This Woven Kingdom
Ratings68
Average rating3.8
I'm sort of at odds with this book, it had so much potential. fantasy romance set in a persian mythology world... yes please! The execution, slightly lacking.
I have to say the world building and characters, I loved. I just felt like there were many points where it could have gone more in depth, and as a result, most of the story just felt lacking, especially the first half. The plot in the second half was much better, but it just took so long to get there, I'm not sure the payoff was worth it.
The romance sprinkled throughout was great to read, but I think I'm realising the insta love trope is not a favourite of mine. I can still enjoy reading it, enjoy the passion and the one liners (that are inspired), I just feel like there needs to be more substance to a romance, than.. oh I'm now irrevocably, completely in love.. because she's beautiful and I can't live without her - vice versa, for it to be an epic romance. It's a personal preference, but there just needs to be more, before I can believe that you're so madly in love with a character, without actually knowing anything about them.
Also, the way the book was written, made me feel stupid half the time. Felt like the author had grabbed a thesaurus for every other word, tying to make the story feel more mythical, or I don't know what her intention was. It just made for a struggle to read at times, especially with such a slow plot.
Overall, credit where it's due. Even though it was a slow plot and hard to understand at times, this story had characters and a world that definitely piqued my interest, and has tons of potential for future books in this series.
Somehow nothing entirely new and yet absolutely captivating
When I read in the synopsis that it's about jinns I imagined more of an Arabian or Persian setting with deserts and heat and a bit more distinct elements. While this wasn't really the case (I think, jinn are the new fae in this book) it is immensely entertaining.
The MCs display lots of depth, their interactions and also interactions with minor characters seemed relatable and the overall story progressed well-paced. The side kicks were just as interesting (hope to find out more about them!) and the magic system was introduced nicely.
Having read some of the books in the Shatter Me series by the same author, I was somewhat torn on what to expect by the writing style. It's not as distinct as in Shatter Me. I didn't need time to get used to the writing, instead I found the writing incredibly smooth and weirdly soothing? And now the highlight of this book which gives it a half star plus: my copy from the the library came with plenty of annotations! While I personally don't annotate, you do you - with your own copy. However, the comments were so entertaining and spot on, I am hoping that the same person borrowed the second instalment and graces me with the same awesome annotations! Whoever you are: thanks for the additional fun
It's really hard to understand what's going on sometimes. It feels like details are left out or time jumps happen or I miss something. I like the characters and the plot though.
processing.. i can't even- what was that ending??? SCREAMING. it is currently 3:05 am, my jaw is on the floor and i can't type so rtc
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
As a massive shatter me fan this was a no brainer, I loved the way shatter me was written it was easy enough to follow with a good amound of solid world building,
This book however was impossible to read and I couldn't do it
4.5! Uwielbiam bohaterów i zachwycam się światem przedstawionym w tej książce. To, że od razu po przewróceniu ostatniej strony zamówiłam drugi tom będzie dla Was chyba najlepszą rekomendacją ♥️
This book was a retelling of Cinderella. That became clear pretty quickly. Alizeh is an orphan, working in a noble house in Setar, the capital of Ardunia. She is scrubbing the house by day, until her hands are literally in shreds, and by night she is working as a seamstress to try to make enough money to get herself out of her servitude.
Not a bad premise so far. There are a million retellings of Cinderella though.
Alizeh is also a Jinn, which means that she's got powers that humans (the Clay) don't have. But Alizeh is special. While most Jinn are “forged from fire” whatever that means, she has ice in her veins. Which means she's literally freezing all the time (...I feel like I can relate lol). She can literally sit in a fire, all of her clothes will burn away, but she won't burn. Plus she can heal super well but apparently despite her servitude for the last several years, only realizes it halfway through the book... AND Alizeh is haunted by the devil, Iblees. He whispers riddles to her, which causes her to fall into a state of terror for some reason. AND she's afraid of the dark. She's extra special.
Kamran is a prince. A whiny, spoiled, angry, judgemental heir-to-the-throne-that-he-doesn't-want. He's recently returned to Setar from fighting in a war against Tulan, even though apparently they aren't actually at war so I'm not really sure what he's been up to. His grandfather Zaal is currently the King. Kamran's father died 7 years prior.
But the time is coming where Kamran is going to have to choose a bride and provide an heir! Which of course he doesn't want to do because all women are boring ugly sycophants.
UNTIL he meets Alizeh.
The whole romance was pretty insta-love. They've literally only met three times before they're making out (and the first time they're in the same scene together, they don't even meet so it doesn't even count).
Honestly the whole book was so rushed. Everything is very surface-level. The author never really digs in deep to the world-building (which could have been really interesting!), or any of the characters. She just rushes plot point after plot point. And at the end the villain reveals the answers to all of the mysteries. None of which were remotely hinted at in the rest of the book. It's just Alizeh being sad and cold and broken and poor. And Kamran being angry and handsome.
4.5⭐
une très bonne lecture, on est pas passé loin du coup de cœur !
j'ai adoré puissance 1000 les persos et plus particulièrement Alizeh ❤
le livre est super addictif, je l'ai dévoré en moins de deux jours. Les infos sont distillées à la perfection, et plus on avance dans l'histoire, plus la tension monte. Les rebondissements s'enchaînaient, des découvertes se font, et quelles découvertes ! J'ai adoré du début à la fin.
Very enjoyable read.
It had a good female main character (rare these days) - easy to like and to root for, without being bland. The rest of the character cast was also rather well done.
The storyline was quite interesting, though the book did lack in world building. One more thing I didn't like was the ending - felt rushed and not entirely well set-up, which is why the book didn't get 5 stars.
I will be happy to continue with the series.
This is my first Tahereh Mafi book and I can already see the attraction. It is a fabulous mashup of a Persian Cinderella and Arabian Nights with a dragon-rug twist. Felt like going back to my fairytale-loving childhood days. The story had good progression throughout and kept my interest, despite it being simplistic at times. The last 10% of the book kept the surprises coming. And now I'm rueing the idea I had to start reading Tahereh Mafi by her latest book which marks the opening of a new series