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!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Somehow, I always start Chakraborty's books thinking that it's not my thing, and then by the end, it draws me in and I need to know everything right this second. This is such a rich world that she has created, but more than that, she fills it with characters full of life and joy and hope, and she has them overcome things they could never have imagined. I loved getting to know these new characters of hers and unraveling Amina and who she truly is inside.

I do think the book started very slowly, and it took me longer than normal to actually get into it and be invested. I loved once the fantastical elements really kicked in, and I wish that it had been a greater part of the book from the start. I did love Amina and the uniqueness of her being a mother who is just trying to retire from the life of a scoundrel.

Chakraborty definitely crafts such beautiful worlds and stunning characters. If you're a historical fantasy lover, get your hands on this new series!

I enjoyed the adventure and the characters. I love that the MC is a strong woman pirate that happens to be a mom also who comes out of retirement to save a girl. This adventure turns magical and I love the character development.

Shannon will never let me down. This was everything it promised to serve and more. I already cannot wait for the next book.

Honestly, it took me a couple hundred pages to get into this book. This is why I don't have a firm '#-page DNF limit.' If I stopped at 100 pages, I wouldn't have experienced the fun and absurdity (in a good way) of the rest of this book! It's lengthy, yes. There's a lot going on. But it was worth it in the end! Yay for middle-aged mom pirate captains!!

ⓣⓡⓞⓟⓔⓢ
Pirates
Found family
Magical creatures & demons (who aren’t demons)
Epic quest
With splashes of Muslim history throughout!

🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦
I received the ebook of this from NetGalley a while before this one came out last February, but ended up setting it aside when I tried reading it the first time. I finally decided to give this one a go again on audio and I FLEW through it then. This book does so well as an audio, so I highly suggest it if you’re an audiophile! The story is told by Jamal, a scribe, but is Amina telling Jamal of her adventures. What I had struggled with physically reading it was a few moments where Amina/Jamal break the fourth wall and start talking outside of the story she is telling him. It was difficult to understand this was happening in print, but is so clear and well done on audio. I ended up switching back and forth between the ebook and audio after I got used to that writing style and enjoyed it so much!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was such a fun book! I loved how it was led by a swashbuckling lady pirate coming out of retirement for one last adventure and to make a fortune that would provide for her family. The found family within her crew made up amazing side characters and overall just made a depth of engaging and fun personalities! It also makes me excited for future books in the series and to keep getting to know this cast! I loved how different they all were, but how much respect they showed for each others beliefs, religions, and life styles. It was so beautifully done.

The development of the plot was well paced, although it did get a tad slow at times. There was a LOT that happens so it does keep you engaged the whole time.

And I LOVED the little surprise we got at the end! It was such a perfect touch to have and put the biggest smile on my face. Bravo!

I loved this book. However, I forgot that I had read this book so long ago. Too much time has passed to write a good review.

This book was written for me, as a Muslim girl who loves fantasy and feels like I can relate. The way it portrays the religion perfectly and still sticks to the plot is amazing. Amina is my wife and mother, I love her sooo much and it’s refreshing seeing a single mom as a protagonist. Also, please this book is suchhhh a fun and easy time. it felt like pirates of the Caribbean meets atlantis vibes if that makes sense. I love it 10/10

This book is the pirate adventure of my dreams! We examine a woman in all of her facets, daughter, wife, mother, pirate, and warrior as she embarks on that one last job that will change the course of her life forever.

Very well written if paced a little more leisurely than other fantasy novels (which personally I love to be honest). So much to talk bout with this book, but just know that you should read it!

What an adventure this book was. From the cast of characters to the magic, this book was really good. Can't wait to read another book by this author.

What I loved: the author created a complicated, vast, rich world as she explored a version of the Indian ocean perhaps a thousand years ago. Her gift for setting is on full display in this book, and so is her sparkling imagination. Who wouldn't want to read an adventure about a lady pirate that features getting the band back together, lost archaeological treasures, sea monsters, djinni, shipwrecks, crusaders, and magic, magic, magic?

Chakraborty knows how to keep the plot moving and how to introduce characters and revelations at the right time. After ten years of living in hiding near Salalah, Amina more than makes up for lost time when she returns to the world to seek a missing young girl in return for the promise of riches beyond imagining. This woman is busy! She's also strong, sharp, loyal to her friends, and conflicted between her love for her daughter and her love of the sea and adventure. Torn between two identities, she's a person that women of today can identify with.

I didn't rate this book higher because I've read the author's other work. I had to think about what was different in this book and decided it is probably the complexity of the characters in her Daevabad trilogy. True, I've only known Amina for one book instead of three so this is something that might change. The strength of the Daevabad books was in their interpersonal conflict which then played out on a larger political scale. This book didn't have that. Amina banters with her friends and crew, but there's no real conflict there. The conflict is within Amina herself and of course with the insane European who wants to destroy the world. This book felt more episodic and less like a build to a larger story.

Of course, it does turn out that this book is probably part of a larger story because of a quest that Amina is set. I figure there are likely to be sequels! And I'll read them happily.

3.5
Overall I really enjoyed this, and loved the main character and all her flaws and strengths. I had a pretty disjointed reading experience, constantly stopping and starting. I blame that for any lack on enjoyment.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!! Amina Al-Sirafi is a (somewhat) famous (retired) pirate who's more than happy to live the rest of her life in her small humble abode with her wonderful daughter, Marjana. But no. A wealthy grandmother arrives at her home offering a ridiculous amount of money for Amina to locate and return her missing granddaughter. Said ridiculous sum of money would mean that Amina could retire comfortably for the rest of her days, and that her daughter would want for nothing. She accepts the job. And then all hell (including but not limited to demon husbands, giant scorpion squids, possessed henchmen, evil sorcerers, enchanted wash tubs, and godlike bird people) breaks loose.

Oh my LORD I loved this book and immediately checked the internet for any hints and inklings of a sequel because I need one right this minute. This book is WEIRD, it's OUT THERE, and it's AMAZING. I loved Amina, her personality, her gosh dang bum knee, and everything about her. She was a fantastic main character and the voice created for her throughout the novel was wonderful. I loved Jamal's little interludes in the storytelling process (and sidenote, I loved the full-circleness of the whole Jamal thing. No spoilers, just read it). The magic in this book starts subtle, and then it's REALLY not subtle at all. Like, we start with humble pirate living in a leaky dwelling and get all the way to evil sorcerer commanding a legion of demonic henchmen and scorpion squids. This is a must-read fantasy adventure book that is going to make you want a sequel immediately (I'm speaking that into existence).

Loved this book! It felt fresh and different. It started off a little slow but quickly sped up and I really enjoyed it. Curious if this is going to be a series. I hope so!

Giving this three stars because it was pretty average, and unfortunately I ended up DNFing abou 75% of the way through because I wasn’t super into the book. I think I will go back to it at some point to finish it but it wasn’t for me at the time I was reading it. I liked the main character, but I didn’t like how she maneuvered through the world or her motivations. Always love a strong woman though!