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theboysareader's review
The themes are very much on the nose. It has a very promising premise, but I felt like the prose was weak. I would love to read about a strong female protagonist and this sounded exactly like the book I was looking for, but the woman yearning for adventure is a trope beaten to death already and the authors weren’t even remotely subtle in showing Sybilla’s struggles. Too black and white.
jessi_senn's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
irisboivin's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
kstep1805's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I couldn’t put this book down. While I have no idea how true to life the historical portion was, Sybilla’s loss of first her husband and then her lover felt so true. Her story of strength in the face of grief and tragedy hit home. I loved it.
clothespin's review
5.0
I really enjoyed the book. A bit of a mystery, a bit of history, a bit of a different culture... Reminded me a tiny bit of the book, Guest of the Sheik.
lemonlaiime's review
4.0
Following Sibylla as she is a young newlywed moving from England to Morocco, being involved in the shipping business, navigating cultural differences, finding and losing love, plus allowing the story to naturally grow and age made for a fantastic time. I loved enjoying my time in this book
starfire_storm's review against another edition
4.0
Sibylla contains the present day personality of a successful business woman in a 19th century European culture. Her strong will, stubbornness, and overall love for individuality and culture in the world around her, she is a wonderful protagonist to read. Her life is seemingly simple.
Halfway throught the book, the complications made for an interesting future for Sibylla. I enjoyed being able to read of how her influence in Morroco expanded after her sacrifices for family and her true home. The entire story was beautifully written yet sometimes predictable.
Halfway throught the book, the complications made for an interesting future for Sibylla. I enjoyed being able to read of how her influence in Morroco expanded after her sacrifices for family and her true home. The entire story was beautifully written yet sometimes predictable.
catriona90's review
3.0
Really enjoyed the storyline (until the rather twee ending). The writing though was clumsy, possibly down to the translation but just felt really clunky.
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
3.25
I liked this, it kept my attention and I felt like I learned a little ... about Morocco, saffron, historical trading. This was one of those "sagas" that covers years and years. Divided into two parts, part one (1835-1840) features Sibylla before marriage/marriage/early motherhood. Part two then jumps forward (1859-1862) and continues on from there.
3rd person, past tense. While Sibylla is the main character, and the majority of the book is from her POV, we (the reader) get a peek into other perspectives too, seeing the world (omniscient) through a variety of eyes; getting details and background.
I believe this was originally written in German - although nothing takes place there. It's all placed in England and Morocco. I went with the audio, one narrator/female, and she was good, for Sibylla and the main narration. I struggled a LOT with the voices for Benjamin (his voice was described as "nasally" and he is not a likeable character ...) it was just so annoying I wasn't sure I'd be able to continue, as I could see his character was going to be around for a while. I pushed through. Love the English accent and pronunciation of many words. I note a variety of words in my books ... this had deign and dais.
No profanity, some sex. Nothing super explicit, not "bodice ripper" style, but a little more detailed than some "romance" novels. Included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio (but not at the local library).
3rd person, past tense. While Sibylla is the main character, and the majority of the book is from her POV, we (the reader) get a peek into other perspectives too, seeing the world (omniscient) through a variety of eyes; getting details and background.
I believe this was originally written in German - although nothing takes place there. It's all placed in England and Morocco. I went with the audio, one narrator/female, and she was good, for Sibylla and the main narration. I struggled a LOT with the voices for Benjamin (his voice was described as "nasally" and he is not a likeable character ...) it was just so annoying I wasn't sure I'd be able to continue, as I could see his character was going to be around for a while. I pushed through. Love the English accent and pronunciation of many words. I note a variety of words in my books ... this had deign and dais.
No profanity, some sex. Nothing super explicit, not "bodice ripper" style, but a little more detailed than some "romance" novels. Included in KindleUnlimited, text and audio (but not at the local library).
aimeesbookishlife's review against another edition
2.0
Full review available on my blog: https://aimeedawes.wordpress.com/2017/01/22/review-the-lioness-of-morocco/
Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of this book via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.
I had high hopes for this book because I was a bit tired of the same-old historical romances set in medieval England (I'm looking at you, Phillipa Gregory) and I was looking forward to something different.
This book is nothing like Gregory's, mostly because it has a whole load of one-dimensional characters, a twenty-year romance that's not entirely believable, and anachronistic language (such as slang terms like 'slut' and 'brat') that completely breaks the immersion. There is very little in the way of actual plot; instead, page after page is dedicated to boring conversations where the characters go into minute detail about trade agreements or the quality of saffron. A couple of these were useful for the reader to get an idea of the nature of Sibylla's business, but it got tedious after a while and I would have traded them all in for a few paragraphs about how the characters are feeling or what they are thinking.
The redeeming feature is the stunning descriptions of Morocco that really made me want to get on a plane in an instant. The writers have obviously spent time in Morocco and their love for the country comes through in beautiful prosaic descriptions of the landscape, the smells, the atmosphere of the souks and the colours of the buildings. This bumped my rating up a little bit, although to be honest I think it is still quite a generous score given the book’s many faults.
Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of this book via NetGalley, in return for an honest review.
I had high hopes for this book because I was a bit tired of the same-old historical romances set in medieval England (I'm looking at you, Phillipa Gregory) and I was looking forward to something different.
This book is nothing like Gregory's, mostly because it has a whole load of one-dimensional characters, a twenty-year romance that's not entirely believable, and anachronistic language (such as slang terms like 'slut' and 'brat') that completely breaks the immersion. There is very little in the way of actual plot; instead, page after page is dedicated to boring conversations where the characters go into minute detail about trade agreements or the quality of saffron. A couple of these were useful for the reader to get an idea of the nature of Sibylla's business, but it got tedious after a while and I would have traded them all in for a few paragraphs about how the characters are feeling or what they are thinking.
The redeeming feature is the stunning descriptions of Morocco that really made me want to get on a plane in an instant. The writers have obviously spent time in Morocco and their love for the country comes through in beautiful prosaic descriptions of the landscape, the smells, the atmosphere of the souks and the colours of the buildings. This bumped my rating up a little bit, although to be honest I think it is still quite a generous score given the book’s many faults.