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commedesenfants's review against another edition
4.0
The Cover
This cover is really beautiful. I love the silhouettes of the ship and the cities and the whole cover has this Middle Eastern feeling to it, which fits the story perfectly. You'd expect a story like 1001 Nights or Aladdin inside. The font is also really gorgeous and looks a bit like Arabic script.
The Story
Ananna of the Tanarau is a pirate princess who is about to be married to the son of another pirate family. She's not happy with it because she doesn't want to be a sea captain's wife but be a sea captain herself. When she managed to escape her bethrothed, his scorned family sends an assassin after her, only instead of being killed Ananna managed to trigger a curse that affects both her and the assassin, Naji, and which forced them to work together in order to lift the curse.
The Protagonist
Ananna learned all her skills and life lessons from her parents, especially from her father. As a pirate lord's daughter she has to be tough and learned from early on how to defend herself. She's resourceful and smart. You'd think as a pirate she doesn't have any morals but she does, it's only that her morals are more stretchable and applied differently in different situations. This sounds weird, but I really liked that Ananna wasn't so high and mighty about honour and pride. Of course having both these things are good attributes but in some life and death situations, it is better to know when to reatreat instead of staying, keeping your pride and getting killed. As I mentioned Ananna has been trained how to fight from early on and she's good at it, but she also has a more vulnerablel side to her. When she cares about someone, she's willing to protect them and do everything for them.
The Heart Rate
Naji is an assassin and has this dark and strange allure. He's mysterious and hides many secrets. He's not perfect by any means, neither inside nor outside. He has scars on his face but they are much deeper than just seen on the surface. He's calculative but you can see that he's good at heart, despite being an assassin. I know, this sounds like excuses, but there is a reason he became an assassin and he usually doesn't go after young girls and was very reluctant to kill Ananna in the first place. Naji and Ananni slowly got to know each other on their journey to find a cure for the curse and I like how they got closer throught time, nothing was ever rushed and while some might think that the romance was lacking in this book, I like the slow development and anticipation.
The Good
- Middle East: This book takes place in a fictional country that reminded me heavily of Middle Eastern countries. This gave the book a certain atmosphere, like their journey through the desert or the bazaars in the city.
- Pirates: I like that the pirates are organized as a group, the Confederation, they have their own laws and everything. I always joke that I'm just going to quit everything and become either a princess or a pirate. Of course, I know that modern day pirate life (or pirate life in general) is not all that glamourous, but in books and movies it always sounds kinda awesome. Though Ananna did mention the smell of the sailors, I'm not sure I can deal with that. Sadly, there are no parrots in this book but maybe there'll be one in the next one.
- Diversity: As this book is clearly set in a Middle Eastern-like country, the characters are not Caucasian which is a nice change. They are also not stereotyped and not defined by their ethnicity.
The Bad
Something's missing: Do you ever get that feeling, when you only have a few dozen pages left in a book and you just think: "Wait, there are not enough pages left for all the things that should be happening!" I got that feeling with this book. I think the author intends this to be a duology but to me it really reads more like this was part one of a book. Don't get me wrong, the story was engaging and the worldbuilding was good (just enough details to flesh it out but not so much that it stops the flow of the story). I just feel like the story doesn't really have a climax so you're still expecting it by the end but then you realize the book is over. I just feel like the book should've been longer. Of course, with a sequel coming up not all the main issues in the book can be solved but I just expected something more dramatic to happen.
The Rating
★★★★☆
3.8 stars. This was a fast and engaging read. I liked the story and the protagonists and I'm looking forward to where the story will go in the next installment.
This cover is really beautiful. I love the silhouettes of the ship and the cities and the whole cover has this Middle Eastern feeling to it, which fits the story perfectly. You'd expect a story like 1001 Nights or Aladdin inside. The font is also really gorgeous and looks a bit like Arabic script.
The Story
Ananna of the Tanarau is a pirate princess who is about to be married to the son of another pirate family. She's not happy with it because she doesn't want to be a sea captain's wife but be a sea captain herself. When she managed to escape her bethrothed, his scorned family sends an assassin after her, only instead of being killed Ananna managed to trigger a curse that affects both her and the assassin, Naji, and which forced them to work together in order to lift the curse.
