22 Nights
Grade : B-

I should start right out by saying if you’re looking for a steamy story, this may not be for you. I am very glad to say that 22 Nights is not, as the title and cover suggest, a treatise on 22 very long nights of kinky, purple prose sex. Instead, I was pleased to discover that this book is about two couples finding that true love cannot be so easily ignored or denied. Much more interesting, I believe, than formulaic sex scenes.

General Tearlach Merin has been assigned to escort Belavalari Haythorne to Emperor Jahn’s palace as a potential bride. Merin dreads facing Bela after one very regrettable night six years ago, but he grits his teeth and journeys to the wild lands of the less-civilized Turi people. Once there, his mood only worsens when he finds out that Bela drugged and tricked him into performing a marriage ceremony that horrible night. How was he to know that drinking a cup of cider and stumbling through a simple dance would constitute a marriage to these heathens? Unfortunately for him, the marriage is binding, and the only way to get a divorce is to live alone with her for 22 nights, literally tied to her with only 6 feet of rope between them. This ceremony is meant as a last-ditch resort for feuding couples to show how much they actually love each other, but Merin is furious because he didn’t even know Bela to begin with!

Bela is even less pleased by this turn of events; a fierce warrior woman, she only tricked Merin that night so she could get rid of her stupid maidenhead and take herself off the marriage mart. She never expected to see him again, and now she has to pay for her childish scheme. One day, Nobel, a particularly annoying suitor, presses for her hand in marriage. Bela knows that all he wants is her mysterious sword Kitty, a sword with latent powers that nobody seems to understand. Nobel becomes more and more aggressive in his need to possess the sword, until one day she and Merin have enough. Tied together, they will journey to Forbidden Mountain, the mountain where Kitty was found, in the hopes of unlocking her secrets and finding out why Nobel is so obsessed with the sword. As they make the long journey, Bela and Merin discover that Kitty may be more powerful than any of them expected: their growing love for each other may actually be an illusion created by the magical sword to further its own mysterious ends.

Meanwhile, Leyla Hagan, another potential bride, is beginning to make her own journey to the emperor’s palace. Sold in marriage at a young age, her life has been filled with unhappiness and loneliness. Her only joy in life comes in the form of her lover, Savyn, a young worker who is nine years her junior. She is constantly tormented by their age difference, convinced that she’s ruining all his chances for a normal life. Having received the emperor’s invitation to be a potential bride, she decides to sever their ties once and for all. Knowing that he would never accept their separation, she is forced to use the one thing she most hates: her magic. Leyla has the ability to do some mind-control, erasing memories and putting thoughts into others’ heads. She loathes her gift, but takes away Savyn’s memories of their relationship in an effort to give him a new life. Unfortunately for her, Savyn-the-workman announces his intentions to accompany her to the palace, and on the way there, it becomes evident that he still has feelings for her. Savyn wonders about his deep feelings for his mistress, and Leyla is baffled by this turn of events; never has her magic failed her before. The temptation is too strong, and she begins to fall in love with Savyn all over again.

So, the first half of the story is fantastic. Merin and Bela have crazy chemistry, and it was really fun to watch them wrestle out the logistics of being tied to one another. And yes, they do tackle the bathroom problem – pretty passably too, if you don’t think too much about it. I loved the fact that Merin is a very sensible man who isn’t afraid to be brutally honest but is also a bit of a closet-gallant. However, I sometimes felt we weren’t given enough information about Merin, so he ultimately came off as a little flat to me. Bela is better developed, and I was very glad to find that she isn’t a crazy Amazon girl who cuts off her nose to spite her face and insists on Girl Power in every situation. Barring her dumb plan to lose her virginity, she is undeniably smart.

Leyla and Savyn were very sweet, but a little dull. I enjoyed the premise of their situation, and it was touching to see Savyn’s feelings remain and redevelop in spite of Leyla’s attempts to erase his memory. Leyla’s protestations were slightly wearisome, but everything was generally fine and progressed nicely until the emergence of a Big Misunderstanding. Not only was this misunderstanding blown way out of proportion, but after it was eventually cleared up, a Big Sacrifice loomed over the horizon and threatened to bore me to death. It picked up a little towards the end, but by that time they'd lost the urgency that made me so interested in them before.

The magical talking sword, Kitty, is what really pulled me from the story. Kitty is a sword that Bela’s brother found in the mountains, that somehow chose Bela to wield her. Bela and Kitty carry on mind-conversations, and at times we aren’t sure if Kitty is good or bad. Like all good enchanted objects, Kitty speaks mysteriously and lives to confuse her owners. I never got into the whole Kitty thing – I thought of her as an unnecessary distraction, and kept wondering, when are they going to get back home and finish out their 22 days?! I was pretty disappointed to find that the rest of their time together is spent discovering the sword’s magic instead of exploring their newly-found love for each other.

I was pretty torn about the inclusion of the magic. On one hand, it was essential in the story of Leyla and Savyn; it felt natural to consider Leyla’s powers. I liked that she didn’t have big all-encompassing powers, but rather a little magic. For Merin and Bela, the main couple in the book, I found the mystery surrounding Kitty tedious and protracted, and would have preferred a little less emphasis on the sword’s role for the future of these people. At one point, they suspect that their feelings for each other may have actually been engineered by Kitty to ultimately create a child for her use. Because I didn’t feel that they knew each other too well to begin with, I didn’t find this as earth-shattering as I was supposed to. They’ve only known each other less than 22 days, for crying out loud! There was also a very important magical prophecy scene thrown in the middle of their situation, which blindsided me. At this point, I was surprised that the reader was being given this kind of rising action so late in the story. After finishing the book, I felt like this was meant to be the beginning of an extremely epic sci-fi fantasy instead of being simply book number two in a short series. I hope that everything is concluded nicely in the next few books.

This was my first Linda Winstead Jones, so I wasn’t aware of her signature magical twists until after I finished reading. If I began reading the book expecting a magical world, I might have accepted it more easily. While I don’t think I missed any details significant to the story, it might be useful to read the first book before this one. Anyway, while clichés are liberally sprinkled around, this is a pretty solid read. It has a great beginning that plateaus in the middle - but never quite plummets to boring status. There was enough of a cliffhanger to leave me wanting more, but not quite enough to make me pre-order the next installment.

Reviewed by Emma Leigh
Grade : B-
Book Type: Fantasy Romance

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : February 9, 2009

Publication Date: 2008

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