The Crowning Soul is a young adult portal fantasy that features a main character who is moroccan and punjabi, and it’s essentially an adventure/quest kind of story where the main character must collect pieces of this “soul” of an angel so she can resurrect him. She’s got a big bad villain who isn’t a bad person as much as he is the consequence of his circumstances. As she goes on this adventure, she makes friends, finds love, yada yada yada. You know how these things usually go, now. 

From what little research I did, this book started out as a Wattpad story, and if you’re familiar with how Wattpad works, usually stories are episodic in nature and there’s this slight disconnect between chapters that goes unnoticed because you consume it in a way that it doesn’t usually matter. Now, I’m not knocking on this story for starting out like that- AT ALL!! But, the disconnect is definitely evident in the proof that I ended up reading. It feels like the story has a lot of mini rising actions and climaxes, and not a complete cohesive narrative to tie it together well enough. And that’s just one thing that bothered me a little. 

The episodic nature of this book aside, I feel like this book had a lot of potential! It is a solid quest-like story, and it’s even got a bunch of fun, if a bit formulaic, characters you follow around this magical world of Noorenia. Before I get into the meat of the things, let me just talk about the things I actually liked quite a bit. 

The main character of this book is unapologetically Muslim and I LOVE how beautifully her religion and her relationship with it is portrayed here! I love how much her faith matters to her, and I also love that just because that’s the case with her, she doesn’t impose it on anyone else. I really liked how the main character was, in general. Even if she did some stupid things, she was an endearing presence in the book. As episodic as it did feel, I did quite enjoy the mini-climaxes in the book. There was a lot of action, and the pacing was pretty quick because of it and that kept me entertained, if nothing else. And lastly, this book had a lot of heart, and you could tell! It was just a genuine attempt at doing something fun and beautiful, and I will always commend the author for that!

All that being said, I still think this novel had a lot of flaws so I’m going to try and outline those now. Like I said, I saw a lot of potential in the story, BUT, the execution was definitely not what I would expect of a published novel. There were a lot of rough edges that needed smoothing and a lot of scenes and information that needed better structure. If I had to boil down the issues this book had, I’d say that it needed a couple of rounds of some really heavy edits. There were also some issues with the dialogue in the book. There was just this...disconnect in between one person’s line and the other person’s response. I truly believe it was fixable, though. Like I said, a few rounds of heavy edits could have done the trick, in my opinion. 

The main character of this book, Nezha, like I said earlier, is very sweet and naive and all that, but, she also definitely acts like she’s much younger than her supposed age of seventeen. Just something about the way she was written read as if she was more of a preteen than someone in her late-teens. She’s too innocent, too naive, if that makes any sense. And the story being what it is, I think it would definitely have benefited from aging down of the main characters. This would have made a better middle-grade novel than it did a young adult one. Even the themes explored and the pacing and everything else, I felt, were more suited for an MG audience. This is also something that could’ve been caught in the editing process if some heavy editing was done, that’s all I’ll say. 

I honestly don’t have anything too negative to say about the book, except that it was very crude in the form that I read it. I really hope the final finished copy has had more edits, and also that the books coming out from this author in the future will have better attention from the publishers in the editing department, at least. I’m excited to see how this story will move forward, for sure, but I will only be picking it up if I hear it’s better edited because, honestly, it was hard to get through because of how crude it was. 

Anyway, check it out if interested! Sadly, this wasn’t the best reading experience for me. Thanks to Qamar Blog Tours for having me on and providing me with the ARC through netgalley. All opinions are my own!

Dnf. Was not a fan of the writing style. It was too choppy and jarring, and some of the descriptions/metaphors were too abstract and didn’t make sense. The dialogue felt stilted and didn’t flow well and I also had trouble figuring out what time period the book was supposed to be taking place in. I didn’t care for the main character and her relationship with her aunt and parents felt awkward.

Crowning Soul would've made a wonderful debut if it get to be edited properly. The original concept of the story was great but I felt like the story is a second or third draft. It doesn't feel like a story that is going to be published but rather a story posted on Wattpad or Quotev. I also think the story's middle-grade so there were a lot of telling instead of showing. I like that it reflect on different cultures though. But Crowning Soul isn't just for me.

Nezha is a young girl who is able to control the fire, she always had to hide, only her aunt helped her. Shortly before her aunt’s death Nezha begins to be followed, she realizes that the person following her is a Jinn, she also wonders if he is not responsible for her aunt’s death. She will be transported to another dimension where she will have to find and heal the parts of the soul of an angel.

In this dimension she will meet two talking Unicorns who will help her in her quest. I liked Sapphire and Thunderblot very much. They are funny and they bring lightness to the story.

