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octopus18's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Loved the historical and geographical context, it's not a period I knew much about.
The fantasy appeared maybe a bit late in the story, I was confused about how "normal" and then suddenly how "magical" things were. It's set in a non magical world, but then when surnatural is introduced, it doesn't shock the characters very much...
A few anachronisms in the vocabulary used by the MC/narrator wrt the historical period the story is set in.
I also appreciated the diversity of characters (ethnicity, faith, LGBT+,...)
The fantasy appeared maybe a bit late in the story, I was confused about how "normal" and then suddenly how "magical" things were. It's set in a non magical world, but then when surnatural is introduced, it doesn't shock the characters very much...
A few anachronisms in the vocabulary used by the MC/narrator wrt the historical period the story is set in.
I also appreciated the diversity of characters (ethnicity, faith, LGBT+,...)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Rape and Slavery
nightstitch96's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror and Alcohol
Minor: Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, and Vomit
leabookjoy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
French & English reviews
Un énorme coup de coeur pour ce livre de fantasy historique qui m'a ravie du début à la fin
J'ai la facheuse tendance à lire par "mood" (des livres de socières vers Halloween, des livres où il fait froid vers Noël ... Ou encore des livres de sci-fi quand une nouvelle série Star Wars est sortie ><) ce qui fait que les livres qu'on m'offre sont souvent lus des années après quand ils se retrouvent par hasard parfaitement en harmonie avec mon envie du moment ... J'ai donc mis beaucoup trop de temps pour lire ce livre (pardon Cécile ><) mais une fois commencée, je l'ai DEVORE !
C'est probablement l'un de mes coups de coeur de cette année et en même temps, j'aurais du m'y attendre dès que j'ai vu qu'il y avait des pirates =)
Ce que j'ai particulièrement aimé :
- l'univers était absolument merveilleux, même sans les notes de l'auteure à la fin (qui m'ont fait ajouter plein de livres à ma PAL ><), on sent qu'elle a fait quantité de recherches sur le monde musulman côté océan indien à l'époque des croisades et j'ai absolument adoré m'immerger dans cette culture et ce temps (les lieux, les coutumes et bien sûr la place clé de l'océan !) Et bien sûr, j'ai adoré ce que l'auteure a créé en termes de magie inspirée du foklore de l'époque mais pas que (mention spéciale pour les peri mais aussi un certain "démon" =))
- l'intrigue était MAGIQUE ! Une quête épique qui commence par une jeune fille kidnappée et qui se transforme au fil des pages en quelque chose de beaucoup plus grand, j'ai été complètement happé par l'histoire et tous les rebondissements (mention spéciale pour la révélation de "Jamal" à la fin ... Je n'en dis pas plus =))
- les personnages qui sont l'un des gros points forts de ce livre ! J'ai beaucoup aimé le fait qu'ils soient tous très humains (même ceux qui ne le sont pas =)) et qu'on lise leurs doutes, leurs peurs et leurs erreurs sans fard ! J'ai aussi beaucoup apprécié qu'ils soient tous plus âgés (ce qui change de tous ces ados partant à l'aventure au top de leur forme !), qu'ils aient déjà une histoire, une famille et un vécu et qu'ils ne soient pas parfaits tout en étant très attachants !
Mention spéciale évidemment pour Amina que j'ai adoré avec tous ces défauts mais aussi son courage, son ingéniosité ... et le traitement de son ex mari (que j'ai tellement adoré xD)
Mention pour la diversité des personnages : j'ai souvent une impression très artificielle quand il y a des personnages LGBTQ+ dans un livre (sauf si c'est les personnages principaux) mais ici c'était extrement bien écrit et sans donner l'impression qu'ils avaient été "ajouté" uniquement pour leur genre ou leur orientation ... Même constat pour les questions de tolérance et de religion qui ont été très bien traité !
- CETTE FIN qui était absolument PARFAITE ! Je n'en dis pas plus mais j'ai adoré et même si je sais qu'il va y avoir d'autres livres (OUI !), ça pourrait se terminer ainsi =)
Bref, une fantasy historique pleine d'aventures et de magie que j'ai dévoré ! Je recommande aux fans d'histoire médiévale, de pirates des caraïbes et des contes des milles et une nuit =)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A huge favorite for this historical fantasy book that delighted me from beginning to end
I have the unfortunate tendency to read by "mood" (witch books around Halloween, books with cold settings around Christmas ... Or even sci-fi books when a new Star Wars series is released ><) which means that the books I am gifted are often read years later when they happen to be perfectly in harmony with my current mood ... That's why it took me way too long to read this book (sorry Cécile ><) but once I started, I DEVOURED it !
