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maurits's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I'm bit conflicted about this book. It has a lot of great components, but also clear missers. On missers: when it comes to handling the mixture of grief and distrust, I think the author kind of glosses over it. Moreover, an important theme in the book is darkness, but we are sort of left in the dark (haha) about the specifics and how darkness relates to magic. Lastly, it can get kind of annoying that the author uses Arabic or made-up words that definitely can just be in English. I understand wanting to preserve things like "habibi" and "hayati" (both terms of endearment), but things like "hashashin" (assassin) and "shukrun" (thanks) are better to put in English.
But the things that I like about the book are more numerous. First off, Faizal's writing style is impeccable. She knows how to choose her words, and it makes her writing a pleasure to read. An example:
But the things that I like about the book are more numerous. First off, Faizal's writing style is impeccable. She knows how to choose her words, and it makes her writing a pleasure to read. An example:
You and I are strangers, Huntress. Allies by circumstance. We may leave Sharr and never think of each other again. But in this moment, we are two souls, marooned beneath the moon, hungry and alone, adrift in the current of what we do not understand. We hunt the flame, the light in the darkness, the good this world deserves. You are like Tamin. You remind me that hope is not lost.
Second, the setting deserves mention. The fact that Faizal is building on Arabia for her fantasy world helps defeat some clichés.
Lastly - sort of related to her writing style - Faizal knows how to take you on a journey with the characters. I wouldn't say the characters are exceptionally well-written (because they're not) but you can actually feel what they feel.
The plot isn't much special, but it didn't bother me. I suck at predicting plots so any plot is surprising to me.
All in all, 3.25 stars. I would recommend it. I hope, in future books, Faizal will further improve her writing. She shows great promise and I'll keep an eye on her upcoming works.
Lastly - sort of related to her writing style - Faizal knows how to take you on a journey with the characters. I wouldn't say the characters are exceptionally well-written (because they're not) but you can actually feel what they feel.
The plot isn't much special, but it didn't bother me. I suck at predicting plots so any plot is surprising to me.
All in all, 3.25 stars. I would recommend it. I hope, in future books, Faizal will further improve her writing. She shows great promise and I'll keep an eye on her upcoming works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Grief, and Misogyny
klawart's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
library_of_alexandra_'s review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While this got a bit trope-y at times (eyes are always CRASHING into each other), and there were too many elaborate family reveals , I overall enjoyed this. It lives up to the enemies to lovers hype. Maybe not the found family hype but I think they just need more time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Torture
michellemaas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted to love this book more than I did. On paper (excuse the pun) it had everything most fantasy readers would want: an enemies-to-lovers plotline, knife to the thought trope, found family trope, diversity, strong female leads, etc. Even with all that, while still a good book, it just didn't live up to my expectations.
I will start with the most off-putting thing: the Arabic. I would venture as far as to say that there was at least 1 Arabic word per paragraph (though it felt more like 1 per sentence). I'm not claiming to speak 8 languages or read the dictionary for fun, but I am not often stunted by unknown words but I spent this entire book playing the game of "guess that word". I even tried Google Translating some of the words whose definitions I couldn't decipher from the context, but not even Google knew (likely some fantasy made-up word, though I wouldn't know) and it just became too much. I want to put a disclaimer here that the version I read did not have the glossary that the printed books have. I don't know if any of the ebooks have the glossary but mine didn't and I didn't realize that Hafsah Faizal put the glossary on her website as well until I was 90% done with the book already. I love that the author drew from her culture and language to accurately express her thoughts (and as a bilingual person myself, I know that it is all too easy to think/speak in a combination of languages) but when you are marketing to an international market having 1/2 of your book be in a foreign language might not be for the best. That being said, this is a situation that is easily remedied (although slightly more inconvenient) but I still wanted to mention it.
I saw a few comments about the world-building being difficult to understand due to the language and I wanted to clarify that I don't agree with that. The world-building is very similar to that of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (please note I said world-building, not plot. There are no arenas!). There are 5 "districts" (I can't remember the word they used for it in the book) all governed by the Sultan. The Sultan is however a cruel ruler and allows the towns to suffer. We have the badass female MC who goes into the woods to hunt for game and with the help of a friend she provides for her dying town. Everyone is becoming more desperate by the day due to the expanding forest (Arz) and harsh conditions so the MC goes on a quest to a special island to bring back the McGuffin that will save everyone. The Arabic was annoying as someone who doesn't speak it but it doesn't impact your ability to understand the story by any means.
The last issue I want to discuss is that of Zafirah and Nasir's relationship. Mainly the question: love or lust? Nasir is a harashin (assassin) and Zafirah has a huge problem with him being a murderer, especially because he and his friend caused the death of her friend. While this can be said for most enemies-to-lovers relationships what bothers me is how big a deal Zafirah made about it. I am not by any means condoning murder or suggesting she take that information in her stride or anything, but up until like 5 chapters from the end, she was still very hung up on the fact that her love interest is a murderer. Usually, we see the heroin slowly come to terms with her brooding boyfriend's dark past but there wasn't any of that. Zafirah was super bothered by his profession and then suddenly she wasn't because he was hot? I just find it quite annoying that the author made such a big deal of how opposed she was to Nasir's past only to not explore how she came to terms with it. I realize this will likely be addressed in the sequel, but I'm not reviewing the sequel right now so I wanted to get it off my chest.
Though my review was a little harsh, I still really enjoyed this book and wanted to end off by praising Hafsah Faizal for diversifying the pool. Quite a few of the situations in the book were inspired by the Arabian culture and it was cool to read about characters who didn't fit the cookie-cutter fantasy novel mold. Furthermore, this was great work considering that this was her first book and I can't wait to see where her career goes from here!
