributes nicely to the impression that ‘we’re somewhere in the Orient, that’s all you need to know.’ Islam isn’t mentioned by name, but the implication seems to be that some people in this part of the word practice it, since Zafirah’s political adversary operates under the title ‘Caliph.’ Seeing how this title evolved directly as meaning ‘person who follows after Muhammad’ and was historically used for people who took on Muhammad’s political and/or (depending on the interpretation) religious functions within Islam after his death – it really can’t be separated from Islam.
Is Amber Jacobs not aware of the meaning of the title, and used it as synonymous with ‘leader’? Or is she aware of it, but didn’t care enough to knit the term into the religious fabric of her world? In either case, she completely overlooks the way evoking Islam in this context, and of applying it solely to the enemies of her lesbian heroine, feeds the tired and dangerous stereotype of the homophobic Muslim, who has to be ‘controlled’ for the sake of an enlightened society. When I say that, I’m not asking you to adopt politically correct language for the sake of protecting people’s feelings. The ‘homophobic Muslim’ is evoked again and again to justify oppressive political moves like forcing people into ‘integration courses’ and arguing for restrictions on migration. And it certainly doesn’t need to be normalized any more.
Certainly, Nights of Silk and Sapphire could easily be set in a fantasy world, or at least a made-up country, in which real-world events and borders have no meaning. This would, at least partially, explain the vague localization and unclear usage of real-world religious concepts I complained about above. However, the fictionality of the setting is never established. In this, Nights of Silk and Sapphire follows a pattern Jessica Taylor also notes for contemporary ‘Sheikh romances,’ in which countries are often made-up, but made to seem real by the addition of maps, mentioning actually existing neighbor-states, etc. “The ‘‘realism’’ with which the setting is portrayed,” she states, “may lead to a naturalization of the relations enacted within this setting. It also creates a position for the reader where the fantasy world of the Orient is knowable and containable through it details.” (Taylor, p. 1040)
However careless the worldbuilding may be, it is still surpassed by what I can only assume to be intentional evocation of racist stereotypes. For instance, the Orientalist tale of the East in need of Western education? Zafirah and her court certainly have a BIG need for it. Nevermind that her reign is long established, her father ruled the territory before her, and both of them have maintained extensive diplomatic and trade relations with tribes and kingdoms all over this world. All of these things, apparently, have not introduced them to such skills as drawing, painting, using firearms and writing. For some reason, every single woman in Zafirah’s harem speaks English, but that is treated more like default speak than a conscious decision. Mentions of Dae’s quick adaptation to new languages/cultural habits are sprinkled through the text: She is of course a skilled dancer once she dares to try it, and starts using ‘foreign’ words quickly and with confidence. Zafirah, on the other hand, learns one new word throughout the narrative, and insists on mispronouncing it at that. It is only when a sheltered white girl shows up and teaches them the error of their ways, that Zafirah and her court realize they should probably engage with other cultures’ technological and scientific developments. Because clearly the wisdom of a nineteen-year-old with a series of private teachers exceeds that of politicians who have been running a country for decades.
Aside from the frankly ridiculous logic of this argument – with so many historical examples for how arts and sciences were practiced in the Middle East across the centuries, it isn’t quite clear to me how Amber Jacobs arrived at the decision to make her ‘desert people’ protagonists devoid of all culture. Take, for instance, the Abbasid House of Wisdom. To be fair, this library/university-ish institution only worked with seven then-living languages, so the assumption that ‘people of the desert’ would be illiterate is next to fair. Imagine if someone went to stretch imagination so far as to say that women like Zafirah could have been involved in academia, in a time and place such as… whenever and wherever ‘this’ is! That’s almost as outrageous as to suggest that a Muslim woman founded the oldest degree-granting university in the world. Or to pretend like the medieval Middle East knew ‘proper’ science, such as, say… medicine? That is still relevant today? No, Ibn Sina is clearly just a figment of my imagination.
My point is: Building a world that has little to no scientific and artistic life and needs to be introduced to these wonders by a lone savior is boring. If on top of that, you choose to locate this society somewhere in ‘the Orient’ and populate it with brown people who are being educated by one of two white people in the narrative, it’s just plain racist.
Any other critiques aside, though, this is an erotic novel. So maybe I should focus on the sexy part of the story. Maybe this is where the characters are treated right. If by ‘right’ you mean ‘light skin and blonde hair are held up as the most desirable features’ then… I suppose. True, there are darker-skinned women in the novel, and they are occasionally described as desirable. Amber Jacobs even sidesteps two common features of racist character description – dark skin tones are not the only ones mentioned, while white is upheld as the norm, on the contrary, shades all over the color spectrum are mentioned, and some of the darker-skinned characters get introduced without upholding their skin color as their immediately distinguishing feature. There are also, as far as I recall, no food analogies for skin or hair tones. So, two plus points there.
It is striking, though, that the two white women in the narrative are consistently described as desirable above all others. True, this is attributed to the fact that they are ‘exotic’ compared to most of the women around them. But judging by the character descriptions in Nights of Silk and Sapphire, most characters have straight-ish black hair and are somewhere on the light-skinned side of black/brown. Which should mean that dark-skinned women, women with curly hair or Afros, women who wear their hair in braids or knots, etc. also stand out as ‘exotic.’ Yet to my recollection, there is only one dark-skinned woman described in the books, and notably, she is one of few speaking roles who doesn’t get a sex scene. I’m not saying the real life fetishization of people of color somehow cancels out racism. But if you’re trying to pretend that racism doesn’t exist within the world of your novel, that within it, ‘exotic’ is a purely positive marker for people with rare features, and then turn around and apply this positive attention only to white people… you’re not doing a good job of covering up your own racism.
Unfortunately for a novel which puts erotic entertainment front and center, Nights of Silk and Sapphire doesn’t have much regard for the distinction between consensual participation in sexual situations and sexual harassment, either. This is made clear from the start, when Zafirah rescues an exhausted, starved and severely injured Dae from slavers. Both in the immediate situation and the eventual setup, Dae’s bodily autonomy are completely disregarded. Although Dae needs medical attention and quickly passes out, Zafirah spends a significant amount of time ogling and touching her, even going so far as to find the ripped state of her garments, although they’re a remnant of abuse, a positive thing because it reveals more of Dae’s body. Immediately after ‘freeing’ her, Dae is again put in captivity by Zafirah’s decision to make her a “pleasure servant.” As far as I can tell, the readers are supposed to be ok with this for four reasons. And none of them rings true for me at all.
One, Zafirah isn’t a man, so being bound to her is going to be a less abusive situation than the one Dae was in before. Domestic and sexual abuse at the hands of women may be rarer than at the hands of men. But acting as though it doesn’t happen is completely dismissive of its victims, and further isolates those who experience it.
