Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

The Daughters of Izdihar tells the story of a women's movement. Through the eyes of two vastly different women, we see how they come to the cause, what motivates them, and the numerous challenges they face in claiming their rights. The setting takes cues from 19th-century Egypt, but it's set in a fantasy world. In it, we observe how the characters' natural magical abilities are a source of fear for others and even themselves. The opportunity to learn about and exercise their power is but a distant dream.

Our first protagonist is Giorgina Shukry, an earthweaver and Daughter of Izdihar. She and her friends fundraise for the organization as it lobbies for the women's vote. Giorgina is always aware of the dangers her participation poses. In addition to the direct peril of how crowds treat the daughters, she knows there would be further punishment should her father discover the true nature of her time away from home. She has permission to work at a bookshop since her family needs the money. Any additional social activities-- in particular, political agitating and romancing, would be met with a severe reaction should they become known. Georgina is seen as a romantic for wanting "more" than her lot in life and loving a man beyond her station. Though she engages in these high-stakes risks that could benefit her future, she still does her best to avoid stepping out of line in a way that would harm her sisters' reputations and prospects. This balancing act is more than anyone could keep up indefinitely.

The other protagonist is Nehal Darweesh. Her family is pressing her into a lucrative, high-profile marriage to offset her father's gambling debts. Nehal isn't going down without a fight, despite her parents' bitter responses to her pleas. They insist she be a perfect noblewoman, but all she wants is to use her abilities with waterweaving to join the newly formed military division for women. Luckily, she sees a loophole in her family's plan. She intends to bargain with her new husband for permission to attend college in the department of weaving. Though she's furious that as a woman she needs outside permission to pursue her dreams, at least she can hope that her new keeper will honor her wishes. Seen as selfish for pursuing her own interests, Nehal joins the Daughters of Izdihar because she chafes at her restrictions. She lends her single-minded determination, money, and stature to the movement. Nehal's wealth lends her a veneer of control, and she refuses to be cowed on any front. She flouts her weaving, politics, and love where Giorgina must hide. And her love is in some ways more dangerous than Giorgina's tendre for a married man. Nehal's queer, and she's falling for the prominent, vilified woman leading the Daughters of Izdihar. She's not going to bury her beliefs or soften her tone for anyone else's benefit. She is who she is, and she's proud of that.

This story is about the need for civil protest. Speaking out against the social, political establishment is inherently dangerous. Our characters come up against both men and women who want women to serve their families and nothing more. These same people worry over proper feminine behavior, reputation, and responsibilities, but care nothing for feminine freedom, happiness, or fulfillment-- twisting their views to say they're concerned with protecting women rather than containing them. Political actors find it absurd when some women rise up to say they might want anything different. Our protestors are infantilized for "playing" at politics, punished and harmed for speaking their minds, and not heard in any meaningful way.

Be aware that in addition to the overt sexism in these pages, there are some other triggers to consider. The book discusses taboos around abortion and presents a society that demonizes sex out of wedlock. There's also a brief mention of honor killings. Homophobia runs rampant, and though Nehal bears no internalized shame, the external world is more than happy to do the work for her. In these conditions, it's no wonder that neither character has supportive family relationships, though it's complex for both of them.

Though this book doesn't leave us with a lot of hope (there's a sequel that might offer some), it does depict the power in forming a community of women to feel seen, heard, and understood. It's a story about wonderful, imperfect women up against nearly insurmountable odds. The trade-offs they face are as unfair as they are unnatural: will they choose courage or cleverness? Freedom or safety? The situations that make them choose are constructed to constrict them until they fit a very particular image of perfection. It's no wonder that it births rage, something women are taught to suppress in themselves but to endure from men.

The story is fast-paced and messy in a way that makes sense. It's high emotion, and there's plenty of action. I think that those conditions lend themselves more to a story about political movement than one about specific characters and their smaller-scale experiences. For example, relationship arcs are told with an eye on their ramifications for the characters' politics rather than their feelings. While I love high-concept political commentary in fantasy, I think I wanted a bit more balance with the personal aspects of the women's lives without it needing a directly tangible connection to the movement. Further, I found the onslaught of sexism and homophobia a lot to handle even as I admired what the author had to say.

