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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
J'ai rien compris, ce nétait pas pour moi. J'ai laissé tomber très vite
THE PROLOGUE??? Its one of my favorite things and I've read it at least 3000 times while being in the middle of the book!!
I really really love amani so much, as well as maram my heart really went
I really really love amani so much, as well as maram my heart really went
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book; all opinions and thoughts are my own.*
What to say about this book...
Well, I guess my major feeling, what I think of first when I think of this book is: I don't think much happened. It is unfortunate that I think this book feels like a prequel or set up for the rest of the story. Now, this isn't to say nothing happens-- there are a few keep plot points... which I'm sure the next book will bring up. It just seems like there isn't much conflict and for someone being a body double of a princess who is being targeted, there should have more of a worried feeling to it.
I suppose I'm a bit tired of the first book in series not being able to stand on its own.
Yet, I was entertained while reading this. I didn't continue to look at the clock-- I was waiting for more. This is an interesting concept, with vast characters to pull upon to give the book more oomph. I'm hoping that the next book will have more of the characters I'm interested in: Maram, the rebel leader, Amani's brothers, and a few more.
I wasn't a huge fan on Amani... I would have liked something more... I don't know it felt like something was missing to me. She has a lot of potential, like Idris, but sometimes they felt smoothed over -- not much conflict so they didn't have chances to shine. Also, their romance felt like it happened so, so quick. especially how deep they fell for each other.
But, the setting and world-building, I think, were done well. There is Moroccan rep here which is something I've never seen or read about before. I didn't always remember the sci-fi elements when there wasn't space travel-- this is an interesting mix of a futuristic setting while having a ton of historic feel.
So, will I read the next one? Most likely. I'm interested enough in the story and want to see some things really start to move. I'd recommend this if you like slight sci-fi and don't mind a slow start to a series to really get you involved in the world.
What to say about this book...
Well, I guess my major feeling, what I think of first when I think of this book is: I don't think much happened. It is unfortunate that I think this book feels like a prequel or set up for the rest of the story. Now, this isn't to say nothing happens-- there are a few keep plot points... which I'm sure the next book will bring up. It just seems like there isn't much conflict and for someone being a body double of a princess who is being targeted, there should have more of a worried feeling to it.
I suppose I'm a bit tired of the first book in series not being able to stand on its own.
Yet, I was entertained while reading this. I didn't continue to look at the clock-- I was waiting for more. This is an interesting concept, with vast characters to pull upon to give the book more oomph. I'm hoping that the next book will have more of the characters I'm interested in: Maram, the rebel leader, Amani's brothers, and a few more.
I wasn't a huge fan on Amani... I would have liked something more... I don't know it felt like something was missing to me. She has a lot of potential, like Idris, but sometimes they felt smoothed over -- not much conflict so they didn't have chances to shine. Also, their romance felt like it happened so, so quick. especially how deep they fell for each other.
But, the setting and world-building, I think, were done well. There is Moroccan rep here which is something I've never seen or read about before. I didn't always remember the sci-fi elements when there wasn't space travel-- this is an interesting mix of a futuristic setting while having a ton of historic feel.
So, will I read the next one? Most likely. I'm interested enough in the story and want to see some things really start to move. I'd recommend this if you like slight sci-fi and don't mind a slow start to a series to really get you involved in the world.
Not gonna lie, my thoughts for this book are...not positive. Which sucks because I really wanted to like it - the premise is amazing, I have an exclusive edition signed by the author that came in my monthly FairyLoot box so it's all special, it claimed to be sci-fi. And then it was just pbtbtbtbt (that's a blowing raspberry noise, FYI).
Why? For so many reasons. How to even BEGIN...
To start with, the writing was on a level of boring and unskilled that had me wanting to tear my eyes out within the first 28 pages, and it affected everything else within the story. I would say that around 70% of this 300+ page book was entirely descriptions of setting/surroundings. And yet somehow, the setting managed to be boring. It didn't help that Daud seemed to be following some kind of formula with her descriptions and never strayed from it ever. Sentence structure? What is???
I'm gonna quote a fairly lengthy part of the book here, and I'm going to bold the problem so that nobody misses it. For the record, literally every single description was structured like this.
