I first read this book in 2018 so I wanted to see if it held up. Yes, it absolutely did. First, if you are one of my smutty book friends, this is not for you. However, if you like fantasy you might love this. Nahri is an orphan girl growing up in 18th century Cairo and she discovers she might have more powers than she originally thought. This book took us on a journey across her world to a magical kingdom and the trilogy itself is excellent with each subsequent book elevating the world. Lots of people talk about how great her worldbuilding is. However, I want to celebrate how beautiful her characters are. In terrible romantasies, the lead is a cardboard cut out being moved around by the plot. In most romantasies the FMC is interesting and the MMC is a brooding male. In this book, every character has such well-realized motivations and desires. They have backstories and complexities that put them at odds with each other and the world. This creates fabulous tension and conflict which grows especially in the back half of the book.

The FMC, Nahri, does not have a straight and easy path. She has to make tough decisions, pull herself together, learn to trust and learn to mistrust. She has to use her survival skills to make the best of bad situations and she really exemplifies a lot of women around the world who are also using their wits to survive.

I particularly like how she makes everyone into a complex and nuanced character. During the course of the book you can see a character one way and then slowly chapter by chapter she reveals layers and layers of their personality. A character you may have initially loathed might have a scene that has you questioning what you thought. Do I…agree with the bad guy??

Likewise, some of our “good guys” have us questioning whether or not those descriptions are even appropriate or if we need to abandon that dichotomy altogether. In fact, in a podcast Chakraborty discusses the privilege that some people have because of history can put them at odds with the very causes they support. Those themes are very visible here and make for a great discussion.

As a vibe reader, I really enjoyed the world that was created and will totally re-read the other books in the series too.

On the author: SA Chakraborty is a white woman who converted to Islam when she married her husband and writes books heavily influenced by her research on the cultures and civilizations of the Middle East. There has been a lot written about how she is a good example of cultural appreciation, about how she represented the complexities of the world etc. Since I am not an expert in this in any capacity, I cannot speak to that and will leave it to others to discuss. I don’t know how to link either, sry. Though, I invite those interested to seek out Arab, Persian, Muslim etc. voices and engage with their content on these books.