I think readers who want to stew in their feminine rage (a real and relatable mood) should pick this up. It's also a great read for decentering a Western perspective on feminism. This is an account of women building their own grassroots movement in a Near Eastern-inspired setting, making their demands and organizing their priorities around a diverse group of opinions-- without any external meddling. It's a worthwhile read about an always urgent, relevant topic. Thanks to Harper Voyager for my copy to read and review!

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

I started this book as an ebook, but the misogyny is so incredibly strong, I couldn't finish it. So I took a break and then picked it back up as an audiobook, where I finished it. And the audiobook is incredible. If you're going to read this, 100% read it as an audiobook.

The misogyny remains pretty strong throughout the book, but the feminine rage, particularly of one character, kind of builds. And while the character is right to be angry, she makes some kind of strange decisions that I understand, though I can't totally empathize with.

The somewhat bizarre thing about this book is that the misogyny is the most evocative driving force in this book. Everything else about this book is not particularly new or even that interesting. And it's just..... it's just so much, y'all. I just wish there was something else in this book that drew emotions out of me, that made me care about it.

This book utterly captivated me from the very beginning. It's just what I needed. Magic, Egyptian inspired, intrigue, women's rights.... The writing was engrossing and the characters just tug at your heart. I'm very excited to see what the second book brings to the story!

I loved it! The characters are very well detailed and have unique personalities. The story is stunning and the setting so vivid that I felt as though I was there. Also that cover is gorgeous!

Imgur link goes to Instagram graphic scheduled for November 14th
Blog Post goes live Dec 1
Amazon Review pending system approval
Will be included in October Weekly Vlog #1 and Mid Month Wrap-up

I have had a string of disappointments this month. I’m telling you what. The Daughters of Izdihar was pitched as an adult fantasy set in a world inspired by Egyptian history about women fighting for the rights of magic. All with a touch of a queer relationship. That sounded great to me. Unfortunately on my initial pickup several months ago I put it down ‘Maybe this just isn’t the time for this one’. On finally returning I don’t know that it was meant for me at all.

This focuses in on two girls on opposite ends of the class structure. One is our classic ‘fiery girl’, Nehal. She talks back, she has attitude, and she tries to take charge. She ends up in an arranged marriage and uses it to her advantage to enroll in the magical school that will teach her to control her Weaving. The other girl, Giorgina, is of a lower class and was deeply in love with the man that ends up married to Nehal. She is quiet, meek, and frankly depressing to read about. They make up a messy love triangle? Shape? That seems to connect the plot together.

The plot itself is that The Daughters of Izdihar, a women’s protest group, is attempting to gain voting rights for women. Nehal joins mid way through the book and Giorgina has been a member from the beginning. And let me tell you, the theme of ‘men are bad’ is pretty much it. There is magic, yes. There are hints and starts of romances, yes. But Men Are Bad - that’s what we should take away. The girls get leered at, touched, attacked, treated poorly, talked down too, etc. I can’t recall one male character who had any consistently ‘good attributes’. Even Nico, our poor fella caught in marriage with Nehal, starts promising and ends badly.

This is such a strong theme that it completely overwhelms any of the magic or world building. There were snips of beautiful settings and cultural references but it gets washed away by the rage inducing ‘Men are bad’ messaging. There were a lot of things that had me confused as well, character descriptions and motivations. The writing was very Young Adult in tone and pacing and overall I was incredibly disappointed.

I’ve got to say this is a big miss for me. I won’t be continuing the series, and I’m genuinely very tired of seeing this kind of book pitched as adult fantasy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with selling this as Young Adult, and in fact I think a lot of lovers of that bracket would love this. But for someone looking for a more complicated, and mature style? This is not it.

2.5 out of 5. (I can’t even remember a fun reference to this, yikes)

TLDR; an adult fantasy that reads like a YA, childish, unlikeable characters with very little growth within this novel. Though that's acceptable in the sense that this series is a duology, the first book did very little to entice me to read the second.

The Characters: I loved the way this book was set up with these two female characters whose lives are previously running parallel to one another and converge in a great way: Nehal (main character #1) is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico, Giorgina's lover (main character #2). Both women are weavers (think avatar the last airbender, elemental manipulators). Giorgina is involved with the Daughters of Izdihar, a women's suffrage group, and Nehal eventually becomes involved with the group though starts the book extremely outspoken and frustrated at her society in which she is unable to sign off on her own school attendance. Nehal is bold and impulsive, selfish and headstrong, stubborn, and passionate. She is part of a noble family, often shielded and protected from scandal because of her family name. It makes sense that she's naive and bold without realizing the consequences. Giorgina is her polar opposite: poor and all too cognizant of the importance of reputation in society. I found Giorgina altogether dull when placed alongisde Nehal and Nehal was insufferably naive and impulsive alongisde Giorgina. Though you would think these characters would grow away from these traits, making decisions towards the end of the novel that show personal growth, we just have Giorgina becoming impulsive and thoughtless and Nehal becoming more misguided and fanatic. The queer representation was unsatisfying to me personally, when it was so poorly developed and rarely centralized except when there seemed to be a lull in the plot to shove in a conversation on queerness (esp disappointing when i believe Nehal is supposed to be bisexual? idk i found it so unsatisfying). And NICO! He was like the only good character while still being awful? he was so cowardly and he BARELY changed.

The plot: AMBLING. no direction. it was simply, a book about violence and oppression against women with the occasional nod to the magic system. I think Elsbai fails to pull together the elements of the suffrage movement and ongoing political tensions/rising war in the right way that made the book feel like an unconnected series of events. It had lulls and moments where it picked up but overall it felt like this book should've been condensed into the first 150 pages of one long book instead of a duology. The whole thing felt like set up for the second book, which is fine in some respects but when it isn't enticing enough to want me to read more it fails spectacularly as a first in a duology.

The writing: Frustratingly young in some respects. The writing, combined with the immature attitudes and actions of Nehal as a main character made this feel more properly positioned as a young adult fantasy rather than adult. Though I guess one could argue this sways more new adult rather than firmly adult, but even then, at my grown age of 23 i was wholly frustrated by Nehal the entire time at HER grown age of 22 (?). Aside from that, the style is a bit simplistic, which I think can be made up for by good engaging plot or characters but as mentioned this was lacking those as well.

I think I'm settling on 2 stars for the concept of it and because it wasn't so bad that I feel that it would be 1 star. It definitely has a draw and an appeal as a concept but I think the overall execution left much to be desired for me personally.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Really neat story. I loved this magic system, elemental and weaving, super cool. Was also intrigued by the dynamics between the characters and the way their culture and society impact them.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

I could not get too far into this book, unfortunately. It did not grab my attention, and I had to DNF it for now. I might go back to it when the mood suits me better.

This took me a second to get into but I loved the world building and the characters. When Nehal went to go bail Giorgina out of jail, I was invested, and it didn't let up after that!

Nehal is a waterweaver. She can manipulate water in just about any manner she sees fit. But Nehal has had no training on how to (safely) use her ability. Her biggest desire is to attend the new Weaving Academy which trains those with weaving abilities and then to use those talents by joining the newly formed all-female military company.

But Nehal's parents have other plans for her.

Rather than sending her off to school, which is expensive, Nehal's parents have arranged for her to be married into a wealthy family. Her intended spouse, Nico, is just as uninterested in the marriage as Nehal - he has a long-time girlfriend that he wanted to marry, but her status wasn't high enough for his parents. For Nehal, this works out perfectly ... once married, her parents have no control over her. If Nico will allow Nehal to attend the Weaving Academy, she would allow him to have a concubine, his girlfriend Giorgina. Of course no one asks Giorgina how she feels about this. Being a concubine lowers her status, which is already quite low. She loves Nico, but wants to be his wife, not just something he has on the side.

Giorgina also has a secret. She, too, is a weaver, and earthweaver with incredible powers that she can't always control. With no money and now no marriage prospects, she joins a radical group, The Daughters if Izdihar who are fighting for women's rights. But in a clash between the Daughters of Izdihar and the local police, weaving abilities get out of control and now the Academy's presence is in danger as well.

Nehal and Giorgina have much more in common than Nico and they will have to find a way to work together.

This was a really impressive fantasy. I was greatly interested in this story right from the start. Nehal, with her enthusiasm and gung-ho attitude really hooks the reader. She also goes through the biggest personal change through the course of the book. She takes a dark turn, when there is a clash between the local police and The Daughters of Izdihar and she knows that the police incited the riot just to place the blame on the women.

This is the first book in a duology and I'm very interested in reading the next volume. There are so many pieces to this book - I don't know how they can possibly be wrapped up in just one more book.

