You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rating: 1
Status: 42%, Skimmed a bit and then skipped to the end
I did not enjoy this book and only read on to see if there is a shift somewhere because I truly wanted to like this. But I just couldn't. I was very disappointed by a lot.
There were so many things lacking. We had barely any world-building and or character development. The sudden shifts of locations through each chapter made no sense. Some reactions of characters made no sense. I was confused throughout and wondered how nothing of this was picked up during editing.
World-building:
As stated above, we barely had any. For some reason, the author decided to misuse specific Islamic terminology to describe some buildings having certain architectural characteristics ("minarets"). Or added random Arabic words used in the dialogue of characters, which she then translates right after. This begs the question of why there was a need to use those Arabic words at all. ("You have my shukur." At his thanks, the [...]). This is so incredibly redundant and made immersion hard for me.
Characters:
I couldn't stand Nasir at all. While I felt nothing towards Zafira, I just couldn't handle how dramatic Nasir's internal dialogue was. Not to speak about him actively contradicting himself the moment he was introduced to us, but some things just made no sense to me:
- "Monsters bore no duty to the innocent." You are the crown prince, my guy. Your duty is literally serving your people, and you're actively deluding yourself into thinking you have none.
- "Somewhere, children were losing their father. Grandchildren were losing their greatest love." What? What is that even supposed to mean?
- "It used to matter, before. Now it was nothing more than a swipe of his sword. Another felled soul." Why are you lying, though? If it truly didn't matter, then what was all that contemplation throughout the whole chapter for?
Don't get me started on the argument he had with the historian he was assigned to kill. The absolute nerve of this guy to speak about the evilness of treason, when the Sultan is a tyrannical manic that you hate yourself and that you know needs to go?
Other than Nasir, there was this one case of Yasmine arguing with Zafira over her hiding her identity as a woman and Zafira having a responsibility to other women as if Yasmine lives in a completely different world where women are not seen as lesser. Her argument made absolutely no sense to me, and even worse, her reaction right after speaking normally to her was aggressive out of nowhere.
- "Silence, and then Yasmine's voice in a harsh whisper. "What are you waiting for, Zafira?" I don't know, maybe your next words? How is she supposed to read your mind and know that you're finished with your tirade?
Plot:
Besides the weird insta-love and insta-interest between our two main characters, nothing happens in the majority of this book. And when some things did happen, I was so utterly bored.
Conclusion:
I don't have the energy to go further than this, just know that I did not like this book and expected something a bit more polished. Nothing in this worked for me and if it wasn't about the setting, I wouldn't even have skimmed and or skipped to the end. I would have opted to DNF right away.
I don't think I will check out the 2nd book, but I might check out another work of this author. I have "A Tempest of Tea" on my TBR and hope it's better than this one.
Status: 42%, Skimmed a bit and then skipped to the end
I did not enjoy this book and only read on to see if there is a shift somewhere because I truly wanted to like this. But I just couldn't. I was very disappointed by a lot.
There were so many things lacking. We had barely any world-building and or character development. The sudden shifts of locations through each chapter made no sense. Some reactions of characters made no sense. I was confused throughout and wondered how nothing of this was picked up during editing.
World-building:
As stated above, we barely had any. For some reason, the author decided to misuse specific Islamic terminology to describe some buildings having certain architectural characteristics ("minarets"). Or added random Arabic words used in the dialogue of characters, which she then translates right after. This begs the question of why there was a need to use those Arabic words at all. ("You have my shukur." At his thanks, the [...]). This is so incredibly redundant and made immersion hard for me.
Characters:
I couldn't stand Nasir at all. While I felt nothing towards Zafira, I just couldn't handle how dramatic Nasir's internal dialogue was. Not to speak about him actively contradicting himself the moment he was introduced to us, but some things just made no sense to me:
- "Monsters bore no duty to the innocent." You are the crown prince, my guy. Your duty is literally serving your people, and you're actively deluding yourself into thinking you have none.
- "Somewhere, children were losing their father. Grandchildren were losing their greatest love." What? What is that even supposed to mean?
- "It used to matter, before. Now it was nothing more than a swipe of his sword. Another felled soul." Why are you lying, though? If it truly didn't matter, then what was all that contemplation throughout the whole chapter for?
Don't get me started on the argument he had with the historian he was assigned to kill. The absolute nerve of this guy to speak about the evilness of treason, when the Sultan is a tyrannical manic that you hate yourself and that you know needs to go?
Other than Nasir, there was this one case of Yasmine arguing with Zafira over her hiding her identity as a woman and Zafira having a responsibility to other women as if Yasmine lives in a completely different world where women are not seen as lesser. Her argument made absolutely no sense to me, and even worse, her reaction right after speaking normally to her was aggressive out of nowhere.
- "Silence, and then Yasmine's voice in a harsh whisper. "What are you waiting for, Zafira?" I don't know, maybe your next words? How is she supposed to read your mind and know that you're finished with your tirade?
Plot:
Besides the weird insta-love and insta-interest between our two main characters, nothing happens in the majority of this book. And when some things did happen, I was so utterly bored.
Conclusion:
I don't have the energy to go further than this, just know that I did not like this book and expected something a bit more polished. Nothing in this worked for me and if it wasn't about the setting, I wouldn't even have skimmed and or skipped to the end. I would have opted to DNF right away.
I don't think I will check out the 2nd book, but I might check out another work of this author. I have "A Tempest of Tea" on my TBR and hope it's better than this one.
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
DNF 70% I just didn’t care anymore and couldn’t keep trying to push through
This book is set in a Middle Eastern inspired fantasy world. We follow two perspectives. Zafira masquerades as a man to be the famed Hunter, the only person who can enter the dark forest called the Arz and return safely. She does so to hunt and provide for her family and community. The other perspective is Nasir, the prince of the lands and assassin to the sultan. There paths cross when they are sent on a mission to retrieve the Arawat, a book that will supposedly return magic to their lands, but is hidden on a dangerous island called Sharr.
I really enjoyed the set-up of the book: the world, the magic, the plot. However, the execution and development (plotwise-and character-wise) was lacking. The majority of the book was filled with beautifully written scenes and descriptions, though not much occurred until the last act of the book; the pace was very slow. For such a seemingly expansive world, we are not shown much of it. The magic and magical creatures were not as explored as I would have liked. The character development was lacking, and the relationships felt rushed. The bones of this story were solid, something that will hopefully be expanded upon in the next book, but overall this book was a bit disappointing.
I really enjoyed the set-up of the book: the world, the magic, the plot. However, the execution and development (plotwise-and character-wise) was lacking. The majority of the book was filled with beautifully written scenes and descriptions, though not much occurred until the last act of the book; the pace was very slow. For such a seemingly expansive world, we are not shown much of it. The magic and magical creatures were not as explored as I would have liked. The character development was lacking, and the relationships felt rushed. The bones of this story were solid, something that will hopefully be expanded upon in the next book, but overall this book was a bit disappointing.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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