Two, Dae is being clothed and fed, so the constraints on her freedom and sexual agency are small by comparison. I can’t speak for the legal situation of victims of emotional abuse. But rape and sexual assault victims have a long history of being disbelieved and silenced because they show no or not enough signs of a physical fight, because their abuser was a spouse or partner, because the type of sexual contact didn’t seem invasive ‘enough’ to the people recording and/or judging the incident.
Three, she isn’t officially obligated to have sex with Zafirah. However, although every character within the book does their absolute best to argue around it, sex between Zafirah and her ‘pleasure servants’ remains incredibly coercive. They don’t have to have sex with her, we’re told over and over. She wouldn’t force them to. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that Dae is neither allowed to leave. Nor does her explicitly stated disinterest in having sex with women spare her constant come-ons and innuendos. That this, together with the insistent reminders of Zafirah’s beauty, makes me think that Amber Jacobs’ narrative operates on the assumption that as long as a person is attractive and doesn’t apply direct force, it’s okay for them to ignore a ‘no’ and to continue pressuring other people into having sex with them. Which is, plain and simple, sexual harassment.
I’m the first to admit that this is a behavior often criticized in men, and that what makes it so disgusting is not the repeated expression of sexual interest, but the threat that, in a society full of male privilege and violent masculinity, often comes with a man disrespecting a woman’s wishes. Comparing such real-life scenarios involving men and women to those involving two women would not work. On the contrary, implying that a lesbian or bi woman expressing interest in a straight woman is on the same level as a guy disrespecting a woman’s ‘no’ is more likely motivated by homophobia than by concern for consent.
But Amber Jacobs’ setup provides Zafirah with all the coercive tools that men, in the above scenario, possess over women. There’s a cultural entitlement to sex that they and their surroundings have internalized: Zafirah and her entire harem are convinced that the normal outcome of someone being brought into their midst is for that woman to have sex with Zafirah. Dae may be shy, prudish, limited by her culture, but eventually, she will want to. She just doesn’t know it yet. Then there’s the very real physical threat: Zafirah is, through training and social position, able to enact physical violence on Dae. What’s more, women fearing sexual violence from men doesn’t come just from individual differences in physical strength, or from the man in question’s intentions. It is also fortified by the statistical likelihood of a man attacking a woman in that way. Of course, women raping men, men raping men and women raping women are all things that happen – but not nearly as often. Similarly, it’s made clear to Dae from the beginning that Zafirah is able and willing to kill people for disrespecting her commands. With this knowledge, and the inability to remove herself from the situation, I would argue that any promise of non-coercion is meaningless.
Finally (four) Dae’s enslavement is excused because “it’s tradition” that people passing through Zafirah’s lands and/or rescued by her warriors have to pay for that. Even when the price Zafirah asks for is a human life or freedom. At first read, the fact that Zafirah and her people ask for human sacrifices seemed to me another incarnation of the wild, to-be-enlightened ‘Easterner’ trope. They may show promise of ‘civilized’ interaction by positioning themselves against slavery, but they haven’t learned to find less ‘barbaric’ methods of trading for safety and passage.
The longer I thought about it, though, the more this ‘tradition’ reminded me of another troubling sentiment prominent in contemporary, Western media: the idea of the refugee that needs to prove their right to claim protection. Sure, we grant asylum, this narrative says, but can you prove that you need it? Are you ready to accept degrading circumstances, to prove that what you would otherwise go through is even worse? Are you giving back to the society that ‘saved’ you? I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is the duty of entertainment novels to engage with current political sentiments. If, however, you’re going to bring up a subject – in this case, protection of human life and dignity – I expect you to handle it with some regard for its complexity.
If Amber Jacobs never intended for any closer engagement with freedom and consent to happen, she didn’t need to write her novel in a way that evokes these concepts. It would have been easy, say, to have Dae brought to Zafirah’s harem for her protection and medical care, and, once conscious and healthy, to give her a choice in whether she wants to leave. That, however, would have required for the society she is thrown into to be described as intriguing enough that it would inspire her to stay – which brings us back to my critiques above.
I really wish my review of this book could be more positive. Apart from the chance at subverting Orientalist stereotypes that the Sapphic romance provides, Nights of Silk and Sapphire is also one of few novels I know that treat polyamorous relationships as healthy and desirable. There is not a single relationship involving more than two people in which someone cheats on their monogamous partner. Instead, we get polyamorous settings ranging from three/moresomes to individual people’s casual involvement with several other people at different times, to committed couples jointly having sex with other people. Not only are all of those described as something the involved enjoy, they also aren’t weighed against each other to determine the ‘perfect’ form for a relationship. And, in contrast to many engagements with polyamory I’ve recently come across, Nights of Silk and Sapphire doesn’t pretend genuine monogamy is only a result of societal pressure. As Zafirah mentions, her parents were monogamous throughout their marriage, by choice. All of this is something I wish I saw more often, both in romance and in erotica. So I really wish I could recommend the novel more warmly.
But as it is, one positive aspect just isn’t enough to outweigh the gigantic amounts of rape culture and Orientalism Amber Jacobs packs into her narrative.
This is a long and very angry review. If you’re interested in the gist of my critique, stick to the bolded paragraphs.
As someone with a degree in Islamic and Gender Studies, I’ve spent a fair share of time reading and thinking about Orientalism – the portrayal of ‘the East’ (yes, often it’s as vague as that) as a passive, beautiful-but-backwards entity overflowing with poorly controlled emotions – in contrast to the proactive, rational, modern ‘West’. So when I ordered a book that promised a ‘harem setting,’ I was prepared for a certain amount of exoticism. Admiration of the (often rather unspecified) place and culture as ‘passionate’, ‘free-spirited’, ‘beautifully exotic’, etc. is a common theme in portrayals of ‘the Orient’. The problem of this is that these positive, but othering images are often the flipside of more negative, just as generalizing views. So for this review, I was prepared to walk the line between appreciating positive elements of the plot and characters, and critiquing this exoticization.
Instead, I stumbled into a racist mess of pseudo-admiring, pseudo-historical storytelling, a textbook definition of contemporary Orientalist writing.
For some context: Orientalism is a term coined by Edward Said, a Palestinian-American literature scholar, in the 1970s. He used the term to describe the condescending distinction between East and West, often expressed through academia and art, particularly though not exclusively in its relation to colonialism. And this is exactly what makes the implication of an underdeveloped East in need of a ‘strong guiding hand’ so upsetting. It was and is used to justify political moves with a total disregard for ‘Oriental’ subjects’ agency: from historical and modern military missions to laws limiting women’s wearing of the hijab for their ‘liberation’. The message Orientalism sends can be – roughly – broken down into three parts:
1) ‘the East’ and ‘the West’ are fundamentally different, and can never overlap or adapt to each other.
