Sultana Kosem: The Black Queen (Magnificent Century)

The book is badly, if at all researched. It's very far from being a biography. Instead it is a soft-porn novel a la Barbara Cartland. I would not advise readers interested in history to acquire it. They won't be able to take more than 20 pages before they give up.

Not sure this one will be able to get through this book. It, like the prequel, is very interesting historically. But the style, harmless enough at first, has become difficult to sustain. There is a lot of almost pedantic information presented as introspection, plus frequent fantasies, which could be cut or presented differently. This review really belongs with the prequel, but it's too late to review that. The style is the same, however. You can save a lot of time by scanning or skipping the introspective and fantasy writing. That said, it covers a neglected area of Ottoman history. Hopefully you are not as picky as I am. Enjoy!

The second book in the series. It is not often you pick up a book that gets you gripped from start to finish. The characters are a bit confusing at the start - main character has her name changed at least four times during the course of the book - but you soon get to know them. There is no wonder this story was made into a television series in Turkey . A great read