This was such an adorable collection of stories! I loved seeing how different cultures and families celebrate Eid. The food descriptions made me so hungry lol, so reading this while fasting was a challenge

Where to begin...

First of all, a big thank you to HarperCollins Canada for sending me an arc of The Kingdom of Copper! My very first arc from HarperCollins was for The City of Brass, so I was almost in tears when the second book fell into my hands. This series has stolen my heart since the first book, and I'm so glad I can continue on with this journey!

Overall Rating: 5 stars!

This book was a whirlwind of a read. I don't think I can fully explain how I feel or what I'm thinking right now. I already know that I need to reread, and this time tab certain pages and sections just so I can keep track of everything that happened and the possible implications and all the heart wrenching moments *cue the tears* I'm already sad to be done with this world (for now), and I hurt inside cause I have to wait till 2021 to see how it all ends!



(picture of me begging for the third book)

THE WRITING & WORLD

I can never talk enough about Shannon's writing. It's beautifully delicious–and no, I'm not just talking about the food descriptions. I feel like I can almost taste the world she's created. Everything feels so tangible and real. It's like I'm actually there, tinkering away in the infirmary, making potions and healing salves. I can see myself wandering the palace gardens, or exploring the Daeva Temple, or even just pushing past the waves of djinn in the Grand Bazaar. And it's not just Daevabad.

We get to see so much more of this wonderful world! The glimpses of life in Am Gezira through Ali's perspective, the varying settings that take place in Dara's chapters. We get to experience every day life, we get to see culture and how it varies according to each tribe. Shannon's world as a whole feels more fleshed out and bigger in this second book, and I loved every second of it!

PLOT, PLOT, PLOT



Shannon is just incredible. I was literally sitting in awe at so many points in this book, wishing and hoping that one day I can write something just as good. There are so many little threads that intersect and intertwine perfectly. Everything has a place; a purpose. (I have no idea how she keeps track of all of this, let alone how she came up with any of this.) Add some drama and heartbreak, along with a barrel full of politics and history, and you get a melting pot of amazingness.

I mentioned in my review for The City of Brass how the story Shannon tells isn't very black or white. It's hard to pick one side and say "Okay, this side was in the right and I'm rooting for them to win!" There is no "right" side. There is no side that has done less wrong compared to the other. Both the shafit and the daevas have been persecuted and treated terribly. Both sides have made terrible decisions, justified by what they've gone through/are going through. It's all so very complex and deep. And Shannon shows this so well. We get glimpses of the confusion that not just Nahri, but every character in this book goes through, as more and more is revealed about the past. History is full of secrets and half-truths. It's embellished by the people who write it or live it. And there are always two sides to a story.

I don't want to get too much more into the plot, cause I do want this review to be mostly non-spoilery. But the entire book felt like I was on a rollercoaster blindfolded. My emotions were a mess.



One moment I would be terrified, the next I would be happy. Then a chapter later I would be horrified, and then I would be REALLY SAD. I just never knew what to expect. I was constantly on my toes. There were drops on this rollercoaster that I did not know about, and sharp turns that had me almost falling out of my seat. IT WAS A RIDE PEOPLE. And I enjoyed every second–including the pain and heartbreak.

SIDE CHARACTERS

If you thought this book would just focus on the main characters, you were wrong. I was wrong. I was not expecting this much. My heart wasn't ready at all.

Let's talk about Muntadhir. He is a flawed, complex, character who you want to slap across the face one second and then pat on the head the next and tell him it'll be okay. You might also want to murder him a few times. I came close to murdering him myself. However...Shannon writes his character just as well as she writes the plot itself. It's not as simple as it may seem. We see the pressure that Muntadhir is in, we see how scared he is and how he does his best to hide his weaknesses from a father who would openly exploit them. We see him warring between doing what is right and what is easy. And he chooses easy for a lot of it. And it makes sense. Muntadhir isn't idealistic and brash like Ali. He doesn't act first and think later. He has the self-preservation that Ali doesn't. He believes in living to change the future. Yet, he's too scared to stand up for the wrongs being done in the present. And that's realistic. Not everyone can be a hero. And the pressure and abuse Muntadhir has gone through at the hands of his father, aren't necessarily easy things to shrug off. Ali spent most of his life in the Citadel, away from his father and the life that Muntadhir had to lead. And while Ali resents how Muntadhir got to live in luxury and ease, he doesn't see what his father made his older brother go through. This quote honestly made me cry inside:

"And I am well aware of my duties; you've been beating their importance into me since I was a child."