"The Dihyaan temple was austere when compared to the rest of Ouzdad. Its entrance was an archway carved with script from the Book, borne up by two simple white pillars. The courtyard was laid with simple gray and green marble tiles with a single stone fountain at its center, and ringed with benches and reed mats. It was lined on three sides by corridors, whose white columns were capped with a dark wood. The roof tiles were a bright, cheery green and stood out even in the murky dawn light. It was a legendary structure. Half its walls had been hauled from the wreck of an ancient civil war and to the moon's surface.
There were no icons here, no murals depicting our leaders or followers. The walls and pillars were carved with old script, verses from our Book, reminders of Dihya and peace and faith..."
Sometimes it's okay to use "was". It really is. But not in every single feckin' sentence. This shit would often go on for several paragraphs, never showing any variation in structure or attempts to show instead of tell. I know that it's hard to show physical descriptions instead of telling, but like...was there any effort at all? The problem with having a good plot is that you need a good writing style to pull it off, and boy oh boy did the writing style fail this book in my opinion.
Not to mention the fact that that second paragraph there is repeating what was already said in the previous one. There's script from a holy book carved into some of the structures here, I got it the first time. Also worth nothing that any time Daud is talking about this stuff (which is a lot), she always describes it as "script" being "carved into" things. Got real tired of that real fast. It also made me notice when "carved" was misspelled on page 221. I prefer to automatically correct typos instead of noticing them so obviously.
She also uses "My gaze scanned the room" in the first few chapters, and I just don't have the right words to describe how that makes me feel right now. Not good is the basics.
Then there was poetry about 100 pages from the finishing line. Poetry that Idris (love interest) had and gave to Amani (main character). Poetry that Idris was given by his mother, who'd originally given it to Idris' dad. "Take root in me and plough me" was a phrase included in this poetry that a mother gave to her son. Let's just ignore that for a second and focus on the sexual metaphor here. Or not, because it makes me a bit hysterical.
Amani as a main character was just...blah. There was honestly so little life to her which, combined with the writing style, made the book nigh on unbearable to read. Her romance with Idris: quite unemotional. It just seemed to be happening to her. Like it wasn't even a big deal. Attempts were made to make it a big deal, but they fell so flat. Idris, her love interest, was okay. His backstory is tragic, he was soft and strong and dark and handsome. Pretty generic overall, I'd say. Not a lot of life to him either, but definitely more than Amani.
In the start of the book, Amani makes a big show of telling us that she behaves and obeys under this tyrannical rule because she understands explicitly how dangerous and foolish it is to rebel. She makes it clear to us that she would never go against orders ever because she 100% knows and is afraid of the consequences. Yet as soon as these robots come to collect her, she flips out (for some reason, she was actually pretty calm initially), causes such a scene and a ruckus, that she gets her best friend killed. Like, did she just forget what would happen if she acted out? This character isn't selfish. If there's one strong quality about her, it's how selfless she is. So it's not like she thought "no way am I going with these bitches, I'm out of here and feck the rest of you". Maybe she just panicked? But like...why? She was fine two seconds ago. It makes no seeeeense.
Speaking of things that make no sense, the BFF dying... What was that all about? I might argue that it happened for plot convenience, but honestly, I don't even remember hearing about this BFF in the chapters that preceded her death, and after it happens it's scarcely mentioned again. So for what purpose was this character killed? To make me feel more sympathy for Amani? It didn't work, in that case, because I didn't care about Amani at that point and I certainly didn't care for her supposed BFF who only just showed up three pages ago. Shock factor? To prove these guys aren't messing around? The first two chapters already did a pretty good job of getting that point across.
I think I remember something in there about how she might not actually be dead, but boy, if that whole thing happened just to set up the BFF coming back in a future book either as part of the rebellion or doing something else illegal, I will be MAD. Not that I'm planning on reading sequels to this, but stranger things have happened.
The plot went as predictably as expected. The book ended how I thought it would end, Amani's romance with Idris was exactly how I thought it would go, the whole inclusion of the rebellion was nothing special or groundbreaking.
All in all, this book read like an unedited first draft, written by someone who knows how to spell and Grammar Good, but has no idea how to ensnare a reader with words. The foundations were there. The plot should have been interesting and exciting. But it just...wasn't.
The only thing - the only thing - I liked about the whole thing was evil Princess Maram. Because she was the most complex thing in all 300+ pages. She was characterised well, she was dynamic and not two-dimensional, she had real reasons for her behaviour. She was the only character in the whole book I felt anything for besides apathy and mild dislike. Yet somehow, the story paints her only as someone to feel sorry for. Someone who might be redeemable, but really, you should just pity her. Only reason I didn't simply feel sorry for her is because I know how to spot a well-written character. Or at least a character I find worth caring about.
I'm so disappointed in this book and the fact that I didn't like it. It's not even like my expectations were too high and that's why I wound up sour. The book is just genuinely like that.
Welp. It looks pretty on the shelf, if anything.
Why? For so many reasons. How to even BEGIN...
To start with, the writing was on a level of boring and unskilled that had me wanting to tear my eyes out within the first 28 pages, and it affected everything else within the story. I would say that around 70% of this 300+ page book was entirely descriptions of setting/surroundings. And yet somehow, the setting managed to be boring. It didn't help that Daud seemed to be following some kind of formula with her descriptions and never strayed from it ever. Sentence structure? What is???
I'm gonna quote a fairly lengthy part of the book here, and I'm going to bold the problem so that nobody misses it. For the record, literally every single description was structured like this.
"The Dihyaan temple was austere when compared to the rest of Ouzdad. Its entrance was an archway carved with script from the Book, borne up by two simple white pillars. The courtyard was laid with simple gray and green marble tiles with a single stone fountain at its center, and ringed with benches and reed mats. It was lined on three sides by corridors, whose white columns were capped with a dark wood. The roof tiles were a bright, cheery green and stood out even in the murky dawn light. It was a legendary structure. Half its walls had been hauled from the wreck of an ancient civil war and to the moon's surface.
There were no icons here, no murals depicting our leaders or followers. The walls and pillars were carved with old script, verses from our Book, reminders of Dihya and peace and faith..."
Sometimes it's okay to use "was". It really is. But not in every single feckin' sentence. This shit would often go on for several paragraphs, never showing any variation in structure or attempts to show instead of tell. I know that it's hard to show physical descriptions instead of telling, but like...was there any effort at all? The problem with having a good plot is that you need a good writing style to pull it off, and boy oh boy did the writing style fail this book in my opinion.
Not to mention the fact that that second paragraph there is repeating what was already said in the previous one. There's script from a holy book carved into some of the structures here, I got it the first time. Also worth nothing that any time Daud is talking about this stuff (which is a lot), she always describes it as "script" being "carved into" things. Got real tired of that real fast. It also made me notice when "carved" was misspelled on page 221. I prefer to automatically correct typos instead of noticing them so obviously.
She also uses "My gaze scanned the room" in the first few chapters, and I just don't have the right words to describe how that makes me feel right now. Not good is the basics.
Then there was poetry about 100 pages from the finishing line. Poetry that Idris (love interest) had and gave to Amani (main character). Poetry that Idris was given by his mother, who'd originally given it to Idris' dad. "Take root in me and plough me" was a phrase included in this poetry that a mother gave to her son. Let's just ignore that for a second and focus on the sexual metaphor here. Or not, because it makes me a bit hysterical.
Amani as a main character was just...blah. There was honestly so little life to her which, combined with the writing style, made the book nigh on unbearable to read. Her romance with Idris: quite unemotional. It just seemed to be happening to her. Like it wasn't even a big deal. Attempts were made to make it a big deal, but they fell so flat. Idris, her love interest, was okay. His backstory is tragic, he was soft and strong and dark and handsome. Pretty generic overall, I'd say. Not a lot of life to him either, but definitely more than Amani.
In the start of the book, Amani makes a big show of telling us that she behaves and obeys under this tyrannical rule because she understands explicitly how dangerous and foolish it is to rebel. She makes it clear to us that she would never go against orders ever because she 100% knows and is afraid of the consequences. Yet as soon as these robots come to collect her, she flips out (for some reason, she was actually pretty calm initially), causes such a scene and a ruckus, that she gets her best friend killed. Like, did she just forget what would happen if she acted out? This character isn't selfish. If there's one strong quality about her, it's how selfless she is. So it's not like she thought "no way am I going with these bitches, I'm out of here and feck the rest of you". Maybe she just panicked? But like...why? She was fine two seconds ago. It makes no seeeeense.
Speaking of things that make no sense, the BFF dying... What was that all about? I might argue that it happened for plot convenience, but honestly, I don't even remember hearing about this BFF in the chapters that preceded her death, and after it happens it's scarcely mentioned again. So for what purpose was this character killed? To make me feel more sympathy for Amani? It didn't work, in that case, because I didn't care about Amani at that point and I certainly didn't care for her supposed BFF who only just showed up three pages ago. Shock factor? To prove these guys aren't messing around? The first two chapters already did a pretty good job of getting that point across.
