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A review by annamickreads
Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim
4.0
First of all, the Fairyloot edition of this book is absolutely stunning, so my compliments to the graphic designer and endpaper artist who brought the characters in this book to life.
Second, I thought this was a really strong debut with a lot of important themes in this book. "Spice Road" follows Imani, whose brother Atheer has been missing for a year. Imani and her family reside in a city called Qalia in the kingdom of Sahir, where magic is real and incorporated into everyday life through a brewed tea known as misra. When Imani discovers her brother may be alive in a hidden kingdom beyond the ominous Forbidden Wastes, she petitions to be put on the rescue mission team. Her brother has been accused of stealing misra and funneling it to others, so Imani spends most of the journey defending her brother from naysayers — including three of her fellow "Shields" or warriors who use magic.
The group ultimately discovers that the place Atheer has disappeared has been colonized by a horrible tyrant king and his people, known as Harrowlanders. The native people there have no magic with which to defend themselves, and the region is suffering as a result. At first, Imani refuses to get involved, only concerned with rescuing her brother, but she ultimately realizes that even if the colonization didn't affect her personally, it was still hurting people like her, and she needed to act.
I can understand the complaints about Imani's character, but for me, I think (I hope) the author was using Imani's stubbornness and pride as an attempt to point out her privilege, much as the other characters in the book did (but, since the book is from Imani's POV, she writes them off). Imani's family are all wealthy and come from a long line of scholars, so it's no surprise that her behavior reflects that upbringing, especially when she learns her sister, Amira, has been engaging in "criminal" behavior, only to realize Amira has been helping those in need as a Robin Hood-type all along. Throughout the whole book, Imani is constantly grappling with what she's been taught and following her morals vs learning new information and adapting.
While I wasn't a big fan of the romance (as I grow older, enemies to lovers is not really for me) or the idea of a love triangle, I do think that ultimately the plot outweighs the characterization and I'm really looking forward to see where Maiya Ibrahim's series takes her!
Second, I thought this was a really strong debut with a lot of important themes in this book. "Spice Road" follows Imani, whose brother Atheer has been missing for a year. Imani and her family reside in a city called Qalia in the kingdom of Sahir, where magic is real and incorporated into everyday life through a brewed tea known as misra. When Imani discovers her brother may be alive in a hidden kingdom beyond the ominous Forbidden Wastes, she petitions to be put on the rescue mission team. Her brother has been accused of stealing misra and funneling it to others, so Imani spends most of the journey defending her brother from naysayers — including three of her fellow "Shields" or warriors who use magic.
The group ultimately discovers that the place Atheer has disappeared has been colonized by a horrible tyrant king and his people, known as Harrowlanders. The native people there have no magic with which to defend themselves, and the region is suffering as a result. At first, Imani refuses to get involved, only concerned with rescuing her brother, but she ultimately realizes that even if the colonization didn't affect her personally, it was still hurting people like her, and she needed to act.
I can understand the complaints about Imani's character, but for me, I think (I hope) the author was using Imani's stubbornness and pride as an attempt to point out her privilege, much as the other characters in the book did (but, since the book is from Imani's POV, she writes them off). Imani's family are all wealthy and come from a long line of scholars, so it's no surprise that her behavior reflects that upbringing, especially when she learns her sister, Amira, has been engaging in "criminal" behavior, only to realize Amira has been helping those in need as a Robin Hood-type all along. Throughout the whole book, Imani is constantly grappling with what she's been taught and following her morals vs learning new information and adapting.
While I wasn't a big fan of the romance (as I grow older, enemies to lovers is not really for me) or the idea of a love triangle, I do think that ultimately the plot outweighs the characterization and I'm really looking forward to see where Maiya Ibrahim's series takes her!