Reviews

The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

readingintothevoid's review against another edition

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Even though I previously found a book by this author very boring, I thought this desert fantasy with kickass women murdering slavers and Quran verses incorporated sounded really interesting. On page 6 the quote, “She had killed many men in this effort. And did not regret it.” had me convinced I was going to love this.

However, on page 10, this quote had me questioning things, “…women didn’t ride in Talisman territory. They covered their heads, their faces, their bodies. Their voices were silenced…” I’m like wait… since the two MC women who were already described as shocking the slavers they killed by having their hair uncovered, is the author now directly equating women covering themselves with oppression and being silenced? Because I’m not down with that.

So I decided to look at reviews and found a lot of discussion about the only Black character in the book being frequently compared negatively to the other fair skinned MC. And since I had already raised my eyebrows a bit at the Black MC being described in the first paragraph of the book as “coal-skinned”, I’m confident that I am not going to take any more kindly to these issues other reviewers mention happen throughout the book.

I couldn’t find any reviews discussing the issue I see might be developing with the author equating hijabs and women covering themselves with oppression so I don’t know if this remains an issue throughout the book. But me questioning these things I find very troubling before I’m even past ten pages… I think I’m comfortable simply DNFing.

leavingsealevel's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is not perfect, but I can’t imagine giving it less than five stars.

random_queer_human's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

espeonesque's review against another edition

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This book requires a glossary to read. It does have one, but it didn't help. There's an overwhelming amount of this world specific jargon that is never explained, and I was hoping to pick some of it up but even a third of the way in it reads like I picked up a book halfway through a series. I just cannot do it anymore 

faehistory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

captnaner's review against another edition

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It felt like I was missing elements of a world that had been built in another series. 

logarithm's review against another edition

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Dnf @10%

gabyk_lib's review against another edition

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4.0

Interesting and fun characters and a great plot

summzies's review against another edition

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5.0

Love love loveddddd this, honestly I am always impressed with Ausma's books, her mystery series has been an excellent read and covered some super relevant real world topics (that are often overlooked) in a very digestible way without compromising the plot arc/character development. But wow, The Bloodprint was phenomenal, fantasy has a special place in my heart and this hit the spot. Definitely recommend going into this book blind, read the synopsis and agonize over reviews if that's your thing, but this one is a fun read without a preview! Can't wait for more, props to the author!

jess_segraves's review against another edition

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1.0

So... I clearly did not love this book. I was really excited about the premise but it fell incredibly flat for me.

Some of the problems:
- Not enough character development. The way the characters are written, it's very hard to connect with them. That's especially problematic since you're supposed to be rooting for the protagonist Arian and her band of cohorts on a perilous quest.
- Too much telling via stilted dialogue.
- Too many new places, things, and philosophies. While being dropped in media res isn't a bad thing, it is if it leads to confusion.

MINOR SPOILERS
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Arian is so beautiful that no man can resist her. Sinnia and Arian are supposed to have this partner-level connection, which I did not glean at all from how Sinnia and Arian's relationship was described. Sinnia also ends up as this secondary POC who Arian frequently either forgets or ignores.
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To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I wanted to love this book but as time went on, I felt more frustrated by what wasn't happening than by what was.