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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
bishhhhhhhh, this book is the shitttttt
amani and maram slayed during the whole book!!
this book has poc- and lgbtqia+ representation. plus most of the leading power figures are women???? like yes pleaseeeee
idk maybe it's cause i just finished it but im just unable to form full sentences lmao
anywayssssss, READ THIS BOOK PEOPLE!! THIS SERIES IS F-I-R-E!!
amani and maram slayed during the whole book!!
this book has poc- and lgbtqia+ representation. plus most of the leading power figures are women???? like yes pleaseeeee
idk maybe it's cause i just finished it but im just unable to form full sentences lmao
anywayssssss, READ THIS BOOK PEOPLE!! THIS SERIES IS F-I-R-E!!
read on my blog
rep: ownvoices Moroccan-inspired world and characters; lesbian main character and love interest
**I received an ARC from Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
This was the long-awaited sequel to Mirage, which I hadn’t read in a while so I reread in preparation for this book. I liked it even more the second time around and found this story of rebellion against colonialism even more refreshing, so I was particularly excited to read the sequel. Court of Lions takes us back to this lush world amidst a bed of beautiful prose and wonderful characterization.
After revealing her rebel connections, Amani is kept isolated, only to be brought back into Maram’s life for her wedding to Idris. She returns to her duties as Maram’s body double, but she also starts plotting to keep Maram on the throne as the rightful ruler of Andala. Meanwhile, Maram faces her fears of being queen and of being married when she forms a relationship with her mysterious new falconer.
The prose was stunning, as always. It had such a soft tone, which lent beauty to the words. I also thought it was fascinating to include Maram’s chapters, albeit how few of them we have. Being in her head allowed us to see more of her: her doubt, her wanting to be loved and not feared, her desire to be known as someone other than the cruel princess.
The plot was drenched in political intrigue, so much so that I had a little bit of trouble following certain details. It was interesting though, and I liked how everything resolved.
I also liked the characters; it was nice to return to them. Amani is strong-willed and resilient, Maram finds herself anew, and Idris realizes that he doesn’t have to live his life in fear. They all have such compelling dynamics as well. Despite her seeminly traitorous betrayal, Amani really does believe Maram will be a good queen, and she rebuilds her sister-like relationship with her. They put more trust in each other, as well as with Idris.
The romance was as passionate as the first book, but now we have two to follow in this book! Amani and Idris are wonderful, and I loved the growth in their interactions. They do have to face the fact that Idris is technically married to Maram, but I thought this was handled with grace. Anyways, Maram is a lesbian and she has a love interest; their romance was so soft. I loved them, and I loved seeing all of them happy!
I did have a few complaints about this book. First, much like the first book, I found that the romances moved far too quickly. Amani and Idris build up their relationship more here, but I thought they declared their love for each other without much development in the first book. Similarly, Maram and Aghraas have very little build-up before they were suddenly at the “I would do anything for you” stage. Don’t get me wrong, I loved both of these relationships and thought there was attraction between them, and there’s nothing wrong with falling in love quickly. I just would have preferred a little more build-up.
The other issue was the pacing; Maram only has a few chapters, which was fine because they were more about her personal characterization and didn’t contribute much to the plot. However, the first few of them took place before the contents of this book and then they caught up in the middle, which felt very uneven to me. Also, while I really enjoyed the first and last quarters, I thought the middle half dragged a bit. None of these were big issues and were more to my personal tastes, but I did still really enjoy this book!
Court of Lions was a wondrous sequel that had all the passion and heart of the first book. It was more plot-heavy, full of political intrigue and machinations, but the character development was carefully interspersed, particularly in Maram. Pick up Mirage if you haven’t already because this series is not to be missed!
original review:
this was goodddd but it kinda dragged in the middle
(also! Maram is a lesbian and has a love interest and their romance is so soft)
rep: ownvoices Moroccan-inspired world and characters; lesbian main character and love interest
**I received an ARC from Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
Sacred fire only ever came to the brave and courageous. Hope was given to a person who might reshape the world.
This was the long-awaited sequel to Mirage, which I hadn’t read in a while so I reread in preparation for this book. I liked it even more the second time around and found this story of rebellion against colonialism even more refreshing, so I was particularly excited to read the sequel. Court of Lions takes us back to this lush world amidst a bed of beautiful prose and wonderful characterization.
After revealing her rebel connections, Amani is kept isolated, only to be brought back into Maram’s life for her wedding to Idris. She returns to her duties as Maram’s body double, but she also starts plotting to keep Maram on the throne as the rightful ruler of Andala. Meanwhile, Maram faces her fears of being queen and of being married when she forms a relationship with her mysterious new falconer.
The prose was stunning, as always. It had such a soft tone, which lent beauty to the words. I also thought it was fascinating to include Maram’s chapters, albeit how few of them we have. Being in her head allowed us to see more of her: her doubt, her wanting to be loved and not feared, her desire to be known as someone other than the cruel princess.
The plot was drenched in political intrigue, so much so that I had a little bit of trouble following certain details. It was interesting though, and I liked how everything resolved.
I also liked the characters; it was nice to return to them. Amani is strong-willed and resilient, Maram finds herself anew, and Idris realizes that he doesn’t have to live his life in fear. They all have such compelling dynamics as well. Despite her seeminly traitorous betrayal, Amani really does believe Maram will be a good queen, and she rebuilds her sister-like relationship with her. They put more trust in each other, as well as with Idris.
For some, passion and love are separate, but for you they run parallel along your heart line . . . I think for you, it is impossible to have one without the other.
The romance was as passionate as the first book, but now we have two to follow in this book! Amani and Idris are wonderful, and I loved the growth in their interactions. They do have to face the fact that Idris is technically married to Maram, but I thought this was handled with grace. Anyways, Maram is a lesbian and she has a love interest; their romance was so soft. I loved them, and I loved seeing all of them happy!
I did have a few complaints about this book. First, much like the first book, I found that the romances moved far too quickly. Amani and Idris build up their relationship more here, but I thought they declared their love for each other without much development in the first book. Similarly, Maram and Aghraas have very little build-up before they were suddenly at the “I would do anything for you” stage. Don’t get me wrong, I loved both of these relationships and thought there was attraction between them, and there’s nothing wrong with falling in love quickly. I just would have preferred a little more build-up.
The other issue was the pacing; Maram only has a few chapters, which was fine because they were more about her personal characterization and didn’t contribute much to the plot. However, the first few of them took place before the contents of this book and then they caught up in the middle, which felt very uneven to me. Also, while I really enjoyed the first and last quarters, I thought the middle half dragged a bit. None of these were big issues and were more to my personal tastes, but I did still really enjoy this book!
Court of Lions was a wondrous sequel that had all the passion and heart of the first book. It was more plot-heavy, full of political intrigue and machinations, but the character development was carefully interspersed, particularly in Maram. Pick up Mirage if you haven’t already because this series is not to be missed!
original review:
this was goodddd but it kinda dragged in the middle
(also! Maram is a lesbian and has a love interest and their romance is so soft)
this was okay! i expected there to be a bit more closure but overall it was fun to read. i wish maram and aghraas had a bit more development but otherwise i enjoyed it
Love, love, loved this sequel to Mirage! I already adore Amani, but Maram's character development was definitely my favorite part of this story. This was exactly the space opera I needed to escape the dumpster fire that is 2020. Full of adventure, twists, and revolution, I enjoyed every minute of Court of Lions!
For some reason I was way more into the sequel than I was into the first book. The thing I loved the most is that Somaiya managed to create a full story in only two books. No dragging out, no extra stuff happening just right to the point. The ending was a bit anticlimactic but I really enjoyed it? I'm not much for the action scenes and I was very content with skipping to the end where things actually worked out for all my babies.
Maram's sexuality hit me like a truck, it was not ancticipated whatsoever and made it ten times better. The lgbt theme wasn't in the center whatsoever and it wasn't made into a big deal, it just fit like a piece in a puzzle. It fit Maram perfectly and the angst wasn't around "oh my god I'm gay everything will hate me" but instead it was "oh my god I'm married what do I do". It was a completely lowkey relationship and it genuinely made it ten times better.