I will start with the most off-putting thing: the Arabic. I would venture as far as to say that there was at least 1 Arabic word per paragraph (though it felt more like 1 per sentence). I'm not claiming to speak 8 languages or read the dictionary for fun, but I am not often stunted by unknown words but I spent this entire book playing the game of "guess that word". I even tried Google Translating some of the words whose definitions I couldn't decipher from the context, but not even Google knew (likely some fantasy made-up word, though I wouldn't know) and it just became too much. I want to put a disclaimer here that the version I read did not have the glossary that the printed books have. I don't know if any of the ebooks have the glossary but mine didn't and I didn't realize that Hafsah Faizal put the glossary on her website as well until I was 90% done with the book already. I love that the author drew from her culture and language to accurately express her thoughts (and as a bilingual person myself, I know that it is all too easy to think/speak in a combination of languages) but when you are marketing to an international market having 1/2 of your book be in a foreign language might not be for the best. That being said, this is a situation that is easily remedied (although slightly more inconvenient) but I still wanted to mention it.
I saw a few comments about the world-building being difficult to understand due to the language and I wanted to clarify that I don't agree with that. The world-building is very similar to that of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (please note I said world-building, not plot. There are no arenas!). There are 5 "districts" (I can't remember the word they used for it in the book) all governed by the Sultan. The Sultan is however a cruel ruler and allows the towns to suffer. We have the badass female MC who goes into the woods to hunt for game and with the help of a friend she provides for her dying town. Everyone is becoming more desperate by the day due to the expanding forest (Arz) and harsh conditions so the MC goes on a quest to a special island to bring back the McGuffin that will save everyone. The Arabic was annoying as someone who doesn't speak it but it doesn't impact your ability to understand the story by any means.
The last issue I want to discuss is that of Zafirah and Nasir's relationship. Mainly the question: love or lust? Nasir is a harashin (assassin) and Zafirah has a huge problem with him being a murderer, especially because he and his friend caused the death of her friend. While this can be said for most enemies-to-lovers relationships what bothers me is how big a deal Zafirah made about it. I am not by any means condoning murder or suggesting she take that information in her stride or anything, but up until like 5 chapters from the end, she was still very hung up on the fact that her love interest is a murderer. Usually, we see the heroin slowly come to terms with her brooding boyfriend's dark past but there wasn't any of that. Zafirah was super bothered by his profession and then suddenly she wasn't because he was hot? I just find it quite annoying that the author made such a big deal of how opposed she was to Nasir's past only to not explore how she came to terms with it. I realize this will likely be addressed in the sequel, but I'm not reviewing the sequel right now so I wanted to get it off my chest.
Though my review was a little harsh, I still really enjoyed this book and wanted to end off by praising Hafsah Faizal for diversifying the pool. Quite a few of the situations in the book were inspired by the Arabian culture and it was cool to read about characters who didn't fit the cookie-cutter fantasy novel mold. Furthermore, this was great work considering that this was her first book and I can't wait to see where her career goes from here!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, and Trafficking
sadiefc's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Violence
the_paperbackprincess's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Blood and Gore
Minor: Misogyny
anklesock's review
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Child death
eddine's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
CHEFS KISS
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
internalnonsense's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
If you prioritize the big and epic over subtle and intricate, this YA adventure romance is for you. It is about brooding, emotional characters falling in love, empowering themselves, and saving the world with a sweeping fantasy backdrop.
This book is written with a lot of passion, I think, but it is very overwritten. Initially, I didn't mind, and even learned a few creative uses for the term 'feathered'. By the end, I was lost in the purple. There is so much consistent intensity that the characters become hard to engage with or take seriously. If you start at 10, you can only go up to 11 and so on. Considering the story follows angsty teenagers, this isn't necessarily bad, but I can't say I enjoyed it.
Act One starts strong, setting the stage of a well-realized, if a little simplistic, fantasy world, where the characters have clear motivations, strengths, and flaws. There's a lot of potential for conflict to get you excited. Act Two begins to stumble, letting the plot loosen in favor of character angst and banter. It sets a poor stage for Act Three, where a lot of things happen, but without any solid sense of direction or momentum. It is mostly held together by the emotional toils of the two main characters. If you're thoroughly invested in them, the final arc of the book will probably land. If you're more like me and getting lost in the 'now this is happening', it starts to become tedious.
Overall, it's a good story if you're carried by the epic feelings, not so much if you're invested in tight writing.
This book is written with a lot of passion, I think, but it is very overwritten. Initially, I didn't mind, and even learned a few creative uses for the term 'feathered'. By the end, I was lost in the purple. There is so much consistent intensity that the characters become hard to engage with or take seriously. If you start at 10, you can only go up to 11 and so on. Considering the story follows angsty teenagers, this isn't necessarily bad, but I can't say I enjoyed it.
Act One starts strong, setting the stage of a well-realized, if a little simplistic, fantasy world, where the characters have clear motivations, strengths, and flaws. There's a lot of potential for conflict to get you excited. Act Two begins to stumble, letting the plot loosen in favor of character angst and banter. It sets a poor stage for Act Three, where a lot of things happen, but without any solid sense of direction or momentum. It is mostly held together by the emotional toils of the two main characters. If you're thoroughly invested in them, the final arc of the book will probably land. If you're more like me and getting lost in the 'now this is happening', it starts to become tedious.
Overall, it's a good story if you're carried by the epic feelings, not so much if you're invested in tight writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, and Violence
lucilaroife's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent