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icy_queen's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Kidnapping, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and Genocide
Minor: War, Xenophobia, and Racism
erinsmithart's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Physical abuse, Racism, and Death of parent
katievallin's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Stalking, Blood, and Medical content
Minor: Child death and Sexual content
rdmoreland0801's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The story for this book was great, although I don’t think it played out as well as it could have. The first half of the book was really slow and not a lot happened. It just wasn’t memorable overall, as I had to really think about what previously happened when I picked it up the next day.
The narration was good, but I wish they would’ve cast a male voice actor for Kamran. I just couldn’t get the full effect with the deep, slow voice of a woman.
I love second-half Alizeh who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. When she finally loses her temper, we get a glimpse of who this character was meant to be.
Kamran is a little whiny, but falls head-over-heels for Alizeh in the silliest way. He just can’t seem to keep his eyes off of her, which I think is adorable.
Overall, a solid 4⭐️ book. I’ll will definitely be continuing with the series.
The narration was good, but I wish they would’ve cast a male voice actor for Kamran. I just couldn’t get the full effect with the deep, slow voice of a woman.
I love second-half Alizeh who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. When she finally loses her temper, we get a glimpse of who this character was meant to be.
Kamran is a little whiny, but falls head-over-heels for Alizeh in the silliest way. He just can’t seem to keep his eyes off of her, which I think is adorable.
Overall, a solid 4⭐️ book. I’ll will definitely be continuing with the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, and War
Minor: Genocide
emolr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Child abuse, Classism, Racism, Violence, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide
teri_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book, respectively the audiobook I listened to from the local library, just held it all.
The fairy tale retelling from the a thousand Arabian nights, the setting, the slow, careful world building and the female main character, that I just had to respect for the love she holds for humanity even though her parents are long since gone.
And, of course, there is excellent representation of female craftmanship on these pages as she knows her way around with sewing and tailoring and clothing someone beautifully, making them look truly beautiful.
I would have loved to immediately continue with this story, as a good fairy tale retelling that also has some djinns involved, I simply cannot resist.
The fairy tale retelling from the a thousand Arabian nights, the setting, the slow, careful world building and the female main character, that I just had to respect for the love she holds for humanity even though her parents are long since gone.
And, of course, there is excellent representation of female craftmanship on these pages as she knows her way around with sewing and tailoring and clothing someone beautifully, making them look truly beautiful.
I would have loved to immediately continue with this story, as a good fairy tale retelling that also has some djinns involved, I simply cannot resist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death
caoimhsx's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Classism, and Racism
mynotsolittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
While the pacing if this book is slow it is so incredibly imersive you don't realise it. You're so wrapped up in the characters and their intense emotions you want every scene to last just a little longer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Death, and Self harm
Moderate: Death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Confinement
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, and Violence
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
As someone who loves mythology and retellings, I was very excited for This Woven kingdom as it’s marketed as “Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—bestselling author Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology”. But, boy oh boy, the clashing empires and Persian mythology aspects? Misleading AF because the reality is that the empires aren’t clashing yet but they will start after 400+ pages. And, the Persian mythology part? Why, it’s only the presence of Iblees (also known as Iblis, a well-known supernatural entity found the Quran and a few other manuscripts) and jinn, and that’s it. Everything else in this book is a Cinderella story all over again.
And, I’m sorry, but it’s not even a good Cinderella story. Alizeh, our female protagonist is destined to be Queen, a jinn and hiding as a servant for her own safety. But, despite the hardships she has faced, Alizeh has little common sense and is poorly developed as a character. She runs her mouth the moment she feels a little comfortable (for which, she can be declared enemy of the empire because those comments are treacherous). She, as educated as she is and as much as she was raised to be the rightful Queen, doesn’t even know how to observe quietly before voicing out her opinions.
Kamran, on the other hand, is just as poorly developed, if not worse. He’s a ball of anger issues, misogyny, thinks he’s better and smarter than most, and loves to complain about the fine clothes he has to wear. Most of this, I can close an eye to because he’s the crown prince and allergic to the gold in his clothes, but the paragraphs detailing his anger and complaints concerning everything else is a chore to read.
Admittedly, I knew what I was going into when I saw the forbidden romance tag on this book so I wasn’t bothered by the insta-love, the typical romance plot and how Alizeh and Kamran couldn’t stop pining over each other. But, I’m also going to come out and say that all of the romance could’ve been better had the characters not been so flat. (Out of all the relationships here, I think that the best written one is the one between Kamran and his grandfather—and they aren’t exactly on the best of terms with each other too.)
Moreover, the narrative for This Woven Kingdom is so rich in purple prose that those moments of longing become ridiculous. In fact, the deeply rich purple prose eclipsed the plot, the characters and the romance. On one hand, I appreciated the strong imagery. On the other, I couldn’t lose myself in the typicality of forbidden romance because the purple prose was just very strong, much long-winded, so wow. I got so bored and basically skimmed all the dialogue-less paragraphs after the halfway mark.
Anyway, I did like that the action picked up in the final quarter of the book and that the betrayals and revelations were written well. I could do without the majority of the waffling but then again, it’s not like I didn’t just skip those parts while reading. Everything considered, This Woven Kingdom is an alright read. Nothing new or fresh, though as long as you don’t expect too much, it’s not bad. I look forward to the sequel and seeing what happens next after the cliffhanger here.
As someone who loves mythology and retellings, I was very excited for This Woven kingdom as it’s marketed as “Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—bestselling author Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology”. But, boy oh boy, the clashing empires and Persian mythology aspects? Misleading AF because the reality is that the empires aren’t clashing yet but they will start after 400+ pages. And, the Persian mythology part? Why, it’s only the presence of Iblees (also known as Iblis, a well-known supernatural entity found the Quran and a few other manuscripts) and jinn, and that’s it. Everything else in this book is a Cinderella story all over again.
And, I’m sorry, but it’s not even a good Cinderella story. Alizeh, our female protagonist is destined to be Queen, a jinn and hiding as a servant for her own safety. But, despite the hardships she has faced, Alizeh has little common sense and is poorly developed as a character. She runs her mouth the moment she feels a little comfortable (for which, she can be declared enemy of the empire because those comments are treacherous). She, as educated as she is and as much as she was raised to be the rightful Queen, doesn’t even know how to observe quietly before voicing out her opinions.
Kamran, on the other hand, is just as poorly developed, if not worse. He’s a ball of anger issues, misogyny, thinks he’s better and smarter than most, and loves to complain about the fine clothes he has to wear. Most of this, I can close an eye to because he’s the crown prince and allergic to the gold in his clothes, but the paragraphs detailing his anger and complaints concerning everything else is a chore to read.
Admittedly, I knew what I was going into when I saw the forbidden romance tag on this book so I wasn’t bothered by the insta-love, the typical romance plot and how Alizeh and Kamran couldn’t stop pining over each other. But, I’m also going to come out and say that all of the romance could’ve been better had the characters not been so flat. (Out of all the relationships here, I think that the best written one is the one between Kamran and his grandfather—and they aren’t exactly on the best of terms with each other too.)
Moreover, the narrative for This Woven Kingdom is so rich in purple prose that those moments of longing become ridiculous. In fact, the deeply rich purple prose eclipsed the plot, the characters and the romance. On one hand, I appreciated the strong imagery. On the other, I couldn’t lose myself in the typicality of forbidden romance because the purple prose was just very strong, much long-winded, so wow. I got so bored and basically skimmed all the dialogue-less paragraphs after the halfway mark.
Anyway, I did like that the action picked up in the final quarter of the book and that the betrayals and revelations were written well. I could do without the majority of the waffling but then again, it’s not like I didn’t just skip those parts while reading. Everything considered, This Woven Kingdom is an alright read. Nothing new or fresh, though as long as you don’t expect too much, it’s not bad. I look forward to the sequel and seeing what happens next after the cliffhanger here.
Thank you so much Pansing for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review! This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi is available at all good bookstores.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racism, Classism, Eating disorder, and Trafficking
queen_melliott's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, War, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Murder, Cursing, Hate crime, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders