This was my top read of 2023.
Gave me everything I wanted. Pithy characters, adventure, realistic mother trying to also be a person outside of motherhood, interesting magic and lore, and neatly tied up in a way that was completely satisfying while leaving the door open for more.
5 stars. No notes.

4 ⭐️

This is an incredibly fun romp. If you want the story telling flavor of Aladdin but the content of Pirates of the Caribbean…here you go. As many have said before, following a character well beyond their 20’s complaining of the aches and pains is so relateable, and all of her experiences with men and her exes…hilarious. My major complaint is the first 14-15 chapters were so slooooowwww but once we got going we were really cooking with gas. If you want a swashbuckling good time sailing across the Indian Ocean for mythical artifacts and fighting beasts from legend, you won’t be disappointed. I am so excited to go on more adventures with Amina someday.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy for review.

It took me a hot second to get into this one but once I did, I was entranced! Shannon writes such spellbinding tales full of adventure and whimsy, I can’t wait to explore the rest of her work!

I am absolutely furious with myself.

I have had this book in my TBR for over a year. I have the Faeiryloot special edition, I have it on Audiobook, you name it! I am so happy I finally picked it up because this is my first 5 star book of 2024. This book is truly an adventure, it is not simple story telling more like thing after thing is thrown at this remarkable woman and she manages to handle it (and sometimes not handle it) with style. Amina al-Sirafi reminds me of Ilona Andrews [book:Magic Bites|38619] (Kate Daniels), completely different genres (Kate Daniels is Urban Fantasy, this is Historical Fantasy) but the found family is there, the banter, the humor, the character development, the strong female MC and side characters, the world is absolutely enthralling!! The story is so rich, it handles things such as motherhood and the preconceptions of it (mothers don’t just give up their personalities when they have children!), there is a character who is going through some personal self discovery that is handled with grace, a cast of middle aged characters that act like adults but also have the heart of adventure, a poisons master who I deeply want to get more accounted with… and a DEMON who is just the most ludicrous thing ever, but also super entertaining (he reminds me a little of Spike from Buffy before Spike got a soul).

AND THE NARRATOR? She is absolutely phenomenal. I have a list of favorites, and she is top on that list. She just manages to narrate the story so well and just captures the voice of Amina.

OVERALL? I kind of already want to read it again, and I cannot wait for the sequel!

Ever since I read her previous trilogy, I knew I would need to read everything she writes. I love her new character and the new world. It took me 2 days to complete this book and I wish I could experience it for the first time all over again. Trust me, you want to get to know Amina.

Powerful story that shows that motherhood makes you stronger, not weaker. Beautiful, lush settings and gorgeous prose. I loved this book!

I really liked this book and am excited for the next installment of the series! I felt very immersed in the world that the author created and found Amina's desire to protect her family and also continue to travel and have adventures to be very compelling.

I was unable to finish this book, I thought it had a strong start, but I never quite became engaged in the proceedings.

Such a breath of fresh air, not an overused trope anywhere in sight. So much humor and swashbuckling heart, and it is completely impossible not to fall in love with most (if not all) of the various characters that are introduced throughout. I am HERE for this quasi-subgenre of fantastical grizzly mothers and we all know how much I love a Hot Ancient Man ("man" being a loosely defined word here), or as we like to call them- HAMs.

Thanks to HV for the review copy!

This author has truly discovered their own magic and is putting it to good use in this book. Beautiful, adventurous, and full of amazing scenery.

