Let me start by saying this book is a must-read. The promise of ancient magic, djinn, and enemy armies had me hooked from the start. This book is very much akin to the Rebel of the Sands trilogy by Alwyn Hamilton. Spice Road is an emotional roller-coaster; jam-packed with action and plot twists. The character development throughout the book is beautifully written, especially when it comes to the main character Imani. Her growth from beginning to end is so relatable. As her worldview shifts, and she comes to terms with the idea that the world is much bigger than what she was always told, we see her forced to make many hard decisions. Overall, I give this book a solid 5 stars! It is an epic tale that will keep you on your toes.

"I have no doubt now that true magic exists in this world, but it was never the misra. It is family, the people we love. With them, their support, their faith, their friendship, we can become and accomplish anything. And everyone in all the lands deserves this magic; everyone deserves to be safe with their loved ones."

Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim is a YA fantasy that takes us on an Arabian-inspired journey filled with spice magic, thrilling quests, anti-colonialism, and challenging family dynamics.

We follow the POV of 16-year-old Imani of Qalia who is on a mission to find her treasonous brother. Some the crew she is accompanied by include a djinn named Qayn, her sister Amira, and her not-so-love interest Taha.

"The tree who heeds the typhoon endures the longest."

I really loved Imani's mental journey and character development- she realizes that the strong opinions she has held about those around her may not be as accurate as she once believed. She learns that not everything is as it seems. Her relationship with her sister was really meaningful to me - Imani misunderstands and underestimates her sister from the get-go, but they end up better understanding one another and strengthening their relationships.

"I have hardened my heart to steel, but Taha? He has discarded my heart altogether..."

At first I was really excited for the romance between Taha and Imani to unfold, but as we get to know them better he turned into one of my least favorite characters. It will be interesting to see how he redeems himself throughout the rest of the series.

I appreciate the world-building with the respect to calling out the colonizers. The tea magic was really cool, and I hope that we go in-depth a bit more in the next book. Every time they brought up shisha I had hookah cravings. This story was beautifully written, and I am totally invested in this series.

I recommend this book to fantasy lovers looking for something a little bit different, if you love heartwarming family stories and unexpected twists & turns and lots of secrets - definitely give this book a chance. The pace moves pretty steady - some scenes move quicker and some drag a bit.

Thank you much to NetGalley and Random House for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest feedback!

Tea. Magic. Assassins. Desi women being AMAZING. I am THROWN by this book and am so grateful for it. I was almost positive finishing the Scholomance series would throw me into a reading slump, but Ibrahim took over from Novik without a single hitch.

4.5/5.0

Wow! What an impressive first book for a debut author! After closing the last page, I was just gobsmacked, not only at the story itself but at the exquisite writing and depth of character it inhabits.

The world that Ms. Ibrahim has created is lush with colors, smells and life so well written that one truly feels they are experiencing everything right along with Imani (the main protagonist). I will admit, however, that I really didn’t even like her through the first half of the book. She was rigid, unmoving, judgmental and, admittedly hard to connect with. But that is the genius at work. Slowly, ever so slowly we watch Imani’s eyes open to the real world, it’s hard truths and shady realities. And as she sees this, she grows. But as the second half of the story progressed, she blossomed into an amazing, compassionate and brave heroine. and I was hooked! I absolutely loved her by the end of the book! The author wrote such a subtle yet inspired journey that, as jaded as I am after the thousands of books I’ve read, I truly stand all amazed.

The story itself is no less addictive. Set in a world that reminds one of a historical yet fantastical India, with all it’s rich colors, foods and people - even complete with evil, light skinned “colonizers”. There are twists and turns aplenty. Some truly shocking betrayals - one of which truly had me completely gutted (and I swear, we better see that betrayer suffer for those choices in future books!! PLEASE no immediate redemption, the act is just too devastating for words). And some wonderful and touching relationships in other areas. It is absolutely a story that deserves a read, if not outright ovations.

A solid debut from Maiya Ibrahim

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The imagery was incredibly vivid, and I was immersed in this book every time I picked it up. I also appreciated Imani’s growth as a character throughout this book, even as her worldview took hit after hit.
Overall, a great story, and I’m looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written Arabian inspired fantasy about a girl named Imani who goes on a quest in search of her missing brother after she finds out he may still be alive. Her family lives in the hidden city of Qalia, where they use spice magic to protect the land from monsters. Her brother was caught stealing the magical spice and may be sharing it with outsiders, putting their home at risk. With the help of a djinn named Qayn, Imani travels to places she never knew existed and learns that the world is not at all how she thought.

