Member Reviews
I read this in one day, which is a lot for me. There was one point where I gasped out loud in public, and I kept talking to the book like the characters could her me. I have recommended this book so many times already. I've discussed it with two friends who also had advance copies. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel.
I liked this book. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it wasn't this story. The story was good, it was beautiful honestly. The writing was, as always with Mafi, beautiful. But there were so. Many. Words. So many. There beautiful words, but goodness. So many. The narration often went off into daydreams and unnecessary tangents, which again, were beautifully written, but added nothing to the overall plot. I didn't mind it but I also did? I'm still trying to sort my feelings out. I think maybe 50 pages could have been cut out and the story would have been the same.
Overall, it was a good book. I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the writing, but sometimes the writing overshadowed the actual story.
After reading this book my brain feels like it exploded. Long lost queen. Forbidden romance. Persian mythology This book took me a really long time to capture me into the book which I suspect because it has so much world building and characters that are so different to what you normally read in a very good way. Slowly you get to know about the two main characters as its a dual perspective. The more you flip the pages the more you want to know more about these two. By the end of this book I was thoroughly invested into wanting to know what's going to happen next.
Lyrical and beautifully written, Mafi weaves a beautiful epic fantasy with a world I could sink my teeth into. I loved Alizeh being a jinn herself as it helped us more deeply be integrated into the world and the conflict. However, the pacing was a bit uneven.
I absolutely loved this book and I am a fan of her book since Shatter me series! I see so much potential in this book and it was great to read a book by the Queen herself! I have been a reading slump these days, but this book really got me out of it! Thank you :) 4 stars for me!
I feel like I am in the minority when I say I didn't love this book. I felt like nothing and yet something happened during this book. The last 20% of the book was where everything came together and I was invested in finding out what happened. Overall, it felt like this book was meant to be a set up for the rest of the series. With that said, I have much better expectations for the second book.
Big thanks to NetGalley and the publishing team for giving me this ARC!
I have never read Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series so This Woven Kingdom was my first read of hers. Let me tell you, she did not disappoint. The book has Persian mythology (new for me) and the oh-so-good forbidden love trope. Alizeh is a badass and you will be falling so hard for Kamran. Do yourself a favor, run to your local bookstore and buy it.
Tahereh Mafi is one of my favorite YA writers of romantic plots and sub-plots. And this series promises to be another winner in that regard.
In the empire of Ardunia, Jinn and humans live side-by-side, thanks to the political success of King Zaal. However, for the Jinn, that means living in relative squalor without the use of their magic. Alizeh is one of these Jinn, working as a maid and a part-time seamstress in the city, dodging random attacks on the daily. But when her world collides with the Ardunian prince, Prince Kamran, her life becomes much more complicated. See, Alizeh is the ancient heir to the land on which Ardunia resides, and she was foretold to the King upon his coronation, making them natural enemies (and natural enemies-to-lovers probably).
This book reads much differently from Mafi's previous work. The prose in this one is more stylized than previous books. Her writing has definitely come a long way from the overly-wrought figurative language in "Shatter Me". It does take some getting used to -- at the start, it felt a smidge pretentious, but I settled into the narrative voice and eventually ended up really enjoying it!
I enjoyed the plot and characters well enough. I hope we see more character development for Alizeh in book 2, since I felt her character didn't really grow too much in this book. Kamran seemed to have at least a small moment of growth in getting t0 know Alizeh. I'm excited to see how Mafi opens up this world as well beyond just the gates of the city.
I've said for a while now that fantasy just isn't my preferred genre, but a few more books like this and I will have to stop saying that!! The writing, the characters, the atmosphere, this book is AMAZING!! I felt fully transported into this world and I'm so sad this book is over. If you are looking for a great easy to get into, character driven fantasy then you have to read this book. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
While I enjoy Tahereh Mafi's books, this one was a little more predictable to me then I would've liked.
The "chosen one' trope is overdone, while Tahereh does a great job with making it her own, there was just to much for me to try and wrap my head around.
Tropes to choose from: Chosen One, Hidden One, Love Triangle, etc.
I enjoyed the book, but found it lacking something by the end of it.
I thought this book was just okay. It wasn't bad, but neither did it blow my mind. I enjoyed reading it and thought the story was interesting. The premise was awesome and I will probably continue the series, but I am not tearing down doors to get the next one...
thank you so much for the ARC hccfrenzy & netgalley !!
release date: february 1st 2022
“you have consumed my thoughts since the moment i met you. i feel now, in your presence, entirely strange. i think i might fetch you the moon if only to spare your tears again”
okay i have so many thoughts right now so let’s start.
the plot was absolutely incredible, i love some persian representation !! while i thought the pacing was a little slow at the beginning, it picked up towards the middle and but the end, i couldn’t put the book down. also i loved the cinderella undertones!
the characters were so unique, i absolutely loved alizeh’s character, she’s strong, empathetic, while also having a little sprinkle of that innocence. i definitely fell for kamren, with his words, his courage and drive, but i do think his blindness with love will come to be more of a problem throughout the series. cyrus ?? i lowkey love him <3
that ending. i’m going to need the next book by like yesterday :)
anyways, this was great, go pre order ;)
This Woven Kingdom has everything: detailed worldbuilding, a fast-paced lot, a diverse cast of characters that each have their own interesting side storylines. I put off grading papers in order to finish this book, only for it to end on that cliffhanger! I can't wait for the next part of the story!
I really enjoyed the world building in this book. For a fantasy opener, I really liked how quickly the story moved while giving vital information about the world. Alizeh is a great protagonist and I am still really curious as to where her story will go. I love the Persian folktale elements. I gave this 4 stars because it did take a little while for the story to really get going!
I've been bored by a lot if fantasies lately but This woven kingdom mesmerized me from page one. The writing style, the intricate world building, and the main characters really drew me in. This was such an amazing book to read and I truly enjoyed it!
The story might be kind of slow for some people at the beginning, though that wasn't the case for me. I was hooked from the very beginning, and hardly wanted to put it down. Everybody and their mothers- go read this!!
ALSO KAMRAN
Taherah Mafi is excellent at world-crafting and bringing vivid images to life. I really enjoyed this first book in her new series. I was not pleased with the cliffhanger she left us with, but I guess I will be reading the next book.
Tahereh mafi is one of my all time favourite authors. I love seeing a Muslim author embed different aspects of the background and stories inside her works. This woven kingdom was nothing short of amazing. I laughed and cried and sympathised alizeh whilst adoring her character. Everything about this book had me wanting and needing more. The ending left my jaw on the floor but in the best way possible. I cannot wait for the second instalment in the book!!! 5/5 stars this was everything I wanted and so much more.
This is a book that is hard to rate because in my opinion it had so much potential, but there were some things that I couldn't get past! I LOVED the premise, the setting, and the characters. I enjoyed the forbidden and mysterious aspects. However, I felt that the author dragged out scenes a bit too much with unnecessary details. The problem with that is that it ends up being a bigger book with not too much happening. I wish it was a bit more jampacked with events that it was building up for (if that makes sense). I will say that even though that bothered me, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and would recommend it!
Tahereh Mafi is a wonderful writer and Woven Kingdom is one of her best in my opinion. There are others of her works that I find very good and some I dislike. Now, why is this a great book? The character, the world, the story, the writing..where do I start? I can’t really. What I can say is that this book has everything that masters of writing demonstrate and Mafi shows us once again that she is a master of her craft.