I received this for the publisher in exchange for a review. This does not affect my review which is unbiased and honest.
I went into this book not really knowing much and was instantly intrigued. While the writing wasn’t exactly the greatest, it was easy to follow and I got sucked in pretty quickly. I really admired the main character’s strength and passion for her people despite her father being absolutely against her.
The magic was really intriguing and even though the romance felt a bit quick at times, I still really enjoyed the story. I definitely didn’t expect the explicit content so it was kind of funny and jarring to have the sex scenes in there not gonna lie (I tend to skip those scenes in general). But it was really hilarious because this book felt like it was purposely trying to be formal (ish) for the whole fantasy vibe and then all of a sudden there was a sex scene with more modern language.
ANYWAY, I still really enjoyed the book mainly because I was just vibing and wanted to know how it would all play out. The timeline and pacing felt a bit strange, but while I know I’m complaining about these things, I still couldn’t put the book down so that has to mean something.
I really enjoyed the ride, however wild it was. This book was REALLY dark at times. It deals with physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and basically her father was honestly someone who needed to die like immediately. I hated basically almost every maan with every fiber of my being.
Also, I think it was cool to have a character who covered her hair like a hijab but without it being made into a religious thing but more of an autonomy thing. It was cool to see that in a fantasy book. This would be something fun for those who like a a quick fantasy book with strong characters and more dialogue and character based books.
Ameera was fierce and passionate and I honestly really admired how much she was willing to sacrifice for her people. I would recommend this to anyone who likes an extremely strong and powerful main character, an intriguing magic system, political intrigue, and a sort of forbidden (ish) romance.
Star is All Booked Up 