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kesreads13's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Colonisation
Minor: Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Blood, Islamophobia, and Trafficking
meggiemeggie52's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
I'm not usually a fantasy girlie, but I really enjoyed this! It was so descriptive and well-written, and I quickly grew to love the characters. Some parts got a little gory for my taste, but it really wasn't that often compared to the size of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
There's not a LOT of the really graphic stuff until the last third of the book, I'd say, but even that isn't as high in quantity as one might expect from a pirate fantasy. But it does get quite descriptive and gave me the heebie jeebies a few times.kristenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
kirtreads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was really fun! The story was interesting, but I think that the characters are the star of the show. Each character has a really unique voice and feel like a fully fleshed out person. They each brought something fun to the story and I never felt annoyed with a character. I honestly would just be okay with a book that is just the characters hanging out on a boat and doing nothing else.
I listened to the audiobook and I really loved how each of the characters were narrated. The voices all were really distinct and really communicated the characters personality. It was such a fun story to listen to.
The book did take a little bit of time to get going and it did sometimes feel like the story was slower paced than I wanted. I also wanted a little more of her crew, which I am hoping that I will get in a sequel. It also felt weirdly episodic and chunked out instead of one smooth story, but I don't mind that.
I thought that the book presented the idea of struggling to be a mother in this chaotic lifestyle but that sometimes felt like it was on the side for a lot of the plot. We had Almina constantly mentioning getting back to her daughter but thenwhen she decides that she does actually want to travel and balance a life on the sea with being a part it feels rushed and there is almost no consideration for it. I know why the author did it, but I wanted a little more from that theme if you are going to lay it out as the main premise of the novel.
Overall, had a great time with this book, it was super fun and the narrator work was great.
I listened to the audiobook and I really loved how each of the characters were narrated. The voices all were really distinct and really communicated the characters personality. It was such a fun story to listen to.
The book did take a little bit of time to get going and it did sometimes feel like the story was slower paced than I wanted. I also wanted a little more of her crew, which I am hoping that I will get in a sequel. It also felt weirdly episodic and chunked out instead of one smooth story, but I don't mind that.
I thought that the book presented the idea of struggling to be a mother in this chaotic lifestyle but that sometimes felt like it was on the side for a lot of the plot. We had Almina constantly mentioning getting back to her daughter but then
Overall, had a great time with this book, it was super fun and the narrator work was great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content and Religious bigotry
keelirae113's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
The story has a slow start, but once I got past the world building I was hooked! A fantastic read for anyone who has ever been told there is a “respectable” life they need to fit themselves into. You aren’t too much and anyone who thinks you are can go find less.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Islamophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Cultural appropriation
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-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? Yes
4.0
A middle aged female pirate is forced to come out of retirement for one more adventure. Re-recruiting her former crew to rescue the grandchild of a wealthy woman, who also happens to be the mother of another former crew member.
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.The island bit was genuinely so messy and felt so rushed and unnecessary, I almost put the book down. Anything from landing on the island to the moment when they found Magnun felt like filler, filler which is unfortunately a plotpoint for the continuation of the series.
Raksh also had the potential to be such a fun character, but the amount of times he used the phrase "sexual intercourse" honestly made my skin crawl. That was just unnecessary.
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
dogearedbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Transphobia
machenn's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
twiller's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.75
Y’all, this is a weird one! Not bad by any means (I rly enjoyed a lot of it, actually!) but certainly strange. The first half of the book is this “season 1 of a longform adventure anime”-esque collecting-the-squad montage and easily the best part of the book. Anima is a striking but relatable main character with oodles of flair and the supporting cast introductions are banger after banger. I’m completely obsessed with the first like, 300 pages. The later parts are… bizarre. Continuing the anime comparison, the last 100 pages or so feel like when an anime’s last arc is too long to put in one episode but the creators wanna make one BIG IMPACT finale so they just do the entire last volume of the manga in a big season-ending movie. It’s not bad! It just throws a LOT at the reader in very quick successions and very little of it is fleshed out enough to rly leave an impression. I’m intrigued by the ideas presented towards the end, but they never rly grow beyond those ideas. It makes complete sense to me that this is the first part of the trilogy, there’s plenty to expand on here, but I’ve read series-beginning books that have a more complete stand-alone plot than this. As it is, it never rly feels like this book ever “ends”. It just kinda… stops. I prolly will check out the sequels bc, as I said, I’m interested in the concepts presented here, plus I’ve heard Chakraborty’s other series (which I have not read) has a similarly rusty start but leads to an incredible payoff. We shall see!