This is probably one of my favorites for this year and at the same time, I should have expected it as soon as I saw that there were pirates =)
What I particularly liked :
- the universe was absolutely wonderful, even without the author's notes at the end (which made me add a lot of books to my PAL ><), we can feel that she did a lot of research on the Muslim world on the Indian Ocean side at the time of the Crusades and I absolutely loved immersing myself in this culture and this time (the places, the customs and of course the key place of the ocean !) And of course, I loved what the author created in terms of magic inspired by the folklore of the time but not only (special mention for the peri but also a certain "demon" =))
- the plot was MAGICAL ! An epic quest that begins with a kidnapped young girl and transforms over the pages into something much bigger, I was completely captivated by the story and all the twists and turns (special mention for the revelation of "Jamal" at the end ... I won't say more =))
- the characters who are one of the big strong points of this book ! I really liked the fact that they are all very human (even those who are not =)) and that we read their doubts, their fears and their mistakes without embellishment ! I also really appreciated that they are all older (which is a change from all these teenagers going on an adventure at the top of their game !), that they already have a story, a family and an experience and that they are not perfect while being very endearing !
Special mention obviously for Amina that I loved with all her flaws but also her courage, her ingenuity ... and the treatment of her ex-husband (that I loved so much xD)
Mention for the diversity of the characters : I often have a very artificial impression when there are LGBTQ+ characters in a book (unless they are the main characters) but here it was extremely well written and without giving the impression that they had been "added" only for their gender or their orientation ... Same observation for the questions of tolerance and religion which were very well treated !
- THIS END which was absolutely PERFECT ! I won't say more but I loved it and even if I know that there will be other books (YES !!), it could end like this =)
In short, a historical fantasy full of adventures and magic that I devoured ! I recommend it to fans of medieval history, pirates of the caribbean and Arabian Nights =)
Un énorme coup de coeur pour ce livre de fantasy historique qui m'a ravie du début à la fin
J'ai la facheuse tendance à lire par "mood" (des livres de socières vers Halloween, des livres où il fait froid vers Noël ... Ou encore des livres de sci-fi quand une nouvelle série Star Wars est sortie ><) ce qui fait que les livres qu'on m'offre sont souvent lus des années après quand ils se retrouvent par hasard parfaitement en harmonie avec mon envie du moment ... J'ai donc mis beaucoup trop de temps pour lire ce livre (pardon Cécile ><) mais une fois commencée, je l'ai DEVORE !
C'est probablement l'un de mes coups de coeur de cette année et en même temps, j'aurais du m'y attendre dès que j'ai vu qu'il y avait des pirates =)
Ce que j'ai particulièrement aimé :
- l'univers était absolument merveilleux, même sans les notes de l'auteure à la fin (qui m'ont fait ajouter plein de livres à ma PAL ><), on sent qu'elle a fait quantité de recherches sur le monde musulman côté océan indien à l'époque des croisades et j'ai absolument adoré m'immerger dans cette culture et ce temps (les lieux, les coutumes et bien sûr la place clé de l'océan !) Et bien sûr, j'ai adoré ce que l'auteure a créé en termes de magie inspirée du foklore de l'époque mais pas que (mention spéciale pour les peri mais aussi un certain "démon" =))
- l'intrigue était MAGIQUE ! Une quête épique qui commence par une jeune fille kidnappée et qui se transforme au fil des pages en quelque chose de beaucoup plus grand, j'ai été complètement happé par l'histoire et tous les rebondissements (mention spéciale pour la révélation de "Jamal" à la fin ... Je n'en dis pas plus =))
- les personnages qui sont l'un des gros points forts de ce livre ! J'ai beaucoup aimé le fait qu'ils soient tous très humains (même ceux qui ne le sont pas =)) et qu'on lise leurs doutes, leurs peurs et leurs erreurs sans fard ! J'ai aussi beaucoup apprécié qu'ils soient tous plus âgés (ce qui change de tous ces ados partant à l'aventure au top de leur forme !), qu'ils aient déjà une histoire, une famille et un vécu et qu'ils ne soient pas parfaits tout en étant très attachants !
Mention spéciale évidemment pour Amina que j'ai adoré avec tous ces défauts mais aussi son courage, son ingéniosité ... et le traitement de son ex mari (que j'ai tellement adoré xD)
Mention pour la diversité des personnages : j'ai souvent une impression très artificielle quand il y a des personnages LGBTQ+ dans un livre (sauf si c'est les personnages principaux) mais ici c'était extrement bien écrit et sans donner l'impression qu'ils avaient été "ajouté" uniquement pour leur genre ou leur orientation ... Même constat pour les questions de tolérance et de religion qui ont été très bien traité !
