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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I love when an author incorporates their native language into their writing.
I love the slow burn in thiseven with the death of Deen holding her back on her feelings and his need to self sabotage keeps getting in their way . Good plot twists and the epilogue had me like 🙊
I love the slow burn in this
adventurous
slow-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
Fine and good and enjoyable but not compelling enough to read the second book.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It seems I am a sucker for a “getting the gang together for a mission” theme.
Arawiya is the desert-esque setting for this book where the protagonist Zafira lives with her family. She was raised by her (now dead) father as a hunter for her community. She has to conceal herself and her skill at tracking because she is a girl 🙄 (me: “this again”). The forest (called the Arz) surrounding her home has been cursed to be harsh and cold due to the elimination of the Six Sisters who also took the magic of the realm with them when they died. A witch promises she will be able to restore both the magic and prosperity of her homeland if she can survive the journey to find a book of the Sister’s great historical power. After setting out and leaving behind her dedicated betrothed 🙄, her sister, and her best friend she comes across an assassin who also happens to be the prince to the Calumphate that rules over Arawiya. He and his entourage reluctantly travel with her to find the book they all seek at the promise of the Witch.
While I love fantasy especially with ethnically diverse inspiration I think Faizal struggled here with too many ideas happening to make me care about any of them. I really struggled to connect to the FMC who has the “naive little girl” trope and her prudishness often irritated me. The world has a very well-detailed history themed after Arabian history and folklore but most of the elements seemed to have been added just to remind the reader of this. It almost came off as too forced, and although I believe the author to respect and value the real-world inspiration it wasn’t done as wholeheartedly as I hope and came off as almost performative as to promote certain tropes.
And tropes there were! Tortured Dark Boy, Naive FMC, Chosen One, Heir to the Throne, Enemies to Lovers, Surprise Siblings, Dead Parents…
Basically, it felt like the author had been given the assignment to pen a YA novel inspired by their culture and the cultural elements were just filled into the provided outline.
The writing was…decent which is the only reason my rating is over 3 stars. The descriptions were at least interesting enough to make me force myself past the 🙄 bits. I understand YA romance isn’t my cup of tea but I still appreciate a trope when it’s done well and these just weren’t quite there. Especially with how overly abundant they were I think the opportunity was missed, especially with the side characters, to focus on making one part of the story shine.
Oh! And the pacing…stunk. The entire build-up to the journey dragged on and even the parts I normally love (bonding during travel and fighting baddies on the way) lasted most of the book. Lots of 3rd-act character building and finally some mature conversations/romance but it was too little too late and ended up coming off a bit melodramatic. The end really shone as the best and most tense/interesting part of the book but even though there was reveal after reveal (more tropes:secret brother, daddy’s actually a good guy, side character sacrifice, FMC absorbs the maguffin ) dumping it all at once still didn’t make me want to continue the series.
I know my rating seems too high for how much I’m complaining about the book but it wasn’t that bad. At least there was magic 💕
Arawiya is the desert-esque setting for this book where the protagonist Zafira lives with her family. She was raised by her (now dead) father as a hunter for her community. She has to conceal herself and her skill at tracking because she is a girl 🙄 (me: “this again”). The forest (called the Arz) surrounding her home has been cursed to be harsh and cold due to the elimination of the Six Sisters who also took the magic of the realm with them when they died. A witch promises she will be able to restore both the magic and prosperity of her homeland if she can survive the journey to find a book of the Sister’s great historical power. After setting out and leaving behind her dedicated betrothed 🙄, her sister, and her best friend she comes across an assassin who also happens to be the prince to the Calumphate that rules over Arawiya. He and his entourage reluctantly travel with her to find the book they all seek at the promise of the Witch.
While I love fantasy especially with ethnically diverse inspiration I think Faizal struggled here with too many ideas happening to make me care about any of them. I really struggled to connect to the FMC who has the “naive little girl” trope and her prudishness often irritated me. The world has a very well-detailed history themed after Arabian history and folklore but most of the elements seemed to have been added just to remind the reader of this. It almost came off as too forced, and although I believe the author to respect and value the real-world inspiration it wasn’t done as wholeheartedly as I hope and came off as almost performative as to promote certain tropes.
And tropes there were! Tortured Dark Boy, Naive FMC, Chosen One, Heir to the Throne, Enemies to Lovers, Surprise Siblings, Dead Parents…
Basically, it felt like the author had been given the assignment to pen a YA novel inspired by their culture and the cultural elements were just filled into the provided outline.
The writing was…decent which is the only reason my rating is over 3 stars. The descriptions were at least interesting enough to make me force myself past the 🙄 bits. I understand YA romance isn’t my cup of tea but I still appreciate a trope when it’s done well and these just weren’t quite there. Especially with how overly abundant they were I think the opportunity was missed, especially with the side characters, to focus on making one part of the story shine.
Oh! And the pacing…stunk. The entire build-up to the journey dragged on and even the parts I normally love (bonding during travel and fighting baddies on the way) lasted most of the book. Lots of 3rd-act character building and finally some mature conversations/romance but it was too little too late and ended up coming off a bit melodramatic. The end really shone as the best and most tense/interesting part of the book but even though there was reveal after reveal (more tropes:
I know my rating seems too high for how much I’m complaining about the book but it wasn’t that bad. At least there was magic 💕
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Child death
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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:
Yes
3 stars and a half for me because there are some things in this book that made the story less enjoyable.
Yea no. This is slow and not much is happening for me to stay connected to the story.
adventurous
emotional
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
Writing/ prose was fantastic, especially imagery. Pacing could use some work but amazing for a debut novel. Felt like I learned a lot about middle eastern culture while reading
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I've been in a grumpy slump so that definitely affected my enjoyment, big time. But this book didn't help matters as it was glaringly bland.
At first I was enjoying the fmcs parts and had excitement for the two povs to converge but funnily enough the moment they did coincided with my decreasing interest. I think I've read too much of cut-and-dry romantasy books because I'm able to predict everything. Lines, thoughts, and twists feel like a given at this point. This one didn't differ from the norm.
Plot points that first intrigued me about this book were dropped or handled poorly and don't get me started on the forced relationships. Both our protagonists were dull with minimal history and character. I could not stand to read Nasir's self-loathing for another second. I've read about enough assassins who go 'boo-hoo' to last me a lifetime, thank you.
The biggest part of a book for me are the characters. And what can either build or ruin a character is their relationships with others, whether that be platonic or romantic. I had no idea this was going to be a group of reluctant allies on a journey, which I tend to love that trope even if it can get redundant, but I found myself just staring at the words without really immersing myself anymore. I love to read like I'm watching a movie but I could not for the life of me get absorbed by anything. None of the characters felt real and their banter sounded like it came straight out of a "Romantasy-Banter-Guide." I'm sick of people having to swallow laughter for a group of people they just met that are not funny. Plus they just killed your plot device boyfriend, girl, so maybe don't think any of them are attractive or funny. And sure she had bouts of anger but it all felt, much like all the characters' feelings, shallow.
All in all, I think I went into this with higher expectations than I should have. In its bare-bones it is just a simple romantasy quest book.
At first I was enjoying the fmcs parts and had excitement for the two povs to converge but funnily enough the moment they did coincided with my decreasing interest. I think I've read too much of cut-and-dry romantasy books because I'm able to predict everything. Lines, thoughts, and twists feel like a given at this point. This one didn't differ from the norm.
Plot points that first intrigued me about this book were dropped or handled poorly and don't get me started on the forced relationships. Both our protagonists were dull with minimal history and character. I could not stand to read Nasir's self-loathing for another second. I've read about enough assassins who go 'boo-hoo' to last me a lifetime, thank you.
The biggest part of a book for me are the characters. And what can either build or ruin a character is their relationships with others, whether that be platonic or romantic. I had no idea this was going to be a group of reluctant allies on a journey, which I tend to love that trope even if it can get redundant, but I found myself just staring at the words without really immersing myself anymore. I love to read like I'm watching a movie but I could not for the life of me get absorbed by anything. None of the characters felt real and their banter sounded like it came straight out of a "Romantasy-Banter-Guide." I'm sick of people having to swallow laughter for a group of people they just met that are not funny.
All in all, I think I went into this with higher expectations than I should have. In its bare-bones it is just a simple romantasy quest book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes