4.5 stars

CW: death, blood, violence, assault, mention of rape

I’m glad to say that this novel absolutely lived up to the hype.

✩ Everything was so intricate and luscious and real; if this is S.A.’s debut, I can’t wait to read more from them.

✩ I especially loved the world – the creatures, the magic, the history, the intrigue – it was all amazing and honestly beyond words. The good was wonderfully intertwined with the bad: flying carpets and flaming swords alongside racism, religion, and slavery.

✩ I didn’t give this a full five stars because to me it felt like it dragged a bit sometimes, but props to the author for keeping me on my toes. I’m pretty sure my jaw actually dropped at least twice while reading, or I gasped, or something to that effect. Wow.

✩ Nahri is a freaking amazing protagonist. I loved the depth of her character, the mystery around her origin, the intrigue of everything about her. She was determined and bold and flawed and unique. She had me hooked from the beginning. I mean, come on – she made ends meet by conning conquerors.

✩ At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about Dara, then I started to love him, and now I don’t know what to think. Is he a murderer? Is he a teddy bear? Is he a murderous teddy bear? The world may never know.

✩ As the story progressed, I expected a romance to develop, but instead it went in other directions. I’m not sure if I’m happy because it’s a fantasy that doesn’t focus on romance or sad because I just want them to kiss and be happy. I’ll let you know if I figure it out. (I probably won’t.)

✩ That ending though. I was a bit confused but very intrigued and mildly shocked as well. The last hundred pages were already wild, but after that, I have a mighty need for the sequel.

✩ It was never stated, only implied a couple of times, or maybe that’s just me, but Muntadhir and Jamshid are queer. I don’t make the rules. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Time to wait for book two, I suppose.