The world building was great and I enjoyed traveling along with Imani as she discovered new places and faced new challenges. I appreciated the message about colonization and how Imani learns to change her way of thinking. I really liked Imani, Qayn, and her sister Amira, but not so much the other side characters. Her maybe love interest Taha is super confusing and has weird mood swings and it’s kind of hard to understand what Imani sees in him, but I’m hoping that will make more sense as the story continues. All in all this is a really promising start to the series!

Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#SpiceRoad #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Really solid read.

This fantasy adventure novel follows sixteen-year-old Imani and her maybe-nemesis/maybe-love-interest Taha. Residents of a secret magic city hidden in the desert, they are sent by their people to discover what happened to Imani's brother, who disappeared into the wider world the previous year and may have betrayed his people's secrets to nearby rebels seeking to overthrow a colonizing empire.

This story has its ups and downs. The premise is great and the worldbuilding is fun, but I never felt as invested in the characters as I wanted to be. Imani's character flaws were obvious enough that they rubbed me the wrong way, but other characters' reactions to her missteps were equally grating.

All in all, though, this has a great magic system, great worldbuilding, and a fun plot. A good read.

⭐️5/5 stars.
Holy crap, this is a book everyone should be not only adding to their TBRs, but immediately reading. It was that amazing! I couldn’t put it down.
As I was reading, the story did remind me of One Dark Window(which I adored) because of this element of working/a deal with the devil, or in this case, a djinni, while also having to work with a group of people who could destroy you’re whole life. But Imani, the main character’s relationship with the djinni was reminding me of Belladonna. However, Imani’s relationship with the potential love interest was totally enemies to lovers, but like Cardan and Jude level of enemies to lovers. Though there is a moment of betrayal like with the Red Queen. However, it is kind of hard to compare this book with any other because of how original it felt. I loved how it hit some of my favorite elements and tropes that I look for in fantasy, but with a middle eastern inspired setting.
I will say, the only flaw to this book was in the beginning. It felt like there were moments where the narrative paused to give us these in depth descriptions. They were beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but I would’ve liked if they were woven if they were woven into the narrative more.
So if you couldn’t tell, I absolutely adored this book. I plan on telling everyone I know to read it while I anxiously await book two. But don’t wait, read this book now!
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Children for providing the ARC for my honest review.

This book was rough. I made it 61% through when I said 'no more' and closed it,

There are issues with this book - the pacing, for example. Nothing happens at all in the 61% that I read. Just them traveling across the desert.

The main character is talked about being a djinn killer but you never see any examples of her being this fearsome warrior that they all discuss or say she is.

There is a strange love triangle going on between Taha, the djinn and her. I don't like it and I find it messy. Even worse, Taha is written in such a way that he goes back and forth, back and forth between treating her poorly and flirting with her. It's written badly and it is painful to watch because the switch isn't well written.

The world building is poor. I have no idea why they're traveling across the sands besides to get her brother back, and the tea aspect of how they get their magic doesn't make much sense and if you would take it away it would not change the story here or there.

I was really excited to read this book and it's a shame it was a difficult read for me.

This was an enjoyable fantasy read with a really unique premise. I loved the spice magic! Imani is tough and heroic - everything I want to see in a heroine! I will be looking forward to the next book in the series.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Delacorte Press, and Maiya Ibrahim for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars/5

As a person of color, I struggle to rate books like this because I know it's hard enough fighting for representation in media. I love that books by POC authors, with POC themes and landscapes like this, are making it into the spotlight like Spice Road. However, as a reviewer, I have to be honest to my fellow readers--I think this book had the potential to be incredible but it was not very well executed.

I wanted to read this book so badly since the first time I saw the cover. It's stunning and draws you right in. The blurb was intriguing too--tea magic! Arabian fantasy setting! Addictive magic! Family angst! These sound like they'd be unique, especially interpreted by an underrepresented person, right? That was what I thought, but the only thing on that list that stood out to me was the Arabian fantasy setting. I also liked the different magical abilities possessed by the cast.

