Princess Amina is heir to the throne of Zazzau and desperate to prove her worthiness to be queen. But a prophecy concerning her and the God of War combined fierce enemies hounding her country thrust Amina into a whirlwind of intrigue in which the fiercely independent Amina grapples for control of her destiny.

Ok, so lemmie start off by saying this is a fictionalized tale of a real Amina of Zazzau and the writing is fucking amazing. The battle scenes are edge of your seat tense and graphic, and you really get a sense of the world these fantastically detailed characters live in. But the main character made me wanna facepalm so many freaking times. Some mild spoilers here but aside from being a diplomatic nightmare, she comes off as kind of a thoughtless brat too often for my taste. Sometimes she's so impetuous and irresponsible, leading to people getting hurt, and it was hard to read. But then I put it in the context of Greek and Norse mythology; where your heroes are not perfect and can also be complete jerks while the tale is still epic, and I can accept Amina for what she is. But dear gods, she made me mad! 3.8 out of 5 for the fantastic writing and story but infuriating main character.

This one just wasn't for me - I felt a bit stressed out by the way the first scene was written, and it felt very much like the reader was thrown in the deep end from the start. I was quite confused and anxious, and ultimately just decided that this book wasn't one that I would enjoy, so I DNF'd it. I'm sure others will enjoy it a lot more than me.

This was a really difficult book to get into, so I did not finish it. The wording was very intense and there really wasn't any descriptions, making it difficult to get into. I was completely lost from the beginning.

It's no secret that African American representation in the literary fiction world is practically nonexistence and in nonfiction, it's all about slavery and whatnot. Even if not done right I appreciate the effort being taken to include the darker side of the world in literature as something besides their equivalent dark past.

Please keep in mind that history is a complicated and delicate matter, especially African history, that is difficult to define in a single margin because there is always more than one version of what truly happened. And, this story also incorporates fantasy so do not everything told is true to the tea. The Queen of Zazzau tells the historical tale of Queen Amina, a young queen predestined with a power that may destroy her and her people. With war, gods, and rich culture entwined, we follow Amina as she grows from her innocent self into the woman the gods prophesized her to be. The culture mentioned in the story is old but rich and the gods who Amina interacted with often are real and not to be taken lightly.

The writing was fascinating but sometimes the imagery was very strong and unnecessarily dragging the story along which made the pacing slow at times.    

In this story, I have learned that being a good leader takes more than just courage or pretty words and that one slip up has real consequences that may damn you and the lives of your citizens.

3.5 stars

This was a really good historical fantasy novel following the Queen of Zazzau, Amina.

We follow Amina through her entire life and the endless battles she has to take on throughout her reign as Queen. She has many explicit love encounters, but stays strong in her commit to putting her country first.

This book is beautifully written though at times dragged because of the detail and unnessary storytellying put into the plot.

There are a ton of fast paced action scenes and steamy love scenes that make the reading fast paced and enjoyable.

I fell in love with Sulleyman though their love was short lived. Dafaru is a character that I so badly wanted to hate, but in all honesty he was one of my favorites and I would be eagerly waiting until his next appearance.

All in all it took me a good chunk of time to read, but if you're into epic historical fantasy type of novels, this is a good one to pick up.

This is the story of Amina of Zazzau. I was intrigued by the description of this book, and I got intrigue, excitement, dread, and love all in this wonderful story. I was unaware that historians believe that Amina was an actual ruler in what is now part of Nigeria. I love strong female characters and she has this in spades. Amina is also relatable in that she has family conflict, finds and loses love, tries to live up to expectations, and is altogether human.

It is foreseen that Amina will bring war and destruction to her people. She tries to do everything she can to not let this be her fate, however, fate has other ideas (helped along by a war god who wants her all to himself). She does eventually align with the war god, but their relationship is tumultuous and comes with a curse(s). There are some extremely erotic scenes in this novel. The relationship between Amina and Jaruma is what you would expect of a best friend and protector. The end was a bit of a surprise to me, however, if I knew the history I may have expected it.

I am hoping to read more from this author in the future.

I ended up DNFing this book because it is one of those books where you get a lot of action in the beginning, and it runs out of steam rather quickly. I had no clue if the world was fictional or real or where the scene was taking place. Some of the scenes skipped and did not flow the way I am used to. I gave up after chapter 13 when a particular character died. The premise intrigued me, and the cover is gorgeous but other than that the story did not entice me as much as I thought it would.
1/5 stars.
For a full review see my blog at https://bookgirlreviewsbooks.blogspot.com/

The author paid homage to West African culture. The fantasy aspects were wonderfully handled and the story sends a positive message.

I was very hopeful reading a story set in what is now Nigeria with a real Queen from the mid 1500's. What I didn't expect was the very strong thread of fantasy/sci-fi involving several gods. I enjoy fantasy though, but the way it developed was difficult for me to read. Amina is part of a prophecy that basically says she will be part of a lot of war and deaths regarding her people. This develops into a relationship with the God of War, Dafaru. The way the sex scenes were written, especially with Dafaru, seemed very forced and while I realize women's rights have been non-existent in history, reading it in today's society was triggering. Finally, we have an Afrocentric story of a powerful woman!! Instead of her story being about how she grows from a princess, to a warrior to a queen, it's reduced to sex with a god, a man who is stronger than her and she is forced to kill any man she sleeps with that is not Dafaru.

I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. I liked the setting. I liked how it felt like, with the Nigerian Gods, it felt like a historical fairy tale. Amina is a warrior who is devoted to her country's well being.

My huge problem is how the sex scenes are written. They're on the side of non-consensual. It's one thing when a god is being pushy after Amina says no but it's another when it's a human love interest.

Once she stops having human love interests and cares more about conquering then it gets more interesting. Looking forward reading about more African queens written with this historical fairy tale treatment.

This book was a joy to read. Amina is a princess of a desert land who ends up in a relationship with the God of War to protect her people. This agreement, of course, comes with some stipulations. Amina is an incredibly fun character. While at times I found her decisions frustrating everything was in line with the character. The cast of characters in this book was amazing. Suleman, Jaruma and the various advisors all felt incredibly genuine. Dafaru came to life on the page and definitely brought a bit of heat. I would have loved to read morw about the world of the gods as the descriptions were stunning.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I opened up Queen of Zazzau. But what I found was an expansive story about a girl, Amina, who has to grow into her power. We are able to witness her entire character development as she has to learn just how much power and responsibility her life entails. As the princess, Amina takes it for granted that she will become the queen, but without a real concept of what it means.

What it takes. And what sacrifices need to be made.

Just how much control does Amina have over her life? Over her kingdom? Over her people? She experiences love, loss, and everything in between. I was captivated by how fierce Amina is, how steadfast she is to not lose her power to a man. At the same time, I felt bad for her because there are genuine things she does not understand.

She has trouble staying her tongue, staying in line, and making difficult choices. And her decisions have real consequences. Even if she is, a times, reckless, Queen of Zazzau asks us what it takes to be a good ruler. A good queen.

ARC Copy...where to start other then it had the epic scale battle action, attention to details imagery relating things like the scenery and the clothing of the different cultures/groups plus one very fiery female warrior riding into battle and standing strong in the heat of combat!