I loved ‘The Sultan’s Favorite.’ I picked it up and didn’t set it down again until I was finished. Set in the Ottoman Empire, it delves into the culture and practices of a world that held me fascinated. The characters were enjoyable and I connected with them all. I hoped for Erik and Alexandria to be together even while I felt for the sultan and the position he was in. It was a good romance with an antagonist who is human, not just evil.

Erik, the mysterious Phantom of the Opera ghost, is running from his bitterness of his love’s rejection of him. Throwing himself into designing and building architectural masterpieces, the man in the mask is currently building the new lavish palace for the Ottoman Empires’ sultan.

During the building of the palace, Alexandria, the new widow of the ruler of Constantinople, is brought to be the third wife of the sultan. The world she finds herself thrust unwillingly into is very different than the life she had come from. While she used to be her husband’s only beloved wife, she is now the third, and the lowest of wives. The first wife proves to be friendly and welcoming, but she quickly meets the ridicule of the sultan’s second wife and harem when the sultan establishes her as his favorite wife.

Working with the sultan’s newest wife to design her court is the last thing Erik wants to do, but he is surprised to learn she is a well educated woman with a quick mind who loves to read and whose opinion was respected in her last home. As he teaches her about architecture he also sneaks her books and debates with her, treating her as an equal. He soon comes to care for her far more than he will admit.

When Alexandria is kidnapped for ransom while on a journey, Erik is the one who rides to her rescue and in the heat of the moment they reveal to each other the depths of their feelings for one another. When they try to go back to the way things were before they know it is impossible. Somehow they must find a way out of the hopeless situation.