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e_liz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Gore, Death, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: War, Slavery, Transphobia, and Grief
blackcatkai's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
CW: blood, violence, sexual content (not graphic, fade to black), grief, death, gore, religious bigotry, casual ableism, alcohol use, sexism, war mentioned, some body shaming, a moment with some light trans/homophobia
omg I loved this so so much. it was so much fun, tons of action, great characters with wonderful interactions with each other. exciting and heartwarming, there's even a character who's figuring out their own gender identity and I can't wait to see where we go with him and the rest of the crew in future books of the series.
oh, also a bedraggled ship cat I would die for. may payasam have more scenes going forward. all hail payasam!! 🐈🐾
omg I loved this so so much. it was so much fun, tons of action, great characters with wonderful interactions with each other. exciting and heartwarming, there's even a character who's figuring out their own gender identity and I can't wait to see where we go with him and the rest of the crew in future books of the series.
oh, also a bedraggled ship cat I would die for. may payasam have more scenes going forward. all hail payasam!! 🐈🐾
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Sexism
Minor: Transphobia, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual content, War, Homophobia, and Ableism
faduma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Violence, Alcohol, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Physical abuse
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
I enjoyed this adventure a lot! I loved having an older and more experienced fantasy protagonist, I loved the diverse cast of characters, and I had fun being immersed in cultures and locations that aren't as familiar to me as typical fantasy settings. I think this book delivered solidly on its premise and my expectations were definitely met. I am not sure why, but despite all that, I had a slow time reading this. I found myself having to force a little to pick it up, and it wasn't until I felt like I was nearing the end that I began to read with more momentum. I am not sure why this was, since the book is fairly action packed throughout. It may be that I got lost a little in the unfamiliar terms and creatures? I'm not sure. This is more of a personal issue that I have with some romance books as well, but I found Amina's horniness and ogling of the males around her to be off-putting. I was mildly disgusted that she had sex with her "demon" husband again towards the end of the book after everything we know he has done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Cursing, Misogyny, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Genocide, Transphobia, Vomit, War, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault
lauraslittlebooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I wanna start of by highlighting just how *stunning* this book is! The cover art and the maps are just absolutely beautiful!! 😍😍
The story follows Amina al-Sirafi, a 40-something year old single mother living out her retirement from pirate life for a decade in relative peace and quiet, who is forced to done her pirates hat again and set off to rescue her deceased shipmate’s daughter from a horrific murderous villain.
This story has everything. Adventure, battles, pirates, sea monsters, magic, friendship and more. I was hooked to this one from the get-go. With so many mysteries to unravel and secrets to uncover, it was impossible to put this book down.
Chakraborty’s writing style is wonderful and makes for a quick paced read full of description and action. The dialogue is natural and quick witted, making for relatable and lovable characters.
Amina makes for an incredible protagonist, and I absolutely loved reading an epic fantasy with an *adult* female lead, dodgy knee and all! She’s fiercely loyal and devoted to her family, is distrustful of most (if not all) those she encounters and is not afraid to own her mistakes.
Her inner circle are equally outstanding, each with their own unique backstories and personalities; Dalila being my obvious favourite!
In addition to how fantastically written this story is, Chakraborty has made it so wonderfully inclusive with multiple religions, gay rep and trans rep all flowing seamlessly together in this diverse and exciting read!!
I absolutely loved this and I cannot wait for the next instalment in the series to see where Amina’s adventures take her next!!
I fucking loved it. You need to read this. It’s amazing.
The story follows Amina al-Sirafi, a 40-something year old single mother living out her retirement from pirate life for a decade in relative peace and quiet, who is forced to done her pirates hat again and set off to rescue her deceased shipmate’s daughter from a horrific murderous villain.
This story has everything. Adventure, battles, pirates, sea monsters, magic, friendship and more. I was hooked to this one from the get-go. With so many mysteries to unravel and secrets to uncover, it was impossible to put this book down.
Chakraborty’s writing style is wonderful and makes for a quick paced read full of description and action. The dialogue is natural and quick witted, making for relatable and lovable characters.