Muntadhir does some horribly cruel stuff in this book–that scene near the end almost had me in tears. I wanted to murder him with my own hands. It hurts way more when someone close to you, a family member, does something purposely cruel, knowing how much it'll affect you. But we also see the reverse of it. We see how Ali treats Muntadhir, though a lot of his actions don't have the same forethought as Muntadhir's do, he does hurt him just the same through his lack of self-preservation and thoughtlessness and rash actions. Not to forget the many times Ali openly questioned Muntadhir's authority, not knowing how hard it was for his older brother to get to where he is today.

Then we have Zaynab. She wasn't my favourite in The City of Brass because of what she did to Nahri, but in this book I was squealing. She deserves so much more hype honestly. The scene where she takes Nahri off to explore and wander the Geziri district, how she plays along in harem politics, her attempts at trying to save her brothers' relationship, just everything! The scene where she goes to the Temple and single-handedly prevents what would have been a huge altercation between the Daevas and Ali. She has a way with words, and people tend to underestimate her cause she's so beautiful and a princess. I just kind of love her and I'm really hoping we get to see more of her in book three!

Lubayd and Aqisa were also some of my favourites. Aqisa is just a badass honestly. I love her sneaking around the palace and into and out of the harem. But Lubayd, ugh, he's a sweetheart. I just see him as a huge cuddly teddy bear who you want to hug. The scenes with him and Aqisa teasing Ali are honestly my favourite. My poor alu prince chose great friends.

NAHRI

Nahri went through a hell of a lot in this book.

One thing I did want to get into was the first scene we get in the prologue. I wasn't expecting a

Spoiler

wedding night

scene and because of that it made the first little bit of the book kind of difficult to read. This is mostly a personal thing, but I just get really uncomfortable about stuff like that. And even though nothing crazy happens, it's the idea of something happening that terrified me. I guess it's one of my worst nightmares, and seeing it on the page, happening to a character I care about, scared me a bit more than I was expecting. (Just thought I'd add a warning for anyone reading this before reading the book)

But besides that, we see how she's technically a prisoner in her new home. She can't leave, she doesn't have a say in anything, and other people take the price for her stepping out of line. It's just horrible.

I did love seeing her working in the infirmary. She's learned so much since the last book and seeing her admit how much of a joy it is to be healing people like she's always wanted, made me feel all soft inside. Even her relationship with Muntadhir, though tumultuous, had moments that were endearing. Though they were constantly ruined, which explains the rollercoaster of emotions I went through.

Also, her realizing that Daevabad will never feel like home to her HURT LIKE HELL. Seeing her reminisce of Egypt and her life before, made me so sad. She honestly just deserves a good, long vacation, with no politics or drama, or people plotting against her.

^^^


DARA

My emerald-eyed son was a joy to read about. He had his own POV in this book and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Dara is as complex of a character as Muntadhir. He has done some horrible stuff and he's about to do more for the sake of a "better" future. The realization he comes to, knowing that in the end he isn't doing anything for the better, but only continuing on the cycle from the past, had me nodding my head up and down and crying proud tears inside.



He surprised me. Especially near the end. I do worry about how everything will affect his relationship with Nahri. And seeing how broken Dara feels at the end, I'm a bit scared for what book three will bring.

ALIZAYD AL QAHTANI AKA PRINCE ALU

I am never, ever going to get over the fact that my child, ALIZAYD AL QAHTANI, is an alu. He is an actual potato head. And I love my potato head so much. The next time I have alu salan, I will spend the entire time thinking of PRINCE ALU AND HIS RASH AND STUPID ADVENTURES IN DAEVABAD (as this book should be titled).