The Protagonist
Ananna learned all her skills and life lessons from her parents, especially from her father. As a pirate lord's daughter she has to be tough and learned from early on how to defend herself. She's resourceful and smart. You'd think as a pirate she doesn't have any morals but she does, it's only that her morals are more stretchable and applied differently in different situations. This sounds weird, but I really liked that Ananna wasn't so high and mighty about honour and pride. Of course having both these things are good attributes but in some life and death situations, it is better to know when to reatreat instead of staying, keeping your pride and getting killed. As I mentioned Ananna has been trained how to fight from early on and she's good at it, but she also has a more vulnerablel side to her. When she cares about someone, she's willing to protect them and do everything for them.
The Heart Rate
Naji is an assassin and has this dark and strange allure. He's mysterious and hides many secrets. He's not perfect by any means, neither inside nor outside. He has scars on his face but they are much deeper than just seen on the surface. He's calculative but you can see that he's good at heart, despite being an assassin. I know, this sounds like excuses, but there is a reason he became an assassin and he usually doesn't go after young girls and was very reluctant to kill Ananna in the first place. Naji and Ananni slowly got to know each other on their journey to find a cure for the curse and I like how they got closer throught time, nothing was ever rushed and while some might think that the romance was lacking in this book, I like the slow development and anticipation.
The Good
- Middle East: This book takes place in a fictional country that reminded me heavily of Middle Eastern countries. This gave the book a certain atmosphere, like their journey through the desert or the bazaars in the city.
- Pirates: I like that the pirates are organized as a group, the Confederation, they have their own laws and everything. I always joke that I'm just going to quit everything and become either a princess or a pirate. Of course, I know that modern day pirate life (or pirate life in general) is not all that glamourous, but in books and movies it always sounds kinda awesome. Though Ananna did mention the smell of the sailors, I'm not sure I can deal with that. Sadly, there are no parrots in this book but maybe there'll be one in the next one.
- Diversity: As this book is clearly set in a Middle Eastern-like country, the characters are not Caucasian which is a nice change. They are also not stereotyped and not defined by their ethnicity.
The Bad
Something's missing: Do you ever get that feeling, when you only have a few dozen pages left in a book and you just think: "Wait, there are not enough pages left for all the things that should be happening!" I got that feeling with this book. I think the author intends this to be a duology but to me it really reads more like this was part one of a book. Don't get me wrong, the story was engaging and the worldbuilding was good (just enough details to flesh it out but not so much that it stops the flow of the story). I just feel like the story doesn't really have a climax so you're still expecting it by the end but then you realize the book is over. I just feel like the book should've been longer. Of course, with a sequel coming up not all the main issues in the book can be solved but I just expected something more dramatic to happen.
The Rating
★★★★☆
3.8 stars. This was a fast and engaging read. I liked the story and the protagonists and I'm looking forward to where the story will go in the next installment.
ajyaa's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
The writing style wasn't too great but the plot and characters make up for it.
The writing style wasn't too great but the plot and characters make up for it.
elfbread's review against another edition
4.0
This one has been on my TBR list since 2013 and I’m finally getting around to it. I was really hoping my interests are the same now as they were then so I didn't miss out on a good read.
All in all, I did enjoy this one! The world building is pretty much non-existent but sometimes I don't mind that. Some books can get overwhelmed with world/mythology development, so I don't mind taking a break from that. I found the main characters to be fun to read about and Naji is certainly a sass-ssasin, one of my favorite character tropes. Some of word choice was a little strange ("nothing" instead "anything") but I'm chalking that up to the fact that this was definitely YA and the fact that the main character was 17.
I like this is a YA novel with an interesting plot that doesn't focus on overthrowing a dystopian society or government. I will immediately be starting the sequel.
4.0/5.0 stars
All in all, I did enjoy this one! The world building is pretty much non-existent but sometimes I don't mind that. Some books can get overwhelmed with world/mythology development, so I don't mind taking a break from that. I found the main characters to be fun to read about and Naji is certainly a sass-ssasin, one of my favorite character tropes. Some of word choice was a little strange ("nothing" instead "anything") but I'm chalking that up to the fact that this was definitely YA and the fact that the main character was 17.
I like this is a YA novel with an interesting plot that doesn't focus on overthrowing a dystopian society or government. I will immediately be starting the sequel.
4.0/5.0 stars
baldwinme40's review against another edition
4.0
Great things about this book:
-non-white female protagonist who is not small or skinny or shy or attractive. She is brash, rebellious, angry, and ready to kick some butt, and not in the just-the-right-degree-of-fiery-but-still-flawless way, like she takes it all the way and it's really refreshing and fun to read from her point of view. She's also fearful sometimes and distrustful of others and confident in her abilities. Plus, she's a pirate. I love her a lot okay
- mysterious suffering assassin with a heart of gold who is just the right amount of self-loathing and badass. Exactly what I am looking for 10/10 give me more
- cool magic system! but protag is actually not magical! (by her own estimation, anyway)
- did I mention Pirates !!!!! !!! ! and assassins!!
