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pineconek 's review for:
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi
by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Saying that this didn't work for me would be an understatement.
(Feels controversial and scary to say publicly when the overall rating on GR currently stands as 4.29 but...oh well).
I really enjoyed this book when I first picked it up. The writing was quite good, and the character of Amina that we were first introduced to was intriguing. I enjoyed the trope of longing for a quiet life, after retiring from a successful career (in piracy), only to be needed for one last hurrah. Gathering her rag tag crew for the mission was also fun.
And then the book just lost me completely.
The style of storytelling is specifically what didn't work for me. There were multiple cases of telling and not showing, as well as telling me one thing but showing another. I wanted to believe that our setting was the 12th century middle East, but the characters spoke and acted as if they were 21st century Americans. Similarly, our titular character was said to have been one of the most revered pirates, an absolute powerhouse, but that was far from what we saw. I quickly grew frustrated and disinterested with this book, and ended up only finishing it because I'd already devoted so much time to it. I did however first read a bunch of the 1-2 star reviews for it, which I recommend doing if you also found this to be a frustrating experience.
I wouldn't really recommend this one, as it just felt like an example of "good concept, terrible execution". I can't settle on a precise rating but I feel irritated and frustrated when I think of my experience with this book, so 1 star it is.
(Feels controversial and scary to say publicly when the overall rating on GR currently stands as 4.29 but...oh well).
I really enjoyed this book when I first picked it up. The writing was quite good, and the character of Amina that we were first introduced to was intriguing. I enjoyed the trope of longing for a quiet life, after retiring from a successful career (in piracy), only to be needed for one last hurrah. Gathering her rag tag crew for the mission was also fun.
And then the book just lost me completely.
The style of storytelling is specifically what didn't work for me. There were multiple cases of telling and not showing, as well as telling me one thing but showing another. I wanted to believe that our setting was the 12th century middle East, but the characters spoke and acted as if they were 21st century Americans. Similarly, our titular character was said to have been one of the most revered pirates, an absolute powerhouse, but that was far from what we saw. I quickly grew frustrated and disinterested with this book, and ended up only finishing it because I'd already devoted so much time to it. I did however first read a bunch of the 1-2 star reviews for it, which I recommend doing if you also found this to be a frustrating experience.
I wouldn't really recommend this one, as it just felt like an example of "good concept, terrible execution". I can't settle on a precise rating but I feel irritated and frustrated when I think of my experience with this book, so 1 star it is.