Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little
I talked about this one a little in my post about the dearth of ancient historical fiction titles not set in Egypt, Greece, or Rome. This book is unique because it’s set in ancient Mesopotamia, both the wide open desert and the many cities located within the region. It’s the story of Jayden, a member of a nomadic tribe that travels in the desert from oasis to oasis. She’s been engaged to a cousin (by friendship, not blood) since she was a little girl, and her engagement ceremony nears. The cousin, Horeb, will be king of their tribe once his father dies, making Jayden their queen. Jayden’s older sister was engaged to Horeb’s older brother, who died during a raid. Jayden loves the desert life, but her sister has become disenchanted with it and wants to live in one of the cities, becoming a priestess of one of the local goddesses.

The story takes a few familiar turns. Horeb is awful, as can be expected. A stranger from the southern lands – where the valuable frankincense is plentiful – shows up, gravely injured, and is healed by Jayden’s tribe. The two fall in love, again not a surprise. This is the main conflict of the story – and it is a dangerous once, since Jayden is at the mercy of her father until she is married, after which she will be at the mercy of her husband.

There are interesting details about life during this time in this region – the importance of camels, the many uses of belly dance, the tribe’s religion, raids on other tribes, the way women gave birth in a squatting position – but it never feels completely engrossing. Jayden’s voice seems a bit naive for a girl who lives the very hard desert life. Some events also don’t make sense: The men ostensibly keep a close eye on the women, but Jayden and her sister seem to go to the local city and its temple as they wish. The tribe also doesn’t notice or care when one of the city girls shows up at a tribal dance, despite the tribe’s mistrust of the city people. The story feels a bit meandering, particularly during the first half, which is taken up with a lot of travel and not much else. This won’t win over readers looking for a terrific story, but it should be engaging enough for people interested in lesser-known times and places.

(The author states in her historical note that she deliberately did not describe her characters’ skin tone, as scholars are divided on what color such people’s skin tone actually was. But the cover shows a pretty light-skinned girl, which I’m sure surprises nobody.)

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
I’ve continued my historical fiction binge with this (somewhat) older title from 2008. This is a book I’ve heard subdued chatter about consistently since its publication, chatter that pops up again each time a sequel is released. It’s set in a fictional island country called Montmaray, located in the Atlantic Ocean near Britain and France, in 1936. The book is Sophie’s diary, and it tells of her life on Montmaray with her little sister Henrietta (Henry), her crazy uncle (the king), her cousin Victoria (the king’s daughter), a surly housekeeper, and the housekeeper’s son Simon, whom Sophie has quite a crush on. Sophie’s parents are both dead, and her older brother – the heir, since women cannot inherit the monarchy – is away at school in England. Occasionally they’re visited by their friends Anthony and Julia via airplane, but for the most part, their lives are completely isolated. The other inhabitants of the island mostly died during World War I, or moved away afterward.

People tell me this has a very I Capture the Castle feel, but since I’ve never read that book, I can’t say. It does feel a little old-fashioned, in a sweet way. It’s not particularly exciting and not much happens until the end, but the journey is still interesting. The first part of the novel is very much a slice-of-life sort of story. The setting is intriguing and the relationships between the characters feel authentic (Sophie and her siblings share a secret language, and the whole family is close-knit but can also be quite prickly with each other). It’s kind of incredible to think about these teenagers running around unsupervised on this tiny island that they literally rule – if that means anything when there’s no one to rule over. Of course, the harder reality of their situation is also made clear: no doctors, no luxuries, and nothing to protect them against the onslaught of World War II. Then two Nazis show up on the island with unknown purpose, and the teens’ somewhat sedate lives take a big turn.

Sophie’s voice is great, and she’s brought to life quite well by Emma Bering (I listened to it on audio). While I do think this takes a while to get going, I did immediately begin listening to the second one upon the first’s end. It’s a different perspective on World War II than anything I’ve read before.