Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
So this wasn't a bad story, nor was it that I hated it, but there were times I was completely immersed followed by places where I was completely bored. The characters were reasonably interesting, but I just didn't feel invested in what was happening with them. I enjoyed the Moroccan cultural aspects of the story, especially we don't often see much of it in mainstream books, but there didn't seem to be enough of it. Also, the religious aspects were interesting, but I couldn't see how it related to the plot until much later and at that point, it felt kind of abrupt? It kind of felt like these things were important to the plot, but because of the short length of the book, the connection didn't seem too obvious until it suddenly was. I loved watching Amani and Maram's relationship develop, and am hoping that more will come of it in future books. I also liked the conversations Amani had with Idris, but the "romance" felt kind of forced. I don't often use the word, "instalove" but that's kind of how it felt in this case. There seemed to be more chemistry between Amani and Maram than between Amani and Idris. I enjoyed this introduction to this world enough that I will at least read the second book and hope that I become more invested, but at the same time, I hope that whatever relationships are forged, they develop more naturally, rather than what YA lit demands, lol. Overall, I'd say this was a solid start for a new author.
So this wasn't a bad story, nor was it that I hated it, but there were times I was completely immersed followed by places where I was completely bored. The characters were reasonably interesting, but I just didn't feel invested in what was happening with them. I enjoyed the Moroccan cultural aspects of the story, especially we don't often see much of it in mainstream books, but there didn't seem to be enough of it. Also, the religious aspects were interesting, but I couldn't see how it related to the plot until much later and at that point, it felt kind of abrupt? It kind of felt like these things were important to the plot, but because of the short length of the book, the connection didn't seem too obvious until it suddenly was. I loved watching Amani and Maram's relationship develop, and am hoping that more will come of it in future books. I also liked the conversations Amani had with Idris, but the "romance" felt kind of forced. I don't often use the word, "instalove" but that's kind of how it felt in this case. There seemed to be more chemistry between Amani and Maram than between Amani and Idris. I enjoyed this introduction to this world enough that I will at least read the second book and hope that I become more invested, but at the same time, I hope that whatever relationships are forged, they develop more naturally, rather than what YA lit demands, lol. Overall, I'd say this was a solid start for a new author.
3.5
I really enjoyed a lot of this but I wish there was more evident Sci fi at play. I feel like it could all be taken out and the story would be basically the same
I really enjoyed a lot of this but I wish there was more evident Sci fi at play. I feel like it could all be taken out and the story would be basically the same
This is a tale of high stakes, political intrigue, and rebellion. There is devastation and suffering, but also moments of hope, and, above all, it is compelling. I look forward to the next book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
The writing is beautiful and the world is well-done, but I had a difficult time staying intrigued and invested. Something was missing but I can’t quite figure out what it was.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I really enjoyed this Moroccan-inspired sci fi fantasy tale. Amani was such a good, strong character and I really liked the body double concept. I really also love that this isn't a clear good v. evil - there is good and bad in every person and that really upped the intensity and intrigue. The audiobook was done really well. Really liked the narrator.
I really enjoyed this Moroccan-inspired sci fi fantasy tale. Amani was such a good, strong character and I really liked the body double concept. I really also love that this isn't a clear good v. evil - there is good and bad in every person and that really upped the intensity and intrigue. The audiobook was done really well. Really liked the narrator.
This book is just ok, it was not great or an awesome read. It kinda just dragged alone until it ended. There was nothing significant about this book. I found its political premises boring and felt it could based around the back story of Amani’s family. That would have been better and more interesting. And what’s with the twin thing happening with two different sets of parents and Maram is a mixed race girl, but she can be mistaken as twins with a girl that’s a pure race?! That makes no sense. Even Mathis “the king” the girl’s own father couldn’t tell them alike. The whole “body double thing” had so much potential but fell short of being intriguing with the mixed race thing. Also the book didn’t really have a huge climax or an ending for that fact. It just kinda ended. With nothing big happening. I would not recommend.
Blog post: https://museofnyxmares.wordpress.com/2019/05/19/mirage-mirage-1-by-somaiya-daud/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museofnyxmares/
I had quite high expectations going into this one, as a lot of people that I have a similar book taste with gave it a full five stars. However, this book just didn’t work for me at all, and I really had to push myself to finish reading it. This was definitely one of those times where it felt like there was something going on with me, because everyone else enjoyed it so much, but sadly it just really wasn’t for me. I didn’t form any real connection with the characters or the storyline and it wasn’t that it was badly written, it just wasn’t interesting to me. I’m not even entirely sure what actually happened because I was just that detached from the story, but also partly because nothing actually happened. The characters were literally going from place to place, they would then have some discussions that didn’t really have any substance to them and then they would leave and I would be like, ‘oh we’re leaving already, but nothing happened?’. I probably wouldn’t have taken as much issue with this if it hadn’t of been such a big deal that we were going to these places. But every time they went somewhere there would be a separate page before, with an illustration of the place on it and it’s name and whereabouts, this all created a sense of anticipation that wasn’t met in the chapter itself.