I think I remember something in there about how she might not actually be dead, but boy, if that whole thing happened just to set up the BFF coming back in a future book either as part of the rebellion or doing something else illegal, I will be MAD. Not that I'm planning on reading sequels to this, but stranger things have happened.
The plot went as predictably as expected. The book ended how I thought it would end, Amani's romance with Idris was exactly how I thought it would go, the whole inclusion of the rebellion was nothing special or groundbreaking.
All in all, this book read like an unedited first draft, written by someone who knows how to spell and Grammar Good, but has no idea how to ensnare a reader with words. The foundations were there. The plot should have been interesting and exciting. But it just...wasn't.
The only thing - the only thing - I liked about the whole thing was evil Princess Maram. Because she was the most complex thing in all 300+ pages. She was characterised well, she was dynamic and not two-dimensional, she had real reasons for her behaviour. She was the only character in the whole book I felt anything for besides apathy and mild dislike. Yet somehow, the story paints her only as someone to feel sorry for. Someone who might be redeemable, but really, you should just pity her. Only reason I didn't simply feel sorry for her is because I know how to spot a well-written character. Or at least a character I find worth caring about.
I'm so disappointed in this book and the fact that I didn't like it. It's not even like my expectations were too high and that's why I wound up sour. The book is just genuinely like that.
Welp. It looks pretty on the shelf, if anything.
Mirage was a Moroccan and Amazigh (who are the indigenous people of North Africa) inspired sci-fi (with the feel of a fantasy) and it was quite literally the book of my dreams. I don't think words can convey how much this book means to me but I'll give it a go!
Content Warnings: violence, physical abuse, torture, themes of colonialism
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
I'm half Moroccan Amazigh and reading a book so interwoven with Moroccan and Amazighi culture and history meant the world. From aspects like the food (all the food descriptions made me so hungry!), language, clothes and traditions to more subtle cultural nuances, I've never read a book where I felt so seen! There was a specific scene, where one character taught another to cook miloui (a type of Moroccan flatbread), which I could directly relate to because I remembered when my mum taught me to cook it myself!
Mirage explored colonialism, cultural appropriation and erasure, themes that are relevant today and have been throughout history not just in Morocco but all over the world. I loved how poetry was an important motif as a method of resistance and rebellion. Also, there was a religion (that felt slightly reminiscent of Islam) in the book that revolved around a deity called Dihya and historically, Dihya was an Amazigh warrior queen who for many symbolises anti-colonialism and feminism.
The book is set on a planet called Andala (and its two terraformed moons called Cadiz and Gibra) which had been conquered by an empire from another planet called the Vathek, at the time the book is set Andalans had been suffering under their brutal rule for years. Amani was an eighteen-year-old Kushaila girl (Kushaila were the oldest tribe group on Andala) kidnapped from her village on Cadiz to be Princess Maram's body double at public events as they looked pretty much exactly the same. She was thrust into a completely unfamiliar world that was dazzling on the surface but sinister beneath where she had to navigate court intrigue and politics and weather violence and slavery.
I loved Amani as she was so strong in the face of adversity. Her identity, agency and future dreams were stolen from her but she survived, she adapted to her situation and made a place for herself. Gradually, she built up the courage and resilience to channel her anger at the injustices her people endured into action. I also loved how she was smart, soft and kind with immense loyalty for her loved ones and her people and a passion for poetry, throughout the book I was rooting for her. I also adored her forbidden romance with Idris. I don't usually like insta-love romances but theirs was so emotive and poignant without becoming the main focus of the book.
Maram was one of the most interesting characters I've ever read about. Her father, the king, was Vathek and her mother was Kushaila. All her life she had been taught to hate her mother's legacy and people while also being disdained by the Vath for her Kushaila blood. There was nowhere she truly belonged and was accepted as she was. She channeled the turmoil inside her through being cruel so no one would think her weak or see her pain. Gradually, as Amani befriends her and starts to understand her the reader does too. We see her vulnerability, grief and helplessness and instead of a cruel princess we see a boat lost at sea in need of a lighthouse to guide its way home. Maram and Amani's sisterly friendship was beautifully done.
The sci-fi aspect of the book was a bit confusing as the boundaries of their technology weren't established and at times it felt more like a fantasy novel. But this is a very minor observation as it had no impact on my enjoyment or love for the book.
