Review

May Contain Spoilers

Most of this volume centers around the twins’ wedding. They are, of course, their usual impulsive, self-indulgent selves, and I felt bad for Sarm and Sami. I don’t think the boys are going to know what hit them as they are ordered through life by their new demanding brides. To give the girls some depth, they finally realize that by marrying, they are effectively leaving their family and joining a new one instead. Oh, how the bitter tears of two young women who finally, FINALLY, realize that their lives have been changed more than they stopped and thought about. Lucky for them, their parents only live a short walk away.

The volume ended with Amir and Karluk. Amir finds an injured hawk, brings it home, and attempts to nurse it back to health. I thought this was a really depressing chapter especially after the jovial celebration in the beginning of the volume. As Amir tries desperately to heal the bird, Karluk starts feeling a bit neglected. He even seeks advice for dealing with his wayward wife. Amir has been hunting for the hawk nearly every day, and patiently hand feeding it morsels from her kills. When Amir realizes that she’s made Karluk feel bad, she is dismayed that she caused her husband distress. Ugh. Then I started thinking what is he going to do when they have kids?

The wedding celebration was an extravagant, jubilant affair, for everyone but the brides. Forced to sit in their ceremonial finery, for what the Laila and Leily must have left like absolute days,  they finally coerce Sami and Sarm into stealing food for them, and helping them to escape from their confinement in the house. It did seem rather unfair that the girls didn’t get to partake in their own wedding feast, but I despaired at them ever curbing their energetic behavior. Until, of course, they realized that they no longer had a place in their childhood home. Let the waterworks begin. Both Sami and Sarm were at their wits end trying to soothe their distraught wives. Poor guys.

Once again, the illustrations are simply stunning, and this series should be read for no other reason than to pour over Kaoru Mori’s highly detailed and exquisite artwork.

This is the last print edition of the series that I’ll review. The library only has one more volume, but I would rather read the digital edition when it is released in October.

Grade: 4.25 stars

Review copy borrowed from my local library

About the book:

Acclaimed creator Kaoru Mori’s tale of life on the nineteenth-century Silk Road takes on an air of celebration as, at long last, Laila and Leily’s wedding day arrives! But the marriage ceremony may be even more taxing for the girls than their search for a pair of grooms. Sitting still and silent as their guests celebrate and eat is a trial that will push the girls’ patience to its limit, not to mention that of Sami and Sarm! As the twins finally make their vows and commit themselves to their husbands, the gravity of the moment finally sets in. Though they have dreamed of marriage for years, only now do they realize that everything in their lives is about to change…
Crafted in painstaking detail, Ms. Mori’s pen breathes life into the scenery and architecture of the period in this heart-warming, slice-of-life tale that is at once wholly exotic, yet familiar and accessible through the everyday lives of the characters she has created.