The writing itself is great. Artistic, flowing, and easy to read, which should be commended. Maybe I also came into this biased because I was expecting more complexity and depth from what was sold to me, but the content was what frustrated me. The introduction to tea magic was interesting, but it was derailed in the first chapter and never really explored again. The addictive magic was never, EVER shown to be anything but stable, and even after finishing the novel, I have no idea if it was real or simply an excuse to show the characters' ignorance to the truth. Similarly, the family angst got good in the end, but for most of the book, it just made the narrator really ignorant and annoying.

Something to note about the setting, too, is that I went into this book expecting it to be an epic fantasy setting, not a reflection of the real world. When the characters traveled outside their sheltered country and found that the fellow citizens of their continent was colonized by "white people" (verbatim), it was jarring and kind of breaking the fourth wall. Sure, POC authors have every right to write about their ethnicity's struggles against historical colonizers, but when an epic fantasy world is obviously a carbon copy of ours (there's even a Silk Road to the "Jade Empire"--personally, as an East Asian, I thought this was reducing us to stereotypical objects) I don't think it should be marketed as a high fantasy.

All marketing aside, I struggled with the characters and plot. I tried soooo hard to like or simply connect to Imani and the main cast, but the only person I genuinely cared about was Qayn, who didn't have much screen time despite being integral to the reveals at the end. I can forgive a YA book for being tropey, but the whole time, it felt like every character was a plot device with nothing that makes them uniquely themselves. To my understanding, the author was trying to show Imani's ignorance caused by her privilege, but for most of the book it felt like she had no mind of her own despite blatant evidence, and her lagging realizations come only when the author reached that point on the storyboard. Even when she supposedly grew past that, it didn't feel genuine. Taha could've been so much more than a hot, misguided villain, and the list goes on... They could've been so much more, but they didn't get there for me.

The plot was also pretty imbalanced. Most of the book is spent on the journey to find Imani's missing brother, and I kept having to put down the book because the whole journey was carried by the traveling party arguing with each other. Not even good, productive banter, and the characterization was minimal. The book would be so much shorter if these arguments were reduced, and we'd still have pretty much the same book. The plot only picked up in the last 25% or so, which made me more intrigued, but by then I was only trudging along to see what happens, not because I was invested in the characters.

Again, I am very happy that books like Spice Road are making it big and I'm so torn on posting this review. It is clear from this debut that Maiya Ibrahim has great creative potential, but I'm not hooked by the first book to read the rest of the series.

Four stars! out 24 January 2023! this was a very good debut and an amazing series opener that you need to add to your tbr.

The book had me HOOKED. The story, the plot, the pace is/was perfect; not even my dislike for the characters could dwell my excitement over reading this story, and because of that I recommend it.

Now to expand on my dislike of the characters:
The one issue I had was how long it took me to like the characters. The two main characters were both equally wrong/right and had tunnel vision when it came to their outlook & beliefs that it was hard to fully support either. However, the character development is there especially towards the end & I do enjoy a good character development so it was enjoyable to read.

Spice Road is a debut YA Arabian-inspired fantasy novel with one of the most GORGEOUS covers I have ever seen. It follows Imani, a seventeen-old-girl who can use tea magic (seriously, how cool is that?) on the journey to save/rescue her brother.

I didn't connect with the first 20% or so of the book. Without getting into spoiler territory, there was a conversation very early on that the entire plot hinged on that I thought went too easily/without conflict. Though I understand it needed to happen to push the narrative forward, I just found that scene to be a bit too unbelievable. However, once the journey started and the ball really gets rolling, I became much more invested in the book. The plot moved quickly and I couldn't put the book down.

The descriptions were intricate and lush, and the world-building was fantastic. While there were a few things that I thought could use a bit more clarification, I easily fell into the world the author had created. The author's prose was also fantastic – it wasn't too over-the-top but it was still beautiful and there were many amazingly written quotes.

My favorite part of the novel was Imani's character development. She had to unlearn her prejudices and come face-to-face with her biases in multiple different ways; by the end, she had evolved so much. The discussions surrounding colonization were also done wonderfully and were interwoven well with the plot.

Overall, I think this was a very good debut! It's super unique and I enjoyed reading it. 4/5 stars.

A stunning ‘Arabian’ themed landscape that just pulls you in from the start and doesn’t let you go even after you finish the last page! Well thought out and written fantasy world that was easy to follow. I’m definitely exiting for the next book!

