Although Nahri can wield power, she has never believed in magic and on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent – the ability to swindle Ottoman nobles under the guise of palm readings, healings but when Nahri accidentally summons a djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. Behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, old resentments are simmering and when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal.
This is my 2018 book love!!! From start to finish, I absolutely loved this book, I really enjoyed the incredible, magical, fast paced world building as well as the dialogue between the characters we come to meet throughout the story. I also loved the historical aspects of the book and the accurate referencing to King Sulaiman, Djinn (or Daeva), The Ottoman Empire, Egypt and Turkey. With it, the developing story line kept me on the edge of my seat and a few times I thought I managed to predict what will happen next – I was wrong. I also found with this book that it was one of those books I wanted to immerse myself in so much that I took my time to read it – and by the time I got to the end of the story, I just had to pay it a moment of silence before I could go on. Every chapter I was reading, there was something happening, I also loved how well defined the characters were and how each character made you question your loyalty in the book (whose side are you on in this new, political world).
An historical/urban fantasy suitable to older YA and adult readers – a story full of magic, intrigue and mystery, I give this under-hyped debut novel a 10/10 and I really can’t wait for the next instalment!!!
Publisher: Harper Voyager
-Annie
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