Reviews tagging 'Murder'

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

25 reviews

melist6's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

3.75


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kaeschwalber's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-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? No

4.0

This book is so unique I didn’t realize it was a Cinderella retelling the whole time. The world created is interesting and vibrant, the characters are 3 dimensional and likeable. I would argue they are in general a little too likeable so far, especially the main character lacks any real flaws. I think the plot and setting of this book are the jewels of the story, I would have liked a little more understanding of the systems of governance, religions, ect, but it makes sense that we experience a bit more of a day to day at different class levels. The internal dialogue got a bit tedious for me. 

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gingerbooknerd3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.75


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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0


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hannahbailey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Stylistically, I thought this was written really well and the concept was very interesting. But my god, was this long-winded. I kept reading because I thought that at any moment we'd get to the point...we didn't get there until the final pages -- more fool me 😭

There was so much potential here but we spend too long in the main characters' heads, rather than in their world. I don't mind internal dialogue but both MCs' thoughts were repetitive and confusing in the sense that their decision-making skills seemed to be lacking. The prince was so whiny and passive whilst the FMC lacked personality, I wanted to root for them but lost interest by the end of the book. It definitely felt like a huge setup for the next book which seems to be in a completely different setting with more characters introduced. Obviously, a setup is needed to make you pick up the next instalment, but it's always a shame when the first novel itself can't be treated as a standalone in its own right. 

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katievallin's review against another edition

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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


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rdmoreland0801's review against another edition

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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.

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emolr's review against another edition

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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


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loveat1stwrite's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

 **A copy of this book was provided to me by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.**

This Woven Kingdom contains beautiful prose and descriptions, but unfortunately very little plot. It comes with the territory of an almost 500-page book that spans about 3 days of in-book time. 60% of This Woven Kingdom is the main characters’ inner monologue, 20% is setting/food/clothing description, 10% is verbal dialogue, and the last 10% is where the actual occurring events happen. I prefer to be shown actions to back up character motivations and thoughts, but this book heavily relies upon the reader being told what to think. The whole experience made it hard to connect with, or even like, either of the two main protagonists.

I was hoping for a lush Persian mythology read, but This Woven Kingdom is essentially a Cinderella retelling with cosmetic Middle Eastern inspirations regarding food and clothing. A dual-POV read, we alternate between Alizeh a long-lost princess of the Jinn who is currently hiding as a lowly servant, and Kamran the heir to the human empire of Ardunia. Their lots in life place them at odds, for Alizeh was prophesized to end the reign of the current king of Ardunia, Kamran’s grandfather. Of course, Alizeh and Kamran happen to cross paths on the street and become an insta-love forbidden romance. As I mentioned, this book is about 10% plot. Over the course of about 3 days, Kamran and Alizeh think about the other non-stop and their inner thoughts take up the majority of the writing of this book. All of this builds up to a ball, (Yay, an event is finally occurring!) so you have that to look forward to in the last 100 pages or so.

If you come into this with the right mindset, I think it can certainly be an enjoyable read, but it was very different than how it was marketed and you have to be ready for it to be a slow-paced read, very trope-heavy and descriptor-heavy. 

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joni_smits's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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