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celery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Transphobia, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Body horror, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Animal death, Slavery, Confinement, Death of parent, Vomit, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Torture, Classism, and Cursing
chrisb913's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Slavery, Transphobia, and Rape
julian7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I only have two complaints about the book. First, I wish we had gotten more of the side characters! I feel like there was so much focus on them in the first part of the story, when Amina was “getting the band back together,” only for them to disappear into the background once Raksh showed up. I enjoyed Raksh, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved to learn more about the other characters, like Tinbu and Majed, who seemed so interesting.
My other complaint is that the first third of the book went by very slowly, and the last two thirds felt much more fast-paced and a little too busy. A medium pacing throughout the whole book would have felt more cohesive.
I’ll probably read the sequels, and I hope we get to learn more about the side characters and Raksh returns eventually. 🤭
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, and Body horror
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, and War
kelsokake's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
She’s successfully done something that many other offers struggle with. She’s managed to provide enough world-building and backstory to make you feel like the story you’re reading is an entire world that belongs to more than just the characters we see on the page without it feeling like a giant info dump. The characters feel real, they feel like they have actual motivations and drives, like they’ve lived actual lives and not like they just popped into existence at the beginning of the story we’re reading.
The writing in this is so engaging. Less than 50 pages in and I was already feeling so enamored by this story and the people in it. Amina and Salima feel like real
The characters, omg the characters. Amina may be one of my favorite main characters that’s ever existed, she’s flawed, tries her best to be a good person, and is so freaking funny. “A little madness goes a long way in convincing men that you might stab them if they step out of line.”
I could go on and on about this book forever. If you weren’t planning on it or you were on the fence about reading it, do it! If it’s on your tbr, make it the next book you read. I loved this so much and can’t wait to read what’s next!
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
thecandiegirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Torture, and Genocide
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Islamophobia
yuripiano's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I think part of why I liked it so much is that while a lot of it is familiar and feel-good, there's a lot that's fresh, interesting, and otherwise inspired. I'm a sucker for the-gang-gets-back-together-again-to-pull-one-last-job, and it's great seeing the characters as real people with actual families and lives and that they're old.
Well. Like. Older than the typical anime protagonist where life ends after high school or whatever - it's a narrative that I've grown more and more disgruntled with, and the fact that Amina is a mother on top of all of this?
It goes against the grain on a lot of expectations, which is also why I really found it fascinating with how much culture is put into it. The interwoven folk tales, the language, the food, the customs, the clothing, and if you were lucky enough to listen to the honestly fantastic audio book, the language is so refreshing and interesting, especially with how Amina fits into it (or doesn't, as is one of the driving themes throughout the book). There's a mix of reverence for tradition, faith, and family juxtaposed with individuality, progressiveness, and staying true to oneself. I really loved Amina's character, and Raksh was also a fun foil that had a surprising amount of depth.
Sadly, I can't say the same for all of the characters - while I said Amina wasn't like the typical anime protagonist, the same couldn't be said for the other characters in my opinion.
Overall, I really liked the book - it was fun and while it had points of familiarity, it featured a world and culture that I don't often get to see represented with so much detail and care put in, and that really set it apart for me.
Edit now that I've sat with it for a while: I think I discounted how much some of the things in this book rather annoyed me by virtue of it being something I just finished. It felt very YA in a lot of places, and it's hard to rate the book as though it's not. The overly cartoonish villain, lack of real consequences, and each character filling a certain niche without really feeling fleshed out (outside of like, Raksh, who was also extremely YA in character) was a bit much. I'd still say overall I liked this book, especially in comparison to some other books I've reviewed here, but I think maybe not quite as much as I had on my initial review of it. The beginning was strong, and the world had potential, but it didn't quite come together for me.
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
relin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Cursing, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Abandonment and Medical content
Minor: Trafficking and Slavery
Religious differencesmeant2breading's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
1. A fierce pirate captain who is sailing the 12th century Indian Ocean and is respected by her crew?! And is a single mom?! Heck yes.
2. Amina Al-Sirafi is an absolute badass.
3. Despite having dark twists throughout, there was comic relief. This book had me laughing out loud at times.
4. Diverse characters, many who are seriously awesome!
5. The main characters are relatable and middle aged.
6. I sincerely LOVED the centrality of friendship in this book. With this in mind, the side characters/her crew were incredibly enjoyable to read about and I was highly invested in their journeys too!
7. I liked way the author weaved elements of the history at that time into the world she built.
8. To get the full pirate experience, I streamed Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack music as I read and it was immersive, really felt part of the adventure.
Yes, ok, the pacing in this book is slightly off and I understand why it is not for everyone, but all of the aforementioned factors more than made up for its flaws for me!
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Gore
bzliz's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Having a main character who is an older woman, highly competent, and a parent who still has their own dreams and goals was such a nice reprieve from young, inexperienced narrators who are always five steps behind the Big Bad but somehow manage to prevail. Amina is a beautifully written character and her supporting cast is equally captivating. They are devoted to her yet not subservient like she’s their only reason for breathing. The villains and the morally ambiguous characters are just as developed and I’m thankful they received the same treatment rather than being caricatures of evil.
I was not ready for the trippy turn around the 70% mark but I loved it. It cemented for me how perfectly this would work if adapted to a TV series. It gave the much needed push to boost Amina to become someone worthy of the tales told about her. It’s also such an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy elements intermingled with historical bureaucracy and religious and political machinations.
Most of the characters ascribe to a faith and it is frequently discussed and referenced. In my opinion, it is never preachy or pushing any kind of agenda on anyone, it is merely as simple as believing. If any religious aspects of a book make you uncomfortable, this is not the book for you. Likewise, there is talk of genocidal crusades, horrific murders and threats of sexual violence. Skip this if you’re sensitive to those topics. For anyone else, I do recommend giving this a try.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual violence, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Classism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Sexism