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Review: The Empire of Gold

June 22, 2020August 13, 2020by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

*I received a copy via the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

Daevabad has fallen, and Nahri is miles away in Cairo. After fleeing her ancestral home, alongside Ali, she is haunted by the past which continues to follow her. Together, they are determined to return to their homeland, but not without facing the truth behind their own history. Back in Daevabad, Dara struggles to regain control alongside Manizheh in a city stripped of its magical core.

The Empire of Gold deserves a better review than I could ever write. This book wastes no time, kicking right back into action where Kingdom had ended. Nahri wakes up in an abandoned village with Ali, losing life every second. Thus, begins their journey back home, back to Daevabad, which entails a wild adventure that involves fighting sea creatures, evading pirates and rehashing old family feuds. Then you slip the script over to Dara, whose chapters are less adventurous and more dangerous as Dara finds himself pushed to the very end yet again, but now under the command of Manizheh. Empire is the series’s most cruellest novel, no matter who is your favourite, someone will get hurt. (And that was me in the form of Jamshid and Muntadhir.)

I was a little worried about Empire because it had a lot stacked up against it, especially being the finale to an expansive trilogy. The contrast between Nahri and Ali’s seemingly calm chapters in comparison to Dara’s dark and sinister moments where he is struggling to stay true to his beliefs and values felt quite strange at first. Depends on the reader, but you can either find the contrast quite comical or something of a relief, I place myself firmly in the middle.

From the very beginning of the series, where Nahri accidentally summons Dara, this series has always been character-driven, and Empire is no stranger to a vast cast of characters that pull at your heartstrings. Nahri learns more about her ancestry, which brings up even more questions than answer, Ali’s past truly comes to haunt him, and Dara is slowly falling apart while trying to follow the leader he thought he believed in. Nahri quite literally retraces her steps, and it was quite emotional seeing her back in her human home and the cost of having to leave it for the sake of her future. Dara is a fan favourite, and I understand why but, personally, for me, I wasn’t all that invested in him, though I did have a lot of empathy for him. His story is quite heartbreaking. But don’t get me wrong, I love how Chakraborty handled his character, it was quite possibly the only ending I ever expected for him, but if I had to rank the trio, he would undoubtedly come last.

I realised in my previous reviews I never mention Jamshid at all! And he’s one of my favourite characters in the series. He really grew on me because I didn’t pay much attention to him for a while and during my re-read of Brass, I really saw him in a whole new light! Jamshid has been Muntadhir’s bodyguard for over a decade, and his part in this story really comes to light in this book. While we reunite with some old faces, we also meet new ones, and they all really shine through. It’s a shame this is the finale because I so would’ve loved to have read more about them all. The thing I noted about the series and its expansive map was that we, as readers, never really get to experience much of it in the story. While Nahri and Ali aren’t gallivanting across the world, we do get to see some already mentioned places in this one, which was quite lovely.

Overall, Empire builds on the strengths of its previous novels, especially in its worldbuilding. The world of Daevabad is unreal, just when you thought you knew everything, new revelations are thrown back at you, and the whole world has you spinning again. The story of Nahri might end here, but the ending is genuinely the greatest one we would have possible be given. I don’t think I was truly ready to see the end of this world, but it is a satisfying ending and worth the read.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Resources for UK citizens:
– https://blm.crd.co/ (Specifically aimed towards UK & Ireland citizens)
– Black Lives Matter UK (https://blacklivesmatter.com/)
– Show Racism The Red Card (https://www.theredcard.org/)
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blog tour, Books

[Blog Tour] The Wolf of Oren-Yaro #HailTheBitchQueen

February 13, 2020August 13, 2020by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Title: The Wolf of Oren-Yaro

Author: K.S. Villoso

Publisher: Orbit Books

Publication date: 18 February 2020

Genres: Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice.

“I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they crowned me.”

Born under the crumbling towers of Oren-yaro, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves that nearly tore her nation apart. Her upcoming marriage to the son of her father’s rival heralds peaceful days to come.

But his sudden departure before their reign begins fractures the kingdom beyond repair.

Years later, Talyien receives a message, urging her to attend a meeting across the sea. It’s meant to be an effort at reconciliation, but an assassination attempt leaves the queen stranded and desperate to survive in a dangerous land. With no idea who she can trust, she’s on her own as she struggles to fight her way home.

Hello, I previously announced that I’m on a semi-blogging hiatus, except for planned posts. Still on hiatus (I am SO ready to graduate!!) but please enjoy my review for The Wolf of Oren-Yaro! I don’t feel like it’s one of my best review but if I still feel terrible about it after graduation, I do intent to pick this book up again before the release of its sequel. (I read the book and wrote this review in 2019)

As always, thank you to Shealea for all your hard work at Caffeine Book Tours. Please check the link after the review to see what everyone else thought of the book!

Review

*I received a finished copy via Caffeine Book Tours in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro follows Talyien, the Dragonlord of Jin-Sayeng, five years after her husband left her to rule over their already divided people. Issues and disagreements have been piling up for years, and the generals surrounding her are watching her every move. To keep the peace, she agrees to leave her land to the foreign city of Anzhao for peace talks with her estranged husband. Already out of her depth, she finds herself on the run when the negotiations go awry. Alone, in a nation unfamiliar to her, Talyien must survive the unknown if she wishes to return home.

I’ll admit it; I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into when I decided to apply to join this blog tour. But I’m delighted I did. Oren-Yaro is a staggering journey of survival. From story to characters, to overall setting, this book was a unique read. Villoso delivers on what she sets out to achieve, and while I found myself a little overwhelmed by the world, the focus of this story wasn’t something I could pinpoint in certain moments, but I liked it like that. Which sounds very weird since, as a reader, I like having some awareness of where the story could go as I’m reading, but honestly, I flew through this book so quickly, I didn’t even care. This book was a wild ride, so much was happening; it all didn’t settle in until I reached the very last page.

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Books, Other

Double Review: That Can Be Arranged and The Black Hawks

December 10, 2019August 13, 2020by Zaheerah2 Comments

*I received a copy of both these books via the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

That Can Be Arranged

In her second comic, Huda Fahmy recounts the story of how she met her husband, Gehad. Marriage is always tricky, and especially for Huda as she faces gossiping aunties and overbearing parents who want the best for her. That Can Be Arranged is hilarious, quirky and quite refreshing. A simple story which also discusses misconceptions about the autonomy of Muslim women, and offers another way to understand what life is like for a Muslim woman in a modern age.

Fahmy’s sense of humour is strange, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. I see a lot of her art on Instagram so I knew I had to read this one. The story is practical, nothing too extreme, and I really enjoyed how open she was about her spirituality in her story. I also appreciated how she’s so unabashed when it comes to expressing all her struggles.

I’ll admit the art style isn’t my taste, but her wit and humour really makes up for it. Fahmy’s story is quick and simple, yet makes its mark about her longing to find someone, the struggles it entails and making sure she gets married for the right reason and with the right person.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

The Black Hawks

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

Bound to a dead-end job in the service of his uncle, life isn’t all that for Vedren Chel. That is until the kingdom is thrown into chaos, and Vedren finds an out: escorting the stranded prince who promises his oath would be dissolved. But dragging a prince while being hunted by enemies on all sides isn’t easy and when they find themselves in the company of the Black Hawks, Vedren’s dream to return home drifts further away from him.

It hurt a lot to not like this one. I was really excited to read The Black Hawks, but nothing was really impressive about this book at all. The pacing was all off, the fight scenes were exhilarating but they were immediately followed by extreme moments of utter nothingness.

Chel was both annoying and amusing at the same time. He doesn’t seem to do much apart from getting beat up violently and somehow surviving. The prince in question is quite immature, but we get no clarity in his age, or I either missed it. The Black Hawk Company had the makings to be so good. But their humour fell flat for me. I wasn’t sure if Chel was supposed to grow to enjoy their company or be terrified of them because, in the end, Chel comes to like them, but I don’t think that development really came through in the story.

The last quarter of the book did really interest me. But the overall story just didn’t entice me enough to care about continuing this series in the future. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Or maybe, it just wasn’t the right time and I’ll have to check out reviews of the next book in the future to decide if this one deserves a second chance.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Books, LGBTQIA, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Girls of Storm and Shadow

November 23, 2019August 13, 2020by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

*I received a copy via the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

After failing to kill the Demon King, Lei and Wren barely escaped with their lives. But this isn’t the end of their journey, unaware their plot failed, the duo must travel the kingdom to gain support from clans from all corners of the world. But a heavy bounty on Lei’s head makes this even more difficult and when tensions begin to make Lei doubt what she knows, can she succeed in her quest or will the dark magic finish the war before its even begun?

After finishing Girls of Paper and Fire, I eagerly anticipated the release of Storm and Shadow. And I can say that I’m not disappointed, although I was a little underwhelmed. But I still found it a solid read.

I won’t lie, Lei, despite being our main protagonist, was not the star of the show for me. Lei and Wren are joined by others, some familiar, some new. Despite how fractured it all becomes at the end, I truly loved the moments of everyone banding together in their journey. I thought the brashness of Bo and Nitta would be off-putting, but their sibling banter was hilarious and I had come to love their sibling relationship a lot. Merrin got my attention the most, his anger and frustration with everything going on around them was admirable. My heart broke a lot during a pivotal moment in this book. Lei and Wren go through a lot in this. Wren, in particular, shocked me quite a bit. I won’t say too much, but I’m glad Ngan utilised Wren’s past a lot more in this book, a shocking revelation made a lot of sense and really amped up my excitement for whatever comes next in the finale.

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Books, Contemporary, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Don’t Date Rosa Santos

October 9, 2019August 13, 2020by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

The Santos women are cursed by the sea, and Rosa Santos knows better than to get involved with anyone involved with the sea. As her college deadline looms over her, she is caught between the town she calls home and the island of Cuba, a familial past her abuela refuses to talk about. But when her town falls into trouble, Rosa must work fast to save her town and face her fear of the shore before it swallows her whole.

It has been a while since I’ve picked up a book with little expectations, only to have them exceeded way beyond my imagination. From the description, I have to admit I wasn’t too sure about this one but, wow, I really liked Don’t Date Rosa Santos.

The world-building was rich and vibrant. Port Coral really opened up with each new chapter. The community was so unique and its residents were so lively. The community of Port Coral truly felt real and not just a static background for Rosa’s story. The main theme of Don’t Date Rosa Santos is how Rosa struggles to connect with her Cuban roots, and through the entire novel, she worries that her connection is not enough and she can’t access more of it due to her family’s past. Her experience is very rooted in Cuban culture, but I found myself really relating to her thoughts about diaspora and her disconnection to her family. Moreno did a really great job here, evoking such strong emotions in such a digestible way.

The people around Rosa make their mark as much as Rosa herself. Her grandmother, Mimi, whose loss in the past leads her to close her heart when Rosa comes calling with questions. Her mother travels to run away from the grief that always seems to follow her. The family trauma runs three generations deep, and Rosa tries to get her family to finally face their fears together. Her neighbours are sweet, her schoolfriends hilarious, and a love interest that I actually really loved and rooted very strongly for.

I was not expecting to be so emotionally affected by this book. Rosa’s monologues, her worries about her future and her own self-imposed expectations, it all hit really close to home. Rosa undertakes an internal journey to better understand a culture she yearns to learn more about. And while doing that, she works towards understanding this so-called “curse” on her family that follows the women in her family. If I’m being honest, the curse is a hit or miss aspect because it frustrated me a lot as it concealed so much information, so watch out for that. But everything else was brilliant.

Overall, Don’t Date Rosa Santos was delightful and moving. Its emphasis on family and community makes it such a touching read, and one of my most surprising reads of the year. It really was something special.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Books, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: The Surface Breaks

September 27, 2019August 13, 2020by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Beneath the sea, Muirgen patiently counts down the days to her fifteenth birthday where she can finally see the world above hers, but only for a quick moment as her controlling father urges her to keep her head down below. On what should be her first and only visit, she is drawn to a human boy and decides that she too wants to be a part of his world. But doing so risks her place in the sea, but this little mermaid will do anything to find her place.

The Surface Breaks is an O’Neill novel for a YA audience, and she has done a brilliant job with it. Often described as a “feminist retelling” of The Little Mermaid, and it definitely does fit the description. Muirgen and her sisters live under the controlling thumb of their father, the Sea King. Angered by the loss of their mother years ago, his controlling behaviour and treatment of his daughters as mere property has them competing for his attention.

When Muirgen is enthralled by the human world, she finds herself asking for the help of the Sea Witch, an enigma of a character, a guardian of the Rusalkas — underwater creatures who were once human women that were abused. The merfolk despised them for their unruly behaviour but the Sea Witch assures they are but themselves which highlight a key theme to the novel: women who reclaimed what had been taken from them and unapologetically raise their voices when they’ve been told to stay quiet.

If I had to think of any flaw, it would be the depiction of the world and setting. I didn’t really find myself falling for the merfolk’s kingdom and the human world too felt underdeveloped. But the effect is minuscule and doesn’t affect my overall opinion of the book. The strength of the book is in the characters and journey of Muirgen.

Overall, The Surface Breaks is an interesting retelling of The Little Mermaid O’Neill has used the original tale brilliantly and adding her own flair and originality. I especially loved the added backstory to their mother. If you’re looking for a fairy tale with a touch of darkness and empowerment, this one is definitely for you.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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