"Even in her most desperate moments, Alizeh had found the courage to move forward by searching the depths of herself; she’d found hope in the sharpness of her mind, in the capacity of her own capable hands, in the endurance of her unrelenting spirit.
She would be broken by nothing.
She refused."

This was my very first book by Tahereh Mafi - and no surprise there, but I was blown away!! Beautifully written, with a lush atmosphere and compelling characters, I enjoyed every second with this, and FLEW through it in spite of it being on the longer side!!

Now, this very much felt like the first book in a series - which is to say that there is a lot of exposition, world-building, establishing our characters' personalities and motivations and so on. However, every single thing is intentional; not overly-explained, giving the reader just enough to immerse them completely into this new world but also keeping them curious every step of the way, making them wish for more. I am wishing for SO much more!!! And I'm so glad, because I feel like this is exactly what a new series is supposed to do, make you want to get your hands on the sequel immediately and see where we go from here. Needless to say, I will be anticipating it very eagerly!

I loved, loved, LOVED Alizeh as a protagonist. I'm rarely left unimpressed by persistence and strength in a character (maybe because that's exactly what I lack), but in her I found even more of a fighter than I expected. She is intelligent, she never gives up on herself, and she always, always knows her worth, regardless of her perceived status in the world. In one of my favorite quotes, she talks about Kamran and his self-assuredness, how he seems to know himself so well, and wishes that she had a bit of that herself - it's evident that she already does, her circumstances are just preventing her from bringing that spark to life.

The budding romance between her and Kamran was SO good, too!!! I could feel the tension through the pages, it was so well-built. At first it struck me as insta-lovey, but I quickly realized that I literally do not care!! Their chemistry, banter and connection is off the charts and I just? Need more?? Immediately, thank you. I love them SO much!!

I also really loved the friendships that we see with our side characters, specifically Kamran and Hazan (!!!!), Alizeh and miss Huda, and the (unbeknownst to them) trio between Alizeh, Omid and Kamran! I truly feel like every character has been constructed in such a way as to be utterly entrancing, and I need more of all of their stories, especially Hazan, since Kamran still doesn't know that his closest friend is a Jinn, and we know next to nothing about the forces that he's building on Alizeh's behalf.

In short, and to sum up this entire review: BOOK TWO NOW, thank you!!!