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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I really want to read the rest of this, but I forgot how much I struggle to get through fantasy books via audio. I’ll most definitely come back to this once I can get my hands on a physical copy.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
An interesting plot shadowed by repetive writing and cliché tropes.
It had great potential but there's a whole part in the middle where nothing happens. All the plot twists were jam-packed at the end of the book and it would have fared better if some were revealed earlier on to keep the book consistently interesting.
I also fear I may not be the target audience for this book so its possible that impacted my reading experience.
The ending was good so I'll be reading (or listening) the second book and I hope it's better ❤️
It had great potential but there's a whole part in the middle where nothing happens. All the plot twists were jam-packed at the end of the book and it would have fared better if some were revealed earlier on to keep the book consistently interesting.
I also fear I may not be the target audience for this book so its possible that impacted my reading experience.
The ending was good so I'll be reading (or listening) the second book and I hope it's better ❤️
DNF at 51% and I am so bummed about this you cannot imagine.
This book (and its sequel, unfortunately) have been sitting on my shelf for a few years, and though I have picked it up a few times before and never got past page 50, I was determined to give it one last chance and blamed my previous failed attempts on external forces that had nothing to do with the book itself.
So. The first part of the book was fantastic. I thought the writing was great, loved the characterisation of our protagonists, liked where the story was going. Truly, up until a third of the book, I was sure I finally understood why so many people loved this series.
Then part two came around, and I have absolutely no clue what happened. It was like a button was switched off, and with it all the love I originally harboured for the writing and the setting and the characters. It was like Zafira’s lost all her unique traits and complex persona the moment she stepped onto that damn island. Nasir and Altair kept repeating the same lines over and over until I was able to predict each and every of their conversations, and I wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing about the other characters that joined them on their quest even if I were being held at gunpoint. The writing somehow became lacklustre, and at no point was I shocked or moved by anything that happened.
I often put books aside when it just doesn’t feel like the right time to be reading them, when I’m distracted and my thoughts are elsewhere, when I know that maybe at a later time I will be able to pick them back up again and enjoy them more. But here I could tell I just wasn’t going to care about anything that might still happen unfortunately, which I’m so unbelievably upset about because I was so sure I would love this :(
This book (and its sequel, unfortunately) have been sitting on my shelf for a few years, and though I have picked it up a few times before and never got past page 50, I was determined to give it one last chance and blamed my previous failed attempts on external forces that had nothing to do with the book itself.
So. The first part of the book was fantastic. I thought the writing was great, loved the characterisation of our protagonists, liked where the story was going. Truly, up until a third of the book, I was sure I finally understood why so many people loved this series.
Then part two came around, and I have absolutely no clue what happened. It was like a button was switched off, and with it all the love I originally harboured for the writing and the setting and the characters. It was like Zafira’s lost all her unique traits and complex persona the moment she stepped onto that damn island. Nasir and Altair kept repeating the same lines over and over until I was able to predict each and every of their conversations, and I wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing about the other characters that joined them on their quest even if I were being held at gunpoint. The writing somehow became lacklustre, and at no point was I shocked or moved by anything that happened.
I often put books aside when it just doesn’t feel like the right time to be reading them, when I’m distracted and my thoughts are elsewhere, when I know that maybe at a later time I will be able to pick them back up again and enjoy them more. But here I could tell I just wasn’t going to care about anything that might still happen unfortunately, which I’m so unbelievably upset about because I was so sure I would love this :(
adventurous
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
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
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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:
No
The vibes and ambiance of this book were immaculate! I LOVE a story set in the Middle East. This book had such a unique magic system and new powers that I haven't seen in any other fantasy book. I enjoyed the character work, the plot, and the world - the only issue I had with this book was that it did feel a little slow and at times did leave me not wanting to pick it up.
I can't focus. I've tried. I've given it all I can. But this book does not want me to understand.
This cast is ginormous, but none of them actually seem to have an incredible amount of relevance. Why does it have to be her and no one else? Because...what, she's got a heart of gold? Cool, cool, whatever. There's no spark or life to these characters. Nothing to cling to. Altair is the only one who is even remotely compelling; the rest are brooding grumps or generic family members or whatever. Don't care. Evil sultan, sick mom, dead dad, glowering assassin who hates getting dirty I guess, don't caare.
I respect Faizal's interest in using a large number of cultural words, but the fact that there isn't a glossary included in the back of the book is a HUGE misstep on the publisher's end: the author included a link to the book website which has a glossary, which indicates there's clearly a need for it. I hate to say that the language feels like a stumbling block, but it does--Faizal does a decent job giving enough context clues, but seriously, glossary, guys.
The writing itself is mostly purple prosey. It's flowery, but trying to hard to be so. It feels like a debut novel. It seems uncomfortable with itself, unsure of what it's trying to get at.
I'm sure the ideas are there, but I can't find them through this thorny tangle of confusing world building and writing choice, and I can't cling to the characters to take me through it because they're basically non entities and tropes, and I hear we have an enemies to lovers trope which is Not my favorite in any case because the tensions never feel right. It just feels uneven and unbalanced and I simply cannot force my attention to hold onto the page. I'm not going to rate it, but I'm not going to finish, either.
I've read a review that says the book starts picking up after the 30% marker, but...like, if you're going to take This long to start getting into it, just to give me a special snowflake character and a stilted romance, I don't feel the slog is going to be worth it. At least, not for me.
This cast is ginormous, but none of them actually seem to have an incredible amount of relevance. Why does it have to be her and no one else? Because...what, she's got a heart of gold? Cool, cool, whatever. There's no spark or life to these characters. Nothing to cling to. Altair is the only one who is even remotely compelling; the rest are brooding grumps or generic family members or whatever. Don't care. Evil sultan, sick mom, dead dad, glowering assassin who hates getting dirty I guess, don't caare.
I respect Faizal's interest in using a large number of cultural words, but the fact that there isn't a glossary included in the back of the book is a HUGE misstep on the publisher's end: the author included a link to the book website which has a glossary, which indicates there's clearly a need for it. I hate to say that the language feels like a stumbling block, but it does--Faizal does a decent job giving enough context clues, but seriously, glossary, guys.
The writing itself is mostly purple prosey. It's flowery, but trying to hard to be so. It feels like a debut novel. It seems uncomfortable with itself, unsure of what it's trying to get at.
I'm sure the ideas are there, but I can't find them through this thorny tangle of confusing world building and writing choice, and I can't cling to the characters to take me through it because they're basically non entities and tropes, and I hear we have an enemies to lovers trope which is Not my favorite in any case because the tensions never feel right. It just feels uneven and unbalanced and I simply cannot force my attention to hold onto the page. I'm not going to rate it, but I'm not going to finish, either.
I've read a review that says the book starts picking up after the 30% marker, but...like, if you're going to take This long to start getting into it, just to give me a special snowflake character and a stilted romance, I don't feel the slog is going to be worth it. At least, not for me.
I really wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I don't know what it is about Faizal's writing style that doesn't quite click for me - the characters were lacklustre, the plot and world-building similarly lacking, and I found I didn't really care about their plight.