Amina is a great character- she is brash and irreverent, but also a mother doing her best to keep her daughter safe and coming to terms with how that new piece of her identity has changed her priorities. And she's trying to be a better Muslim as well. With mixed success. I'm loving this mini-trend of writing older women and mothers as main characters in fantasy novels. It's an entertaining adventure that infuses a lot of real historical detail, plus we get a trans side character and I liked how it handled the issue of gender identity. (note that I'm not trans myself, so I will be looking to hear from trans reviewers on this) Sindbad the Sailor meets Ocean’s 11 (in the spirit of the book, I’m cheating and deciding 11 doesn’t count as a word)

This adventure was so engrossing. I loved the crew. The banter was witty and the stakes were high. As the story progressed, more magical elements were introduced and I definitely found it enchanting. When you’ve finished today’s section, catch up with me in the comments down below so we can discuss the beginning of the book. Happy reading!I also already love Amina, strong and a protagonist I feel I can connect with having children of my own, I can see how hard it is to leave them to benefit them in the long run. So I think she was right to take the job. I’m not sure I ever stopped being a nakhudha,” I finally replied. “Our hearts may be spoken for by those with sweet eyes, little smiles, and so very many needs, but that does not mean that which makes us us is gone. And I hope . . . part of me hopes anyway that in seeing me do this, Marjana knows more is possible. I would not want her to believe that because she was born a girl, she cannot dream.” Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing! I wanted to travel the world and sail every sea. I wanted to have adventures, to be a hero, to have my tales told in courtyards and street fairs, where perhaps kids who’d grown up like me, with more imagination than means, might be inspired to dream. Where women who were told there was only one sort of respectful life for them could listen to tales of another who’d broken away—and thrived when she’d done so.”

What was your approach to combining this research and the historical setting with your elements of the more fantastic and the mythology of the Middle East? A+ storytelling with compelling writing and such a witty and heartfelt (not to mention feminist) voice!! I LOVE IT I am super interested to see what kind of magic will be in this series. Marjana’s father is..something for sure after talk of her ‘feeling’ as well as Dalila’s comments. Lots of mysteries to uncover. For while the pious claim money doesn’t buy happiness, I can attest from personal experience that poverty buys nothing.”There is nothing I did not like about this story. It stands proudly in the canon besides Chakraborty's already titanic City of Brass trilogy, and other fantasy legacies such as R.F. Kuang, Fonda Lee, Jacqueline Carey, Jenn Lyons, and more. Raksh- HANDS DOWN THE MOST ENTERTAINING CHARACTER! I can't say much bc it's a giveaway but the interactions he has with AMINA are my favorite parts of the book. I was in TEARS from laughing! I initially thought Yusuf was a guard, but it seems he has a soft spot for Tinbu. Maybe they have another hand to help them break him out? They come up with a rather dramatic charade that ends with them all in the prison. Well, that’s one way to get in I suppose. Pharmaceuticals, is largely the same principle as poisoning, no? The ladies here love me. So many husbands dying in their sleep." Dalila winked, "It must be something in the water."

It’s starting off strong! I find that I really enjoy Amina’s religious observance, I think it makes the book a little more immersive right off the bat. I’ve been in a real book hangover ever since finishing A Day of Fallen Night and I think this is going to be the book that frees me! I received an ARE of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi from Harper Voyager (well, my book goddess secured this particular treasure for me) in return for a fair review. Thanks, dear, and thanks HV. An exhilarating, propulsive adventure, stitched from the threads of real history, Amina’s adventures are the reason to read fantasy." -- Ava Reid, internationally bestselling author of Juniper & Thorn Amina and Raksh wash ashore on a magical island. Amina drinks water from the island, which grants her magical powers. This violates the laws of the peri who rule the island; they believe in a strict separation between human and magical realms. Amina is granted permission to leave the island in exchange for hunting down five magical artifacts, including the Moon of Saba.It is not always easy to do the right thing. More often than not, it is a lonely, thankless ordeal. That does not mean it is not worth doing.” Too much action/external change, not enough internal character change. Too many contradictions. The author has a clear liberal agenda. Representation is there for the sake of it, not to add depth to the characters nor to demonstrate the historical cosmopolitanism and diversity of the Indian Ocean world. I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book but it fell flat. I was going to give it 3 stars but the completely unnecessary revelation at the end (made just for the author's liberal agenda and to appease the audience) made me drop it to 2. I don't know if I'll be reading the sequels. a b Vanessa Armstrong (18 May 2023). "An Uncommon Pirate Tale: The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty". Tor.com . Retrieved 11 Sep 2023. Books like these are why I adore fantasy with all of my heart. A pirate queen cajoled out of retirement for one last job. A deadly sea with supernatural consequences. And a myth in the making.