- honestly I want to learn more about this world, though I can see how worldbuilding would have been irrelevant to the plot at most points
- rival romance of sorts between two characters who are, ironically, trying to get rid of each other which doesn't so much kick off in this book (fine by me but if you're looking for makeouts look elsewhere)
- basically I loved this book. It's easy to read, easy plot to follow, easy to love the characters, suspenseful, magical, just? ? ? all around awesome! I feel like the not-amazing writing and simplicity doesn't really qualify it for 5 stars, it's not the sort that leaves you in awe or feeling like you learned or grew a lot but dangit it's such a fun ride and I'm starting the next one immediately!
-non-white female protagonist who is not small or skinny or shy or attractive. She is brash, rebellious, angry, and ready to kick some butt, and not in the just-the-right-degree-of-fiery-but-still-flawless way, like she takes it all the way and it's really refreshing and fun to read from her point of view. She's also fearful sometimes and distrustful of others and confident in her abilities. Plus, she's a pirate. I love her a lot okay
- mysterious suffering assassin with a heart of gold who is just the right amount of self-loathing and badass. Exactly what I am looking for 10/10 give me more
- cool magic system! but protag is actually not magical! (by her own estimation, anyway)
- did I mention Pirates !!!!! !!! ! and assassins!!
- honestly I want to learn more about this world, though I can see how worldbuilding would have been irrelevant to the plot at most points
- rival romance of sorts between two characters who are, ironically, trying to get rid of each other which doesn't so much kick off in this book (fine by me but if you're looking for makeouts look elsewhere)
- basically I loved this book. It's easy to read, easy plot to follow, easy to love the characters, suspenseful, magical, just? ? ? all around awesome! I feel like the not-amazing writing and simplicity doesn't really qualify it for 5 stars, it's not the sort that leaves you in awe or feeling like you learned or grew a lot but dangit it's such a fun ride and I'm starting the next one immediately!
awandtke's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! Though the language was a little hard to get used to, with words like "ain't". And others. But in the end I absolutely loved this book and a new favorite!
lbarsk's review against another edition
2.0
review forthcoming, it's just late and i finished it today so i want to make sure i mark it as finished!
magikspells's review against another edition
2.0
I can't even really review this cause it's a little boring and not much happening.
renuked's review against another edition
2.0
That was mildly disappointing. I was hoping for...well, better. As a story set in a different world, usually I enjoy the fantasy and magic of another realm. But not really this time. Plus the romance was a failure, and the plot was...bland. It was just boring.
I went into this looking for a quick short read before starting a larger book. And it was a short read, but it was still too long by my standard because it was really uneventful. After our heroine Ananna saves the life of her would be assassin, literally nothing else happens. They just leave to go on a journey to break the curse. And this journey is really slapped together. They cross a desert. The main guy almost dies. They end up at the house of his ex-lover (boo). They end up going on a sea voyage. They end up stranded on some magic islands. Yay....not really. It just took off in random directions, none of it connected and the magic wasn't even that good. Blood magic should be a lot more interesting. Some of the terms and places? They were just tossed in like a salad. The Otherworld? The Mists? The Isles of the Sky? The Confederation? The Order? The Jadorr'a? The Impossible Curse? I need more to back this stuff up! Where is the world-building!
The romance? *shudders* It was awful. Naji is one of the worst male figures I have had the misfortune to meet. He's whiny, self-interested, and cannot see past his own face. He can't even realize the lovely Ananna is in love with him. Instead he remains hung up on his ex, a superficial hag. He was weak, constantly getting sick, having Ananna rescue him. For an intense assassin, I expected someone with a much deeper past. He was constantly negative and kind of nasty and condescending. Well, I hated him.
That brings me to the one redeeming factor. Ananna. She was funny, she was bright and she was smart. She knew what she wanted, and she plans to take it even if she's being dragged along by a whiny, terrible assassin. She wasn't just a great fighter and pirate, she also wanted to learn mathematics and navigation. She wasn't shallow and honestly loves Naji for who he is. If only he wasn't too dense to see it. She might be the only potential reason I read the next book.