Last thought: As a history nerd and SPECIFICALLY a historical fiction lover that will tear my hair out if I have to look at another fucking Austen-wannabe Victorian romance, I am soooo happy that Chakraborty’s works and Islamic/MENA/South Asian historical fiction stories as a whole are getting some traction (finally some good fucking food). That being said, I’ve seen some ppl say that they’re bummed that the Muslim fantasy novel with a mostly brown cast getting press is written by a white American lady n… yeah that kinda sucks. I don’t think it’s any fault of Chakraborty’s herself (she is Muslim herself and it’s obvious from her extensive source list and author’s note that she tried incredibly hard to do this story justice), but once again the publishing industry reveals its deeeeeeeeep biases. I genuinely recommend this book even through all of its flaws, but I also recommend checking out some lesser known works by global Muslim authors. Idk I doubt that’s a particularly hot take but yeah anyway um!!! This review is rambly but i don’t care I have to go study for an exam bye!!!
Last thought: As a history nerd and SPECIFICALLY a historical fiction lover that will tear my hair out if I have to look at another fucking Austen-wannabe Victorian romance, I am soooo happy that Chakraborty’s works and Islamic/MENA/South Asian historical fiction stories as a whole are getting some traction (finally some good fucking food). That being said, I’ve seen some ppl say that they’re bummed that the Muslim fantasy novel with a mostly brown cast getting press is written by a white American lady n… yeah that kinda sucks. I don’t think it’s any fault of Chakraborty’s herself (she is Muslim herself and it’s obvious from her extensive source list and author’s note that she tried incredibly hard to do this story justice), but once again the publishing industry reveals its deeeeeeeeep biases. I genuinely recommend this book even through all of its flaws, but I also recommend checking out some lesser known works by global Muslim authors. Idk I doubt that’s a particularly hot take but yeah anyway um!!! This review is rambly but i don’t care I have to go study for an exam bye!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
It took me altogether far too long to finish this book. It was first hampered by my borrowed copy being uncomfortable to hold. Those book of the month books are satisfyingly uniform on a shelf but annoying for my wrists when I want to read them. I switched to a digital copy and then had to contend with the slog as Amina pulls her crew together, which is the main reason I can’t give this five stars. Each small victory was interesting but it took so long I felt myself getting impatient to get to the meat of the story. It picked up for me after Amina’s second meeting with Salima and then I was fully bought in.
Having a main character who is an older woman, highly competent, and a parent who still has their own dreams and goals was such a nice reprieve from young, inexperienced narrators who are always five steps behind the Big Bad but somehow manage to prevail. Amina is a beautifully written character and her supporting cast is equally captivating. They are devoted to her yet not subservient like she’s their only reason for breathing. The villains and the morally ambiguous characters are just as developed and I’m thankful they received the same treatment rather than being caricatures of evil.
I was not ready for the trippy turn around the 70% mark but I loved it. It cemented for me how perfectly this would work if adapted to a TV series. It gave the much needed push to boost Amina to become someone worthy of the tales told about her. It’s also such an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy elements intermingled with historical bureaucracy and religious and political machinations.
Most of the characters ascribe to a faith and it is frequently discussed and referenced. In my opinion, it is never preachy or pushing any kind of agenda on anyone, it is merely as simple as believing. If any religious aspects of a book make you uncomfortable, this is not the book for you. Likewise, there is talk of genocidal crusades, horrific murders and threats of sexual violence. Skip this if you’re sensitive to those topics. For anyone else, I do recommend giving this a try.
Having a main character who is an older woman, highly competent, and a parent who still has their own dreams and goals was such a nice reprieve from young, inexperienced narrators who are always five steps behind the Big Bad but somehow manage to prevail. Amina is a beautifully written character and her supporting cast is equally captivating. They are devoted to her yet not subservient like she’s their only reason for breathing. The villains and the morally ambiguous characters are just as developed and I’m thankful they received the same treatment rather than being caricatures of evil.
I was not ready for the trippy turn around the 70% mark but I loved it. It cemented for me how perfectly this would work if adapted to a TV series. It gave the much needed push to boost Amina to become someone worthy of the tales told about her. It’s also such an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy elements intermingled with historical bureaucracy and religious and political machinations.
Most of the characters ascribe to a faith and it is frequently discussed and referenced. In my opinion, it is never preachy or pushing any kind of agenda on anyone, it is merely as simple as believing. If any religious aspects of a book make you uncomfortable, this is not the book for you. Likewise, there is talk of genocidal crusades, horrific murders and threats of sexual violence. Skip this if you’re sensitive to those topics. For anyone else, I do recommend giving this a try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism