A String of Silver Beads

The Moroccan Empire, Book 2

By: Melissa Addey

Narrated by: Francine Pinheiro

11th-century North Africa. Kella is a girl disguised as a boy, traveling the trade routes and beating all comers in the camel races. When her true identity is revealed, she is sent home to the family desert camp to be taught women’s skills. But Kella yearns for her freedom and the excitement of life on the road, and when a mighty army sets out on a holy mission, she risks marriage to its general, Yusuf. While Yusuf conquers the whole of North Africa, Kella finds herself a rival to his infamous queen consort, Zaynab, a powerful and jealous woman. Can Kella protect herself and her newborn son? Can she find the freedom she craves as well as love?

©2018 Melissa Addey (P)2022 Melissa Addey

The Moroccan Empire

I have never read anything about the Moorish Empire and knew nothing about it, but the blurb intrigued me. I'm glad I went outside my comfort zone to read this book.

Kella is a young woman in North Africa in 1067, who lives here life as a boy. Her greatest love in life is following the trade routes with her father and brother and winning camel races. But, when it is discovered that she is a girl, her father packs her off to live with her Aunt and learn womanly skills.

Kella is desperate to be back on the trade routes and is determined to find a way to escape the mundane life of a woman (which she considers to be just a little above a slave's fate).

The author has done a wonderful job in creating the atmosphere of Kella's world. Even though the book is told from her perspective, the other characters come alive through her descriptions and thoughts. There is adventure, heartbreak and love in this book and the author has done a great job in describing each of these feelings. And, there is a female villain, so what's not to love? I would recommend this book to those who love strong female characters in a historical setting and who enjoy a well-told story with colorful descriptions.

The narrator does a great job and her performance added a lot to my enjoyment of the book.