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_nika_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
About the book:
Author: Maiya Ibrahim
Published: 2023
Pages: 488
Genre: YA-Fantasy
Read in English
What you can expect:
-arabian-inspired setting
-magic tea
-a handsome djinni
-a fiercely loyal fmc
-a grumpy beastseer
-themes of grief, betrayal and colonialism
Plot:
Seventeen-year-old Imani, part of her desert cities defensive forces, is known as the djinn-slayer. Through a secret spice tea she gains the ability to manipulate her iron dagger into any weapon she chooses. After her sister runs out into the desert to catch the fleeting horse of their presumed dead brother, she uncovers evidence that her brother was giving away the spice to rebellious forces of another kingdom. Desperate to save her brother she suggests a search and rescue to the cities council. However, the council parnters her up with the more expierenced scout Taha and his cousins. Imani accepts to join her greatest rival on the mission, not having another choice if she wants to bring her brother home safe.
I was invested in the plot from the very beginning. I wanted to learn more about the magic, the setting and the mysterious kingdom waiting beyond the desert. From the beginning of the journey until the end the pacing stays enticing. Even at moments were I expected it to slow down there were always new details being uncovered. The end of course gets even tenser and delivers a thrilling finale.
Characters:
Our female main character is the djinn-slayer Imani, with an affinity for iron. She is fiercly loyal to her family and has a clear moral code. Following her through the story she has to battle fitting the new impressions into her moral code and world view. This makes for a well done inner conflict, that doen't need to rely purely on a love interest.
The male main characters are Taha and Qayn. Taha being Imani's rival through their family history and opposing perspectives. His affinity allows him to see into the minds of different animals and controlling their actions. Imani struggles to understand his motivations through out the whole book as Taha himself is under pressure coming from his father and tends to act unpredicably. Qayn on the other hand is a centuries old djinni, who promisises Imani to assist her with finding her brother in exchange for his life and a ride to the kingdom Imani's brother was last seen in.
I personally really enjoyed the characters and getting to know their indivual motivations. While Imani occasionally made some rash decisions, in my opinion that is to be expected from a 17-year old getting their world view turned upside down. Taha's hot and cold with Imani had me guessing at his motivations along side with her. Qayn's mysterious past had me intruiged from the first meeting. Like Imani I found myself questioning his honesty and true plans for Imani and her brother.
Final Thoughts:
The main selling point of this book for me is the beautiful writing. It is so stunningly executed that I constantly felt in awe of an unreal world. The main themes of grief and in the later half colonialism felt very real yet tastefully done. Especially Imani's struggle to face this other, cruel world outside of her sheltered home resonated with me. The romance plays mostly a smaller part in the plot, however the ending has me excited to see how it will develop in the next book!
All in all I can definitely recommend this to anyone still fond of YA! I can't wait to read the next book and see how Imani deals with everything she's learned.
Published: 2023
Pages: 488
Genre: YA-Fantasy
Read in English
What you can expect:
-arabian-inspired setting
-magic tea
-a handsome djinni
-a fiercely loyal fmc
-a grumpy beastseer
-themes of grief, betrayal and colonialism
Plot:
Seventeen-year-old Imani, part of her desert cities defensive forces, is known as the djinn-slayer. Through a secret spice tea she gains the ability to manipulate her iron dagger into any weapon she chooses. After her sister runs out into the desert to catch the fleeting horse of their presumed dead brother, she uncovers evidence that her brother was giving away the spice to rebellious forces of another kingdom. Desperate to save her brother she suggests a search and rescue to the cities council. However, the council parnters her up with the more expierenced scout Taha and his cousins. Imani accepts to join her greatest rival on the mission, not having another choice if she wants to bring her brother home safe.
I was invested in the plot from the very beginning. I wanted to learn more about the magic, the setting and the mysterious kingdom waiting beyond the desert. From the beginning of the journey until the end the pacing stays enticing. Even at moments were I expected it to slow down there were always new details being uncovered. The end of course gets even tenser and delivers a thrilling finale.
Characters:
Our female main character is the djinn-slayer Imani, with an affinity for iron. She is fiercly loyal to her family and has a clear moral code. Following her through the story she has to battle fitting the new impressions into her moral code and world view. This makes for a well done inner conflict, that doen't need to rely purely on a love interest.