Also, I found a gif of a wild Prince Alu running away from his sense of self-preservation.



Ali gets a nice long rant from me. We see him grow a lot as a character in this book, especially in the beginning. It almost seems that his time away from home was good for his heart and soul. He matured and grew up and then was immediately tossed back into a cesspool and ruined everything. And despite all of that that, I wasn't annoyed the least. Yes, Ali makes stupid decisions. He listens to his heart more than his brain. Or he justifies his heart through his brain, and thinks he's all clever, and then Ghassan stabs him in the chest for fun. IT IS ALL SO MUCH FUN. But we see him grow despite all of that. He does get a bit more careful, but I think his rashness and his mistakes make for a more realistic character. If he got everything right the first time and there were never any repercussions, sure my blood pressure would be back to normal, but who cares about that when you can cry your eyes out and scream at a book.



It also goes to show what kind of a man Ghassan really is. Cause honestly, if I were in Ali's situation, I would probably not be making any good decisions either, cause there just aren't any. It's a mess. All of this is a mess. When you take into account the different parties that are involved, the politics, the religious beliefs, the history. None of it is straightforward. No one is telling the truth. Everyone has different plans. People are plotting behind each other's backs. Everyone thinks they know best. It's difficult navigating something like that. Honestly, I would probably be like Muntadhir if I were dropped into this world. I admire Ali for his guts, for his willingness to take the risk, for speaking his mind, and for FIGHTING. Yes, he makes mistakes. He takes drastic actions that come back to bite him, but he does it knowing, just like Nahri realizes near the end, that there are some sacrifices that are worth it. AND I LOVE HIM FOR IT.



THE ENDING

haha. That ending. So much happened in such a short space of time. It felt like watching a movie in my head, with the scenes changing, showing the different characters and what they're doing, and everything finally fitting together near the end.

I read the last 100 pages or so in about two hours, which is really fast for me. And I was terrified the entire time. I will say that a lot of people made it sound like the ending would hurt my soul and that I would shed real tears. I did not cry. I was very concerned and scared though. And my mind was going crazy with questions, so I didn't have time to process anything. But I was happy with where things left off. I have millions of questions, and I haven't even started theorizing (leaving that for my next reread), but to say I'm excited for the next book is not even close to accurate. I can't wait to see how everything ends. I'm scared for my children. Like really scared. I have no idea what is going to happen to them and I just want everyone to be happy.



This series is now one of my all time favourites. It is up there with Harry Potter, Tamora Pierce's works, and The Pureblood Pretense (the best HP/TP fanfic ever). Shannon is an inspiration not just for authors, she's an inspiration for Muslims everywhere. To see a book, with people like me, who worship the way I do, who believe in the things I do, who look like me...It's just incredible. Growing up, I never wrote stories where my characters looked or acted like I do. It just didn't seem right, or sound possible. But reading her words, experiencing her story, living in her world, makes me realize it is possible. And I have her to thank for that.



For those interested in my reactions to reading The Kingdom of Copper, here's the link to my Twitter thread.

This was definitely a thrilling journey. I now don't like caves. Or small spaces. Or the dark. Multiple times while reading this book I had to run from the bathroom back to my bedroom so the monsters in the dark wouldn't kill me. I also abruptly woke up multiple times one night for no reason, and had to hide under the blankets so the eyes in my room wouldn't see me. Makes complete sense.

Gretal will be happy to know this book scared me. I don't think it scared me as much as it would if this were a movie. I will never watch the movie version of this. No one could pay me enough money.

The creepiness slowly crawls up on you. And you really feel like Gyre a lot of the times–confused about what is true and whether you're hallucinating or it's actually real.

I don't know if I liked Em? She's really messed up and problematic on so many levels, and even at the end when I thought Gyre was finally getting through to her, she turns around and is selfish and manipulative. By the end, we sort of see that both Em and Gyre have enough issues and a traumatic shared experience that it fits for them to be together. I don't get any of this, but I guess it makes the most sense.

Recommend reading if you want to be scared and don't plan on ever going into caves.

I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this book. It's been on my tbr since I heard it was coming out, and now seemed the perfect time to pick it up. It's an eery echo of our present. This book is painful, heartbreaking, and raw. It touches on issues that need to be spoken about more. And I think it did a good job showing the realities for so many Black and POC in the US.

I was really excited for this new release, mostly because of this beautiful cover, but also because "Forest of Souls" ... "aforestofbooks"  

But besides all of that, the premise sounded really cool, and I heard on Twitter that there's no romance. You guys know I'm always here for that. There are way too many YA fantasy books with romance and it's tiring sometimes. So I was really happy when MandaGroup sent me an arc for review!

For those of you wondering what this book is about without spoiling anything: I got some serious Shadow and Bone vibes, the magic system reminded me a little of ATLA, and it starts off in a school setting which I always love!

My favourite part about this book was definitely the world. I loved the glossary at the beginning of the book––which was a nice change. I feel like we always get a glossary at the end and it's annoying to flip all the way to the back and possibly spoil yourself. There are three main kingdoms, Evewyn, Kazahyn, and the Nuvalyn Empire. And then we have The Dead Wood, which is the seat of the Spider King, who keeps the peace between all three kingdoms. Each kingdom is also a separate race. So Evewyn is human, Kazahyn is Shadowblessed, and the Nuvalyn Empire is Shamanborn. The tensions between all three kingdoms and the history behind Evewyn imprisoning their Shamanborns was really interesting. I enjoyed the political aspects of this book, though I wish there was a little more. I think the next book in the series will definitely add to that.

What I really wish this book had is a map. I'm not sure if the finished copy does, but I think it would have really fleshed out the world and made it easier to follow the characters as they move around. Also I just want to see what this world looks like!

Unfortunately, the downside to this book were the main characters. It's the reason why it took me forever to finish this book because I kept forgetting what had happened and had to reread parts. Other times I was too bored and didn't feel like picking up the book.

The only side character I enjoyed was Theyen. The banter between him and Sirscha was good, though not amazing. There was one line from Theyen that made me laugh out loud though, and I found him to be the most likeable and complex out of all the characters. He's sarcastic and a little full of himself, but his backstory and motivations make me want to know more, especially about the Fireborn Queens. He pretty much has all the qualities I like in a character, and I'm so happy that it didn't devolve into him becoming a love interest.

"I saw you ride out from a seclusion of trees with the Evewynian prince. Thought it was a tryst, but too many dead bodies. Unless you're hiding some bizarre tendencies, in which case, keep them to yourself."

Ronin was an okay character? I was getting Darkling vibes from him in the beginning, but then nothing happened.... We were mostly told why he was the villain at the end, but we didn't see him do much. He's a very passive character and kind of boring.

Queen Meilyr though...now that is one character I wish we got a pov from. I'd love to know what's going on in her mind, and I have so many questions about her and Kendara.

Prince Meilek. I do like his relationship with Sirscha, but something was lacking. I just wanted to feel more for his character. 

Saengo was the character I was most disappointed about. She honestly didn't do much and fell flat for me. Her relationship with Sirscha didn't feel as close as I think it was supposed to? I really wish we could have gotten a little more about their past. How they met and became friends etc. The scenes where we do get of them bantering felt forced and a bit jarring from the rest of the books. I do think Saengo becoming Sirscha's familiar changed her in a way, but she sort of felt like someone Sirscha was dragging around, rather than her closest friend from childhood.

As for Sirscha...I don't know. We're told a lot about her and I think that was the problem. I wanted to see what she was capable of, not be told everything. The missions that Kendara sent her on were honestly more interesting, and I wish we got more of that and her relationship with the Shadow. But everything else...I don't know. I just didn't feel for her character or care enough to want to know what happens next. Her relationships with the other characters just didn't feel well-developed. And while the fight scenes were great to read and really showed her skills, I wanted to see more than what she's physically capable of.

Overall, 3 stars. 

This book completely took me by surprise. I requested it because of the title. Sibling relationships are my weakness and I feel like we need more YA books that focus on this.

Sisters of Sword and Song is heavily inspired by Ancient Greece, and as someone who studied Classics in university, this book was everything I could have ever hoped for. It reminded me in many ways of Circe by Madeline Miller. The way this book is written is very reminiscent of the epics and plays that I read in class. There's a formality when it comes to the dialogue that can be a bit jarring, but I think it works well for how this story is told. The gods and their relics, the magic formed through song, the world itself...I loved the attention to detail and the depths this book went to make the world feel so tangible and complete.

The plot had me on the edge of my seat for the first half of this book. After that point, it does become a bit predictable, but I still enjoyed it. I loved seeing the journey that each character goes on, and there are so many good moments between Evadne and her sister Halcyon, as well has Halcyon and Commander Straton.

The romance in this book was something I actually liked. I think it helped that this book is based so much in mythology and written in a way that it mirrors an epic. The romance felt right and flowed well, but it didn't overpower the plot. There was even a moment when Evadne is like "okay, not now" and she never loses sight of her end goal or her sister. I think that was what sold me for this book. I hate when the romance takes the forefront in a book and the characters start to completely ignore everything else. That being said, the last 10% of the book does become a lot more romance-heavy. But since it was only the last couple chapters, I didn't mind it so much.

Overall, for a standalone, this book was so good! And I'm definitely going to be checking out Rebecca's other books one day!

I just want to say that this book was everything and more than I could have ever hoped for. I'm so grateful to Gretal for sending me an arc. I don't know if I can ever post a proper review though, but ajdfsklfj this book will stay with me forever.

This book completely took me by surprise. Thank you to Raincoast for sending me an arc to review!

The writing is just mesmerizing. It's beautifully written, and flows very well. The descriptions really transport you to the setting, and it made for an all-round great reading experience.

I also loved how detailed the world and history is. The notes from the author section at the end of the book really showed how much research Melissa did to write this story, and how she took bits and pieces from mythology and history and the Shahanemh. I loved all the references to Persian culture too. The second I saw the word esfand, I knew I was going to like this book lol. Also Nog Roz being something that we sort of celebrate every year...it was nice to see stuff like this in a book.

Soraya is a wonderfully complex character. Seeing her struggle internally as she comes to terms with what's been done to her really made me feel for her character. It realistically portrayed what someone who's been used by a person they trusted, goes through. I liked seeing Soraya make mistakes and decisions that weren't so great, but then eventually learning from them. I also like how she grows as a character and begins to love herself and accept herself for who she is.

The ending was pretty perfect. I'm glad Soraya decided to leave the palace for most of the year. I don't know if I completely forgive her brother for the way he treated her, so it's nice that she can spend time with Parvaneh and the pariks who never turned away from her because they didn't like what they saw. Also, I looked up the forest the pariks' home is based off of, and now I want to go to northern Iran so badly.

Overall, a great read, highly recommend!

This was absolutely incredible and I wish it was still available so I could reread.

This was a pretty fun book. Though I might have picked it up at the wrong time since about half way through I just didn't feel in the mood for a YA contemporary. Despite that, it is an enjoyable read.

I loved the way this book was formatted! I'm glad more YA contemporaries are adding texts and emails and other graphics to the text. It's a more realistic portrayal of how people communicate in their day to day, but it almost just makes the reading experience better.

Rowan and Neil's relationship was quite amusing to read. I liked their competitiveness, even though it did stress me out a little lol. I think if I went to their school, I would really hate them for always coming out on top in every class. I have a little competitive streak in me, though nothing as intense as them, but it would still annoy me a little. I loved their sarcastic banter, their constant jibes at each other, and it was nice seeing Rowan slowly falling for Neil.

I loved the moment when Rowan realizes how great it is to have a Jewish friend who gets her. When she talks to Neil about her experiences at school and with her teachers, it reminded me a lot of how isolating it can feel being a Muslim and having no one who really gets it.

The book really tackles the prejudice many girls and women feel around reading romance books. As someone who is really not into romance, I still liked how this was addressed. It was nice to see Rowan so passionate about something she loves so much, and seeing her gain the courage to talk about it and be open with her parents and her friends was really nice.

Overall, 3 stars. A nice, fun contemporary read!