Ooh, I'm so happy I got to read this!

I loved the first book and this is a great follow up. The story is engaging and the pacing is great, I flew through this in one sitting. Probably the best thing about these books is the amount of Moroccan culture embedded in the story. The poems and stories, the religion and ceremonies are all beautiful and helped me feel totally immersed in the book.

In this book we get another point of view besides Amani and I loved seeing things from their perspective. There's also a new LGBTQ romance I adored, plus Amani and Idris' relationship grows even more. I loved how smart Amani is to help plan the rebellion and that she used her kindness and ability to make friends to her advantage and was able to recruit others to her cause.

There are several new characters and though it took me a bit to keep them all straight, I enjoyed the friendships and seeing Maram come out of her shell and become the queen she is meant to be.

The only thing I didn't love about this was that the fight at the end seemed over too soon and I hoped for a bigger climax. I know a lot of planning happened leading up and that affected things, but I just hoped for a bit more.

I adored this book and it's a great ending to the duology. I'm so excited for it to be out in the world!

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I have tried to read this book 6 different times. Each time I got a little further along, but eventually I gave up. It's quite a boring story for me. There's a LOT of talking, but given the blurb and beautiful cover, I expected there to be a lot of plotting and intrigue. At 65%, I got none of that. it was very slow-moving. I don't want to include any spoilers but will say that the story also seemed rather implausible for various reasons. The cover alone is worth3 stars but given that the rest was a fail for me, I'll be putting this at 2 stars. DNF

The Quick Cut: A girl who is a physical twin to the queen continues to try to figure out the balance between staying true to her rebel roots and following her role as the queen's double. 
A Real Review: Thank you to Flatiron Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.  
 Sometimes what you believe can clash with the role you play in life or the job you have. Which do you choose to stay true to? And how do you reconcile the two when they are so very different? This is the internal battle for Amani, the queen's body double. 
 In this sequel, Amani continues to struggle with being the queen's body double. Although her role is not voluntary, she has managed to create a friendship with the queen. However, when she seems unable to fulfill her role in the marriage to her fiance, Idris, Amani is left in an awkward position between the two in their marriage. As if that's not enough trouble, Maram struggles to maintain her foothold on the people she is supposed to be the monarchy for. Will Maram find a way to keep a hold of her position or will she find that Amani goes back to her alliance with the rebels? 
 This book certainly suffers from the sophomore slump. Where the first book is thrilling and succeeds by using beautiful descriptions of the characters & world, the second book fails to match that with the failure of activity and ill pacing. There are some moments where I got pulled into the story and enjoyed the interaction between characters, but far more often I was speed reading in order to get to the more interesting material. Far too much of the story felt like filler with details that were unnecessary to what was going on. 
 I will say that the chemistry between Amani and Maram was easily the best part of the story. Every time these two were together (whether they were getting along or not), these two play off each other in such an intense way. It makes me wonder if there isn't more going on there than meets the eye. They truly are so different personality wise that it makes you wonder if they bring out the best in each other. 
 A second book in the series that fails in action and timing. 
My rating: 3 out of 5

I was so excited for this followup to Somaiya Daud's debut book, Mirage. I loved the world-building and characters and the sequel did not disappoint. The world was still incredible and the characters were still interesting even when I wasn't sure who to root for or when the complicated alien political issues were confusing.

The pacing of this book fell a little flat for me, but it felt like Daud was trying to fit so much into the story that it made sense things were a little confusing. Amani and Maram are really complex characters and I loved watching their interactions and drama.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start off by saying Mirage was one of my favorite debuts of 2018 and I feel as though I’ve been waiting for the follow up for forever! As such, I’ll admit that at the beginning of Court of Lions, it took some time to recall the events of the previous book. Once I got my footing, however, Court of Lions was every bit the fast-paced, romantic, and clever sequel that I hoped it would be.
Court of Lions picks up a few weeks after the events of Mirage,and continues the story of Amani and Maram. I have to say, I actually liked this sequel better than Mirage. It was exciting to see Amani and Maram working side by side, something that happened quite late in Mirage. Court of Lions also has the bonus feature of several chapters from Maram’s perspective, which serve as a way to both humanize her and give her a voice of her own. I also appreciated the inclusion of a w/w couple in Court of Lions, and the way the author portrayed them.
One of the best things that Court of Lions has going for it is the worldbuilding— it’s phenomenal. An exciting blend of sci-fi and fantasy, the world of Mirage is carefully constructed and exquisitely detailed, from the rich mythology of the Kushaila to the organization of power.
Overall, I would say that Court of Lions is a fantastic sequel (and finale, I believe) to Mirage, and it definitely made up for the long wait time. I would recommend this book, of course, to anyone who read Mirage, and I would recommend the series in general to fans of Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes series and Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of Court of Lions for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When I first read Mirage back in 2018, I was completely in love with the first book as it had a strong concept and plot. When I saw that I was approved for the sequel on Netgalley, I was more than excited. After two years of waiting for the sequel, I am feeling whelmed and have mixed emotions about this book.