2) ‘the East’ is fascinating and has its merits, but unlike ‘the West’, it is unable to control itself and its emotions.
3) ergo, ‘the East’ needs to be controlled or at least educated by ‘the West’, and when it is not, it is dangerous.
Very often, Orientalism is transported through portrayals of ‘Eastern’ sexuality – virile rulers, seductive harem dancers, shy veiled beauties. This made the prospect of reading Nights of Silk and Sapphire doubly interesting to me –I was excited to see if a portrayal of female/female relationships in a harem setting could break through troubling stereotypes of uncontrollable male lust, irresistible female seduction, and relationships fraught with power imbalances – which, incidentally, often echo the Orientalist idea behind East-West relationships.
No such luck, I’m afraid.
Let’s start with the setup of Nights of Silk and Sapphire. Part of the reason why Orientalism is so effective is that it makes sweeping generalizations, while giving specific information about a certain event/country/religion. This way, the credibility of the writer/scholar is established – after all, they’ve shown their knowledge! – and the notion that ‘Orientals’ are all fundamentally the same is reaffirmed. As Said (1981, p. 78) says, because they satisfy pre-existing expectations of their readers, Orientalist writers get away with painting an “orientalist panorama” by throwing together references to Islamic(ate) culture, Biblical stories, and historical and geographical factoids from all over human history and ‘the East.’
Which is exactly what happens in Nights of Silk and Sapphire: Other than it taking place sometime after the invention of firearms, we don’t get many clues as to which point in history the novel is set in. It might be easier to determine if we could place the narrative geographically. Is the city of El’Kasari related to Kayseri in Anatolia? Is the ‘kingdom of the East,’ from which Dae apparently hails, a reference to one (or all) of the states established by crusaders around Jerusalem, which might place Zafirah’s territory somewhere in Northern Africa? We just don’t know.
Not even the vague localization which a predominant language would grant is any help in this matter, since Amber Jacobs uses a merry mix of Arabic (“tahirah”, “aziza”, “Zafirah al’Intisar”), Turkish (“Effendi”, “spahi”), Farsi (“chador”) and assorted other languages in her narrative. To be clear, different languages often influence each other and/or are spoken in the same region – the problem here is that their relation to each other is never acknowledged. For the most part, in fact, they are not even recognized as separate languages.
Lastly, the way Nights of Silk and Sapphire deals with religion contributes nicely to the impression that ‘we’re somewhere in the Orient, that’s all you need to know.’ Islam isn’t mentioned by name, but the implication seems to be that some people in this part of the word practice it, since Zafirah’s political adversary operates under the title ‘Caliph.’ Seeing how this title evolved directly as meaning ‘person who follows after Muhammad’ and was historically used for people who took on Muhammad’s political and/or (depending on the interpretation) religious functions within Islam after his death – it really can’t be separated from Islam.
Is Amber Jacobs not aware of the meaning of the title, and used it as synonymous with ‘leader’? Or is she aware of it, but didn’t care enough to knit the term into the religious fabric of her world? In either case, she completely overlooks the way evoking Islam in this context, and of applying it solely to the enemies of her lesbian heroine, feeds the tired and dangerous stereotype of the homophobic Muslim, who has to be ‘controlled’ for the sake of an enlightened society. When I say that, I’m not asking you to adopt politically correct language for the sake of protecting people’s feelings. The ‘homophobic Muslim’ is evoked again and again to justify oppressive political moves like forcing people into ‘integration courses’ and arguing for restrictions on migration. And it certainly doesn’t need to be normalized any more.
Certainly, Nights of Silk and Sapphire could easily be set in a fantasy world, or at least a made-up country, in which real-world events and borders have no meaning. This would, at least partially, explain the vague localization and unclear usage of real-world religious concepts I complained about above. However, the fictionality of the setting is never established. In this, Nights of Silk and Sapphire follows a pattern Jessica Taylor also notes for contemporary ‘Sheikh romances,’ in which countries are often made-up, but made to seem real by the addition of maps, mentioning actually existing neighbor-states, etc. “The ‘‘realism’’ with which the setting is portrayed,” she states, “may lead to a naturalization of the relations enacted within this setting. It also creates a position for the reader where the fantasy world of the Orient is knowable and containable through it details.” (Taylor, p. 1040)
However careless the worldbuilding may be, it is still surpassed by what I can only assume to be intentional evocation of racist stereotypes. For instance, the Orientalist tale of the East in need of Western education? Zafirah and her court certainly have a BIG need for it. Nevermind that her reign is long established, her father ruled the territory before her, and both of them have maintained extensive diplomatic and trade relations with tribes and kingdoms all over this world. All of these things, apparently, have not introduced them to such skills as drawing, painting, using firearms and writing. For some reason, every single woman in Zafirah’s harem speaks English, but that is treated more like default speak than a conscious decision. Mentions of Dae’s quick adaptation to new languages/cultural habits are sprinkled through the text: She is of course a skilled dancer once she dares to try it, and starts using ‘foreign’ words quickly and with confidence. Zafirah, on the other hand, learns one new word throughout the narrative, and insists on mispronouncing it at that. It is only when a sheltered white girl shows up and teaches them the error of their ways, that Zafirah and her court realize they should probably engage with other cultures’ technological and scientific developments. Because clearly the wisdom of a nineteen-year-old with a series of private teachers exceeds that of politicians who have been running a country for decades.
Aside from the frankly ridiculous logic of this argument – with so many historical examples for how arts and sciences were practiced in the Middle East across the centuries, it isn’t quite clear to me how Amber Jacobs arrived at the decision to make her ‘desert people’ protagonists devoid of all culture. Take, for instance, the Abbasid House of Wisdom. To be fair, this library/university-ish institution only worked with seven then-living languages, so the assumption that ‘people of the desert’ would be illiterate is next to fair. Imagine if someone went to stretch imagination so far as to say that women like Zafirah could have been involved in academia, in a time and place such as… whenever and wherever ‘this’ is! That’s almost as outrageous as to suggest that a Muslim woman founded the oldest degree-granting university in the world. Or to pretend like the medieval Middle East knew ‘proper’ science, such as, say… medicine? That is still relevant today? No, Ibn Sina is clearly just a figment of my imagination.
My point is: Building a world that has little to no scientific and artistic life and needs to be introduced to these wonders by a lone savior is boring. If on top of that, you choose to locate this society somewhere in ‘the Orient’ and populate it with brown people who are being educated by one of two white people in the narrative, it’s just plain racist.