The male main characters are Taha and Qayn. Taha being Imani's rival through their family history and opposing perspectives. His affinity allows him to see into the minds of different animals and controlling their actions. Imani struggles to understand his motivations through out the whole book as Taha himself is under pressure coming from his father and tends to act unpredicably. Qayn on the other hand is a centuries old djinni, who promisises Imani to assist her with finding her brother in exchange for his life and a ride to the kingdom Imani's brother was last seen in.
I personally really enjoyed the characters and getting to know their indivual motivations. While Imani occasionally made some rash decisions, in my opinion that is to be expected from a 17-year old getting their world view turned upside down. Taha's hot and cold with Imani had me guessing at his motivations along side with her. Qayn's mysterious past had me intruiged from the first meeting. Like Imani I found myself questioning his honesty and true plans for Imani and her brother.
Final Thoughts:
The main selling point of this book for me is the beautiful writing. It is so stunningly executed that I constantly felt in awe of an unreal world. The main themes of grief and in the later half colonialism felt very real yet tastefully done. Especially Imani's struggle to face this other, cruel world outside of her sheltered home resonated with me. The romance plays mostly a smaller part in the plot, however the ending has me excited to see how it will develop in the next book!
All in all I can definitely recommend this to anyone still fond of YA! I can't wait to read the next book and see how Imani deals with everything she's learned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: War
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
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 missinghardcoverhaven's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
joygarcialim's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Imagine being catfished and after having met the catfisher and he’s a 9/10 instead of the 5/10 you were led to believe, and yet you stay on to complete the date because you have been compelled somehow to find out more about him as a person, why would a good-looking person catfish as a less attractive person, but in the first minute he stands up, rips off his face to reveal he was wearing a mask, and he’s actually a 2/10, and you stay still, confused but even more compelled, on the date. That’s the Spice Road in a nutshell. The blurb sounded so good, but it was a hot mess whilst being compelling somehow, if only to see how much outlandish it gets. Kinda like watching a train wreck you can’t turn away from.
Imani, the MC, starts off being extremely bigoted. It made sense for her to be like that along with her backstory, and yet it goes on for a persistently long duration throughout the book without any signs of character growth until page 180+, and by page 366 she’s still bullshit, exploiting people’s trust to serve her own needs. She was extremely brainwashed and even when that started to derail, she seemed kind of self-serving. For instance, she displayed sympathy for someone only because she wanted people to feel empathy if her loved one was in that same situation. It’s interesting to read the book from her inner monologue because she’s untrusting yet naive, believed she was selfless when she was self-serving, and these are themes can be witnessed from everyday people. Mostly though, she was insufferable. The characterisation can be very, very awkward because she some times showed introspection but only when people reacted in a way she didn’t want.
She was very stubbornly ignorant, during the scene of the execution, she was still unaware of why her brother might leave the safety of their nest to fight alongside the rebels. The weird execution scene got even weirder because Imani expected the girl to say her last words whilst being executed, that is, whilst the noose around her neck and she’s suspending in air. It’s certainly odd to say the least, it’s hard to tell if this a deliberate choice by the author but it adds on to Imani’s bigotry so it kind of worked.
None of the characters were likeable, I’m going so far as to say most of the characters are unlikeable. Even if they were on the side of the morally ambitious, they didn’t have many dimensions or layers, and were mostly just annoying. The only character which had any enticement to them was Qayn.
Taha was a whole ‘nother hot mess. There were hints as to why he might hate Imani, but no clues as to why he likes her. It wasn’t clear if he displayed affection to Imani purely out of true affections or if he had other motives, and there was no indications at any point about it either. There didn’t seem to be much chemistry between Taha and Imani, he was nice to her when they weren’t alone for absolutely no reason. It’s not even a bad thing if people are nice to someone for no reason, but it didn’t work in the context of this book. He was an a-hole towards Imani preceding their travels and there were no nuances to show he harboured feelings towards her.
Speaking of nuances, the writing in general was not good. It was so unnuanced, and had a very-in-your-face way about the narrative. There were heavy, heavy themes ie. white colonisation and execution. These very controversial and sensitive topics are thrown in and there would have been no difference in writing “ooh here’s colonisation, it’s white and it makes me feel bad, and I don’t know why!”.
The author will benefit from learning how to string a story which has highs and lows, peaks and dips; basically shading. There were chapters where absolutely nothing happened, and when the pace picked up, it is just full of action. I mean there was something big happening in every single chapter, but relatively speaking, it didn’t seem like it amongst the nest of other chapters. Everything went wrong, something had to go wrong every chapter from where the action picked up. Additionally, there were so many flashback insertions that it minimised the plot.
Examples of bad writing from the book:
“He is hurting deeply and raising defensive walls to stop anyone from touching that open wound.”
“The weary impoverished hunch on the stoops of homes and flagging shops, smoking pipes, handling prayer beads, whiling the day away for lack of a viable alternative.”
“One of her kohl-lined eyes is the colour of wet clay and exudes hard judgment; the other is concealed by a black patch.”
“Curse him, he is a ship that capsized, no matter the gale. But I will try.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
Maiya Ibrahim's Spice Road - the first in a trilogy - is a novel that for me, worked best in its last 200 pages or so.
I don't mean to say in this that the rest of it was bad, as it wasn't. Spice Road is a book that I am still trying to work out my feelings for. It took a long time for me to read it - over a month - and that may have had something to do with it.
I can appreciate Ibrahim's intent here, and for what I believe is a debut author, I think - objectively - that she has done some very accomplished work here. The worldbuilding and magic system was reasonably crafted and was well-communicated to the reader. The characters were well-drawn and developed, particularly Imani (our MC), Taha and Qayn. I puzzled over the motives of the latter two of these characters constantly, which I suspect was Ibrahim's intention. The action scenes were fast-paced and contrasted well with the quieter moments between.
Maybe the problem was despite the quality of the worldbuilding, fantasy elements, pacing and characters, I couldn't get into it enough, in a way that I'm really having trouble describing here. I did fly through the last 200 pages because it was compellingly written and really well-paced. But even then, I couldn't really warm up to it.
The ending of the book left me with enough potential to make me consider continuing the series when the next book is released, but I haven't decided yet.
Objectively, Spice Road is a good book. Emotionally, I'm not entirely sure.
I don't mean to say in this that the rest of it was bad, as it wasn't. Spice Road is a book that I am still trying to work out my feelings for. It took a long time for me to read it - over a month - and that may have had something to do with it.
I can appreciate Ibrahim's intent here, and for what I believe is a debut author, I think - objectively - that she has done some very accomplished work here. The worldbuilding and magic system was reasonably crafted and was well-communicated to the reader. The characters were well-drawn and developed, particularly Imani (our MC), Taha and Qayn. I puzzled over the motives of the latter two of these characters constantly, which I suspect was Ibrahim's intention. The action scenes were fast-paced and contrasted well with the quieter moments between.
Maybe the problem was despite the quality of the worldbuilding, fantasy elements, pacing and characters, I couldn't get into it enough, in a way that I'm really having trouble describing here. I did fly through the last 200 pages because it was compellingly written and really well-paced. But even then, I couldn't really warm up to it.
The ending of the book left me with enough potential to make me consider continuing the series when the next book is released, but I haven't decided yet.
Objectively, Spice Road is a good book. Emotionally, I'm not entirely sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cultural appropriation and War
espressoreader's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder
campisforever's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Ao3 Rating: T
5 word description: Lush. Gorgeous. Moving. Poignant. Inspiring.
This is such a lovely book with complex, dynamic characters. Ibrahim's skill with feelings, inspiring us to feel differently about different characters over the course of the story, is simply breathtaking! The story hits the major question at the heart of something like Black Panther--about isolation and solidarity. It marks the difference between an anti/decolonial narrative mediated by a white gaze versus one that isn't.
5 word description: Lush. Gorgeous. Moving. Poignant. Inspiring.
This is such a lovely book with complex, dynamic characters. Ibrahim's skill with feelings, inspiring us to feel differently about different characters over the course of the story, is simply breathtaking! The story hits the major question at the heart of something like Black Panther--about isolation and solidarity. It marks the difference between an anti/decolonial narrative mediated by a white gaze versus one that isn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Torture, and War
All content warnings are in the context of an anticolonial narrative about resistance. It is worth noting that the classism is itself not contained to a colonizer/colonized divide, but a complex discussion of class oppression *within* a colonized society.
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