I'll admit that I did find the book to be enjoyable for me. The most exciting aspect of Court of Lions was reading Maram's perspective. The author did an excellent job at capturing the complexity of Maram, a character who I found endearing in the first book. Adding Maram's perspective in the book did boost the rating higher for me. Maram was introduced as a cold and ruthless princess in the first book, but in Court of Lions, I really enjoyed her redemption arc. I would have loved a bit more chapters on Maram as her transformation into becoming the destined queen for her people was well worth it. I felt that the author could have had alternating perspectives for both Amani and Maram, which would have expanded the story more.

I would have liked more chapters on Maram's perspective because Maram's relationship with Aghraas could be more developed. I really enjoyed this pair, but I would have wanted more attention to be focused on their blossoming relationship between the two. I felt that their relationship should have been more focused and centered in this novel.

As for Amani, I really enjoyed her growth in being both a rebel and a supportive sister for Maram. Most of the novel is told in Amani's perspective as she navigates her alliances between the princess, the rebels, and the courtiers. Amani faces challenges as she navigates the court life posing as Maram's double. Amani overcomes her obstacles and puts her planet's needs first by becoming a queen maker and supporting the rebellion. She even put her romance and feelings aside to ensure Maram's ascension to the throne.

Although Court of Lions has its strong points, the build-up to the story was very underwhelming. Though there were high stakes for Amani, I felt that everything went almost according to plan without any challenges for the main protagonists. Most of the novel is spent on building alliances between royals and the rebels. Many new side characters were introduced and there was no proper characterization for all new folks in this book. Only one of the new characters has at least a background story. If you're looking for a big climatic battle, this is not the book for you. You would think that a conqueror of four planets would put up a bigger fight against the rebellion. The big confrontation scene between the rebels and King Mathis was so rushed...I honestly could not believe this the final book in this series. I could have saw this book be expanded more as the king was a conqueror of 4 planets...The resolution and the conflict was rushed and it ended up being anti-climatic. Perhaps, the author could have written at least 5 to 10 more chapters to make the climax worth it for readers.

Court of Lions was a good book, but the rushed action and plot were the weaker aspects. After reflecting about the ending, I will have to rate this book lower a bit lower.

Rating: 3.5 stars

A stunning conclusion to the Mirage duology, Court of Lions continues Amani and Maram's journey. The book picks up about 6 weeks after the end of Mirage, but mostly fills in what has gone on during this time. A different aspect of Court of Lions that we didn't see in Mirage is POV chapters from Maram - some in flashback and some in real time. Maram undergoes a lot of character development in this book, and this insight into her character really helps give her depth.

This book is really centered around Amani and Maram's friendship. Their development around each other, with each other, BECAUSE of each other, is truly a marvel to read. These characters were written so well, and seem to be meant to be seen as polar opposites, whereas they are actually two ends of a spectrum and eventually meet in the middle. The side characters and plotting are great as well, but this book truly is about Amani and Maram.

The pacing of this book is a tad off, some things happen too quickly, without enough time or justification. Some of it seems too "easy". As an avid reader of fantasy novels I've come to expect certain hiccups or things to go wrong in the plot - but there wasn't much in this book. It reads as a touch unbelievable. I found myself confused about how quickly events were happening & there just didn't seem to be much struggle for the characters.

Overall, I really did enjoy this conclusion and found the world-building just as amazing as the first book. Also, there is LGBTQIA representation in this one, which helped you understand a character a bit better.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review.

This book was truly about relationships, particularly Maram’s and Amani’s. This to me elevated this above the first book, as the relationship was emphasized seemingly almost more than Mirage. What can I say— I’m a sucker for platonic relationships and for people being friends and working together!

The romantic relationships seemed well done and I was very pleasantly surprised by Maram’s! Maram’s alone would have made this book a happy reading for me, though it was only the beta romance.

Familial relationships also played important roles— Maram’s to both her tyrant father and dead mother, Idris and Amani to his cousins, newly introduced characters with each other. Family is something valued, by all our protagonists, which is exceedingly refreshing, to see the true care and love, the anxiety and hopes well-conveyed throughout this book.

Politicking also took up a substantial part, and was defy enough to not feel overwhelming or disingenuous to any character involved.

An enjoyable read!

I don't want to give this book any negative press because I don't feel like it was a bad book. For me, personally, it fell a little flat. I enjoyed Mirage a good deal and was interested where the book would go in book two. Court of Lions I feel could've gone any way and the way it went was just a little boring for me.

3-3.5 stars

I love what Somaiya was trying to achieve with this story, but I had technical issues with the pacing and placement and execution of character moments. I'm glad Maram finally proved herself and her arc in concept is amazing. Amani and Maram's relationship is the heart of this series.. However their respective romances are really hit or miss and for me it was a miss in both cases.

The rebellion is supposed to be brewing throughout the book, but I feel like the other makhzen players were underdeveloped and so it was hard to care about what was going on with Amani's negotiations. Again I have to point out that the writing tends to gloss over key events such as the climax which was what I found to be true about Mirage as well. I do also have issue with how Maram's character and position is used within the rebellion plots. Part of this is understandable because she has an internal conflict of whether she is fit to rule, but she is just straight up not present for a lot of the politics and just lets Amani do her homework for her. Maram is not a bad character, she's just not utilized to her best potential again in this book. She came through in the end, but I think she really needed to do more work on her end to get to that juicy, culminating end.

I have no words. This was one of the top books I wanted to read this year and it did not disappoint. I missed Somaiya's writing style.

I wish u could remember the first book to give a better review. I think if you liked the first book you will like this one.

This was wonderful and well worth the wait. I loved how this duology concluded, and I look forward to reading future books from Somaiya Daud.

In Somaiya Daud's continuation to her first book, Mirage, Court of Lions is a wonderful YA Fantasy set in a Sci-Fi world, complete with adventure, political intrigue, romance, and rebellion. Following Amani's torn allegiance between wanting to be with the one she loves and a rebellion, she very much contrasts against the cruel Maram, for whom she is a body-double for.

Throughout this book, I very much appreciated finding out more about the characters, delving more deeply into who they are and their motivations. This was especially the case when learning more about Maram, her sexuality, and her relationship with Amani. While I did find the LGBT inclusion to be a good attempt at representation, it did seem to be a bit sudden and unexpected, especially paired with other more predictable "plot twists" such as Amani and Maram's familial relation. While certain plot points such as these, as well as the "start/stop" feel of an oddly paced story, overall I liked the expansive world building/dynamic characters and feel that they lent to a good story overall. Had the book been more streamlined in it's storytelling I would have liked it better, but this is not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable read, or that I didn't like it!

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38621113-court-of-lions" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Court of Lions (Mirage, #2)" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589388332l/38621113._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38621113-court-of-lions">Court of Lions</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15179415.Somaiya_Daud">Somaiya Daud</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3322624730">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I got a free copy from Netgalley, and I have to say, it was the one I was most excited about because I really enjoyed Mirage (I got a copy of that from the author herself in a contest.) <br />It was great seeing the characters again, as well as meeting new ones. I love Amani. She has a lot of complicated feelings, for Idris, for her family, for Maram, and I believe Somaiya did a great job in conveying those feelings. One of my favorite instances is when she does not want to see Idris the day after the wedding (having shared the rooms with him because she had taken Maram's place that day) because she did not want to see him in such a casual setting, his hair mussed in the morning and whatnot. It's such a small thing, but to Amani, it's huge because she feels she cannot see him in an intimate/casual setting because it really hits home that she is not married to him. <br />My absolute favorite part of the novel is getting Maram. I love the shift (especially with 3rd person with Maram). Though we did get her softer side in Mirage, it means so much more to be in her mind, her desires to hide, to connect to her mother's world, to be herself. She is a frightened child, feeling she must act the way she does (I got a Zuko feeling from her). And I love her finding out who she is, finding her own love. It was great LGBTQ+ representation, especially since it isn't seen as something out of the ordinary. Maram is only wary of the relationship because she hates being vulnerable and knows it won't be accepted because Aghraas is common, not because she is a woman. Their relationship was very smooth. I could feel them falling in love with each other, bringing more complicated feelings to Maram. <br />As always, love the relationship between Amani and Maram. It was great to see it rebuilt from the last book. I loved watching Amani defend Maram and doing all in her power to secure a future that will benefit not only Maram, but everyone in the galaxy. <br />Some critiques: Transitions were odd. When Maram is on another estate, another woman (Aghraas) appears out of nowhere, without Maram noticing her. It just goes Maram is doing this, then Maram didn't no where the woman came from. I expect that will be fixed. <br />A little too much description. I understand clothes are important, but sometimes it felt dull to hear every little thing everyone was wearing at any one time. Sometimes the descriptions are amazing and vital (like when Maram and Idris are with each other during the procession.) And Amani realizing her tastes had changed, though she can finally be herself by the end. (ALSO NADINE IS SUCH A GREAT VILLAIN. SHE'S HORRIBLE, BUT SO HORRIBLY INTERESTING, GIVEN HER MOTIVES TO MOVE UP IN RANKS DESPITE HER COMMON BLOOD.) <br />Galene didn't seem important, but I hope if there's a 3rd, she will have a role. She was mentioned, but I don't recall ever seeing her. I would have liked more interaction between Maram and Mathis. And the twist that Amani's mother is related to Maram's grandmother. It bulldozed me, and while it's interesting, I feel it would have been better had that been revealed sooner (maybe through Maram's POV.) <br />All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is the perfect balance of a traditional Arabian world and a futuristic world with advanced tech. Great relationships, great feelings. I highly recommend the series.

