A review by meshell
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'll admit, I went in to this audiobook having expectations - Shannon Chakraborty wrote one of my favourite series a few years ago (the Daevabad Trilogy), and I've always found it easy to recommend to others. Well, this book also hooked me from the beginning - I loved the middle aged large woman protagonist, former/current pirate having to get the gang back together to do one more heist (aka, search and rescue mission to find the child of a former shipmate.) 

I think Chakraborty does a lot in her books - but I also think she does them all extremely well. It's funny, playful, semi-educational, and told from a perspective that doesn't always get centred. I thought the struggle of being a working parent and feeling both the freedom from and longing for wasn't belaboured, but nicely expressed. I enjoyed the queer rep, the themes of defying gender norms, the magic and the mayhem. The whole story is just very fun and engaging, and I look forward to any future adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. 

Specifically to the narration - I loved the performance of the interview asides, I really felt like I was in the moment with them. I did play this at 2x, but that's my normal audiobook speed. Thanks to the publisher HarperAudio and Netgally for the opportunity to review this title and enjoy it a bit early. 
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