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mahra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Amina Al-Sirafi, the Legend that you are.
Oh, I loved this so much. Incredible read.
Amina Al-Sirafi is a fierce pirate captain who retired and spent the past few years raising her daughter. A mysterious benefactor offers her a mission and a prize that no pirate worth their salt would refuse. She is then forced to reunite with her former crew and embarks on a long journey across the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
This book is essentially a heist story, set on the sea, in a fantasy world.
We finally have a middle-aged female main character. She is a muslim woman, and the author does not make her turn against her religion or remove her hijab. Who would have thought this was possible? *eyeroll* And for that, S. A. Chakraborty, I thank you. How refreshing!
The prose? Immaculate. The worldbuilding? Immersive. The characters? Captivating.
Why not a five stars then? Well, the story took a crazy turn
Still, it is one of my favorite reads of 2023. I cannot wait to see what happens next.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Amina al-Sirafi has put her pirate days behind her. Now she lives with her daughter and mother far away from the rumors about her younger days. But Amina's calm life is thrown into turmoil when a woman comes looking for her help and knows exactly who she is. Her granddaughter has been kidnapped and she offers Amina a pretty sum to go rescue her. Amina has no interest until she learns who the granddaughter is and how she's tied to Amina's past. She'll have to get the band back together if she has any hope of completing her quest.
Chakraborty has created such a fun historical fantasy novel full of great characters, peril, and a dash of the fantastic. I love pirate stories and this one does not disappoint. This novel is also a breath of fresh air among the troves of novels centered on character in their 20s. Amina and her crew are nearing middle age with a number of adventures behind them. Chakraborty does an excellent job of slowing rolling out information about Amina and her crew's past.
The audiobook of this is fantastic and actually leans into the frame story of Amina telling this tale herself. I'm so excited that this is the start of a series because I can't wait to go sailing with Amina and her crew again.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape and Sexual violence
walkie_check's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Genocide, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
arantzazureads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Colonisation
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
sunnydale's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i love that the protagonist's faith is central to her character, and we're also able to see how it's developed throughout her life. her faith is sometimes messy, sometimes self-contradicting, but she also never doubts her core beliefs, and she's a more authentic character because of it.
irrelevant to the quality of the book, i noticed that "midnight" is the author's favorite adjective for anything dark. "midnight beach," "midnight ocean," "midnight fabric," etc. it felt like a scavenger hunt trying to find the word in each chapter, lol.
i would recommend this to fans of fantasy, especially those who are looking for non-western fantasy settings. i definitely recommend the audiobook, although you might want a print or ebook copy for the helpful bibliography.
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Violence and sexual content are at a PG-13 rating. There is a lot of swearing. The cat is fine.miraileah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The book got too violent for my tastes at times. Some of the plot armour the main characters had got pretty convoluted. Still, I look forward to seeing more in this series.
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Vomit, Islamophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and War
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
edamamebean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Rape, Slavery, and Abandonment