Reviews

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

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toriwright's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

haleythacker_'s review against another edition

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4.0

Another Tahereh Mafi phenomenon. From her beloved Shatter Me series to this new exciting journey full of tension and romance and prophecies of lost queens, comes: This Woven Kingdom. A beautiful introduction to what will be a five book series.

Alizeh was such an interesting female protagonist. I absolutely loved the fact that she was first introduced as this orphaned servant but underneath all of that was a completely hidden layer of what would become of a strong, resilient, and brave young woman who is indeed a lost queen to her throne. To add to that, she already knew she was a queen! It was definitely a surprise when that was revealed but I thought it added to the complex plot that Tahereh had already woven into place. I’m very intrigued to see how her relationships will befall with both Kamran and Cyrus…

If there is anything I have learned this year, it is that I am such a sucker for the forbidden love trope— with princes! Kamran very much reminded me of Conor from Sword Catcher in a much more calm manner. Both him and Alizeh felt almost like Lin and Conor but in a different font. I really liked the conflict of him not knowing whether or not he could trust either his grandfather, King Zaal, or Alizeh. It is clear that he definitely fell first for her— one of my other absolute favorite things about fictional men written by women by the way. It just made the tension between him and Alizeh all the better to read about. I think now that he will be crowned King of Ardunia, his character will change drastically, especially now that Alizeh is on her way to Tulan with Cyrus…

Speaking of Cyrus, what a way to introduce the mystery southern king. I felt like I was reading Caraval throughout the last one hundred pages of this book to be honest. The magic that he possessed felt so out of no where since magic was rarely spoken of in the book or seen for that matter. The top hat, the being able to take Miss Huda’s voice, etc. It was very much giving Legend. But wait— he has copper red hair and dazzling blue eyes?? Sign me up. I’m so used to reading about fictional male characters with either brown or blonde hair that it caught me entirely off guard. I can already tell that his relationship with Alizeh will be one of enemies to lovers, forced proximity because of his debt to Iblees, and a marriage of convenience. I was surprised that he didn’t end up trying to kill Kamran as well though as he did his grandfather so I wonder what it will be like for the both of them if they ever see each other again…

A love triangle is enough to keep me reading so yes, I have already purchased the next two books in the series. Although this was a really good book, I thought it a little boring at times. It was very focused on the political side of the kingdoms and the society in which these characters lived in and so it took some getting used to but it was definitely worth it in the long run. I just felt like certain scenes were drug out just for fill. It definitely did wonders for the longing of wanting Alizeh and Kamran to be reunited though.

I don’t really have much else to say except that Tahereh is MASTERFUL with her words like this book is so gorgeously written. It made me realize just how much I truly love the work of grammar like I was mesmerized by how beautifully a lot of her paragraphs were like she really knew how to make it feel as if you were in the same time period as these characters. I am so ecstatic to start These Infinite Threads— frightened though, of having to choose between Kamran and Cyrus though…

jerci's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.75

smartinez9's review against another edition

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adventurous funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Wonderful—a conventional premise (down-trodden orphan girl with special secret powers in hiding, led to a prince unaware of his empire's corruption) taken down an unexpected road. Consistently engaging and fun.