- CETTE FIN qui était absolument PARFAITE ! Je n'en dis pas plus mais j'ai adoré et même si je sais qu'il va y avoir d'autres livres (OUI !), ça pourrait se terminer ainsi =)
Bref, une fantasy historique pleine d'aventures et de magie que j'ai dévoré ! Je recommande aux fans d'histoire médiévale, de pirates des caraïbes et des contes des milles et une nuit =)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A huge favorite for this historical fantasy book that delighted me from beginning to end
I have the unfortunate tendency to read by "mood" (witch books around Halloween, books with cold settings around Christmas ... Or even sci-fi books when a new Star Wars series is released ><) which means that the books I am gifted are often read years later when they happen to be perfectly in harmony with my current mood ... That's why it took me way too long to read this book (sorry Cécile ><) but once I started, I DEVOURED it !
This is probably one of my favorites for this year and at the same time, I should have expected it as soon as I saw that there were pirates =)
What I particularly liked :
- the universe was absolutely wonderful, even without the author's notes at the end (which made me add a lot of books to my PAL ><), we can feel that she did a lot of research on the Muslim world on the Indian Ocean side at the time of the Crusades and I absolutely loved immersing myself in this culture and this time (the places, the customs and of course the key place of the ocean !) And of course, I loved what the author created in terms of magic inspired by the folklore of the time but not only (special mention for the peri but also a certain "demon" =))
- the plot was MAGICAL ! An epic quest that begins with a kidnapped young girl and transforms over the pages into something much bigger, I was completely captivated by the story and all the twists and turns (special mention for the revelation of "Jamal" at the end ... I won't say more =))
- the characters who are one of the big strong points of this book ! I really liked the fact that they are all very human (even those who are not =)) and that we read their doubts, their fears and their mistakes without embellishment ! I also really appreciated that they are all older (which is a change from all these teenagers going on an adventure at the top of their game !), that they already have a story, a family and an experience and that they are not perfect while being very endearing !
Special mention obviously for Amina that I loved with all her flaws but also her courage, her ingenuity ... and the treatment of her ex-husband (that I loved so much xD)
Mention for the diversity of the characters : I often have a very artificial impression when there are LGBTQ+ characters in a book (unless they are the main characters) but here it was extremely well written and without giving the impression that they had been "added" only for their gender or their orientation ... Same observation for the questions of tolerance and religion which were very well treated !
- THIS END which was absolutely PERFECT ! I won't say more but I loved it and even if I know that there will be other books (YES !!), it could end like this =)
In short, a historical fantasy full of adventures and magic that I devoured ! I recommend it to fans of medieval history, pirates of the caribbean and Arabian Nights =)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Slavery
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Deadnaming, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and War
emmaggedon's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
You could almost taste the salt as you read it - fantastic and utterly immersive. I can’t wait for the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Slavery and Islamophobia
mamaewalk's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Slavery, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
gleigh96's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
So much fun. I look forward to the sequel. Don’t mistake this for a children’s book, it has adult themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Vomit, and Alcohol
boba_nbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️
Author of the Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty, brings us back to this beautiful and dangerous world through the story of a middle-aged, human, ex-pirate: Amina al-Sirafi.
The name "Amina al-Sirafi" strikes fear into the hearts of many due to her scandalous pirating career. Now, she's settled at home with her mother and daughter. She should be content. But when the wealthy mother of a former crewman shows up at her door begging Amina into finding her granddaughter, she thinks it's a sign from God to have one last adventure with her friends before she officially retires. Little does she know that this task will lead her and her crew into mysteries and legends Amina could've only dreamed of.
S.A. Chakraborty took elements of a classic pirate story--a diverse and fun-loving crew, a quest for treasure, fearsome creatures--and added her own twist to it. The Daevabad Trilogy has to be one of my favorite fantasy series, so diving back into this world was so much fun.
Author of the Daevabad Trilogy, S.A. Chakraborty, brings us back to this beautiful and dangerous world through the story of a middle-aged, human, ex-pirate: Amina al-Sirafi.
The name "Amina al-Sirafi" strikes fear into the hearts of many due to her scandalous pirating career. Now, she's settled at home with her mother and daughter. She should be content. But when the wealthy mother of a former crewman shows up at her door begging Amina into finding her granddaughter, she thinks it's a sign from God to have one last adventure with her friends before she officially retires. Little does she know that this task will lead her and her crew into mysteries and legends Amina could've only dreamed of.
S.A. Chakraborty took elements of a classic pirate story--a diverse and fun-loving crew, a quest for treasure, fearsome creatures--and added her own twist to it. The Daevabad Trilogy has to be one of my favorite fantasy series, so diving back into this world was so much fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, and Transphobia
im_john_laurens's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Slavery
booksemmahasread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol