4.5⭐️
Every single person in this book needs therapy.

Nahri accidentally calls a djinn or Daeva as he prefers to call himself. He finds out she is a shafit (has Daeva blood) and is the last descendant of a powerful family of Daeva healers. There are dangerous creatures after her, so he takes her on a journey to Daevabad, (a magical city hidden from the human world) her family's ancestral home. This journey takes up quite a large portion of the book. I wouldn't call it boring, but it definitely dragged on compared to the rest of the book. When they finally arrive to Daevabad is when the good stuff starts. I'm talking really good shit

3.5 Stars

This was a weird one. Not great, not bad. Lots to like but also a lot of find fault in.

To start with the negatives, I found the book heavy handed/bloated with world building whilst simultaneously finding the lore and various groups really confusing throughout. Perhaps it’s my lack of familiarity with Islamic folklore but I found myself having to google things or use the glossary constantly. I feel that if your readers can’t follow the world you’re setting up, that’s an issue. Ironically, a lot of the book is devoted to world building, at the the expense of the plot. Up until the first half, it’s a pretty slow, almost aimless story, and it makes the first half of the book a dull experience. I also wasn’t really a fan of one of the characters, Dara. Without giving anything away, the romance was tiresome and unnatural, and his character seemed to flip flop between or mid chapter. And on the romance - this novel really feels like an adult orientated YA fantasy than an adult fantasy, if that distinction means anything.

As for the positives, I enjoyed the other two protagonists, Nahri and Ali, who felt very three dimensional and well realised. Once the plot of the book picks up towards the end, and the characters various goals and actions start to collide, it’s a joy to behold - with the political manoeuvrings in particular very engaging. To a certain extent that bleeds into the ‘following the world/different groups’ issue but when it hits, it hits. I think Chakraborty is a great writer, and her descriptions of location and action are a treat. It’s also fun to read about a Middle-Eastern/Islamic inspired fantasy setting.

That all being said, I think the opening idea behind the story - human brought into magical world because she’s super special - undermines the book. I spent the whole time wondering if the human world would come up (and if we would spend more time with the Jewish character lol). The whole thing about ‘we can’t interact with the humans’ rings kinda hollow, especially when the majority of our characters and races are human looking but with magical powers. I’ve seen this described as a historical fantasy but I have no clue where that comes from because any real world history is abandoned by the 3rd chapter or so. Maybe it comes up again in later books.

Overall, I’m mixed on this. I wouldn’t rush to recommend it, but there is good in here hidden amongst a sea of confusing world building and YA romance tropes. I’m tempted to continue with the series - I hear the political elements I enjoyed continue with the series, and the first book is really setting up the other two, so perhaps they’ll be better reads. Let’s see.