So, The Hidden Palace was disappointing. I used to consider The Golem and the Jinni one of my favourite books. But, after rereading it and concluding the series, I've realized that while I adore Helene Wecker's characters and worldbuilding her storytelling doesn't work for me.

My first problem with The Hidden Palace was its pacing. This book spans 15 years of our characters' lives. That was a jarring departure from the single year the Golem and the Jinni covers. And poorly implemented at that. The first third of this book breezed past almost a decade of those 15 years and at a certain point, it felt like Wecker began the story in the wrong place. Over a hundred pages are dedicated to what in hindsight was a detailed recap of events.

While the pacing eventually evened out I found the book's final act as unsatisfying as its first. The Hidden Palace follows several points of view that come together in what's supposed to feel like a dynamic final act. But because the characters we'd gotten to know as individuals were given so little time to interact with each other before the book wrapped up their interactions felt rushed, messy and out of step with the rest of the novel.

But, by far, my biggest problem with this story was its central premise. The Hidden Palace follows the dissolution of Ahmed and Chava’s relationship. It asks if these two fundamentally different creatures could ever truly understand each other and be together. While I wasn’t entirely opposed to this idea I found its execution and resolution incredibly disappointing. Wecker never made a compelling argument for Ahmed and Chava's breakup. Their split was rooted in baseless miscommunication. Rather than thoughtfully exploring the growing pains of their relationship Wecker shunted these two onto separate paths to justify the idea that they were never meant to be together. This turn in their relationship didn't feel true to who Ahmed and Chava were in book one and wasn't adequately justified by anything that happened in this book. It was incredibly frustrating to see a relationship I was deeply invested in fall apart for no good reason.

Despite my disappointment with this novel, and the series as a whole, I can’t help but appreciate Wecker’s work. Her worldbuilding remained phenomenal and I still care deeply about the characters she created. I’ll always be fond of the Golem and the Jinni series even if I can't quite say I love it anymore.