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tired_cicada's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“Perhaps everything he’s said to me— that he’s beneath me, that I don’t respect him— maybe he he actually believes that””
WELL WHY WOULDNT HE?!?!? You have given NO argument to the contrary!!
I’m gonna get this out of the way. The setting was the best part and the Romance was the worse.
The love triangle (?) was so unbelievably forced. She does not like either of these people and at no point is there an actual reason for that opinion to change. If you wanted to run this as an enemies to lovers having them kiss in the first book the way the do was the WRONG way to do it!
The setting is beautiful. The world has so much potential (even if the world building is a little heavy handed at times). We just had the misfortune of seeing it through the eyes of petulant children! Like why is the ACTUAL child, the 15 year old girl the ONLY ONE with real class consciousness and an understanding that other people live different lives than she does?!?!
Honestly I think the story would have been so much better if it was told from the older brother’s perspective. What he is doing is a trilogy on it own!! You have to do a lot to make your main character feel superfluous to the story.
Imma give the next book 50-75 pages to change my mind but unfortunately I'm probably going to DNF this series.
WELL WHY WOULDNT HE?!?!? You have given NO argument to the contrary!!
I’m gonna get this out of the way. The setting was the best part and the Romance was the worse.
The love triangle (?) was so unbelievably forced. She does not like either of these people and at no point is there an actual reason for that opinion to change. If you wanted to run this as an enemies to lovers having them kiss in the first book the way the do was the WRONG way to do it!
The setting is beautiful. The world has so much potential (even if the world building is a little heavy handed at times). We just had the misfortune of seeing it through the eyes of petulant children! Like why is the ACTUAL child, the 15 year old girl the ONLY ONE with real class consciousness and an understanding that other people live different lives than she does?!?!
Honestly I think the story would have been so much better if it was told from the older brother’s perspective. What he is doing is a trilogy on it own!! You have to do a lot to make your main character feel superfluous to the story.
Imma give the next book 50-75 pages to change my mind but unfortunately I'm probably going to DNF this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Physical abuse and Sexual assault
shadow_cat94's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Maiya Ibrahim writes with beautiful imagery woven throughout the entire book as we travel through various locations during Imani's journey to her brother. The poetic language I found quite enjoyable to read from page to page. The pacing in each location also felt evenly timed for the journey without feeling rushed or dragging.
The things I didn't like about this book was the ending and the main character, Imani. I will be as vague as possible for the ending to avoid spoilers. In the final 20 pages we finally reach the climax of the story only for it to get resolved peacefully with an exchange of a few words. It felt anticlimactic, rushed, and frustrating even after I finished the book.
As for Imani, I was hoping for her to go through more character development during her journey than she did. There is nothing wrong with starting your book with a stubborn, selfish, and prideful main character as long as they end somewhere else at the end of the book. She is also a warrior known for these great feats, but she quickly gives up when confronted with large obstacles which made her warrior characteristic feel conflicting. Her only saving grace is her love for her family, which is to an obsessive point. Overall, I think Amira - the sister - should have been the main character.
The things I didn't like about this book was the ending and the main character, Imani. I will be as vague as possible for the ending to avoid spoilers. In the final 20 pages we finally reach the climax of the story only for it to get resolved peacefully with an exchange of a few words. It felt anticlimactic, rushed, and frustrating even after I finished the book.
As for Imani, I was hoping for her to go through more character development during her journey than she did. There is nothing wrong with starting your book with a stubborn, selfish, and prideful main character as long as they end somewhere else at the end of the book. She is also a warrior known for these great feats, but she quickly gives up when confronted with large obstacles which made her warrior characteristic feel conflicting. Her only saving grace is her love for her family, which is to an obsessive point. Overall, I think Amira - the sister - should have been the main character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Medical content, and War
kbairbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The growth of the main character was perhaps the most authentic and well done I've seen in a long time. I actually really liked the fierce and wise beyond her years younger sister. There were a fair variety of intense triggers so readers watch out! I'm very interested to see where the rest of the trilogy takes us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lanayagraham's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fantastic debut! I loved the fast paced fantasy adventure. Spice Road reminded me a little of The Ember In The Ashes with its Arabian mythology and military themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Colonisation
Moderate: Vomit and Medical content
cinnamonandpancakes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Sometimes you read a debut novel and you don't notice until the end. This is not one of those novels. But there are some sparks of excellence in here, the descriptions are fantastic and the world building is really interesting. Unfortunately, the characters were just too frustrating. None of them make any steps along a character arc without taking a step back somewhere else.
For what it's worth, I think a fan of YA Romantasy would likely enjoy this much more than I.
For what it's worth, I think a fan of YA Romantasy would likely enjoy this much more than I.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War
manaledi's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An interesting magic theory with a good adventure. Might have needed a little more time in Qalia in the beginning to set up the class conflict between characters and why they hold onto beliefs so strongly. Sometimes hits you over the head with the moral questions of duty versus injustice versus family with a fairly brutal look at colonialism. Intrigued to see where we go from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I admit it took me longer to pick this book up than it should have... but I have mixed feelings about it even a while after I finished it.
Things I loved:
- the writing itself. Ibrahim has fantastic writing that makes you curious about this world.
- the worldbuilding is done so well! I loved that there were journeys and a map, everything made sense and added up, and was so well done!
- I actually really liked the plot and the story. While it hit pretty close to what is going on in the world right now, making it a difficult read at times, it is a well done story. The reveals of the information worked well and I am incredibly curious to see what happens next in terms of the plot, based on the ending.
The things I struggled with/ what made this a 3 star read:
- I REALLY struggled with the characters in this book. I struggled to find them likeable to be honest as they all have major flaws. And while I appreciate flaws being a part of the characters, these ones were just too big... if all of the characters are unlikeable, I find it really hard to root for them. I did like Qayn from the beginning though, as he is a fantastic character. I will also note that a couple characters have very good arcs, and their arcs make me curious where they will go with the next books. But as this set everything up, it was a struggle.
- I'm not sure if this is a spoiler so I'll keep it vague, but the supposed "romance" that was trying to happen was so incredibly toxic thaf I couldn't get behind it at all. I get that they are teenagers and experiencing the harsh realities of the world or stuck under a terrible influence but my goodness. The switches in temperament/ personality and the toxic nature of the interactions irked me way too much. I can understand if the author is trying to do something with this as part of the story going forward in terms of how toxic it is, but not knowing where the story is going and seeing it as the possible "romance" for the series really doesn't work for me.
I am curious to read the next book, as I mentioned for the plot, and for Qayn and the sibling relationships. I think the next book would be the decider if I finish the series or not.
Definitely an interesting debut YA fantasy!
Highly recommend reading TW/CW before reading, as it was a LOT darker than I had initially expected for a YA book.
Things I loved:
- the writing itself. Ibrahim has fantastic writing that makes you curious about this world.
- the worldbuilding is done so well! I loved that there were journeys and a map, everything made sense and added up, and was so well done!
- I actually really liked the plot and the story. While it hit pretty close to what is going on in the world right now, making it a difficult read at times, it is a well done story. The reveals of the information worked well and I am incredibly curious to see what happens next in terms of the plot, based on the ending.
The things I struggled with/ what made this a 3 star read:
- I REALLY struggled with the characters in this book. I struggled to find them likeable to be honest as they all have major flaws. And while I appreciate flaws being a part of the characters, these ones were just too big... if all of the characters are unlikeable, I find it really hard to root for them. I did like Qayn from the beginning though, as he is a fantastic character. I will also note that a couple characters have very good arcs, and their arcs make me curious where they will go with the next books. But as this set everything up, it was a struggle.
- I'm not sure if this is a spoiler so I'll keep it vague, but the supposed "romance" that was trying to happen was so incredibly toxic thaf I couldn't get behind it at all. I get that they are teenagers and experiencing the harsh realities of the world or stuck under a terrible influence but my goodness. The switches in temperament/ personality and the toxic nature of the interactions irked me way too much. I can understand if the author is trying to do something with this as part of the story going forward in terms of how toxic it is, but not knowing where the story is going and seeing it as the possible "romance" for the series really doesn't work for me.
I am curious to read the next book, as I mentioned for the plot, and for Qayn and the sibling relationships. I think the next book would be the decider if I finish the series or not.
Definitely an interesting debut YA fantasy!
Highly recommend reading TW/CW before reading, as it was a LOT darker than I had initially expected for a YA book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying and Blood
Giving stitches to someone, family member missingcjwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a book that should be read by anyone who has ever wondered if they should step in to defend someone they did not know. It's a book that should be read by anyone who ever claimed reading is not political, or who ever pushed back against any action that upset the status quo.
It's a book that reminds readers that sometimes, the right choice isn't going to be a popular choice. It might not even be a legal choice. But standing up for what is right and fighting for those in need is still, ALWAYS, the right choice.
Spice Road is beautifully descriptive and I was fully engaged in the story from the start, despite my early dislike Imani, our FMC. For much of the book, she stubbornly and intentionally clung to the ignorance that granted her privilege both in and outside of her society...to the point of convincing herself that any independent thought or action from anyone around her must be caused by that individual being "not themselves" at the moment or influenced by outsiders or lying due to some plot against her/her family.
She truly believed that her government and the "old families" were correct and just and she frequently attempted to force her rule on everyone around her. She refused to listen to anyone, and whenever the possibility that she may be wrong occurred to her, she stubbornly pushed the thought away and refused to consider it.
It wasn't until Imani arrived in the outlands and saw the citizens, who her government taught were corrupt and unworthy of magic, that she realized that the government may have an agenda of their own. It wasn't until she came face to face with starvation and brutality that she began to open herself to the truth of her world.
Imani's growth through her journey was incredible and the lessons she learned applies fully and completely to our own world. All people deserve to be safe and free and, if someone is oppressing or hurting another, it is our duty to become their shield, in whatever way we can.
It's a book that reminds readers that sometimes, the right choice isn't going to be a popular choice. It might not even be a legal choice. But standing up for what is right and fighting for those in need is still, ALWAYS, the right choice.
Spice Road is beautifully descriptive and I was fully engaged in the story from the start, despite my early dislike Imani, our FMC. For much of the book, she stubbornly and intentionally clung to the ignorance that granted her privilege both in and outside of her society...to the point of convincing herself that any independent thought or action from anyone around her must be caused by that individual being "not themselves" at the moment or influenced by outsiders or lying due to some plot against her/her family.
She truly believed that her government and the "old families" were correct and just and she frequently attempted to force her rule on everyone around her. She refused to listen to anyone, and whenever the possibility that she may be wrong occurred to her, she stubbornly pushed the thought away and refused to consider it.
It wasn't until Imani arrived in the outlands and saw the citizens, who her government taught were corrupt and unworthy of magic, that she realized that the government may have an agenda of their own. It wasn't until she came face to face with starvation and brutality that she began to open herself to the truth of her world.
Imani's growth through her journey was incredible and the lessons she learned applies fully and completely to our own world. All people deserve to be safe and free and, if someone is oppressing or hurting another, it is our duty to become their shield, in whatever way we can.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault
honuzbubbles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism