Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

This was a very fun, straightforward adventure tale. It was actually quite a bit more fantasy than I expected, but it was a pleasant development. The author's dedication in her research really pays off in the nearly tangible setting. The characters, having a few years and adventures under their belts, feel more well-rounded and real. Getting flashbacks to their previous adventures was fun, and it's nice to jump straight into a found-family dynamic. The series set-up is straightforward, but still intriguing. I really enjoyed these characters and I look forward to seeing more from them.

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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.0

S.A. Chakraborty's adult debut featuring a bad-ass pirate mom and magical elements? Yes pleaseeeeeeee. I loved this so much. Makes me want to re-read the Daevabad trilogy immediately.

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drlove2018's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.75

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haylzno's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny tense fast-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

5.0

The easiest 5 starts I've ever given!

This is peak pirate fantasy - filled to the brim with adventure, mystical and celestial beings, found family, and raging sarcasm.

This will easily be a top 5 read for 2023

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.5

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is a book that does that rare thing - it lives up to the promise of its title. And then some.

*slow claps for Shannon Chakraborty*

Seriously, where do I begin with how good this was? It brings together superb character development (and diverse characters!), well-paced action scenes with a real sense of danger, impressive historical detail (with a bibliography to back it up!), and interestingly incorporated fantasy. Oh, and it's a trilogy, so there's more of the same to come (hopefully).

The title character, Amina, practically leaps off the page. She's incredibly complex and defies stereotypes. She doesn't suffer fools (and anyone who thinks she cannot be a pirate captain because of her gender) and has a fierce instinct to protect those she loves, including her beloved only child, daughter Marjana.

I also thought that the villain was realistically and compellingly written.

I can't wait to see what Chakraborty has in store for us next.

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boglord's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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

5.0

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I wanted to love it, I really did. I think I gave every book in the Daevabad trilogy a minimum of 4 stars. This one just didn't work for me.

I think part of that was the marketing? I remember seeing so much about it being a pirate book, a seafaring adventure. I felt like we really didn't get that until about... well past halfway. The beginning of the book is incredibly slow. I still don't understand the point of the opening scene to the story, and the first half is basically picking up their crew around different areas and gathering information. There are moments of adventure or these events that happen - but they didn't pull me in or have me stressed for the characters.

I think that was the big thing for me. I didn't feel like the characters were well developed and I think that was due to the format of the storytelling. Since it's Amina telling her story to a scribe, I feel like we never actually get to truly know her character. And the random interjections where she replies to the scribe - who remains off page through the main story - completely pulled me out of the story with a jarring effect.
Everything is tell, not show. Which is evident by the very many long descriptions. So. Many. Descriptions. Don't get me wrong, I love details. But I found myself skimming because I truly didn't care about all of the tiny details in this random library that had nothing to do with the story. Anyways, I did like the side characters, but even they felt underdeveloped.

I will say that there were some unique elements and Chakraborty does have good writing. The ending was also done really well - it was great to have a character from the Daevabad world show up, and the reveal at the end was well done! I'm glad I didn't DNF it, but I'm still not sure if I'd continue with the series.

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itisnatal's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

4.75

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