Amina makes for an incredible protagonist, and I absolutely loved reading an epic fantasy with an *adult* female lead, dodgy knee and all! She’s fiercely loyal and devoted to her family, is distrustful of most (if not all) those she encounters and is not afraid to own her mistakes.
Her inner circle are equally outstanding, each with their own unique backstories and personalities; Dalila being my obvious favourite!
In addition to how fantastically written this story is, Chakraborty has made it so wonderfully inclusive with multiple religions, gay rep and trans rep all flowing seamlessly together in this diverse and exciting read!!
I absolutely loved this and I cannot wait for the next instalment in the series to see where Amina’s adventures take her next!!
I fucking loved it. You need to read this. It’s amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Slavery and Death of parent
Minor: War
bookishbrenbren's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.75
FOR THE PUBLISHERS: WHY NOT MAKE THIS A 5-BOOK SERIES THOUGH???? OR MORE? OR MORE!
FOR THE READERS: LISTEN UP BOOK HOTTIES: PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER
Amina al-Sirafi is a hot mom whose biggest concern is completing home repairs before the rainy season, she is definitely not-a-pirate and definitely does-not-miss-the-wind-in-her-hair, furthermore, she has no idea where those rumors about a trail of ex husbands and teeth sharpened to points and mysterious robberies-cum-poisonings came from. When she is mercilessly dragged/bribed/blackmailed into un-retiring from her illustrious career on the high sees to save a kidnapped teen, she must reassemble her wayward but lovable crew (to the tune of Thin Lizzy's The Boys are Back in Town) and steal back the young heiress despite having little to no clues about where she and her kidnapper - a European crusader (ugh, gross) would-be wizard who is searching for magic powers to rival the gods - might be taking her. Adventure is afoot!
Ok get serious. I loved how much the research the author did about this time period and geographical setting came through in her story-telling. The boats, the trade routes, the cities and their governance, belief systems, wonderful; there are references to famed Islamic explorers, the Banu Sasan, the Crusades, greek fire, and probably a lot of things I didn't catch. The author includes a bibliography and further reading recommendations as well, which I love.
This story has everything: a middle-aged mom MC, pirates from every corner of the Arabian Sea, great escapes, swindles, evil magic, good? magic, magical creatures, semi-divine beings, a treasure hunt, sword fights, maps, A CAT - need I go on?! But really, the book did not feel overwhelmed by this, it felt each new piece fit naturally into the story.
I love the character of Amina - she is a mom, yes, and that is most certainly her highest priority - but it is not her only identity. She has loves and hopes and passions beyond what she can provide for her daughter, and although she can sometimes feel ashamed when they compete with her daughter for her attention and effort, she does not deny that they are a part of her. She is finding a way to be both things. I LOVE THAT FOR HER. I LOVE THAT FOR US, GIVE US MOMS WHO ARE ALSO PIRATES!!!! I also love that the story is told in her irreverent voice, her side commentary and sarcasm made me cackle multiple times while reading. The other characters are also great - we get depth in such short passages, few lines of dialogue are given to her compatriots but they still feel like they jump off the page.
I will say there were things I would change - I don't know that the "contemporaneous historical documents" that were included at the beginning of each chapter in the first half of the book were really necessary. Especially in combination with the narration of the book as an interview or recorded tale; that is, I think just one of those things could've been done, using both took me out of the story often and I think, made the story slower. Noticeably, this drops off in the second half of the book and the story speeds up considerably without that extra weight. Along that line, I thought the pacing was a bit off. The entire first half of the book felt slow and cumbersome and I think they don't even really get started on their journey (debatable) until near 40% into the book. At that point I was thinking, ok this is cute, it's cool, they had some fun hijinks, but it's slow and I don't feel the excitement of reading a fantasy novel. BUT - very important - I ate my words. The story picks up and takes off VERY quickly after 50% - and by the end of the book I was really swept away by the adventure of it all, I wanted to share this story with others.