This book was amazing. It’s everything I wanted for the sequel of Mirage. You get to look and delve deeper into Marams character and I love that. Daud is such an amazing author and I am super excited to see what she does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc. I’ve been so distracted lately that I never left a review. I finished the book May 13th. It was a quick read, which I am grateful for.

Rating 3.5. I was never completely sold with Mirage (book one), so I am glad I got a chance to read this one early. Some parts would suck me in, and I would love it. Then it would lose me to where I was ready to dnf. I just didn’t have the constant with this book. I felt like some of it was the characters. They’re just kind of flat and not all that interesting. The princess was also all over the place and tended to make me roll my eyes. The story itself was good, but I feel like it’s one of those that’s been done a dozen times. Overall, the book wasn’t too bad. I don’t plan to continue the series though.

Goodness, I loved this sequel. It's full of the same political intrigue of the first book, and does such an excellent job in creating these complex characters. The pacing sometimes felt off, but overall, I finished this book quickly. Maram had such character growth in this sequel, and I felt like there was some justification to her behavior from the first book. Amani also had some phenomenal growth. The romance was none too shabby either. So. Definitely add this to your TBR.

This book was very engaging, and it kept my interest the whole way through. There were two huge plot twists that I didn’t see coming, and I was throughly impressed with the novel’s complexity. At times it was a little difficult to keep track of all of the names of the noble families, but I managed, and I think that ended up being part of the book’s charm. I loved the Middle Eastern-like setting of the book, and it was fun to be immersed in the different cultures. I also grew to love Maram, Amani, Idris, and Aghraas. They really evolved as characters, and I like that Somaiya Daud never made them appear weak or indecisive. They were all really strong, complex characters. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Renee Ahdieh and Julie Kagawa, and on the basis of it’s humanized characters, intriguing plot, and cultural immersion. The LGBTQIA+ inclusion was a nice bonus. 4/5 stars, and definitely a book that should be added to everyone’s book list.

I voluntarily read and received an ARC of this book from Netgalley, opinions are my own.

This book just wasn't what it could have been.

First, here's an overall assessment without spoilers.

The first 34% of the book was entirely unnecessary. I was so sad because I loved book one so much! But, this book seemed to have been thrown together instead of plotted out like Mirage was.

The characters just weren't themselves, especially Maram. I adored her in book one in that she was so complex, and I truly pitied her despite her cruelty. But in this book she was someone else, someone I'd never met before. She suddenly tore down all of her walls and became open. There wasn't any moment where she tore them down, though, they just vanished.

The plot was non-existent. Amani was a rebel in book one, and, until that 34% mark, she didn't do anything rebellious at all. She just swooned over Idris. He's definitely swoon-worthy, but he's not why I'm reading the book. I'm doing that for Amani and her people, to see justice done! I didn't even feel like I got that.

SPOILER Review: The things that made zero sense.

Maram and her lover. So, I won't say her name because I'm not going to be THAT spoilery, but Maram is suddenly a lesbian. Why? I have no idea. My gaydar is on point, but I got none of that vibe in book one. It wasn't a bad thing at all, but it was so strange. It was part of why she felt like someone new. Suddenly, she was daring and going after what she wanted instead of staying quiet, afraid, and cruel. Who is this Maram and why didn't I see her slowly become this instead of waking up and deciding to be a different person?

Did I mention that her lover is the Tesleet in human form from book one? Yes, the one that visited Amani. WEIRD.

Also, apparently Amani's mother used to be a leader of the rebels. Against, something totally random that was never alluded to, just suddenly included.

The first third of the book was Amani and Idris deciding to break up, and then not really doing that. I get why they couldn't, since she does stand in for Maram, but it felt weird to read about her pining after him when they wanted each other and were two feet apart twenty four seven.

Amani's reunion with her family was way too short. I wanted to cry with joy, but I felt oddly disconnected. It was only one page long.

END OF SPOILERS

This isn't a bad book. However, it isn't what I needed. Mirage was so good, and well planned, and this book simply doesn't feel planned at all. It's very jarring at times, with seemingly random events. I'll definitely read future books from this author, but this one isn't even close to the glory of Mirage.