This book is full of swashbuckling pirates, wondrous magic, terrifying monsters (human and otherwise), and all around great fun.
If you love Pirates of the Caribbean (and wished there were more middle aged mom cut throat pirates) then this is a must read - I’m already guessing this will be my fave book of the year

Tales of the fierce nakhudha (pirate) Amina al-Sarafi have traveled about as far as Amina has in her ship, the Marawati; tales of intense battles, stolen treasures, and her many husbands. Amina has moved past that, however, trading in her ship and sword for benign a mother to Marjana and living a tranquil life. Amina’s peaceful life is interrupted one day by the arrival of Salima, a woman desperate to recover her kidnapped granddaughter Dunya, a woman who believes Amina is the best pirate for the job. Amina is quick to say no, until Salima makes an offer she cannot refuse. Yes, the offer comes with money–a lot of money–, but it also comes with threats to her daughter, forcing Amina’s hand. Together with her trusted crew–Tinbu, Majed and Dalila–Amina will go on one last adventure in an attempt to find Dunya and her captor, Falco Palamenestra.

This novel was simply extraordinary and captivating; I was hooked from the first page and did not want the story to end. The characters are phenomenal; they are well developed and intriguing and I loved going on this adventure with them. Dalila is savage but caring, and quick witted and funny, making her my favorite character in the novel. Throughout there are little sections, told by Amina’s scribe, containing information about the Moon of Saba, which added some variety to the narrative. The pages are full of action and adventure (as the title suggests), making it a hard book to put down.

I absolutely loved this book. From the first page until the last, I was completely engrossed. The life of Amina is fascinating, and I love that we get an older mother as the main character. As a mom myself, this is something I appreciate seeing in fantasy books. The magic was interesting, and I loved the entire crew. The connections to the Devabad series were really fun as well but you don't need to have read that series first, it is just in the same world.

*SHAKES FIST AT PAST SELF*

This book was truly just another instance of me trying to read it at the wrong time. When I first tried it, the beginning failed to grab me so I decided to put it aside. But I recently got motivation to try it out again and BOY, what a wonderful experience.

I loved this so much! The further I got, the more mad I got at my past self for putting this aside for so long. The one upside is I don’t have to wait quite as long for the sequel, which I’m already dying to have in my hands. I have so much fun with Chakraborty’s writing and her characters are fresh and interesting. Her worldbuilding is impeccable as always. I loved Amina and her crew and am so looking forward to more adventures with them on the Marawati!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was a blast to read. I loved the concept of a female pirate, it was very empowering. This was an excellent fantasy, with exciting and understandable world building.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I really loved the author’s work since City of Brass! I have to say that the beginning of the novel started out very well! I love the pirates and the sea adventures! However, I thought that the ending took a different turn! It felt like it was two separate stories! Nevertheless, it was still a fun and engaging series! I recommend this for fans of Daughter of the Pirate King, Midas’s Daughter, and Ahab’s Daughter!

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

I put off reading this book for ages but I knew I would love it and lo and behold I WAS RIGHT. I know the basic premise of “mom/retired pirate queen has to get the crew back together for one last heist” is going to snare a ton of people and yes, it absolutely lives up to that, you should pick up the book just for that. But it also is just impeccably plotted/paced, with the revelations about what Amina is hiding from other characters and the reader hitting at exactly the right time, and the setting is fantastically described at all times. I loved how vividly Chakraborty writes about the multiculturalism of the time period (Amina’s crew includes a Hindu, a Christian, Muslims of varying levels of practice, etc) and how she writes Amina’s faith, in particular. Amina is such a fun protagonist! Highly, highly recommend for anybody looking for fantasy adventure.

*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a gripping tale of swashbucklers, dark magic, demon husbands, and unwanted bargains. That's 3/4 of my favorite things, so I expected this to be quite the book. I wasn't disappointed...exactly.

Amina is not a YA protagonist. This is an Adult book, after all. She's got a daughter, responsibilities, and her pirate-ing days are long over. And yet, she is dragged back into that life to protect the things she cares about. Part of me longs to read about the bright shining days of the young Amina al-Sirafi, but this is a woman who reluctantly puts on the garb of a pirate captain. Sometimes, it felt hard to connect with her because of this.

However, once the book really starts going, it is hard to stop. It is a wild ride, and even features a character from City of Brass!