My main issue with this book is that basically throughout it all, I had no idea what was going on! I was honestly so confused the whole way through and quite early on I reached the decision that I wasn’t going to try to understand anymore, but to just try and finish it. I was quite disappointed though, because that first chapter was stunning and blew me away, and so I still think that the author has huge potential and I would probably pick up anything else they write, just maybe not this series. I was just so puzzled, I couldn’t remember which character was who, where the different places were, who the different groups of people were and their histories, therefore, it all just seemed so disjointed to me. It was serious info dump and I couldn’t grasp everything and eventually just gave up, I genuinely couldn’t tell who the different groups of people were and what that meant, or fully get the politics or the general plot. But to be honest I don’t even think that me understanding the politics, titles, places and history would of made a huge difference, because it just wasn’t all that entertaining in general.
The plot for me was so strange, as like I mentioned, the characters would go from place to place and engage in these meetings, but nothing ever really happened and this is what most of the book consisted of. It all just felt extremely scattered to me and didn’t really build up to anything, the ending was just okay to me. The only real place that I saw progression and what made this somewhat good, was the three main characters relationships with each other. Amani’s relationship with Maram was the most interesting thing about this, as we got to see how the dynamics between them changed over time and I liked seeing the development of their relationship. Maram was by far the best and most complex character in this, so it was a joy every time she appeared. Amani’s relationship with Maram’s fiancee, Idris, was just something nice to read about amid all the confusion the rest of the book was giving me. I do have to say that it did fall victim to the infamous Insta love trap, but it was still a sweet romance and there were very many swoon worthy scenes, the writing here was also very beautiful, especially the poetry snippets. The things they gave to each other and the commitments they were willing to make were a bit much, but their relationship really was a saving grace in this. I also really took to Idris’ character and would of loved to see more of him. I’m so upset that I didn’t love this book more as the edition I have is stunning, it’s a diverse novel and because of that stellar first chapter. This just wasn’t a good reading experience for me, but lots of others really loved it, so please don’t write it off, and maybe experience it for yourself.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museofnyxmares/
I had quite high expectations going into this one, as a lot of people that I have a similar book taste with gave it a full five stars. However, this book just didn’t work for me at all, and I really had to push myself to finish reading it. This was definitely one of those times where it felt like there was something going on with me, because everyone else enjoyed it so much, but sadly it just really wasn’t for me. I didn’t form any real connection with the characters or the storyline and it wasn’t that it was badly written, it just wasn’t interesting to me. I’m not even entirely sure what actually happened because I was just that detached from the story, but also partly because nothing actually happened. The characters were literally going from place to place, they would then have some discussions that didn’t really have any substance to them and then they would leave and I would be like, ‘oh we’re leaving already, but nothing happened?’. I probably wouldn’t have taken as much issue with this if it hadn’t of been such a big deal that we were going to these places. But every time they went somewhere there would be a separate page before, with an illustration of the place on it and it’s name and whereabouts, this all created a sense of anticipation that wasn’t met in the chapter itself.
My main issue with this book is that basically throughout it all, I had no idea what was going on! I was honestly so confused the whole way through and quite early on I reached the decision that I wasn’t going to try to understand anymore, but to just try and finish it. I was quite disappointed though, because that first chapter was stunning and blew me away, and so I still think that the author has huge potential and I would probably pick up anything else they write, just maybe not this series. I was just so puzzled, I couldn’t remember which character was who, where the different places were, who the different groups of people were and their histories, therefore, it all just seemed so disjointed to me. It was serious info dump and I couldn’t grasp everything and eventually just gave up, I genuinely couldn’t tell who the different groups of people were and what that meant, or fully get the politics or the general plot. But to be honest I don’t even think that me understanding the politics, titles, places and history would of made a huge difference, because it just wasn’t all that entertaining in general.
The plot for me was so strange, as like I mentioned, the characters would go from place to place and engage in these meetings, but nothing ever really happened and this is what most of the book consisted of. It all just felt extremely scattered to me and didn’t really build up to anything, the ending was just okay to me. The only real place that I saw progression and what made this somewhat good, was the three main characters relationships with each other. Amani’s relationship with Maram was the most interesting thing about this, as we got to see how the dynamics between them changed over time and I liked seeing the development of their relationship. Maram was by far the best and most complex character in this, so it was a joy every time she appeared. Amani’s relationship with Maram’s fiancee, Idris, was just something nice to read about amid all the confusion the rest of the book was giving me. I do have to say that it did fall victim to the infamous Insta love trap, but it was still a sweet romance and there were very many swoon worthy scenes, the writing here was also very beautiful, especially the poetry snippets. The things they gave to each other and the commitments they were willing to make were a bit much, but their relationship really was a saving grace in this. I also really took to Idris’ character and would of loved to see more of him. I’m so upset that I didn’t love this book more as the edition I have is stunning, it’s a diverse novel and because of that stellar first chapter. This just wasn’t a good reading experience for me, but lots of others really loved it, so please don’t write it off, and maybe experience it for yourself.
Hear me out, it’s an incredible concept and an amazing story. The writing was good, the world building and history was very interesting but this took me 3 years to read. Part of it was because I had originally got it from the library and couldn’t finish it before I had to return it. I don’t know why it was such a struggle to get through because once I did I was upset I hadn’t done so earlier. I wouldn’t recommend this book just because I didn’t connect to it for whatever reason but it may be a reread in the future if I can properly get through it because I ended up listening to it as an audiobook and continued to get lost. Overall, great idea and I usually would have loved it but this just didn’t do it for me