The relationships in this book developed much slower than in the first book, which I appreciate since one of my critiques against the first book was the way too fast developing relationships. This time there were other things bubbling under the surface like Marams distrust and insecurities, or Idris' reluctance towards a full blown rebellion that made the relationships more realistic.
All in all this book series had me completely by surprise and I'm so beyond happy I bit through the first few slower chapters of the first book because it's truly written in such a beautiful way and Somaiya has really mastered the skill of balancing a great world building, great characters and a great plot.
Maram's sexuality hit me like a truck, it was not ancticipated whatsoever and made it ten times better. The lgbt theme wasn't in the center whatsoever and it wasn't made into a big deal, it just fit like a piece in a puzzle. It fit Maram perfectly and the angst wasn't around "oh my god I'm gay everything will hate me" but instead it was "oh my god I'm married what do I do". It was a completely lowkey relationship and it genuinely made it ten times better.
The relationships in this book developed much slower than in the first book, which I appreciate since one of my critiques against the first book was the way too fast developing relationships. This time there were other things bubbling under the surface like Marams distrust and insecurities, or Idris' reluctance towards a full blown rebellion that made the relationships more realistic.
All in all this book series had me completely by surprise and I'm so beyond happy I bit through the first few slower chapters of the first book because it's truly written in such a beautiful way and Somaiya has really mastered the skill of balancing a great world building, great characters and a great plot.
Def one of the best duologies I've ever had the pleasure of reading
It must be in the publisher handbook that the sequel to a royalty story - no matter the angle - is about rebellion and revolution. Luckily the gorgeous world and sharp leads from Mirage pull the story through the cliche well, with good character moments, if slightly less than the first book. Enjoyable though!
OMG I wish I could read these books again for the first time.
This book blew my mind away. A great sequel and finale of the Mirage duology.
I love Somaiya Daud's writing, it is beautiful and rich in a seemingly effortless way. I could read her books an entire day long without getting tired because the flow of her books make it so much fun to read.
The character development in this book is amazing. The relationship between Amani and Maram even better than in Mirage. All of the characters in this were well developed and easy to connect to. Out of all the new characters that we were introduced to I liked Aghraas the most, she was so interesting and her mysterious aura was exciting to read about.
The political intrigues and developments were well written and very exciting.
I particularly enjoyed that we got to see even more of this world and it's history.
The ending we received was very satisfactory and very fitting. I'm more than happy about how everything went.
I'm a little sad that this is just a duology, because I want more, I love it so much.
I love Somaiya Daud's writing, it is beautiful and rich in a seemingly effortless way. I could read her books an entire day long without getting tired because the flow of her books make it so much fun to read.
The character development in this book is amazing. The relationship between Amani and Maram even better than in Mirage. All of the characters in this were well developed and easy to connect to. Out of all the new characters that we were introduced to I liked Aghraas the most, she was so interesting and her mysterious aura was exciting to read about.
The political intrigues and developments were well written and very exciting.
I particularly enjoyed that we got to see even more of this world and it's history.
The ending we received was very satisfactory and very fitting. I'm more than happy about how everything went.
I'm a little sad that this is just a duology, because I want more, I love it so much.
Arc provided by NetGalley. All reviews are my own.
While I really enjoyed this sequel and how it all ended, I will say that it definitely suffered from the “middle book syndrome”. All the characters developed and it was fun, but some scenes were VERY dragged out while others happened so fast and had me reading the passages again to make sure I understood it. The beginning was quite slow but it did pick up and ended up being fairly fast paced. I liked the dual POV and hope we can get that again. It was nice being inside some one else’s mind besides Amani. Honestly, I don’t really have much to say about it otherwise.
While I really enjoyed this sequel and how it all ended, I will say that it definitely suffered from the “middle book syndrome”. All the characters developed and it was fun, but some scenes were VERY dragged out while others happened so fast and had me reading the passages again to make sure I understood it. The beginning was quite slow but it did pick up and ended up being fairly fast paced. I liked the dual POV and hope we can get that again. It was nice being inside some one else’s mind besides Amani. Honestly, I don’t really have much to say about it otherwise.