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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
dinipandareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to Delacorte Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars!
I have to admit that the start of this book was rough going for me and I was even a little worried that it'd be my first low-rated read of 2023. But I'm glad that my persistence paid off because I ended up loving how this went and that ending has me so eager for the next book already. I'm invested and I can't wait to get my hands on the next instalment to see what happens next! 😍
I enjoyed the world-building in this book. It wasn't perfect and there were elements that I wish had been better expanded upon—for example, the magical history of the Great Spirit, the clan tensions and family history, but it didn't bother me overly much while I was reading. We do learn a little bit about how this magical society functions and we do get glimpses of the political tensions between clans, but it's not very in-depth and a bit more tell than show. I would've liked to see more of the differences in treatment between the more affluent clans rather than just being told about it. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. From Qalia's desert oasis town vibes to the unknown sands and the magical city held within to the chaos of a colonized city teeming with fear and brutality across the desert border—every location was so vividly depicted and easy to picture. I think my favourite was the magical desert city but it was also, by far, the creepiest location as well!
The plot itself was pretty straightforward and simple as we follow this group of Shields from Qalia as they cross the desert to retrieve Atheer and bring him back home so he can answer for his treasonous actions. The story is told from Imani's point of view and although I tend to prefer multiple POVs, especially when the story involves a 'crew' such as it does here, I appreciated how getting only her pov allowed her character to grow as much as she did. Getting only one pov also increased the tensions between characters and I had a lot of fun trying to understand their motives and whether they were genuine and trustworthy or not. I will say there were some great character and plot twists that I didn't particularly see coming and it shocked me and made me furious too, but there's no doubt it also has upped the tension so much and I can't wait to see how these relationships play out in the next book!
As much as I was invested in their journey, it was really the characters, specifically Imani, that made reading this book such a roller coaster ride for me. I admittedly couldn't stand her at first and there were multiple times I wanted to put this down and stop reading because it was so unpleasant being in her head! She's sheltered, naive, spoiled and entitled, and honestly believed she knew everything right and good and true. In reality, she was willfully ignorant about many things from her privilege to her brother's disappearance and her sister's changing behaviour. She was really something else at the beginning but I told myself to have patience and I'm so glad that I stuck with this story because Imani's growth throughout the journey was so well done! The changes don't happen quickly and although part of me wished that she "opened her eyes" sooner, it felt more organic and believable how it unfolded. As she found herself making decisions and encountering situations she never thought she would, she was forced to acknowledge her privilege and confront her worldviews and harsh judgement of others when their actions deviated from what she considered to be right. She doesn't immediately accept her views might be flawed nor does her character do a complete 180 once she does accept it—she still makes mistakes and stupid decisions, but she makes a concerted effort to be more open-minded. I really appreciated that about her character and it made me enjoy the latter half of the story so much more.
Aside from Imani, there were quite a few side characters but most of them were pretty flat in comparison and existed mainly to push the story along. I was really curious about Taha and until now, I still haven't figured out what's up with him. There's no doubt he's been through a lot, especially knowing what his father is like, but the minute I think he's one type of way, he does something to prove that completely wrong. It makes me wonder what's really going on with him and I hope that we find out in the next book! I also wanted to learn more about Qayn and I'm slightly disappointed that he didn't have a bigger role in this first book. There's no doubt that we're going to get a lot more of him in the coming book but he really felt like a prop in this. Another character that I really liked and who piqued my curiosity was Amari, Imani and Atheer's younger sister. She's feisty and stubborn as hell and there were times when she acted pretty immature but then I remembered she's actually pretty young and she acted like it. But there also seems to be more backstory to what's been going on with her and I'm hoping that once the crew returns to Qalia, we'll get to learn more about her character. There's a big focus on family and the complicated relationship between siblings. I admired Imani's dedication to rescuing her brother and I also liked how strong the sibling bond was between the three of them.
Overall, despite a rough start and a slightly rocky road along the way, I thought this was a great debut YA fantasy novel. I was definitely invested in these characters and their journey by the end and I can't wait to see what happens next; all I know is that it's only going to get more intense from here.
I have to admit that the start of this book was rough going for me and I was even a little worried that it'd be my first low-rated read of 2023. But I'm glad that my persistence paid off because I ended up loving how this went and that ending has me so eager for the next book already. I'm invested and I can't wait to get my hands on the next instalment to see what happens next! 😍
I enjoyed the world-building in this book. It wasn't perfect and there were elements that I wish had been better expanded upon—for example, the magical history of the Great Spirit, the clan tensions and family history, but it didn't bother me overly much while I was reading. We do learn a little bit about how this magical society functions and we do get glimpses of the political tensions between clans, but it's not very in-depth and a bit more tell than show. I would've liked to see more of the differences in treatment between the more affluent clans rather than just being told about it. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. From Qalia's desert oasis town vibes to the unknown sands and the magical city held within to the chaos of a colonized city teeming with fear and brutality across the desert border—every location was so vividly depicted and easy to picture. I think my favourite was the magical desert city but it was also, by far, the creepiest location as well!
The plot itself was pretty straightforward and simple as we follow this group of Shields from Qalia as they cross the desert to retrieve Atheer and bring him back home so he can answer for his treasonous actions. The story is told from Imani's point of view and although I tend to prefer multiple POVs, especially when the story involves a 'crew' such as it does here, I appreciated how getting only her pov allowed her character to grow as much as she did. Getting only one pov also increased the tensions between characters and I had a lot of fun trying to understand their motives and whether they were genuine and trustworthy or not. I will say there were some great character and plot twists that I didn't particularly see coming and it shocked me and made me furious too, but there's no doubt it also has upped the tension so much and I can't wait to see how these relationships play out in the next book!
As much as I was invested in their journey, it was really the characters, specifically Imani, that made reading this book such a roller coaster ride for me. I admittedly couldn't stand her at first and there were multiple times I wanted to put this down and stop reading because it was so unpleasant being in her head! She's sheltered, naive, spoiled and entitled, and honestly believed she knew everything right and good and true. In reality, she was willfully ignorant about many things from her privilege to her brother's disappearance and her sister's changing behaviour. She was really something else at the beginning but I told myself to have patience and I'm so glad that I stuck with this story because Imani's growth throughout the journey was so well done! The changes don't happen quickly and although part of me wished that she "opened her eyes" sooner, it felt more organic and believable how it unfolded. As she found herself making decisions and encountering situations she never thought she would, she was forced to acknowledge her privilege and confront her worldviews and harsh judgement of others when their actions deviated from what she considered to be right. She doesn't immediately accept her views might be flawed nor does her character do a complete 180 once she does accept it—she still makes mistakes and stupid decisions, but she makes a concerted effort to be more open-minded. I really appreciated that about her character and it made me enjoy the latter half of the story so much more.
Aside from Imani, there were quite a few side characters but most of them were pretty flat in comparison and existed mainly to push the story along. I was really curious about Taha and until now, I still haven't figured out what's up with him. There's no doubt he's been through a lot, especially knowing what his father is like, but the minute I think he's one type of way, he does something to prove that completely wrong. It makes me wonder what's really going on with him and I hope that we find out in the next book! I also wanted to learn more about Qayn and I'm slightly disappointed that he didn't have a bigger role in this first book. There's no doubt that we're going to get a lot more of him in the coming book but he really felt like a prop in this. Another character that I really liked and who piqued my curiosity was Amari, Imani and Atheer's younger sister. She's feisty and stubborn as hell and there were times when she acted pretty immature but then I remembered she's actually pretty young and she acted like it. But there also seems to be more backstory to what's been going on with her and I'm hoping that once the crew returns to Qalia, we'll get to learn more about her character. There's a big focus on family and the complicated relationship between siblings. I admired Imani's dedication to rescuing her brother and I also liked how strong the sibling bond was between the three of them.
Overall, despite a rough start and a slightly rocky road along the way, I thought this was a great debut YA fantasy novel. I was definitely invested in these characters and their journey by the end and I can't wait to see what happens next; all I know is that it's only going to get more intense from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Torture, and War
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Imprisonment, Prison Labor