Any other critiques aside, though, this is an erotic novel. So maybe I should focus on the sexy part of the story. Maybe this is where the characters are treated right. If by ‘right’ you mean ‘light skin and blonde hair are held up as the most desirable features’ then… I suppose. True, there are darker-skinned women in the novel, and they are occasionally described as desirable. Amber Jacobs even sidesteps two common features of racist character description – dark skin tones are not the only ones mentioned, while white is upheld as the norm, on the contrary, shades all over the color spectrum are mentioned, and some of the darker-skinned characters get introduced without upholding their skin color as their immediately distinguishing feature. There are also, as far as I recall, no food analogies for skin or hair tones. So, two plus points there.
It is striking, though, that the two white women in the narrative are consistently described as desirable above all others. True, this is attributed to the fact that they are ‘exotic’ compared to most of the women around them. But judging by the character descriptions in Nights of Silk and Sapphire, most characters have straight-ish black hair and are somewhere on the light-skinned side of black/brown. Which should mean that dark-skinned women, women with curly hair or Afros, women who wear their hair in braids or knots, etc. also stand out as ‘exotic.’ Yet to my recollection, there is only one dark-skinned woman described in the books, and notably, she is one of few speaking roles who doesn’t get a sex scene. I’m not saying the real life fetishization of people of color somehow cancels out racism. But if you’re trying to pretend that racism doesn’t exist within the world of your novel, that within it, ‘exotic’ is a purely positive marker for people with rare features, and then turn around and apply this positive attention only to white people… you’re not doing a good job of covering up your own racism.
Unfortunately for a novel which puts erotic entertainment front and center, Nights of Silk and Sapphire doesn’t have much regard for the distinction between consensual participation in sexual situations and sexual harassment, either. This is made clear from the start, when Zafirah rescues an exhausted, starved and severely injured Dae from slavers. Both in the immediate situation and the eventual setup, Dae’s bodily autonomy are completely disregarded. Although Dae needs medical attention and quickly passes out, Zafirah spends a significant amount of time ogling and touching her, even going so far as to find the ripped state of her garments, although they’re a remnant of abuse, a positive thing because it reveals more of Dae’s body. Immediately after ‘freeing’ her, Dae is again put in captivity by Zafirah’s decision to make her a “pleasure servant.” As far as I can tell, the readers are supposed to be ok with this for four reasons. And none of them rings true for me at all.
One, Zafirah isn’t a man, so being bound to her is going to be a less abusive situation than the one Dae was in before. Domestic and sexual abuse at the hands of women may be rarer than at the hands of men. But acting as though it doesn’t happen is completely dismissive of its victims, and further isolates those who experience it.
Two, Dae is being clothed and fed, so the constraints on her freedom and sexual agency are small by comparison. I can’t speak for the legal situation of victims of emotional abuse. But rape and sexual assault victims have a long history of being disbelieved and silenced because they show no or not enough signs of a physical fight, because their abuser was a spouse or partner, because the type of sexual contact didn’t seem invasive ‘enough’ to the people recording and/or judging the incident.
Three, she isn’t officially obligated to have sex with Zafirah. However, although every character within the book does their absolute best to argue around it, sex between Zafirah and her ‘pleasure servants’ remains incredibly coercive. They don’t have to have sex with her, we’re told over and over. She wouldn’t force them to. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that Dae is neither allowed to leave. Nor does her explicitly stated disinterest in having sex with women spare her constant come-ons and innuendos. That this, together with the insistent reminders of Zafirah’s beauty, makes me think that Amber Jacobs’ narrative operates on the assumption that as long as a person is attractive and doesn’t apply direct force, it’s okay for them to ignore a ‘no’ and to continue pressuring other people into having sex with them. Which is, plain and simple, sexual harassment.
I’m the first to admit that this is a behavior often criticized in men, and that what makes it so disgusting is not the repeated expression of sexual interest, but the threat that, in a society full of male privilege and violent masculinity, often comes with a man disrespecting a woman’s wishes. Comparing such real-life scenarios involving men and women to those involving two women would not work. On the contrary, implying that a lesbian or bi woman expressing interest in a straight woman is on the same level as a guy disrespecting a woman’s ‘no’ is more likely motivated by homophobia than by concern for consent.
But Amber Jacobs’ setup provides Zafirah with all the coercive tools that men, in the above scenario, possess over women. There’s a cultural entitlement to sex that they and their surroundings have internalized: Zafirah and her entire harem are convinced that the normal outcome of someone being brought into their midst is for that woman to have sex with Zafirah. Dae may be shy, prudish, limited by her culture, but eventually, she will want to. She just doesn’t know it yet. Then there’s the very real physical threat: Zafirah is, through training and social position, able to enact physical violence on Dae. What’s more, women fearing sexual violence from men doesn’t come just from individual differences in physical strength, or from the man in question’s intentions. It is also fortified by the statistical likelihood of a man attacking a woman in that way. Of course, women raping men, men raping men and women raping women are all things that happen – but not nearly as often. Similarly, it’s made clear to Dae from the beginning that Zafirah is able and willing to kill people for disrespecting her commands. With this knowledge, and the inability to remove herself from the situation, I would argue that any promise of non-coercion is meaningless.
Finally (four) Dae’s enslavement is excused because “it’s tradition” that people passing through Zafirah’s lands and/or rescued by her warriors have to pay for that. Even when the price Zafirah asks for is a human life or freedom. At first read, the fact that Zafirah and her people ask for human sacrifices seemed to me another incarnation of the wild, to-be-enlightened ‘Easterner’ trope. They may show promise of ‘civilized’ interaction by positioning themselves against slavery, but they haven’t learned to find less ‘barbaric’ methods of trading for safety and passage.
The longer I thought about it, though, the more this ‘tradition’ reminded me of another troubling sentiment prominent in contemporary, Western media: the idea of the refugee that needs to prove their right to claim protection. Sure, we grant asylum, this narrative says, but can you prove that you need it? Are you ready to accept degrading circumstances, to prove that what you would otherwise go through is even worse? Are you giving back to the society that ‘saved’ you? I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is the duty of entertainment novels to engage with current political sentiments. If, however, you’re going to bring up a subject – in this case, protection of human life and dignity – I expect you to handle it with some regard for its complexity.
If Amber Jacobs never intended for any closer engagement with freedom and consent to happen, she didn’t need to write her novel in a way that evokes these concepts. It would have been easy, say, to have Dae brought to Zafirah’s harem for her protection and medical care, and, once conscious and healthy, to give her a choice in whether she wants to leave. That, however, would have required for the society she is thrown into to be described as intriguing enough that it would inspire her to stay – which brings us back to my critiques above.
I really wish my review of this book could be more positive. Apart from the chance at subverting Orientalist stereotypes that the Sapphic romance provides, Nights of Silk and Sapphire is also one of few novels I know that treat polyamorous relationships as healthy and desirable. There is not a single relationship involving more than two people in which someone cheats on their monogamous partner. Instead, we get polyamorous settings ranging from three/moresomes to individual people’s casual involvement with several other people at different times, to committed couples jointly having sex with other people. Not only are all of those described as something the involved enjoy, they also aren’t weighed against each other to determine the ‘perfect’ form for a relationship. And, in contrast to many engagements with polyamory I’ve recently come across, Nights of Silk and Sapphire doesn’t pretend genuine monogamy is only a result of societal pressure. As Zafirah mentions, her parents were monogamous throughout their marriage, by choice. All of this is something I wish I saw more often, both in romance and in erotica. So I really wish I could recommend the novel more warmly.
But as it is, one positive aspect just isn’t enough to outweigh the gigantic amounts of rape culture and Orientalism Amber Jacobs packs into her narrative.
July 22, 2025
4 Stars
I think I was not prepared for the amount of sex. However, the cause of the sex scenes are not unfounded since the setting was in a harem and it was from a teaching point of view. It’s also good to note that the scope of sexual education increased as the main character progressed in her journey to sexual discovery.
In essence, the form of education was quite academic. The women’s words, their methods, it all pointed towards liberation of the mind and body from societal teachings/pressures = patriarchal stifling of women discovering, knowing and mastering their bodies and carnal pleasures. And THAT alone is gold. I appreciated that aspect of the story so much.
The main characters’ relationship building was a little weak for me because it was very much lust centred in the beginning especially for the older one. When courtship ensued and emotions and feelings eventually deepened, I still didn’t feel the depth. The longing and subsequently “love” did not quite hit the mark for me. And this is just me and my opinion.
If there wasn’t a rebellious uprising arc in the background, the story would have collapsed for me (as in I’d lose interest fast). I just couldn’t stand a story with one dimensional focus and especially if the focus is purely on lust. It gets boring. Which is why, I’m glad the author included that side to the story. Although, it would have built up more layers to the narrative if the little side note of an uprising was elaborated. Nonetheless, the little bit that was included was enough to quell my hunger for more substance to the story.
I think I was not prepared for the amount of sex. However, the cause of the sex scenes are not unfounded since the setting was in a harem and it was from a teaching point of view. It’s also good to note that the scope of sexual education increased as the main character progressed in her journey to sexual discovery.
In essence, the form of education was quite academic. The women’s words, their methods, it all pointed towards liberation of the mind and body from societal teachings/pressures = patriarchal stifling of women discovering, knowing and mastering their bodies and carnal pleasures. And THAT alone is gold. I appreciated that aspect of the story so much.
The main characters’ relationship building was a little weak for me because it was very much lust centred in the beginning especially for the older one. When courtship ensued and emotions and feelings eventually deepened, I still didn’t feel the depth. The longing and subsequently “love” did not quite hit the mark for me. And this is just me and my opinion.
If there wasn’t a rebellious uprising arc in the background, the story would have collapsed for me (as in I’d lose interest fast). I just couldn’t stand a story with one dimensional focus and especially if the focus is purely on lust. It gets boring. Which is why, I’m glad the author included that side to the story. Although, it would have built up more layers to the narrative if the little side note of an uprising was elaborated. Nonetheless, the little bit that was included was enough to quell my hunger for more substance to the story.
April 23, 2017
One of the sexiest stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading! It was gorgeously written and made for an utterly captivating fantasy. Zafirah's seraglio came to life as a decadent place made all the more alluring by the atmosphere of enthusiastic consent, happy polyamory and rock solid respect. The erotic scenes were creative, vivid, well thought out and scorchingly hot, the relationships were filled with playfulness and deep affection, and there was even an interesting B-plot about a war waged on Zafirah's kingdom with weapons previously unknown in that land. I loved it.
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
June 11, 2023
“Oh, child, you would be surprised by what the heart can handle if the body is willing.”
3.5 stars. A fun fantasy/quasi-historical romance, heavy on the erotica, and kinda slow burn for the main romance. Dae is travelling across the desert when she's captured by slavers, and then rescued the the leader of the desert tribes. She soon finds herself a member of her harem, and is slowly introduced to a life and culture that is shockingly different from her own. The other main character is Zafirah, said leader of desert peoples, promiscuous and polyamorous, who is entranced by her newest girl and trying to wrap her head around her feelings for her, as well as dealing with a possible uprising from outside tribes.
I wasn't the biggest fan of the world building, which seems to be an amalgamation of Middle Eastern cultures and is a mite lazy at times. (The goddess Inshal?) I'm also never the hugest fan of stuff where a bunch of brown people fawn over hallmarks of white beauty like pale skin and blonde hair, et cetera. Gives me the ick. It thankfully wasn't too much here, and I guess it was to be expected to some degree. I'm just really glad this takes place in some made-up fantasy world, and doesn't try to be actually historical. Dae's difference in culture and norms and expectations is the first big hurdle she has to get over, and I actually really liked how the first part of the novel progressed, with Dae thankful for her rescue, but fearful of all the rampant lesbianism under her nose; fearful of how much she's intrigued by it. That aspect of the slow burn was fun, and I like how patient Zzafirah and the rest of the harem were with her, but also how they didn't hesitate to shamelessly entice her when given opportunities. And I love how the polyamory was treated. As the book progresses, we see that Zafirah feels something for Dae that she hasn't for anyone else. But she loves her harem and has no intention of getting rid of them or stopping her liaisons with them. There's no jealousy; once it becomes clear that Dae is no longer fighting her attraction to women, Zafirah actively encourages her to explore herself with the rest of the harem. I really enjoyed that, and the fact that there was no friction or enmity; just a lot of exploration and newness and sexiness.
Sadly, I didn't really buy the main romance? Zafirah 'realises' pretty early that she's falling in love with Dae, and I'm like... why? Where? I feel like they barely interacted before that happened, and none of their scenes really convinced me of any deep bond. To be honest, I like Dae with Inaya way more; I'm a sucker for friends to lovers, and it felt like those two actually got to spend time and know each other, even before Dae started acknowledging that she was attracted to women. That relationship felt way more real to me. But it's not like I didn't like Zafirah and Dae together; the book just didn't convince me that the relationship was as ground-breaking as portrayed. Another thing I didn't love was, of course, the villain POV, and the omniscient POV. But I'll admit that I didn't hate those things as much as I hate them in other books. I guess we needed to get Shakir POV so that the rebellion plot wouldn't be a complete surprise. But that plotline in itself was kinda flat and he was the most cheesy, cookie-cutter villain. And the omniscient POV... eh. The head-hopping wasn't as abrupt and drastic as it sometimes can be; I noticed that it was happening, but it wasn't too jarring. I would still really prefer to stick to one person's POV per scene, though.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Anastasia Watley, who once again has one of the dreamiest voices ever. Once I realised she did the audiobook, I knew I had to get my hands on it. She made every inch of it really swoony and sexy. <3 So I really recommend reading it that way. The book itself definitely isn't my favourite, but it's pretty good for what it is: sapphic fantasy romance with a heavy tinge of erotica.
July 27, 2021
This book was not intended for me. Those who enjoy erotica and lots of it will enjoy this. It’s supposed to be a romance set in a desert between Zafirah, the leader of several allied tribes, and Dae, a young blonde foreigner rescued from slavers. Being blonde is very important, because it’s mentioned repeatedly. Zafirah has a harem of women and takes Dae for her harem. She basically collects women for this. The harem women are very happy. They get to play with one another in the seraglio and occasionally have sex with Zafirah when she wants it. Dae is a naïve unworldly young woman from a more repressed culture.
Zafireh lusts after her because she is blonde. At least that seemed to be the attraction as far as I could tell. In my opinion, everyone confuses lust with love in regard to Dae and Zafirah. They haven’t even talked much. It’s like, “I feel arousal so I must be in love.” “She won’t have sex with me but I’m still attracted so it must be love.” All the women at the palace are either having sex, talking about sex, or thinking about sex. At least everything is consensual. No one is raped, at least not in Zafirah’s harem and tribe, although one scene was on the edge.
Each time Dae encounters any sexual activity, everyone assures her it’s consensual and this activity is what that person likes. And every time the author used “young girl” as a descriptor, it took me right out of whatever erotica she was describing. To me that felt like she was describing a child, but calling adult women girls is my pet peeve so it might not bother anyone else.
The plot line with the antagonist was stereotypical. Zafirah is the Scion, the leader of several allied tribes, so women can have power and equality in this desert culture. The antagonist, Shakir, has women in his army. So why in this supposedly egalitarian world does he continually refer to Zafirah as a whore? That’s very misogynist for a society that, at least on the surface, treats women as equals.
Somehow, Shakir gets his hands on weapons that the desert people have never seen before. He gets cocky and plans an attack. One of Zafirah’s scouts acquires one so Zafirah and her team know what they’re up against. This weapon is obviously foreign to Zafirah and her troops, so knowing she has slaves/harem girls, from foreign lands, I was surprised she did not immediately show this weapon to the foreigners. Fortunately, in a visit to Zafirah’s quarters, Dae accidentally sees it and recognizes it.
On the positive side, descriptions were well done. The images of this world were well done. I could feel the heat and thirst that Dae experienced as a chained captive walking through the desert. Other parts were well described, too. The author does have a way with descriptions, whether of places, people or activities. Again if you enjoy erotica in different forms, you will enjoy this much more than I did.
Zafireh lusts after her because she is blonde. At least that seemed to be the attraction as far as I could tell. In my opinion, everyone confuses lust with love in regard to Dae and Zafirah. They haven’t even talked much. It’s like, “I feel arousal so I must be in love.” “She won’t have sex with me but I’m still attracted so it must be love.” All the women at the palace are either having sex, talking about sex, or thinking about sex. At least everything is consensual. No one is raped, at least not in Zafirah’s harem and tribe, although one scene was on the edge.
Each time Dae encounters any sexual activity, everyone assures her it’s consensual and this activity is what that person likes. And every time the author used “young girl” as a descriptor, it took me right out of whatever erotica she was describing. To me that felt like she was describing a child, but calling adult women girls is my pet peeve so it might not bother anyone else.
The plot line with the antagonist was stereotypical. Zafirah is the Scion, the leader of several allied tribes, so women can have power and equality in this desert culture. The antagonist, Shakir, has women in his army. So why in this supposedly egalitarian world does he continually refer to Zafirah as a whore? That’s very misogynist for a society that, at least on the surface, treats women as equals.
Somehow, Shakir gets his hands on weapons that the desert people have never seen before. He gets cocky and plans an attack. One of Zafirah’s scouts acquires one so Zafirah and her team know what they’re up against. This weapon is obviously foreign to Zafirah and her troops, so knowing she has slaves/harem girls, from foreign lands, I was surprised she did not immediately show this weapon to the foreigners. Fortunately, in a visit to Zafirah’s quarters, Dae accidentally sees it and recognizes it.
On the positive side, descriptions were well done. The images of this world were well done. I could feel the heat and thirst that Dae experienced as a chained captive walking through the desert. Other parts were well described, too. The author does have a way with descriptions, whether of places, people or activities. Again if you enjoy erotica in different forms, you will enjoy this much more than I did.
November 21, 2018
You know that question, "If you could live in a book...", this is definitely the one! Loved every second of this masterpiece. I sincerely hope this becomes a series someday, I feel hungry for more of the harem girls stories. All of the stars for this one!
September 8, 2022
I have struggled with this book and it's extremely unfortunate. I wanted a warrior woman's story and her great love. Instead I got a nymphomaniac. I don't know what I expected when the synopsis mentioned a harem. Here is my thing, this is mostly erotica for the sake of being erotica. The storyline might work for some or many but I disliked it passionately and here is why;
** may contain spoilers read at your detriment **
Now understand these are MY hang ups, not yours.
My biggest hang up is the non-monogamous aspects. To say something as nonchalantly like "I can share my body but not my heart" makes ZERO sense to my logic. Like zero! your heart is part of the body for one and you cannot separate the act and how you feel - to me (again, my hang up). Like it or not, sex is as intimate as two human beings can ever be or get (imo). And while more people are starting to be open and more willing to be in ENM (Ethical Non Monogamous) relationships, they actually seem lonely to me and they settled in their partnerships. It is a huge turn off for me as I'd rather be alone than in that type of relationship. It makes no sense to me! And these types of people are on all these dating apps still searching for something they apparently already have... And they're many of them. It feels to me like being lonely while you're in a crowd. What would satisfy you and why would I want to be with you? I have yet to read a tasteful story on these types of relationships. It may also be because it's a huge no from the start. With the ENM relationships on the dating apps, I am eternally grateful that these days they disclose this information. Right from the get go. That is wonderful because it helps me swerve and saves me a lot of future heartache.
Back to the book... On top of sex being the biggest thing to rule this leader... There is a scene in here where she admits to falling in love with the new addition to her harem... Without ever having spoken to her, hanging with her, getting to know her and all that. Oh, and it's apparently mutual. Give me a break. More believable to say she has fallen in lust but love was such a stretch. Especially as she was still screwing every woman there with a pulse.
Another scene... she went 2 weeks without sex (goddess forbid) and she knew that the only person who could "quench that thirst" is the supposed woman she loves. Who at this stage did not want a WLW relationships (another issue I have is this, but I digress). So, she gets a look alike to act and pretend she is her and screws her through the night. Which to me, the whole thing was so gross. But also, contradictory. If you love someone so much that you know the touch of others will pale in comparison, why not forsake all others for the one that will fill not only your body but your heart (heart is still part of the body)? The thing about monogamy/monogamous relationships isn't that it's just the way society has programed us so it's just the thing to do. It's that while it's EASY to get laid and act animalistic in regards to our self urges, you are committed to one person completely. It's not hand cuffs, its not lust, it's a commitment. In a place like this where you can screw anyone and apparently they're all so incredible at sex, what's to stop one's heart from falling for another. Like it's a greater sacrifice to forsake all others but these hedonistic people don't have a concept of denying one's self. To them, it's wrong to do that. That's their take on monogamy. I have to laugh. There is something so beautiful in that commitment. But hey! they'll get married and keep screwing others but only love each other (heart but body). Sometimes I have an urge beat someone due to their driving or any reason. But I don't indulge in that, even if the vision gives me satisfaction. We don't act on all our urges. We're humans.
I say all this because ALL our leader wants from her slave is her heart. And yes, I said slave because while she was saved from a terrible fate with others, she was not granted freedom either. apparently it's their way. But at least she has a comfy bed and now enjoys sexy time with everyone. yuck yuck yuck.
Aahhh our innocent new addition to the harem is 19 summers old and a virgin. How! Adorable! Who doesn't get wet for a 19 year old straight (or she was) virgin. Yes, she's straight (was), and it's all she had known, but they show her all the physical pleasures and now she sees that something was always missing in her life. Sex did that for her. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL.... forget the fact that she wanted children. Or the kind of love her parents shared. She'll just live to screw now. Her life is getting so fulfilled.
Wait, it gets better. Not once does she ask her lover to send her home to her parents that she loved AFTER she discovers women. No. She was an only child but orgasms will make you forget your family and how they feel thinking you're dead. Oh and she was offered a position as consort (legal, too) ... I mean really??! Just as long as she understands the queen will take many lovers (eye roll).
Oh and her best friend has just been waiting in the wings to screw her. I gotta stop this review here. I'm getting worked up.
If you're like me and the idea of multiple partners makes you uncomfortable, I do not recommend this book. If however these things do not bother you, go ahead get it.
** may contain spoilers read at your detriment **
Now understand these are MY hang ups, not yours.
My biggest hang up is the non-monogamous aspects. To say something as nonchalantly like "I can share my body but not my heart" makes ZERO sense to my logic. Like zero! your heart is part of the body for one and you cannot separate the act and how you feel - to me (again, my hang up). Like it or not, sex is as intimate as two human beings can ever be or get (imo). And while more people are starting to be open and more willing to be in ENM (Ethical Non Monogamous) relationships, they actually seem lonely to me and they settled in their partnerships. It is a huge turn off for me as I'd rather be alone than in that type of relationship. It makes no sense to me! And these types of people are on all these dating apps still searching for something they apparently already have... And they're many of them. It feels to me like being lonely while you're in a crowd. What would satisfy you and why would I want to be with you? I have yet to read a tasteful story on these types of relationships. It may also be because it's a huge no from the start. With the ENM relationships on the dating apps, I am eternally grateful that these days they disclose this information. Right from the get go. That is wonderful because it helps me swerve and saves me a lot of future heartache.
Back to the book... On top of sex being the biggest thing to rule this leader... There is a scene in here where she admits to falling in love with the new addition to her harem... Without ever having spoken to her, hanging with her, getting to know her and all that. Oh, and it's apparently mutual. Give me a break. More believable to say she has fallen in lust but love was such a stretch. Especially as she was still screwing every woman there with a pulse.
Another scene... she went 2 weeks without sex (goddess forbid) and she knew that the only person who could "quench that thirst" is the supposed woman she loves. Who at this stage did not want a WLW relationships (another issue I have is this, but I digress). So, she gets a look alike to act and pretend she is her and screws her through the night. Which to me, the whole thing was so gross. But also, contradictory. If you love someone so much that you know the touch of others will pale in comparison, why not forsake all others for the one that will fill not only your body but your heart (heart is still part of the body)? The thing about monogamy/monogamous relationships isn't that it's just the way society has programed us so it's just the thing to do. It's that while it's EASY to get laid and act animalistic in regards to our self urges, you are committed to one person completely. It's not hand cuffs, its not lust, it's a commitment. In a place like this where you can screw anyone and apparently they're all so incredible at sex, what's to stop one's heart from falling for another. Like it's a greater sacrifice to forsake all others but these hedonistic people don't have a concept of denying one's self. To them, it's wrong to do that. That's their take on monogamy. I have to laugh. There is something so beautiful in that commitment. But hey! they'll get married and keep screwing others but only love each other (heart but body). Sometimes I have an urge beat someone due to their driving or any reason. But I don't indulge in that, even if the vision gives me satisfaction. We don't act on all our urges. We're humans.
I say all this because ALL our leader wants from her slave is her heart. And yes, I said slave because while she was saved from a terrible fate with others, she was not granted freedom either. apparently it's their way. But at least she has a comfy bed and now enjoys sexy time with everyone. yuck yuck yuck.
Aahhh our innocent new addition to the harem is 19 summers old and a virgin. How! Adorable! Who doesn't get wet for a 19 year old straight (or she was) virgin. Yes, she's straight (was), and it's all she had known, but they show her all the physical pleasures and now she sees that something was always missing in her life. Sex did that for her. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL.... forget the fact that she wanted children. Or the kind of love her parents shared. She'll just live to screw now. Her life is getting so fulfilled.
Wait, it gets better. Not once does she ask her lover to send her home to her parents that she loved AFTER she discovers women. No. She was an only child but orgasms will make you forget your family and how they feel thinking you're dead. Oh and she was offered a position as consort (legal, too) ... I mean really??! Just as long as she understands the queen will take many lovers (eye roll).
Oh and her best friend has just been waiting in the wings to screw her. I gotta stop this review here. I'm getting worked up.
If you're like me and the idea of multiple partners makes you uncomfortable, I do not recommend this book. If however these things do not bother you, go ahead get it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2016
I wasn't sure about Nights of Silk and Sapphire at the beginning, but by the halfway point I was hooked. This book is steamy as heck! Dae was kidnapped by slave traders on her way to meet the man she was suppose to marry. While traveling through the desert, Zafirah spies the caravan, rescues Dae, and kills her kidnappers. Zafirah is Scion of the desert people and will not tolerate being disrespected in this way. She brings Dae back to her harem in hopes of bedding her, but Dae is from a place were two women are forbidden from being together and has trouble accepting her new situation.
