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doodeedoda's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Child abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Violence, Murder, Blood, Sexism, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
nadiaherondale's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Although I was a bit lost with the world building at first I definitely enjoyed the story and loved the complexity of all of the characters, Nasir especially, and hus relationship with Altair. Still, the book was hard to read because often times there were chapters I just wasn't able to be interested in the story, and I was expecting this to be a 5 stars when it's just 4/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.25
Tbh…? This was very predictable and did read like a first book :/ some cringey writing highlights (SPOILER WARNING)
‘‘But you’ll be dead and I’ll be… Okht I’ll be alone,’ Lana whispered. Zafira’s eyes burned. ‘It’s what Baba would have wanted.’’ Lol wut?
And
‘Deen’s throat would never bob again.’ Lol wut
‘‘But you’ll be dead and I’ll be… Okht I’ll be alone,’ Lana whispered. Zafira’s eyes burned. ‘It’s what Baba would have wanted.’’ Lol wut?
And
‘Deen’s throat would never bob again.’ Lol wut
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Self harm
phaedruus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Torture, and Child abuse
marvizu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
If starts at slow in the beginning but really picks up towards the middle to the end. Lots of twists that I wasn’t expecting and make me more excited to read the sequel. The emotions felt by the characters were written beautifully you really felt that yearning!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture
bri__'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this book, the chapters are versatile being both long and short and the dual pov was captivating. I was deeply enraptured in the writing style and main relationship of the characters. I will say I did not expect the plot twists and I found the main conflict scene to be very fast paced compared to the build up but other than that I found this to be an entertaining read and im anticipating the pure pain of the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Torture
koistyfishy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.0
Contains slight spoilers*****
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book, it was difficult for me to get into and stay hooked (whilst I love the Middle Eastern influences and the Arabian magic it takes me away from the book when I constantly have to read a glossary to understand the sentence and then reread the sentence for it to make sense)
I found myself skimming some of the very detailed descriptions just to jump to the dialog (where the action was happening most times) and then having to go back to reread as I feel guilty skimming a book.
The start was fast paced and full of excitement and then we went on this journey that just felt like a long narrative of story being told to you, there was very little action and then next moment they are attacked and then it went back to little action…
The ending of this book did pick up back to fast and was a nice change to what I felt was the very slow pace of the middle.
I love the characters and how they have developed through the story. Zafira learning women matter and have a place in society, Nazir’s humility and vulnerability as his feelings for Zafira grow. I don’t feel much for Ben and Kifah but I understand their need in the Zumra… and I absolutely love Altair… his banter and character absolutely made the book for me…
Overall I am jumping directly into book two… now that I know the world a little more I think it will be easier to read and not require as much concentration as this one…
I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book, it was difficult for me to get into and stay hooked (whilst I love the Middle Eastern influences and the Arabian magic it takes me away from the book when I constantly have to read a glossary to understand the sentence and then reread the sentence for it to make sense)
I found myself skimming some of the very detailed descriptions just to jump to the dialog (where the action was happening most times) and then having to go back to reread as I feel guilty skimming a book.
The start was fast paced and full of excitement and then we went on this journey that just felt like a long narrative of story being told to you, there was very little action and then next moment they are attacked and then it went back to little action…
The ending of this book did pick up back to fast and was a nice change to what I felt was the very slow pace of the middle.
I love the characters and how they have developed through the story. Zafira learning women matter and have a place in society, Nazir’s humility and vulnerability as his feelings for Zafira grow. I don’t feel much for Ben and Kifah but I understand their need in the Zumra… and I absolutely love Altair… his banter and character absolutely made the book for me…
Overall I am jumping directly into book two… now that I know the world a little more I think it will be easier to read and not require as much concentration as this one…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Death
yamooz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-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? No
3.5
Okay, I had high expectations from this book but I was let down. I'm not sure whether it's because I'm In a reading slump or something but the book wasn't extraordinary in any way whatsoever. I understand that YA books have repeated tropes but reading this book made me think of Hunger games or it made me think of it after my sister pointed it out to me. While I read this book, I kept on thinking "Have I seen this before somewhere" and "This feels so familiar"
After it was pointed out that the books characters are quite similar to hunger games one's, I got kinda tired of the plot...
