The Adventures of Amina Al- Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Pages: 496 

Publisher: Harper Voyager 

Released: 28th of February 2023 

Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

 What I Have to Say 

This book was everything I wanted it to be! It was a wonderful historical setting full of diversity and the kind of rich mix of cultures that really makes the world interesting, it was a beautiful arrangements of fantasy creatures and elements that went into this world to make it just that much more exciting. And it was a character who was different and interesting and funny! 

I don't honestly know what to say other than that. It was a thrilling book that engrossed me completely, maybe not from the first page, but from very early on. There were so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. It was just perfection. 

I appreciate a slightly older character. Not being a young spry teenager myself anymore, it was really nice to read about someone a bit different in one of these books. I couldn't relate to her entirely as she's a little older than me and a parent, but I've never found that an obstacle to liking the character. 

I just want to scream about this book from the treetops! Go read it! 

5 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with this copy for review. 

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 512

Publisher: Faber & Faber 

Released: 2nd of February 2017 

This is not about blood or love. This is about treason.

Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince's message has spread across the desert - and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible.

Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl's instinct for survival. For the Sultan's palace is a dangerous one, and the harem is a viper's nest of suspicion, fear and intrigue. Just the right place for a spy to thrive... But spying is a dangerous game, and when ghosts from Amani's past emerge to haunt her, she begins to wonder if she can trust her own treacherous heart.

What I Have to Say 

I adore this series. Not only does it show a world full of exciting exotic settings, but it is also written in such a beautiful way. Sometimes Hamilton adopts an almost fairytail way of story telling, recounting things and making everything more magical by doing so. The only problem with that came in this book, where at the start she recounted everything that happened in the first book, which I felt was just too much of an info-dump. It's fine when it's a story that we haven't been told yet, but I just didn't need a recap like that. 

One of the things that defines these books, other than the setting, is the characters. The characters are so well defined. You can easily see how true their reactions are. Whether it's Jin running away so he doesn't have to see his girlfriend die, Ahmed covering for his brother or Amani desperately trying to rescue everyone. I love all the characters so much. 

But it's because I love Amani so much that I felt she was given a disservice with what happened at the palace. I felt that her headstrong and reckless nature was cast aside a little while she relied on others to get her out of danger. It felt very much like she was being changed into the the damsel in distress, waiting on her prince to come rescue her. And maybe that's mostly because she was kept in the harem rather than in a different part of the palace. It just felt wrong really. An injustice to this strong woman to see her dressed up and paraded around like something to be owned. 

Even so, these books are still such beautiful books and I can't wait for the next one to find out what happens next! 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for providing me with this copy for review.