Mirage was a brilliant novel with powerful, uncompromising writing and strong female characters that I love with all my heart. If you haven't read it yet... what are you waiting for?
Thank you to Flatiron Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Content Warnings: violence, physical abuse, torture, themes of colonialism
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
I'm half Moroccan Amazigh and reading a book so interwoven with Moroccan and Amazighi culture and history meant the world. From aspects like the food (all the food descriptions made me so hungry!), language, clothes and traditions to more subtle cultural nuances, I've never read a book where I felt so seen! There was a specific scene, where one character taught another to cook miloui (a type of Moroccan flatbread), which I could directly relate to because I remembered when my mum taught me to cook it myself!
Mirage explored colonialism, cultural appropriation and erasure, themes that are relevant today and have been throughout history not just in Morocco but all over the world. I loved how poetry was an important motif as a method of resistance and rebellion. Also, there was a religion (that felt slightly reminiscent of Islam) in the book that revolved around a deity called Dihya and historically, Dihya was an Amazigh warrior queen who for many symbolises anti-colonialism and feminism.
"Even your happiness is rebellion."
The book is set on a planet called Andala (and its two terraformed moons called Cadiz and Gibra) which had been conquered by an empire from another planet called the Vathek, at the time the book is set Andalans had been suffering under their brutal rule for years. Amani was an eighteen-year-old Kushaila girl (Kushaila were the oldest tribe group on Andala) kidnapped from her village on Cadiz to be Princess Maram's body double at public events as they looked pretty much exactly the same. She was thrust into a completely unfamiliar world that was dazzling on the surface but sinister beneath where she had to navigate court intrigue and politics and weather violence and slavery.
"Change takes bravery, yabnati."
I loved Amani as she was so strong in the face of adversity. Her identity, agency and future dreams were stolen from her but she survived, she adapted to her situation and made a place for herself. Gradually, she built up the courage and resilience to channel her anger at the injustices her people endured into action. I also loved how she was smart, soft and kind with immense loyalty for her loved ones and her people and a passion for poetry, throughout the book I was rooting for her. I also adored her forbidden romance with Idris. I don't usually like insta-love romances but theirs was so emotive and poignant without becoming the main focus of the book.
Maram was one of the most interesting characters I've ever read about. Her father, the king, was Vathek and her mother was Kushaila. All her life she had been taught to hate her mother's legacy and people while also being disdained by the Vath for her Kushaila blood. There was nowhere she truly belonged and was accepted as she was. She channeled the turmoil inside her through being cruel so no one would think her weak or see her pain. Gradually, as Amani befriends her and starts to understand her the reader does too. We see her vulnerability, grief and helplessness and instead of a cruel princess we see a boat lost at sea in need of a lighthouse to guide its way home. Maram and Amani's sisterly friendship was beautifully done.
"It was a cruel person that judged a child by their parent's legacy."
The sci-fi aspect of the book was a bit confusing as the boundaries of their technology weren't established and at times it felt more like a fantasy novel. But this is a very minor observation as it had no impact on my enjoyment or love for the book.
Mirage was a brilliant novel with powerful, uncompromising writing and strong female characters that I love with all my heart. If you haven't read it yet... what are you waiting for?
Thank you to Flatiron Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
”The crown of Dihya has been stripper from me, my face changed, my body broken. But I was not a slave and I was not a spare. I was my mother’s daughter, and I would survive and I would endure. I would find my way back home.”
this was everything i expected and yet so much more? i can’t believe it’s only her debut novel. the writing was so good, the plot was so gripping and unique, the characters were impossible not to love, even the ones i started out hating, i ended up loving. (except nadine, we don’t talk about nadine)
another thing, i am moroccan, so the moroccan aspect of this book just warmed my heart. and i loved reading about it and reading words in arabic especially since there’s not many, if any, ya books with it. so it made me really happy.
i honestly cannot wait for the second installment. this is officially one of my favorites of the years.. i just, wow! i loved it!
2.5 stelle!
Avevo delle aspettative per questo libro, che sfortunatamente non è riuscito a soddisfare.
La storia era molto interessante nella presentazione, ma in realtà l'ho trovata piatta. Non ci sono stati grandi colpi di scena e nessun personaggio è riuscito ad emergere.
Sono state di più le volte in cui mi sono detta "ma quando finisce questo libro" rispetto a quando mi sono goduta la lettura.
Ammetto che in certi momenti credevo che si stava finalmente risollevando, ma alla fine è ricaduto nel piattume.
