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vamarama's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the complex characters, lushly described settings, and political intrigue. The ending was not what I expected and leaves you with quite a few questions, but I just jumped right into the next book!
prisoner24601's review against another edition
3.75
Lots of mixed feelings for this incredibly long story. It definitely didn’t feel predictable with some pretty (in my humble opinion) out of character plot points. Whenever I thought I understood a characters motivations they would do something that contradicts it. The main protagonist wasn’t exactly my favourite mostly because of how combative she could be for no damn reason. Tell me why you would risk your life just to get answer to something. Make it make sense. At some point I was like girl if you die you would have no one to blame but yourself.
emjayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jerrycooke's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
An interesting and very enjoyable story and pulls from Islamic mythology in a fresh feeling 18th century setting.
If we're honest with ourselves, it doesn't feel like there's much racial diversity in romantasy. We see book after book of white cis characters, in fantasy settings which feel generally Western (more often and not an Alt Historical Britain) and while this doesn't make those books any less enjoyable, it's sad that it feels so fresh and novel to read a book like this, where we get a window into Middle Eastern culture, with lavish detail and mythology.
Set in 18th centry Egypt, we get the context of the French and Ottoman conflict at the time in Cairo, but this is only touched on for what feels like a moment before we're swept into a the hidden magical world of djinn (or daeva, to some - they get touchy, we're told!), ifrit, marid, and more. The world building here is gorgeously rich, blurring the lines of historical fiction and fantasy to create fantastical alternate history where djinn have continued to live in secluded magical cities, with their own human-adjacent culture, castes, and beliefs.
If you aren't particularly familiar with Middle Eastern religious culture and mythology - and I'll admit this includes me - you'll find your vocabulary failing you at times. Thankfully there's a very helpful table of words at the back of the book (I was thankful that the Kobo's word lookup includes Google!) and it's genuinely fun for the language nerd in me that it made me want to research terms I found.
I really liked the fact that that while Nahri (FMC) does experience revelations and delves into her own hidden history, there's not the sometimes very predictable feeling 'surprise, you're special and now you're a badass bitch with untold magic' feeling that comes with a lot of the books I've read lately. Nhari, above all, remains feeling human; despite realising her potential, she struggles, fails, and grows slowly. If there's a term for this as a trope, add it to my top ten, because it's so much more interesting to see actual slow growth, than sudden demi-god status!
If we're honest with ourselves, it doesn't feel like there's much racial diversity in romantasy. We see book after book of white cis characters, in fantasy settings which feel generally Western (more often and not an Alt Historical Britain) and while this doesn't make those books any less enjoyable, it's sad that it feels so fresh and novel to read a book like this, where we get a window into Middle Eastern culture, with lavish detail and mythology.
Set in 18th centry Egypt, we get the context of the French and Ottoman conflict at the time in Cairo, but this is only touched on for what feels like a moment before we're swept into a the hidden magical world of djinn (or daeva, to some - they get touchy, we're told!), ifrit, marid, and more. The world building here is gorgeously rich, blurring the lines of historical fiction and fantasy to create fantastical alternate history where djinn have continued to live in secluded magical cities, with their own human-adjacent culture, castes, and beliefs.
If you aren't particularly familiar with Middle Eastern religious culture and mythology - and I'll admit this includes me - you'll find your vocabulary failing you at times. Thankfully there's a very helpful table of words at the back of the book (I was thankful that the Kobo's word lookup includes Google!) and it's genuinely fun for the language nerd in me that it made me want to research terms I found.
I really liked the fact that that while Nahri (FMC) does experience revelations and delves into her own hidden history, there's not the sometimes very predictable feeling 'surprise, you're special and now you're a badass bitch with untold magic' feeling that comes with a lot of the books I've read lately. Nhari, above all, remains feeling human; despite realising her potential, she struggles, fails, and grows slowly. If there's a term for this as a trope, add it to my top ten, because it's so much more interesting to see actual slow growth, than sudden demi-god status!
sarahgoff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ballkball's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
sisterjac2's review against another edition
4.0
Very cool story and intro to the Arabian mythology around djinns and their supernatural abilities and interactions with humans.
litficism's review against another edition
4.0
what are they doing to my lovely boy Alizayd al Qahtani leave him alone
devlev7's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Loved this! It took me a little bit to really get into it, but then I devoured it. Great, exciting high fantasy based on non-European culture. There’s a lot of world building to take in, which was a bit intimidating at first, but I found I was able to absorb it slowly while following the story. I really enjoyed the complex morals of the world Chakraborty lays out. There are not clear good guys and bad guys, which I love. Only took .25 off because I found the romance plot a bit predictable and frustrating. Excited to read the rest of the trilogy!
madwix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The ending moves so quickly I couldn’t follow what was happening or what the characters were actually thinking. Cool premise though!