The characters were flat and the plot not terribly well held together. Too much action happened off screen and was just described in retrospect. We hardly got to see the development of the main character Sibylla, and the second half of the book hardly concerned her. The villain of the end was almost comic and utterly predictable. The highlight of the book was the middle section where there is a fairly long set of actually described events which included real character development. When I read that, I was hopefully that the rest had only been brief because the authors were rushing us to the point where Sibylla's story really began. Sadly, I was wrong. ( )

This was a great read about Sibylla, from a upper class English family who moves to Morocco in the mid 19th century with her husband to take over the family's shipping interests in that part of the world. While there, Sibylla is forced to recognize some hard truths about her husband and raise her children by herself. This was a family saga as well as historical fiction, and the locale was exotic. My only complaint was that the last chapter seem to be rushed and a bit disappointing. 450 pages ( )

4 "Charting Her Own Course" Stars for the story and 4.5 Stars for the narration.

The Lioness of Morocco is a book that defies convention. It reads mostly like historical fiction detailing the saga of one family over a number of decades with some mystery/suspense and romance elements thrown in. Perhaps what I enjoyed the most was the historical aspect of this novel, as there aren't too many books that give you a picture of what it was like to live in Morocco as an English woman in the nineteenth century. Additionally, the talented narration by Henrietta Meire makes this a good title to experience in audiobook format.

Before delving into the background which will necessarily need to be short so as not to spoil the story for you; and as I mostly listen to romances, I feel a note of caution is merited. I would be remiss not to mention that for the typical romance listener there will definitely be some disappointments along the way, as this is not your typical romance. However, I encourage you to listen to the very end, as rest assured there is a HEA.

Sibylla Spencer is practically an old spinster at the age of 23 as she is still a single woman at the age of 23 living in 19th century England. As the daughter of a rich merchant, however, her interest for leading her own business has been sparked, and she is less concerned with societal conventions than most women of her age and time. Instead she dreams of being able to explore her own mercantile ventures. So when an ambitious employee of her father's saves her from a near drowning, she finally capitulates to his courting overtures, and before long they are wed. However, sadly for her, her new husband Benjamin seems to be much more attracted to the wealth she brings to their marriage than her.

Then Benjamin is offered an opportunity to lead a merchant trading venture in Morocco, an opportunity that Sibylla wholeheartedly endorses. Before long, their lives have completely changed both culturally and businesswise as even Sibylla finally launches her own clandestine business venture trading with the wives and concubines of the Moroccan leaders.

But as things begin to change, Benjamin's greed and apathy towards Sibylla put into play a series of events that lead to a complete change in their lives, including the uncovering of an embezzling scheme and Sibylla's discovery of a man who shows her what it feels like to truly feel love. Just how will this story end? Will Benjamin take down Sibylla with his own greedy exploits? Will Sibylla finally get to experience what life can be like with a man who truly loves her?

The narration by Henrietta Meire is well done which was not an easy feat with this subject matter. This is a difficult audiobook to narrate because of the multitude of accents to create--from the heroine's English accent to the Moroccan accents and even a French accent--Ms. Meire's skill with switching between accents is important to lending credibility and sense of genuineness to this story. She also varies her pitch appropriately so that you can distinguish the gender between the numerous male and female characters that play a part in this story.

Ms. Meire also does a good job with timing her delivery. She is able to create a sense of suspense in the applicable passages as well as vary her speed to match the scene being enacted.

All in all, I'm glad I listened to The Lioness of Morocco. This was definitely a book that was completely different from most of my more typical listens, so it provided an opportunity for introspection and reflection. Additionally, it also made me appreciate just how far women's independence has come.

Source: Review copy provided for review purposes. ( )

Very few books set in a foreign land have been able to so immerse me into a culture. Several times, I forgot I was reading a book and felt like I was looking out my window and seeing a whole New World.
Not only did the setting make me fall in love with Morocco but the characters in the conflict enveloped me in a story I didn’t want to leave. I love the main character, Sibylla, who grew emotionally during the story. But every woman in the story evolved during this epic family saga.
In addition, I have a greater understanding of how trade impacted countries from an economic standpoint as well as an environmental and social standpoint. The story itself had everything you want in a book: adventure, war, heartache, and love. While this book will appeal to many who read romance novels this goes far beyond just a romance and truly shows the historical value of one little plant, the saffron. The Lioness of Morocco is exactly what historical fiction should be.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I received a free copy but voluntarily reviewed. ( )