A review by goodbookery
Fencing with the King by Diana Abu-Jaber

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

2.75

I had a hard time getting into this book at first, despite the interesting setting and circumstances, in part due to the narration. However, about halfway through, I became really interested in how the story was developing, particularly regarding Uncle Hafez’s duplicitousness. I was surprised that Amani’s story takes a hard turn into romance though. By the end of the book it felt like there were too many side stories or sub plots, and none of them felt as though they wrapped up in a satisfying way. I enjoyed the setting in Jordan and learning more about the history and culture as a whole, but was ultimately left wanting more out of this story.

• Thank you @booksparks, @dianabujaber, and @orangeskyaudio for a free audiobook of this title to read and review.