So, we have a brilliant main character, but a terribly vague world and an unfortunate male interest. Sigh. This usually doesn't happen. I'll probably give the next book a try in the hopes that we learn a little more and that Naji gets his stuff together. But maybe not, since now we have the utterly cliché 3 Impossible Tasks to complete and an Impossible Curse to break. *yawn*
I went into this looking for a quick short read before starting a larger book. And it was a short read, but it was still too long by my standard because it was really uneventful. After our heroine Ananna saves the life of her would be assassin, literally nothing else happens. They just leave to go on a journey to break the curse. And this journey is really slapped together. They cross a desert. The main guy almost dies. They end up at the house of his ex-lover (boo). They end up going on a sea voyage. They end up stranded on some magic islands. Yay....not really. It just took off in random directions, none of it connected and the magic wasn't even that good. Blood magic should be a lot more interesting. Some of the terms and places? They were just tossed in like a salad. The Otherworld? The Mists? The Isles of the Sky? The Confederation? The Order? The Jadorr'a? The Impossible Curse? I need more to back this stuff up! Where is the world-building!
The romance? *shudders* It was awful. Naji is one of the worst male figures I have had the misfortune to meet. He's whiny, self-interested, and cannot see past his own face. He can't even realize the lovely Ananna is in love with him. Instead he remains hung up on his ex, a superficial hag. He was weak, constantly getting sick, having Ananna rescue him. For an intense assassin, I expected someone with a much deeper past. He was constantly negative and kind of nasty and condescending. Well, I hated him.
That brings me to the one redeeming factor. Ananna. She was funny, she was bright and she was smart. She knew what she wanted, and she plans to take it even if she's being dragged along by a whiny, terrible assassin. She wasn't just a great fighter and pirate, she also wanted to learn mathematics and navigation. She wasn't shallow and honestly loves Naji for who he is. If only he wasn't too dense to see it. She might be the only potential reason I read the next book.
So, we have a brilliant main character, but a terribly vague world and an unfortunate male interest. Sigh. This usually doesn't happen. I'll probably give the next book a try in the hopes that we learn a little more and that Naji gets his stuff together. But maybe not, since now we have the utterly cliché 3 Impossible Tasks to complete and an Impossible Curse to break. *yawn*
mars_aria's review against another edition
2.0
Not as good as I'd expected it to be. The main character, Ananna annoyed me at times. So did Nija. Ananna was too whiny and complained too much to me. There were not as many love scenes as I'd expected. The fact that the romantic part of the story that the summary mentioned did not come about until the very end of the story seemed cheesy, as though it was partly used as a way to keep the story going. I honestly had not expected there to be a second book. There were no 'haughty manticores' as it said on the summary either and I would have liked to have seen some more action packed scenes. That's usually what you expect when you read the word "assassin" on a summary. Basically the summary did not fully lie to me, but it made it sound like the book was better than it was. I didn't like the fact that background about the curse was not told to the reader until toward the end of the story. The whole thing kinda sounded like a disney movie, based on the summary (like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time).
sarahlreadseverything's review against another edition
3.0
Really this is a 2.5, rounded up to 3. I enjoyed the swashbuckling concept (pirates and assasins, who would say no??) and there was some interesting world-building going on. BUT it fell down on almost every other point
- There was no conclusion to the story. None, nada. The blurb you can see above? That literally spoils the entire book. When we reach the end, they have only just discovered that they need to do three impossible tasks. It made me feel rather cheated.
- It relied far to heavily on the mysterious-boy-won't-tell-girl-what's-going-on trope. Sometimes all his mysteriousness made me want to punch Naji. In the face.
- The romance element was almost non-existent.
- The world built was fascinating, but there wasn't enough elaboration. This was partly due to point two above, but even with that there were ignored opportunities for expansion that would have made the story richer
Overall? Great concept, bad execution. I'll be reading the second in the series, but literally just because otherwise it would feel like I'd read half a book
- There was no conclusion to the story. None, nada. The blurb you can see above? That literally spoils the entire book. When we reach the end, they have only just discovered that they need to do three impossible tasks. It made me feel rather cheated.
- It relied far to heavily on the mysterious-boy-won't-tell-girl-what's-going-on trope. Sometimes all his mysteriousness made me want to punch Naji. In the face.
- The romance element was almost non-existent.
Spoiler
He's in love with somebody else. And acts like it- The world built was fascinating, but there wasn't enough elaboration. This was partly due to point two above, but even with that there were ignored opportunities for expansion that would have made the story richer
Overall? Great concept, bad execution. I'll be reading the second in the series, but literally just because otherwise it would feel like I'd read half a book