This book really surprised me, and the last half had some fantastic twists and turns and interesting political machinations. The romance was a strong component of the storyline but wove nicely into the larger context of the book's messages about right wrongs and reversing inequality. I wish there was more exploration of the magic system and different types of magic wielders because that was quite a cool aspect of the wold building. All in all a very interesting, fast paced story that had a fell good ending.

Unspoken is certainly one of the most unique stories ive come across especially for a book marketed as fantasy; and this mainly is because of a certain theme, that is so relevant in the current world; that about the freedom of choice to wear the headscarf.

I’ll say that the writing was the first things that I instantly fell in love with in the book. The writing style is absolutely beautiful to read! Idk what its with me and beautiful prose but yes i love it. This was atmospheric AND sombre, the perfect combo for writing styles for me to enjoy so this book had a really good impression on me through the beginning.

The world building too was; while not phenomenal or something absolutely unique, it was still really good and i enjoyed reading about this world and its politics.

What lost me as a reader in this seemingly perfect book was its plot. Well i *thought* this was mainly a fantasy book, but it turned out to be mainly about romance, and not one i enjoyed or liked.

THIS IS DEFINITELY NSFR was my first thought bc it really isn’t so be warned if y’all are picking it up this month.

As for the romance itself, i wasn’t invested in the characters or their romance. I just didn’t care for it, like yes its there okay, moving on. But well the book didnt let me move on because its one of the main ongoing plot threads so i just lost interest for the book as a whole as i read on and i kept putting it off midway in chapters to not picking it up in consecutive days to being thrown off in my worst slumps that i now am in, until i just finally decided to finish it simply for the sake of finishing it.

All in all, it just wasn’t the type of story I enjoy so I gradually lost interest in it, but preference aside i still have to acknowledge the amazing writing style and how well themes were explored in it !

Thank you to the publisher for granting me with an eARC in exchange for honest review via NetGalley

TW: Abuse (sexual, physical, emotional and mental),

A new favourite read. This is hands down of the best most well written books I have read in a while. Everything made sense and everything came together. You want strong female POC MC?? You got that in ten folds. An incredible story line that is unpredictable and intense as hell? Got it. Magic? Yes.

Ameera is our MC, princess and at times can go through some very horrible experiences (the way I wanted to kill her father The King). Ameera never gives in despite being abused, she’s absolutely such a precious soul that I couldn’t help but wanting to protect. And then you get the romance which is the icing on the cake. The romance?? I’m still thinking about it i absolutely DEVOURED this book.

Overall this is a fast paced, well developed book in my opinion. With lovely and hateable characters all around. An amazing setting and the loveliest hint of romance going throughout. The idea of the Unspoken one intrigued me sooo much and I was so happy to see more of them too. So glad I managed to download this off NetGalley too. Please remember this is an adult book and does have both explicit and violent scenes.

The world of Nur is a breathtakingly real and well developed setting. I loved getting to know Ameera and experiencing all the developments with her. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a solidly built fictional world with vibrant characters.

Princess Ameera of Nur is trapped. Her mother died immediately after giving birth to her, leaving her in the mostly indifferent, often cruel care of her tyrannical father King Qarun. The king and his nobles rule without mercy or consideration for the suffering of the masses, especially girls and women. Ameera intends to save her people, but first she needs to save herself from her father’s determination to marry her off to the despicable warmongering ruler of the bordering nation of Sameer. Will a few trusted allies, some hidden resources, and a mysterious being rally around her and follow her into battle to emerge victorious? The odds are stacked against her. Elements reminiscent of The Iliad, Highlander, The Handmaid’s Tale, and fresh spins on djinn lore blend with nuanced characters, detailed world-building, political intrigue, dynamic fight scenes, and assorted mortal dangers. Unspoken offers readers a deep dark fantasy adventure that projects a visceral sense of every phase of recurring cycles of violence from its dormant prelude to activation, escalation, peak, decline, and aftermath, then reset. Despite its examination of the abundant horrors of unchallenged tyranny in the home and in society, Ameera’s story is ultimately an optimistic tale about fighting for what’s ethical even when winning seems impossible.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Ari Reavis for the ARC n exchange for an honest review!

Ameera is the princess of Nur and the only surviving heir to the throne. Despite this, her horrible father, the King, would rather see her sold off the the even worse King of a neighbouring kingdom.
Out of desperation, Ameera calls upon the unspoken one. A man banished from her kingdom by her father, for reasons Ameera is unaware of.

I really enjoyed this book and found Ameera to be a woman we can all look up too. Despite all odds against her, she takes charge and doesn't wait for a hero to save her. The
Over all, 5 stars and a high recommendation!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author, Ari Reavis, for providing a copy of Unspoken. I have reviewed honestly.

Unspoken features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ Adult fantasy
○ Witches/magic
○ Corrupt monarchies
○ Cruel Kings/Father
○ Arranged marriage
○ Defiant, kickass FMC
○ Forbidden romance

My overall rating for Unspoken is…

4 Stars!

What an exciting, engaging and exotic adult fantasy tale! Featuring an intense, forbidden romance, cruel kings, horrid fathers and corruption, Unspoken is the perfect recipe for a standalone, fantasy book. Princess Ameera is iconic. She's fierce, determined and defiant. Her heart is so pure and her actions inspiring. I love her courage in covering her body with head wraps and high collars, despite it being odd and uncommon in the Kingdom of Nur. We have two vicious villains to contend with and the handsome and loyal Hamza to lust over. Overall, Reavis writes a compelling, magical and heartfelt tale with a strong, female lead.

*** Actual rating 3.5 ***

I enjoyed the concept of this book. It definitely was a romance as I got all the feels between Ameera and Hamza. I appreciated Ameera’s character and how she wanted to do right by the people (we need more people like her in this world!). I love a time skip epilogue - it always gives me the closure I need for the (main) characters. I felt the story was well paced for the most part and different elements were weaved into the story really well.

I did feel as though things fell into place a little too easily for Ameera - she was automatically loved by majority of the side characters and was able to gain support super quickly which made it a bit difficult to buy into the realism of the supporting characters, it felt as though some of them were included to bolster Ameera’s kind hearted personality. There were also some unexpected scenes that used certain language that pulled me right out of the world of Unspoken. Because of this change in language, it made the scenes a bit weird(?) to read because they didn’t really felt like they belonged in this book. I noticed some spelling/grammar mistakes as well as some weirdly structured sentences as the book progressed but it didn’t detract too much from the book.

I saw on the cover that it is meant to be a series but I’m not sure how it would continue as the story was wrapped up pretty nicely. A good read though all the same!

4.5 stars
The unspoken one is banished in the prologue with no hint as to who this person is.
Ameera's father wishes to force her to marry King Azar, their most powerful neighbor(both men are human trash) but she refuses and the nature of their laws would allow her to break the union if it isn't entered into willingly. So she summons the Unspoken to help her.
It's sweet how she keeps summoning the unspoken one because she needs his help but spends most of her time just talking to him instead.
His powers are fascinating, people call on the Unspoken for revenge, but if the intended target didn't mean to do it or the victim would have been someone who could call on the Unspoken to enact revenge, he will not kill them.
I can't get over the depth of sweetness between Ameera and Hamza. I also have to mention the strength and determination Ameera shows through all her trials in this book.
My only real complaint is the grammar/editing, it's all well and good to use auto correct to check your spelling but just because the word is spelt correctly doesn't mean it's the one that makes the sentence work or make sense. It happens at least once per chapter. Thankfully the story is well paced and interesting so I could keep going, but it still made my eye twitch every time.

Update from the author, the book was re-edited before it's release.

So... this was almost 100 percent a cover request. Because, look... at... it. *CAPITAL HEART EYES* Also, Unspoken is definitely ADULT and not YA. I saw some reviews on Goodreads calling it YA. I was never fully drawn into this story. I liked the premise a lot. But I kept finding myself putting the book down and not really wanting to pick it back up. Of course, I'm a very fickle mood reader so I may pick it up again sometime and really enjoy it. For now, as much as I appreciate the review opportunity, I'm going to set it aside. If you like unique Fantasy, I say definitely give it a try for yourself.

Review of Unspoken by Ari Reavis

My rating: 5 stars.
Reading Time: 2 days.

Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for access to the book.

BE FIERCE.

Wow, if you like a strong female hero, this is the book for you! A story filled with tyrants, suffering, strength and magic.

Princess Ameera learns to live under the tyrannical treatment of her father. Biding her time as best she can until she is Queen of Nur and will make the changes to protect herself and her people. She must find a way to get out of an arranged wedding with a neighbouring kingdom’s King whose abusive behaviour overshadows anything her father has ever done to her. There is one she hopes can help but it is forbidden to even say his name, punishable but public lashing and loss of wages as per her father’s decree. Can Ameera survive everything that stands between her and the safety of her kingdom and her heart?

TRIGGER WARNING – Abuse (mental, emotional & physical)

Oh Ameera, you are strong, brave and inspiring. The author has done an excellent job at character building throughout this novel. The main character has depth without being bogged down. There are several supporting characters that have enough detail to add value rather than just being page fillers. The story is exciting and easy to follow, I was not bored during this read. The ending was satisfying, with no unnecessary cliff-hangers confirming it as a stand-alone.

There were a few grammatical errors which I am sure will be corrected prior to publication.

I would recommend this book to prefers to read a standalone rather than trilogies or series. If you are looking for a female hero, strength against oppression and a solid ending then you should enjoy this one. Any young woman who needs reminding of her strength and her value as a person would benefit from this novel. Plus if you enjoy imagining beautiful clothing there are several gowns described as a little bonus.

Review posted to #GoodReads, #NetGalley and #Reedsy

Ameera must find a solution to an unwanted marriage to an abusive, misogynistic man who has murdered his previous two wives and has conquered all his neighbouring Kingdoms except Nur. In a desperate bid for help she summons The Unspoken One who was mysteriously banished years ago for defying Ameer's cruel father, the King of Nur.

Unspoken is a story where the princess Saves herself. With strong depictions of strong female characters and POC main characters, Unspoken is beautifully written story about love, chosen family and the strength to stand up to oppressors against all odds.

This book was romance heavy not YA (more New Adult). The dialogue and prose was interesting but felt stilted at times. Did some parts feel long winded? Well, yeah. Was it a little cheesy? Yeah but as a non-romance reader wasn't a draw back. Also the book cover does not make sense until near the end so that was confusing for a while.

The beginning and ending were my favourite, with the secrets, political machinations and secret manipulations. It was a cool book that achieved a lot. Also the story was is giving me djinn vibes which was cool.

TW: abuse (physical, mental, emotional, verbal), attempted R*pe.

4.5 Stars
"Unspoken" by Ari Reavis is a beautiful YA story, set in a fantasy world and with the strongest female character I've ever come across. Ameera is a princess who endures years of mind, and at some point even physical abuses, by her father and tyrant of their kingdom. She keeps her eyes on her endgame goal, which is to dethrone him and save her people from his cruelty. But she is aware that to do so, she has to wait for the right chance to rise so, while she apparently doesn't react to her father's shaming, secretly she learns how to fight, how to control magic no one knows she possesses and she helps her people whenever she can. I think it's admirable that Ameera never bowed to her father or anyone else that tried to break her, no matter how much she bled, or got tortured. Plus she managed to stay kind, to not become an angry mess, even if no one could have blamed her if that was the case. In her journey she isn't alone though, because as much as this book is full of characters you can't help but hate like pineapple on pizza, it has also a lot of loyal and amazing people that side with Ameera and that help her overcome any dark time. Now let's talk about the love story...because this story has everything you could want in a book and that, at least for me, includes some romance, and what a romance we have here! The main love story is so sweet you can't help but think:" wow, where do I sign up for something like this?". But I don't feel like saying anything else about it for fear of spoilers. If I wanted to find something bad about this book, I could say that there are some parts that are a little too long winded, even if I didn't really mind since I liked to know every detail of the story. So, I'm happy to say I loved this book, that I'm glad I had the chance to read it for free on NetGalley and that I will definitely look forward to reading other books by this author.

I fell into this story from the first page i read. I was a insta love. The story has everything you want from a good ya book. It had secrets,it had love, it had nice action. The character are all so wonderfull and strong in their own ways. It was a really beautiful story.