Can I say that I am overjoyed at the ending of the Mirage duology. The world that Somaiya created was beautiful and a breath of fresh air. I was worried that my love of the first would hinder me going into the sequel, but it did not. In fact, I think I loved this a bit more. I was on the fence about Maram in Mirage, as I'm sure most people were, but I had such high hopes for her. Her character development did not let me down. She and Amani both blossomed in this story in ways that I did not imagine. They both found their foothold in a world determined to keep them underfoot and in their places.

The writing of the book itself was beautiful, but honestly I expected nothing less. I especially enjoyed reading Maram's perspective, which is something I felt was missing from the first book. I'll admit that I was wrong. I don't think I would have appreciated Maram as a character or all of her nuances as much if I had been given a look into her mind during Mirage. Somaiya, you're a genius. I'll admit it.

On a completely unrelated note, I was very pleased to see the sapphic romance, which I'd heard hints about. Their relationship progression was just *chef's kiss* and my bby deserved all the happiness.

***slight spoilers below****

So here's the thing. I almost gave this 4 stars and here's why: it felt a bit....easy. The journey of course was work and obviously they hit obstacles along the way, but in the end I think that I expected more push back. It had me thinking that something was lacking in this story, but after a few minutes, I changed my mind. Maybe the issue is that I'm just not used to getting pure happiness from a fantasy/sci-fi story that way it happened here. Maybe I'm so conditioned to expect the protagonists to get blow after devastating blow and THAT'S why I felt like something was mixing. Tragedy does not have to be a major part of a resolution and the fact that Somaiya Daud made it her business to say enough is enough....well I have to stan.