Spice Road is a YA Arabian Fantasy with spice magic, politics, and a class system at the core of the main conflict. The world building was integrated into the story very well and was not at all confusing as it sometimes is in the first book of a fantasy series. I am eager to learn more about this world and the conflicts in the next book.

The characters each have strong descriptions and voices. The story unfolds from Imani’s perspective and for me it was interesting to see the change in her beliefs.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Spice Road is a beautiful commentary on the ugly realities of colonization, occupation, and other international affairs that we see in our own world.

Spice Road is a YA Arabian Fantasy and book 1 of a trilogy.

This story focuses on Imani, a trained warrior known as a shield from the secluded nation of Sahir. This nation has been hidden from the outside world because of its access to Misra, a spice based magic.

Sahirians are taught that there is nothing but monsters beyond the wastelands that border their nation and it is a Shield's responsibility to protect Sahir from them to maintain peace.

Months after Imani’s brother’s disappearance he is presumed to be dead but Imani finds evidence that her brother may be alive among outsiders she never knew existed.

With this new information Imani is sent off with a party of warriors to retrieve him.

This book included:
-Tea Magic
-Dessert Monsters
-Djinn
-Action packed scenes
-Thrilling quests
-Enemies to Lovers Vibes

Themes:
-Family
-Class
-Privilege
-Morality
-Grief

Room for improvement or Things I wish was included:

Imani as a character starts out as naive and an unreliable character. It takes a while for her to see the world in shades of gray much longer than her sister from a similar background. This was a point of frustration for me even though I still enjoyed reading this story and understand why the author added this quality to the character.

I wish we got to see a glimpse of Atheer’s perspective whether it be a prologue or a few short chapters sprinkled within the book .

I wish we got to understand more about Taha’s relationship with his father since we are left to imagine what happened to him, hoping to see character development with his character in the next book.

This was an engaging story, with fleshed out world-building and was well done for a debut release. I will be looking forward to the next books.

You follow sixteen-year-old Imani who is Shield, a warrior who protects the desert city of Qalia from monsters, djinns, and ghouls. To do so, they drink tea called mistra, which awakens their affinities of magic. I thought this magic wielding concept was unique- haven't seen in a while in YA fantasy. As Imani journeys to find her brother, her mind and perspective opens up a lot wider. As a reader, the story starts out slow but eventually picks up as they reach the final destination of their mission.

Imani as a character, her actions, and choice of words was a little narrow minded and careless, (which I understand, characters can have flaws) she does redeem herself for her past mistakes.... She was bearable enough for me to keep reading, but made my head shake too many times.

Overall, I liked the concept of the encounter of magical beings, journey to an unknown world, and family. The family concept is different for the characters, especially for Imani and Taha. Imani would do whatever it takes to protect her sister, her parents, aunt, and even long-gone brother whereas Taha only has his father with strict expectations of him.

Will I be continuing this series? Yes!
I gave this book 3.8/5 stars! (rounding to a 4!)
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children for the e-arc!

Spice Road is the first of a trilogy. This story focuses on Immani, a young warrior from Sahir, the only nation in the land that has access to magic. Sahirians are taught to protect magic at all costs from the outside world. Imani’s brother has gone missing and presumed dead after a visit to the outside world, until one day when Immani finds evidence that he might still be alive and living among outsiders. She sets off with a party of warriors to find him.

This book has everything I look for in a YA fantasy story. The characters are easy to connect with and care about and there is character growth throughout the story. The magic is inventive and the world building is fantastic. A great and easy read that I highly recommend!

This was an immersive debut from Maiya Ibrahim! The story was super intriguing right from the get-go. I loved the world and magic system in this book--the politics and class systems were very easy to follow. It was interesting to see Iman realize the privilege she and her family carries as she explores beyond the world she grew up in. The sibling relationships in this book were also so heartwarming, and reminded me a lot of my relationships with my own siblings.

I wish that there was a more conclusive ending to this novel, but it's clear that things are being set up for the rest of the trilogy. I'm invested to see where Iman and her friends and siblings explore next, and semi-invested in the romance in this book. Iman and Taha's relationship is still confusing to me and didn't seem natural. After his actions during this book, I'm not sure I can root for him any longer. I am curious to see where Iman and Qayn's relationship goes--he's a super interesting character. Overall, I think fans of Arab-inspired fantasies will love Spice Road!