I also liked that the author has created a strong Muslim heroine, when Nezha is not in Noorenia but on earth, we discover a little bit about her parents’ life and her culture.

I also appreciated the villains, they are very convincing.

I liked Noorenia even if the author deserves to make more descriptions in order to make us travel in this wonderful world with all these diverse and varied creatures.

What I regret is that I didn’t manage to become attached to the characters, I didn’t identify with them, I didn’t feel their sorrows, their loves.

The author has managed to create an interesting story, a world that seems wonderful, it just lacks a little finishing touch but overall the story is good.

I really enjoyed this book and I really hope to read more books from this author in the future. It was a great premise even if it did remind me of Inuyasha.

Nezha Zaman is a fire elemental still struggling to control her powers. Her life changes when a malevolent jinni murders her aunt, and she finds herself in the parallel world of Noorenia. There she must find the shattered pieces of an angel's soul, protect the land from the corrupted Iron Prince, and discover her family's heritage.

I really wanted to like this book. The cover is stunning and it's the first time I've seen a female muslim main character, wearing a hijab, on the cover of a fantasy book. As an arab muslim, I appreciate that the book didn't try to explain every religious mention or every Arabic word. It made me feel like I was the target audience for this book, which is pretty rare.

The story however is confusing. The pacing is extremely slow in parts where in other segments it suddenly skips forward a few weeks. Some of the sequences didn't make sense; characters are unconscious one minute and then rushing forward the next with no explanation of what happened. The connection between the normal world and Noorenia isn't very clear either.

The writing is a bit repetitive at times and parts of the book really dragged. I would guess this is the first book in a series but even so, the way the book ends feels very unresolved.

The book is labelled as young adult but it reads more like middle grade to me.

DNF @ 15%

I really tried with this book. I love the culture representation and the characters I met were charming. Something either about the prose or the story was the most confusing part. I couldn't understand what was happening with the fantasy part of this. Because of that, I didn't feel any pull to read this. I was actually dreading reading it because I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. I may try to read this again later, but that depends on then.

Also, whoever created this cover is a genius. It really is striking.

I found the blurb interesting but I struggled with this story and it didn't keep my attention.
The world building is interesting but it's not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I was hesitant to write this review since it has taken me so long to complete this book and was not sure if I was going to make it.

At first I was really excited to follow Nezha's mystical quest, see her elemental powers develop, learn more about the Muslim fantasy background, travel to a magical land filled with unicorns, angels and jinnis and in general, just have a blast. Still... that did not happen.

Although the basic idea of the book was great and would have lead to an amazing novel (maybe a series) its execution crash and burn it all.

The story started with an interesting atmospheric vibe but was soon rushed to the point that it became unbelievable and, regarding the antagonist, too repetitive. 

A myriad of characters are introduced, one after another with no clear purpose or reason (or maybe it was there, well hidden behind tons of babble).

The author also tries a brave mix of magic and technology which, sadly doesn't come out so well ( I'm talking about unicorn's magical mobile phones that go accross dimensions and get calls from the human world...).

Finally the ending also let down as it just "end without a real ending".

Even though the experience was not the best, I would like to give the author a second chance in the future since this was her first nobel.

An ARC if this book was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author/publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to be honest with you, the second star was for the cover which is stunning. 
I could not finish this book like I really struggled to arrive at the 10th chapter then I gave up.
I do respect the efforts of the author for trying to create a new muslim fantasy genre story but it wasn't a success. I didn't like this book mainly for the plot and the main character . I've got confused so many times during my reading and sometimes I could not follow for the life of me where the author was going with all that nonsense. I don't want to diminish her efforts but that's how I felt to the point that I could no more continue reading another page, it was impossible and I hate to put a book in the DNF section.

The cover and the description got me at first and I was so eager to read something so fresh with a muslim female main character in a fantasy world but after the first chapters I knew I've made a mistake. The plot, for me, was going on and on to nowhere. We jump from one place to another and we meet some secondary characters talking about some nonsense about fire jawehar or the angels or how Nezha has light or fire in her blah, blah, blah. I think the main problem was that the author was trying so hard to achieve too much in this book. the writing style was good but the dialogues which were exaggerated and likely to be forced. Some characters were like trying so hard to be funny.
 There was this crazy mix of oriental with occidental fantasy elements that didn't work well together or the author didn't know how to make it work and these Unicorns switching to angels and then to whatever, Every faery being is a Jinn in disguise and Nezha has to fight... I really could not keep going with this. Sorry!
I haven't finished this book and I really don't care to know what is going to happen at the end. 

I hoped that the author  could have made it much more simpler and clearer  than this because she had something really good to start with and it was something new and hasn't be done before.
I wish her good luck for her next books and I hope that she will create something this new and  much better.

Unfortunately I struggled to finish this one. The cover is absolutely stunning, and I was sold on the premise, but it was the execution that let it down. I think the main problem was that the book was trying to achieve far too much, which meant that I never felt as though I was able to get a proper grasp of what was happening or the characters, but at the same time there were places that felt incredibly repetitive.  I did enjoy the writing style itself, but the plot could have done with being refined and the world-building needed to be fleshed out in a less confusing manner to really live up to the promise of the premise.

I am so sad to say that this book was disappointing for me and not what I was expecting, based on the synopsis and hype I was so eager to read this, but I found it so hard going , it was just an effort to get through this. It felt just unrealistic, in a not relatable way, overly far fetched ! Dialogue didn’t feel natural and was actually cheesy at times. It just wasn’t for me at all.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I love the book and yet the execution was so poor that I will only give it two stars. I will take it from the top.

I loved the world but it needed more building into before the characters are thrown into a frenzy of missions.
I actually picked up the book for the female protagonist but there were so many more characters to look forward to. I loved the many characters but as I got used to someone new, they would either go away or new ones were added.
I love the prospect of evil jinns as antagonists but they were always and ever introduced and dismissed with a few repetitive lines.

My personal opinion: The book would have faired better had it either been through a few more rounds of editing. or shrunk on the expanse of the new world. It felt like the world of Noorenia was expansive to the point of being out of control and unmanageable.

Who do I recommend it to? 
Middle Graders and Early Teens even though it is listed as a Young Adult.

I  received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This book follows Nezha, your young protagonist as she goes on an adventure in an alternate world and must save the day. 

This book sounded so good in theory but I did not dig the execution what so ever. I had a hard time following what was going on due to some of the choices in timeline. There wasn’t enough clear distinction in the breaks in plots tor me to be able to keep straight when in the narrative things were occurring. I didn’t really enjoy the writing style because at times it was beautiful and fit the story but other times it was overly complicated to the point of distraction. 
I will definitely be giving this author another shot in the future but this book simply wasn’t for me.

Crowning Soul is a epic fantasy set in the magical world of Nooreina filled with magical creatures, evil jinn and danger and wonder around every corner. The world is very unique with the story taking place across several very different locations and with their own culture, history and environment. 
The story and format is very reminiscent of shonen manga with an episodic almost monster-of-the-week sort of format. There is a greater focus on friendship and family rather than romance (though there is some in there) so it will be ideal for people who don't like lots of romance or are trying to transition from Middle Grade to Young Adult. Crowning Soul has great Middle Grade crossover appeal with a fast pace and lots of action. 
The characters were lovely, diverse with a lot of heart and depth. Each had their own personality and struggles. I especially liked the villains, they were so interesting and entertaining. The action was epic but I got a bit lost sometimes through the whirlwind of spells and attacks. It would be amazing to see visually and I kept thinking how great it would be if it was a graphic novel. 
I beta read an earlier version of this novel and it was nice to see how the story changed and how the writing improved. Javaid has detailed and deeply emotive writing while using simple accessible language which was neither unnecessarily complex or dense. 
The writer seamlessly integrates Islamic culture and beliefs into the magic and world of the story. It was interesting to learn about the cultural practices and how it impacts the characters in the story. This would be great for a reader who is looking for a own-voice fantasy novel with Islamic cultural influences. 
Crowning Soul is a self-published novel so the writing and structure is a bit rough around the edges. I think it could have used more polishing but it was still a fun read and the writers love for the story and characters can be gleaned from every word. 
Overall Crowning Soul was an absolute joy to read! It would make a great graphic novel and I can't wait to see how the story evolves in the sequels. I recommend it to fans of Inu Yasha who want a fun and heart warming fantasy adventure.

Crowning Soul follows Nezra after she is transported into another dimension and tasked with finding orbs that contain the soul of an angel.

I liked the concept of the story and the start of the story however as soon as Nezra goes to the other dimension the book goes downhill. The dialogue was weird and cringe and did not suit the characters, the plot moved way too quickly and was repetitive with the same thing happening over and over again with the characters jumping from new settings/new characters too often. The writing style fell flat for me, it made it hard for me to read and I got bored really quickly and ended up skim reading most of the book. Too much is going on and there is not enough focus/time on one thing, there is too much action and less plot development, the book also jumps from perspectives in a weird way making the book a confusing and long read which I do not remember much of.

I did not mind the characters, I think the book focuses too much on the action, so much so that I could not connect to them or the relationships between them.

1/5

I was really looking forward to this debut novel by Sahira Javaid. Crowning Soul was pitched as a perfect for fans of Inuyasha and Children of Blood and Bone. I love InuYasha as a tv show and COBAB is one of my favorite books but Crowning Soul felt like it was just trying to do so much and deliver so little. Nezha has the gift to control fire but is a huge secret. One day, the secret unravels due to an encounter with a Jinni. She is then thrown out of her world into another dimension to find the truth about her and her family.

I think the most that I was confused about was how there were too many time skips that didn't make sense. I felt like there were things lost along the way and as someone who likes a concrete plot timeline, I don't really like timeskips that don't bridge gaps. There was also the matter of Nezha's purpose. I felt like there was a lack of establishing her as the main character. I wished there was just more to her.

Although I did enjoy some parts of the story, I just wished there was more editing, more of the plot, more cohesiveness to the story.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of Crowning Soul be Sahira Javaid. I give this book 2/5 stars. The summary of this book was very exciting and I was so excited to read this book, but it just fell flat. The world building seemed very weak to me and the characters seemed very 1 dimensional. The other issue I had was that the writing just seemed choppy. This book had a very promising concept but lacked the elements needed to follow through on the concept. I think I would try a book by Shaira Javaid again if it was more character driven rather than plot driven, because there were some truly magical aspects about this book. I loved the whimsy and magic Javaid infused into the story with the plethora of mythical creatures, which is why this book earned its 2 stars.

The description of this book was enticing. Unfortunately,  it didn't live up to its promise.

I loved the idea that the main character is a 17 year old girl in today's Morocco.

I just could not get into the plot.  Magical creatures abound but there are too many and it becomes confusing.

The world building and characterizations need some work in order to become a cohesive and truly enjoyable fantasy.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley.  I am leaving my honest review

I was excited for this book after this exciting synopsis, ofcourse, the muslim representation and the cover with a hijabie grabbed my attention. The representation of a muslim hijabie MC in fantasy genre is not something we see often. I had high expectations from this book (Hear me, this doesn't end well) 
The story focuses on Nezha, a biracial girl hailing from Morocco. She is a Fire Jawhar/Fire Elemental,since, her childhood her parents had shut away her superpowers and her lineage with the Fire Kingdom, because they assumed that's the best for her. But all hells break loose when, Nezha encounters a shadow Jinni who hurts her family and thus she is determined to get to the end of this. On the other hand, in Noorenia (Parallel realm to the mortal world) the Angel of Mercy is cursed. Nezha's greatuncle realises she is the "Chosen One". So, he transports Nezha to Noorenia, where Nezha must find orbs which will lead to break the curse and mend the Angel's soul.

Let's start with the parts which impressed me-
The premise and storyline has a lot to offer and was really interesting at the start. This book is filled with full of mythical creatures like Jinns,Unicorns, Ogres, Angels, Mermaids, Dragons etc. The concept is fresh out of a writer's den. Love, Family values and devotion to family are widely presented in this book, both Nezha and Kayan were family oriented. One of the best part about this book and I absolutely loved is the overwhelming little descriptions representing muslim culture. I don't really see such representations in YA books and as a Muslim myself, this created a soft place in my heart. I liked Nezha and Kayan's characters wish they had a better approach and a nice depth around them. Other characters like Sapphire and Thunderbolt, were nice as well. I enjoyed their conversations.

Moving on to the things which made me disappointed and frustrated-
Everything kept happening at the same time, I found myself jeopardized with all the subplots. Everytime I tried to get hold of Nezha's superpwers,a new subplot is pushed in.Various things are left unexplained, I still don't know exactly how Nezha's superpowers works or what her role is in the quest or even what the actual quest and destination is. Like, I said, the premise of the book is interesting and well-done, we had enough descriptions and the characters were introduced well. But as the book proceeded the descriptions narrowed down, the conversations became more bland. The character development was done in a passive and desultory manner. 
Generally, It takes a time to get hold of the fantasy world, but in this book it was extremely difficult for me to comprehend, the descriptions and detaling are not perfectly done and it takes away so much from the readers. Too much dramas happend in a short amount of time, and with the sudden unexplained POV changing. , I found myself lost and couldn't understand why and how the intense scenes were happening. I was clueless while reading this. I am left with so many unexplained plotholes, especially after that zero-climax ending. I am sorry but this thing really narrowed down my initial response to the book. 

Overall, I think the plot and story was amazing and has a great potential to be one of the finest genuine fantasy books but the writing and presentation need a bit of work. I hope the things get cleared up before the publication date, or else the readers will fail to embrace such an outstanding story.