Nights of Silk and Sapphire starts off very slow. It's also a bit repetitive as Zafirah repeatedly tells Dae that she wants her, but will not force her, and then having Dae tell her that she'll never want her and yet always watching. A lot of that could have been condensed, but maybe drawing it out made the second half of the book more rewarding, because it picks up the pace a lot! It takes Dae several weeks to warm up to the openness of the harem, but once she decides to give in to her curiosity, things are GO GO GO! This is definitely a great Erotic Fantasy! A cold shower will be needed after several of these scenes.
Nights of Silk and Sapphire does have plot. Zafirah's country is facing an impending war, and of course that pulls our lovers apart for a little while, further dragging out the torture of them finally hooking up! But that's mostly what it's there for, to add a little conflict, danger, and anticipation to the romance causing Dae and Zafirah to explode in a fiery ball of lust once the war is over. I didn't mind that at all.
There's really not much for me to say about Nights of Silk and Sapphire other than that it's sexy as heck. It's certainly not a traditional romance, as Zafirah has her harem and had no intention of giving it up. And Dae is very tempted by other girls in the harem who started her "education" on female pleasure. I just loved it.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Nights of Silk and Sapphire starts off very slow. It's also a bit repetitive as Zafirah repeatedly tells Dae that she wants her, but will not force her, and then having Dae tell her that she'll never want her and yet always watching. A lot of that could have been condensed, but maybe drawing it out made the second half of the book more rewarding, because it picks up the pace a lot! It takes Dae several weeks to warm up to the openness of the harem, but once she decides to give in to her curiosity, things are GO GO GO! This is definitely a great Erotic Fantasy! A cold shower will be needed after several of these scenes.
Nights of Silk and Sapphire does have plot. Zafirah's country is facing an impending war, and of course that pulls our lovers apart for a little while, further dragging out the torture of them finally hooking up! But that's mostly what it's there for, to add a little conflict, danger, and anticipation to the romance causing Dae and Zafirah to explode in a fiery ball of lust once the war is over. I didn't mind that at all.
There's really not much for me to say about Nights of Silk and Sapphire other than that it's sexy as heck. It's certainly not a traditional romance, as Zafirah has her harem and had no intention of giving it up. And Dae is very tempted by other girls in the harem who started her "education" on female pleasure. I just loved it.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
June 2, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ phew Anastasia Watley did an excellent performance! Well paced and enticing story. Captured by slavers and rescued into the life of a pleasure servant, our MC must learn to adapt to a life vastly different from how she was brought up. Can she open up to not only new and untapped pleasures, but also to finding love with another woman? I recommend reading and finding out!!
December 14, 2024
4⭐️
Hot women forming a harem and falling for each other? What's not to love about that!🤭
Hot women forming a harem and falling for each other? What's not to love about that!🤭
June 10, 2017
How do I put this...
Well, somehow I was expecting more plot than you know "plot". It's not off-putting to me, though. I just am not sure how to judge this. But I'll try.
As an erotica, I'm pretty sure the book is easily a 3 stars (sensual love-making, likable characters, nice mutual acception and encouragement). But as a plot-driven story, not that much.
The book's central theme is probably Dae freeing herself from the boudaries her homeland puts on her (there is a war plotline, but it is pretty irrelevant). This theme is not presented well. Yes, Dae is rejecting for a good chunk of the book. But her prejudice is only glossed over. Her struggle with the beliefs she is taught is almost nonexistent. This makes everytime Dae refuses sex seems a reason to lenghthen the book. How about some more flashbacks to her homeland and her parents? How about a stronger realization when she lets herself enjoy pleasure? I appreciate other characters' dialogues about living to the fullest and all (mostly Inaya), but still I wish there is a deeper internal struggle (No, the masturbation scenes don't count). A missed opportunity to wander in a more interesting territory there, book.
Wasted potential asides, I'm also bothered by the insta-romance between Dae and the Scion. If this is a short story, that won't be a problem. But the book isn't, so I'm stuck with a romance I don't care about for 300 pages.
Those problems annoyed me so much I just want the book to do away with its flimsy plot-stuff and go full-on erotica so everyone just makes love with everyone without superficial "character's struggle".
Well, can't say much more about this. Cool lesbian den, though.
Well, somehow I was expecting more plot than you know "plot". It's not off-putting to me, though. I just am not sure how to judge this. But I'll try.
As an erotica, I'm pretty sure the book is easily a 3 stars (sensual love-making, likable characters, nice mutual acception and encouragement). But as a plot-driven story, not that much.
The book's central theme is probably Dae freeing herself from the boudaries her homeland puts on her (there is a war plotline, but it is pretty irrelevant). This theme is not presented well. Yes, Dae is rejecting for a good chunk of the book. But her prejudice is only glossed over. Her struggle with the beliefs she is taught is almost nonexistent. This makes everytime Dae refuses sex seems a reason to lenghthen the book. How about some more flashbacks to her homeland and her parents? How about a stronger realization when she lets herself enjoy pleasure? I appreciate other characters' dialogues about living to the fullest and all (mostly Inaya), but still I wish there is a deeper internal struggle (No, the masturbation scenes don't count). A missed opportunity to wander in a more interesting territory there, book.
Wasted potential asides, I'm also bothered by the insta-romance between Dae and the Scion. If this is a short story, that won't be a problem. But the book isn't, so I'm stuck with a romance I don't care about for 300 pages.
Those problems annoyed me so much I just want the book to do away with its flimsy plot-stuff and go full-on erotica so everyone just makes love with everyone without superficial "character's struggle".
Well, can't say much more about this. Cool lesbian den, though.
June 14, 2025
I dropped this one about 4 hrs from the ending. I couldn’t finish it, just had to tap out. Everything was too easy. The bag guy got support from other tribes by nothing but just having access to guns and not from any examples of good leader ship…. But he didn’t have a real supplier of weapons to make a real threat…. Zafirah is a “great leader” but we see no examples of it…. She’s the great sexual being who can just have sex with anyone and they all love it but she doesn’t love anyone…. Not till the one girl shows up…. Dae is an innocent…. But settles right into the harem without a real complaint…… like I just can’t buy it. No one has jealousy and no one is trying to power grab from the inside. Everyone is totally okay with how the kingdom is run (except the main bad guy of course)…. The chemistry between Zafirah and Dae was…. Mild at best. I just had to tap out.
Found out much later that that it used to be a Xena fanfic, and it made a few things make more sense. But still not a story for me.
Found out much later that that it used to be a Xena fanfic, and it made a few things make more sense. But still not a story for me.
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