Nights of Silk and Sapphire (Nights of Silk and Sapphire – Book #1) by Amber Jacobs

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.