Non mi ha preso neanche la storia d'amore ed è proprio per questo che il libro non raggiunge la sufficienza.
In conclusione è un libro di cui la trama già svela il cinquanta percento di quello che succede, in cui trecento pagine mi sono sembrate mille e in cui solo vari sprazzi sono riusciti a catturare il mio interesse, tutto questo non mi invoglia a leggere il seguito.
Avevo delle aspettative per questo libro, che sfortunatamente non è riuscito a soddisfare.
La storia era molto interessante nella presentazione, ma in realtà l'ho trovata piatta. Non ci sono stati grandi colpi di scena e nessun personaggio è riuscito ad emergere.
Sono state di più le volte in cui mi sono detta "ma quando finisce questo libro" rispetto a quando mi sono goduta la lettura.
Ammetto che in certi momenti credevo che si stava finalmente risollevando, ma alla fine è ricaduto nel piattume.
Non mi ha preso neanche la storia d'amore ed è proprio per questo che il libro non raggiunge la sufficienza.
In conclusione è un libro di cui la trama già svela il cinquanta percento di quello che succede, in cui trecento pagine mi sono sembrate mille e in cui solo vari sprazzi sono riusciti a catturare il mio interesse, tutto questo non mi invoglia a leggere il seguito.
“you are not defined by the men in your life, no matter how powerful. You lived before them and you shall live after them. You can’t let them determine your path.”
3 1/2 stars. Now THIS is the feminist YA fantasy of 2018, not [b:Heart of Thorns|35720690|Heart of Thorns (Heart of Thorns, #1)|Bree Barton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508174651s/35720690.jpg|45594730]. It's imperfect, yes, falling into a number of debut author traps, but it's a slow-burning, diverse fantasy with a rich, Moroccan-inspired setting.
Somewhat surprisingly, [b:Mirage|32768520|Mirage (Mirage, #1)|Somaiya Daud|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521643356s/32768520.jpg|52481416] is a character-driven fantasy. Most YA fantasy I read is driven by mindless action and romance, but Daud crafts fascinating relationship dynamics between her female characters. Amani's romance with Idris was unexciting to me, but that's okay because it was totally eclipsed by the far more interesting growing relationship between Amani and Maram (I was kinda hoping the romance would be between them, to be honest).
In this world - a vaguely sci-fi setting that reads like a fantasy (not unlike Meyer's [b:Lunar Chronicles|36381037|Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1)|Marissa Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1507557775s/36381037.jpg|15545385]) - Amani is kidnapped from her poor village on the moon, Cadiz, and taken to the royal palace, the Ziyaana, on the planet of Andala. There she finds she is the body double of the cruel princess Maram and must pose as the princess and learn to imitate her at societal events.
The book looks at themes of colonialism and the erasure of native cultures. Andala has been invaded and occupied by the Vathek Empire-- which cannot coincidentally share the name of Beckford's orientalist [b:Vathek|859694|Vathek|William Beckford|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338907992s/859694.jpg|980687]. Away from the prying eyes of the Vathek elite, Amani and Idris celebrate Kushaila poetry and bond over their stories of the occupation.
But what I enjoyed most was how Daud develops Maram into such a complex and interesting character. I love "villains" who are more than simply bad. I dislike so much that she does but I care about her, too. Also interesting is Amani's navigation through the political and social world she finds herself in, and how easily she soon finds it to become Maram, even seduced by the power she holds.
As I said, it's not perfect. The sci-fi elements are perfunctory in a novel that otherwise seems to be a straight-up fantasy book. The addition of droids adds nothing of interest, which is disappointing. There is also the standard "character made to recite world history for no good reason" that happens so often in YA fantasy. There has to be a better way to integrate this info.
It's a slower book than the average YA fantasy, focusing on conversations and exploring relationships. Amani must juggle allies and decide who, if anyone, she can trust. And, you know, it was actually really refreshing-- to have both a unique setting and a tale that focuses on character interactions and court politics. I'll be reading the sequel.
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adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
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
I love all the stories of princess swaps and this one felt like a very authentic one and it had none of the softness or humor that comes with a lot of these stories. It had a lot of focus on the colonization of the world and how it feels for an indigenous woman to try and make her voice heard and seen when her peoples have been systematically oppressed. The romance felt true and real and a little deeper than a lot of young love tends to be portrayed. This book managed to make me feel sad, while also feeling quite hopeful. I am looking forward to reading the next book.