There wasn't much connection with the characters, the characters weren't THAT well written, definitely there's room for improvement. I honestly didn't like zafira and Nasir that much. As main characters, one would expect them to be very well written but they just weren't... I couldn't connect to them at all, especially Nasir. Yes he's hot, Yes he's traumatized, He's sad and all but the connection! It just wasn't there. I honestly connected more with Dean ( who had so little screen time in the book) and Altair more than the main leads. Benyamin and kifa( I'm not use if the spelling is correct) weren't that bad but again, hardly any connection. They were badass for sure but what's the point if I don't feel anything towards the characters. While we are at connections, there wasn't much connection and chemistry with the characters too, I honestly didn't feel much chemistry between Nasir and Zafira, it felt... forced? Idk ig I ship them but it didn't feel like they were meant to be...
These are things that I didn't like about the book but it's not all bad.
The language is beautiful, I loved the books settings. Loved the detailed description, I felt like I was In the book, right there with them.The plot twists were great, loved them.
This book wasn't something I read in one sitting, the first half was pretty slow, it could be that I'm in a reading slump, that's why I didn't read it in one sitting but still, the book definitely lacked a few things.It's a book I wouldn't recommend to people who are looking for past paced one.
Over all, the book wasn't bad, just devoid of things... here and there ( does this make sense, lol 😂), I'm still gonna read part 2 of this book though. Much love to faizal, hopefully you improve ❤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Blood
kbairbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book gave me strong high fantasy vibes. I spent the first while confused because so many names, nicknames, words, and languages were thrown at me and although I got more used to it as the book went on even by the end I was still confused. That’s on me I’m sure as the reader but I also didn’t enjoy the romance (either of them) or the characters, or the fight scenes.. I dunno this was a dark high fantasy but I didn’t connect to any of it and the constant pov change and many tiny chapters felt exhausting to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Genocide, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Abandonment, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Child death, Classism, and Misogyny
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Title of review: get the audiobook!
I listened to only the audiobook for the first ~25% and then finished the rest in one day by doing a combo of audiobook + reading a physical copy (the first time I've done that which I did enjoy). That first 25% was pretty slow going only on audiobook, and I definitely made use of the author/book's website to look up the map and the terminology/characters many many times as I was quite confused with what words meant (wish these were in the physical book for easy reference, idk how people get through without it).
The narrators (one for each MC POV) were fantastic - and I definitely think it added to the drama and action/pacing of the latter part of the book. I especially love how the narrator does Altair's voice, it's just perfect and def made him my fav character. The beginning is very slow and not even just because of world building, just like...nothing happens? for a while. Once the quest actually begins the story does pick up and then probably the final half of the book things really get more interesting with the introduction of additional characters, and their interplay/relationships/camaraderie building. By the end I didn't want to put it down, but the ending did feel a bit abrupt. And for that reason I feel like I have to continue reading the series because nothing is resolved at all.
Some romance: enemies to lovers, pretty slow burn (it's YA) 0-1/5 spiceonly a kiss . This is not the main focus of the plot.
I did find the history of the world (the 6 sisters, how magic works) a bit confusing, but I think it's intentionally donesince so much is revealed about who characters are and their relationships as the story progresses.
I likely wouldn't have rated it at 4 stars if I hadn't done the audiobook, but kudos to the publisher for getting great narrators! I'll definitely be doing book 2 on audio also.
I listened to only the audiobook for the first ~25% and then finished the rest in one day by doing a combo of audiobook + reading a physical copy (the first time I've done that which I did enjoy). That first 25% was pretty slow going only on audiobook, and I definitely made use of the author/book's website to look up the map and the terminology/characters many many times as I was quite confused with what words meant (wish these were in the physical book for easy reference, idk how people get through without it).
The narrators (one for each MC POV) were fantastic - and I definitely think it added to the drama and action/pacing of the latter part of the book. I especially love how the narrator does Altair's voice, it's just perfect and def made him my fav character. The beginning is very slow and not even just because of world building, just like...nothing happens? for a while. Once the quest actually begins the story does pick up and then probably the final half of the book things really get more interesting with the introduction of additional characters, and their interplay/relationships/camaraderie building. By the end I didn't want to put it down, but the ending did feel a bit abrupt. And for that reason I feel like I have to continue reading the series because nothing is resolved at all.
Some romance: enemies to lovers, pretty slow burn (it's YA) 0-1/5 spice
I did find the history of the world (the 6 sisters, how magic works) a bit confusing, but I think it's intentionally done
I likely wouldn't have rated it at 4 stars if I hadn't done the audiobook, but kudos to the publisher for getting great narrators! I'll definitely be doing book 2 on audio also.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death and Injury/Injury detail