I really hope you will read it and love it. I really hope (if the author wants) the publisher will give us a book for each talisman (honestly, I would read twenty books of Amina's adventures)(and twenty more of her daughters or grandfather's)(they would look so good on our shelves, don't you think??). I'm so excited to see where the crew goes next (oh I hope they make it to China SO MUCH) and so excited to see Jamal's future with them. I can't wait to get Raksh back in future stories (he's awful but he's so fun too, you know?) and I hope hope hope Amina's daughter will join them. (I don't know why I just feel like she'd love it)(fingers crossed for a stowaway story).
FOR THE READERS: LISTEN UP BOOK HOTTIES: PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER PREORDER
Amina al-Sirafi is a hot mom whose biggest concern is completing home repairs before the rainy season, she is definitely not-a-pirate and definitely does-not-miss-the-wind-in-her-hair, furthermore, she has no idea where those rumors about a trail of ex husbands and teeth sharpened to points and mysterious robberies-cum-poisonings came from. When she is mercilessly dragged/bribed/blackmailed into un-retiring from her illustrious career on the high sees to save a kidnapped teen, she must reassemble her wayward but lovable crew (to the tune of Thin Lizzy's The Boys are Back in Town) and steal back the young heiress despite having little to no clues about where she and her kidnapper - a European crusader (ugh, gross) would-be wizard who is searching for magic powers to rival the gods - might be taking her. Adventure is afoot!
Ok get serious. I loved how much the research the author did about this time period and geographical setting came through in her story-telling. The boats, the trade routes, the cities and their governance, belief systems, wonderful; there are references to famed Islamic explorers, the Banu Sasan, the Crusades, greek fire, and probably a lot of things I didn't catch. The author includes a bibliography and further reading recommendations as well, which I love.
This story has everything: a middle-aged mom MC, pirates from every corner of the Arabian Sea, great escapes, swindles, evil magic, good? magic, magical creatures, semi-divine beings, a treasure hunt, sword fights, maps, A CAT - need I go on?! But really, the book did not feel overwhelmed by this, it felt each new piece fit naturally into the story.
I love the character of Amina - she is a mom, yes, and that is most certainly her highest priority - but it is not her only identity. She has loves and hopes and passions beyond what she can provide for her daughter, and although she can sometimes feel ashamed when they compete with her daughter for her attention and effort, she does not deny that they are a part of her. She is finding a way to be both things. I LOVE THAT FOR HER. I LOVE THAT FOR US, GIVE US MOMS WHO ARE ALSO PIRATES!!!! I also love that the story is told in her irreverent voice, her side commentary and sarcasm made me cackle multiple times while reading. The other characters are also great - we get depth in such short passages, few lines of dialogue are given to her compatriots but they still feel like they jump off the page.
I will say there were things I would change - I don't know that the "contemporaneous historical documents" that were included at the beginning of each chapter in the first half of the book were really necessary. Especially in combination with the narration of the book as an interview or recorded tale; that is, I think just one of those things could've been done, using both took me out of the story often and I think, made the story slower. Noticeably, this drops off in the second half of the book and the story speeds up considerably without that extra weight. Along that line, I thought the pacing was a bit off. The entire first half of the book felt slow and cumbersome and I think they don't even really get started on their journey (debatable) until near 40% into the book. At that point I was thinking, ok this is cute, it's cool, they had some fun hijinks, but it's slow and I don't feel the excitement of reading a fantasy novel. BUT - very important - I ate my words. The story picks up and takes off VERY quickly after 50% - and by the end of the book I was really swept away by the adventure of it all, I wanted to share this story with others.
I really hope you will read it and love it. I really hope (if the author wants) the publisher will give us a book for each talisman (honestly, I would read twenty books of Amina's adventures)(and twenty more of her daughters or grandfather's)(they would look so good on our shelves, don't you think??). I'm so excited to see where the crew goes next (oh I hope they make it to China SO MUCH) and so excited to see Jamal's future with them. I can't wait to get Raksh back in future stories (he's awful but he's so fun too, you know?) and I hope hope hope Amina's daughter will join them. (I don't know why I just feel like she'd love it)(fingers crossed for a stowaway story).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Kidnapping, Alcohol, Classism, Death, War, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Transphobia, Sexual content, Colonisation, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
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