This book can be summed up in two words: Love Story. However, I loved the setting and the characters! It is set in the ancient Mesopotamian desert, and Little does a great job of painting the picture for the readers. Jayden is a 16-year-old girl who has been promised to the son of her tribe's chief, and the book opens at her betrothal ceremony. A large part of the betrothal is getting to dance with the other women in preparation for dancing for her husband on her wedding night. Jayden is nervous at first, but as she begins to dance she finally feels like she belongs, and she is nervous about her wedding, but she loves the dancing! However, the day after the betrothal ceremony, Jayden's mother goes into labor, and she delivers twin babies. One of the babies is stillborn, and Jayden's mother ends up dying from loss of blood. They have to bury her and the baby boy and move on to where the tribe will spend the summer months. Jayden remains at her mother's grave to dance and say goodbye to her, and when she finishes dancing she spots Kadesh, a member of a tribe from the far south. She instantly feels connected with Kadesh, and they fall in love quickly. However, the two of them have to deal with being separated when Kadesh returns home to his tribe, and also when Jayden's intended finds out about their relationship. They go through a lot of trials throughout the book, and at the end, Jayden is left alone thinking she will never get to be with Kadesh.
The book is the first in a trilogy, and it leaves you filled with hope because the author hints that Jayden and Kadesh will be reunited. Along the way, you meet other characters besides Jayden and Kadesh, and they aren't all likable. Jayden's older sister, Leila, struggles with her religious beliefs and what she wants from life, and at times, she doesn't seem to really support Jayden or their father. But, she does have redeeming qualities, and she helps Jayden at a time when I thought Jayden had lost everyone she loved. There are two characters I despised all throughout the book, and they were Horeb, Jayden's intended, and Dinah, a member of the tribe who leaves to live in the city and takes Jayden's infant sister with her after Jayden gives up all of her betrothal jewelry to convince her to save the baby. Horeb is very power hungry, and the way he treats Jayden is awful! I actually found myself wishing that he would be killed, but of course, since every story needs a villain, he is still there at the end of the book. Dinah is just a selfish woman in my eyes, and I got so angry with her that I was hoping she would die as well.
I plan on reading the next two books rather quickly, since they are published and the series is finished. I also want to learn more about Mesopotamia and Babylon after reading this book. Just a word of warning: there is sexual innuendo throughout the book. Horeb does not respect women, and there is attempted rape, but it is not described in great detail. This is a four star book on my Goodreads account because it's not the best I have read, but it is definitely one that I couldn't put down once I started.
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