Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harpervoyagerus for the hardcopy. Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

There are some stories that really stick with you and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi will be like that for me.

Shannon Chakraborty, also author of The Daevabad series, is becoming a fave fantasy author & I love the thick & ingenious fantasies she’s crafting.

Framed as a memoir in the act of being written by a scribe, Amina is a fantastic storyteller, recounting her story of magic, danger, fear, & courage with compelling & sometimes visceral detail & the occasional irreverent & dry remark about whatever bit of nonsense / magical terror she has seen.

This is an epic: at the beginning Amina accepts a job to rescue a rich woman’s granddaughter & realizes that there are larger implications of the whole situation than she had initially assumed.

A road trip, an across the realms & back story with a fantastic heroine that odes *should be* written about, a story about what is right & wrong & guilt & love: this one packs a punch.

& did I mention that Amina is “middle-aged” & a mother & still longs for the sea & her ship & can conduct a heck of a rescue when necessary?

“To be a woman is to have your story misremembered,” Amina says at the beginning of the book & those words stayed with me. I loved hearing Amina’s voice.

4.5⭐️. Out now!

Many CWs, including murder, violence, references to slavery, including witnessing a child being purchased by someone.

[ID: Jess’ white hand holds the book in front of a mural on the side of a building that says “this girl can” next to the image of a girl with multicolored hair.]

I will start by saying the audio version was well done and thank you Netgalley for advancing me the copy. I love this author’s previous series, but this book from the start was a struggle. Fantasy with strong Middle eastern women who write their own stories are a plus, but this storyline dragged for me. This could be due to the development of the characters and the slow build up of the adventure, but I was three quarters through it before my interest was piqued. I will strongly consider reading the next adventure as in the last series the middle book was the best.

What I liked
While listening to this book I felt like I was missing something, or that something was wrong with me because so many of my friends are loving this book. Now that I've finished it and am thinking of writing my review I'm having an even better time thinking of the story and all the adventures. I think this will be a fantastic book to reread because now that I've had time to reflect I realized how much I loved it.

All of our character are lovable and have their own appropriate amount of backstory. You want to hear about everybody that is speaking and having an outside Scribe narrator was a really fun way to give us the lore on our characters and the world around them. This was unique and hilarious. The entire book was original, unique, and genuinely hilarious. You feel like you are apart of the banter with the group, and the internal thoughts and jokes are great. There are a lot of serious big challenges but they're all done in so much style it was a delight.

Having a main character who is a mother and is actively sacrificing her time away from her child was a really interesting perspective. Its not one we often get in fantasy books so seeing how this changed the characters decisions was interesting. We also got to see how having a child has changed her in so many ways but no matter what at the end of the day she is still to her core the same person she has always been with just more room inside of her for love and desires.

If you're looking for a book with adventure and strong momma who knows that no matter what happens she will get through it because she has to, for her daughter. Truly an epic book with fantastic descriptions, and lovable characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book!

4.5 ⭐️

Absolutely loved this book! The characters, the world building, the setting. Pirates, an older MC, action, adventure, daeva lore and everything in between!!

I was super nervous to get to this book. I thought that as I was reading it, I would just be comparing it to Shannon's daevabad trilogy the entire time. BOY WAS I WRONG. I had such a great time with this book learning about every character and finding the easter eggs and nods to a world that takes place 1,000 years before Daevabad. AND THERE WAS A SPRINKLING OF ROMANCE!!!

I cannot wait to see where this story goes. I feel like this was exactly the pirate itch I needed scratched and the narrator reveal was everything!! Thank you so much to netgalley for this ARC. I LOVED IT. Highly recommend for Chakraborty fans. You won't be disappointed.

xx
-Christine

A fast paced, action packed Indian Ocean pirate adventure set during the medieval era? Sold. Amina is a great lead and the setting makes for a fascinating backdrop to the events that unfold (think mystical treaures, sword fights, gods, demons, sea beasts). The book has a lot going for it and sets up what hopefully will be a fantastic historical fiction/fantasy series.

While I flew through the book, the pacing is problematic. Key plot moments don't always feel earned and most of the main cast don't feel particularly developed outside implied relationships and empty banter. Major events can fly by in a paragraph or a whole chapter. I'd like to see more time to sit with the characters and learn more about the world in future books. It's a strong starting point regardless. 4 stars.

Easiest five star I’ve given out in a long time! This book captivated me from start to finish and I already want to read it again!! This is one of those reads that leaves you feeling like you went on the perfect reading journey. There's not a single thing I didn't love.

I loved the characters - from Amina, a refreshingly unconventional protagonist compared to what we see in most fantasy novels, to her entire endearing crew of longtime bffs. The found family vibes are strong with Amina and her crew. I could read about them as they adventure and bicker and care for one another for the rest of forever and never bore.

I loved the plot - from the piratey adventures aboard Amina's trusty vessel, to the explorations into island jungles and mysterious caves, to the deep dives into mythology and hidden magic. It's a romp the entire time and I never wanted it to end. The plot also drives a lot of really strong character development, which felt so rewarding as a reader who was so invested in this story. And by "so invested" I literally mean that I cried tears of joy through the entire last chapter so yeah.

Also very worth mentioning that this is one of the best audiobooks I've ever had the pleasure to experience. The decision to do audio was a last minute one for me and I'm so, so happy that I did. While both narrators do an absolutely phenomenal job, Lameece Issaq's narration as Amina was literal perfection. Her tone, her cadence, her sass - everything. She would even do these little asides where the mic was a bit muffled, as if she were turning to another character in the room. Masterful.

Cannot recommend highly enough. I need the sequel right this minute, but feel very confident I will be rereading this again before too long. Seven kajillion stars.

Very special thanks to Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for review.

Once again, Shannon Chakraborty has killed it with the world building and characters. Once I picked this book up I didn't want to put it down. I loved returning to this world but in an all new way and it was truly magical. Amina is everything I could look for in an MC. She's tough, sassy, caring, and smart.

This was such a fun adventure and I will definitely be returning to it again and again. It has a little of something for everyone and when you put it together you get a top read of the year for me.

Shannon Chakraborty can't write a bad book. I love the way she weaves worldbuilding, plot, and character development beautifully. It's as if you're truly entering the worlds she writes, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Overall, this book was everything I wanted and more. A beautifully crafted historical fantasy setting with the right touch of magical mystery. An epic adventure with a diverse cast of characters that captured my interest almost immediately.

✔️Epic and doomed quest
✔️Demons, djinn & marids
✔️Medieval Indian Ocean setting
✔️Diverse cast of characters
✔️World building rich with culture and religion
✔️Witty and feministic narrator

Amina al-Sirafi might be one of my new favorite FMCs. Fiercely loyal, witty, brave, and one of the greatest pirates on the Indian Ocean, she’s someone I would want on my team. She’s also a single mom in her early 40s and it was so REFRESHING to read about a FMC who wasn’t 19😅

Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read this month and maybe year! It felt very original and I can’t wait for book 2.

A wonderful romp that focuses on a middle aged woman, I enjoyed seeing myself and my feelings on being a mother reflected in fantasy books. The story was also a joy to read and I loved getting a glimpse into a (fictionalized) section of history that I was not taught about in school.

This was probably my most eagerly anticipated read this year. I'll admit I didn't take to it right away. I had a hard time falling into the world and the characters. But once I did the magic of Chakraborty's writing took over and we were off on an amazing adventure. It's a departure from what we're used to from Chakraborty but not in a bad way at all. Come for your love of the author and stay for the magic and adventure!

This book was really enjoyable. I love the characters as well as the representation. Jamal! My heart. Can’t wait for the next two books and to see where Shannon and Amina take us. I highly recommend.

I unfortunately did not have a chance to finish this title before it was published despite having an interest in it. Rated 5stars, did not finish.

I can’t begin to tell you how surreal it felt to just hold this book in my hands, let alone be able to finally read it. It was so worth the wait 💖 I mean, a female pirate who goes on adventures? SIGN ME UP.

“Women are the forgotten spouses and unnamed daughters. Wet nurses and handmaidens; thieves and harlots. Witches. A titillating anecdote to tell your friends back home or a warning.”

Amina delivered everything I hoped for and more - a headstrong, smart-mouthed MC, incredible group dynamics, adventure, supporting characters I wanted to be friends with, and plenty of social commentary.

“I would not want her to believe that because she was born a girl, she cannot dream.”

Shannon Chakraborty did an amazing job at giving Amina a unique voice. What really amplified that for me was how the story is told. Amina is sitting down with a scribe, recounting her tale. At random points, she breaks what I guess would be the third wall by addressing the scribe directly in only the way Amina can. It added even more humor to the story and let us get to know Amina in another way.

“Save me, nakhudha, and I will make you a legend. People will sing songs of you for centuries.”

Throughout the book, we learn snippets about the adventures Amina and co. went on prior to us meeting them. While I would love to read those tales later on, I loved where we found them. There’s something sweet and semi-nostalgic watching these characters find each other again and work through their issues together.

I wish I could reread this or had the second one in my hands. But I know it will be well worth the wait and honestly cannot wait to see where Amina goes next. In the meantime, this will be added to my list of “books I will never stop recommending because everyone needs to read it”

This book ultimately ended up being a good and interesting story, but it took SO long to get to the interesting part it really dampened the experience for me. This is the first in a series (which I didn't realize when I started it, but I am looking forward to reading the other books), so there was a lot of character building and background to lay for the first book in a fantasy series. The world building was not very complex, and the meat of this book is the characters and the development of the characters was great! This was found family and reunited found family...which I loved. The main characters were also all in the 40's which is rare for a fantasy book and I loved that! I am looking forward to the future books in the series, but I was a little disappointed by this book and wanted to like it more.

I absolutely loved this. I read the finished copy that I preordered. I was immediately sucked into the story and I’m dying to read more, but I’m not mad about the way this book was wrapped up.

Look, I read The City of Brass by this author and I loved the writing. I admit that I do still need to finish the Daevabad trilogy. And I do plan to, because it was fantastic. Also, this book is set in the same world…so I think you can jump right into reading this, even if you haven’t read the previous trilogy, but there’s also a chance that there could be throwaway lines that reference characters or events from the previous books.

Anyway, I loved Chakraborty’s writing and characters, and I was already very excited for this book. And then I started seeing reviews come in from fellow book bloggers. Every review was glowing and gushing and declaring this as their favorite read of 2023 and unlikely to be dethroned. High praise, indeed, and it only made me even more excited to sit down and read this.

Which I did, after clearing my evening so I could just read and wouldn’t need to run off and do errands or worry about anything else. I knew already that I was going to be swept away into an adventure.

I think I fell in love with the story from the beginning, with the scribe who is writing this tale as told by Amina, preps us for what is about to come with a delightful mini rant on the plight of women in pretty much every other tale. And then we go from that introduction to Amina beginning her story (and being interrupted a fair few times by the scribe). It was fascinating that we never heard his side of the conversation, only Amina’s.

Anyway, I was drawn into the story, compelled by Amina and wanting to know more about her prior adventures as well as the current one she is undertaking and telling the scribe/us.

Look, I think this historical world with the hints of creatures of magic and myth and lore, is done so very well. When I read mythological stories, they have this same veil of wonder to them, and I just love it.

Honestly, I feel this book pretty much had everything: adventure, magic, action, mystery, danger, love in many forms, fascinating characters…Definitely exactly what I needed after completing the previous read, which was disappointing.

And, while I wait for the second book in the trilogy, I guess it’s probably time that I return to the Daevabad trilogy and finish it.

I loved City of Brass trilogy and was so happy to return to the world. There was a lot to love in this story including a middle aged MC who can still kick butt. Us moms don’t always feel seen but this was a breath of fresh air. The writing style was more cheeky and very different than City of Brass and did take a bit to get into. I do prefer her other writing style.

This story was incredible. I went into it expecting a fun little pirate story and got so much more than that. This story showcases amazing friendships and sacrifice in order to protect those you love. It also had awesome magic and cool lore. I had so much fun reading this adventure filled high sea fantasy. The narrator who is telling Amina's story is so funny and has such a great voice. I fell in love with these characters from the very first page and I loved how it was all about a found family getting back together to go rescue someone. I can't wait for the sequel!

Shannon Chakraborty is an expert storyteller and all of her books that I've read so far have been great. I loved that she chose a middle aged heroine who is a mother to be the center of her story. The cover is fantastic - looks like the same artist as another adult fantasy favorite of mine. The audiobook narrator is also great.