Nico is a bit of an enigma for me. I feel like he definitely has a larger role to play than what we've seen so far. But of course the bigger story are the powers that Nehal and Giorgina wield. Will they be able to control them? How will the use them?

When I was grabbing the image of the book to place on the blog post, I noticed that some of the tags for this book are "LGBT," "Lesbian," and "Queer." Honestly, I think someone looking for a book in one of these categories is going to be sorely disappointed. Yes, there is A MOMENT when there is a little discussion about one (or more) of the characters' sexual preference, but that moment comes probably 90% of the way through the book. It almost feels tacked on to the book just to include the tags. Maybe this will play a larger role in the next volume? I don't know, I don't care, but the moment was so brief in the book that I wouldn't have remembered it if I had seen these tags on Goodreads.

Looking for a good book? The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai is a delightful fantasy, probably for a mature YA readership, with characters who grow/change through the course of the story, with a nice balance of upbeat enthusiasm and a darker note.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book that I almost devoured in a single day, I really really enjoyed it and it was a breeze to read. It’s an Egyptian inspired fantasy. I feel like we’re getting a lot of those this year and I am so happy about that. We have a dual POV, the first one is being forced into an arranged marriage with a man that she doesn’t love. All she wants from his is his permission which unfortunately is a thing in this world. Women need to ask for permission from me. She really want to go to this weaving academy where she can master her abilities with water and join the female division in the military. So there's elemental magic similar to avatar the last air bender. And the man she’s married to has a secret lover, oh no and that secret lover is our second pov and she doesn’t want to be concubine, she’s an earth weaver but she’s kind of scared of her abilities. The end of this book is just a huge windy rollercoaster and I’m really looking forward to book 2 to see how this story shapes even more. It was a surprising read for me as I’m typically hate reading women have no rights in this world kind of fantasy but this made it interesting and enjoyable.

So I got around something in the backlog, because I don't cross picket lines.

"The Daughters of Izdihar" by Hadeer Elsbai starts The Alamaxa duology. Inspired by modern Egyptian history, but in a world were some people can manipulate the four elements. Except it is frowned upon by society. Doublely so for women. Enter Nehal, who is a waterweaver and wants to join the military. And Giorgina, an earthweaver who is helping drum up support for women to get the right to vote and have legal rights to sign their own papers. And everyone in the city is definitely cool with both of these goals. Or not.

Narrated by Priya Ayyar and Nikki Massoud. They paint a gorgeous world mired in the fear of change so well.

Reasons to read:
-It's a duology so it's half finished
-Any fondness for the Avatar elements
-Think most folks can see parallels to issues in their own countries
-Nutty that a military is so freaked out by weavers they aren't scooping them all up

Cons:
-Going to be how set in their ways people can be in the book and reality

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The world building was so well done and you could pinpoint areas that shadowed real world issues. I loved the magic system within this book and found it very interesting.

I loved the juxtaposition between the women fighting for their rights as well as the weavers fighting for theirs. It was so frustrating reading the male weavers disregard women not realizing that they should all be working together.

There were a lot of twists and turns and I loved how all of the characters interacted with each other. The only part I disliked about this book is that there were so many characters that at times it was hard to keep track of who was who.

I am very excited for the next book and to see what else happens.

I had high hopes for this one but sadly ended up very disappointed. It was incredibly bland. There was so much opportunity for rich worldbuilding in this Egypt-inspired world, but the only thing we got was occasional descriptions of architecture (which to be fair were quite beautiful, but they were written in such a way as to take you out of the story); otherwise it could have been set anywhere.

The characters felt like cardboard cutouts and I didn't care about any of them. Even the (not very explained) magic system felt generic and like every magic system ever. The writing was bland and the dialogue was stilted. There was nothing that pulled me in.

The way the women were oppressed was overdone and nearly all the men were cartoon-villain mustache-twirling levels of ridiculously awful. Women protest for the right to vote or dare to show that they have magic. Men attack them. Women get jailed. Rinse and repeat. Maybe this would appeal if you haven't read a fantasy with women fighting for their rights but there are far better ones out there.

I wanted some complexity and some depth since this is supposed to be an adult fantasy novel, but instead I got the kind of generic YA that gives YA a bad name.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an early copy for review.

I wasn’t able to finish this one.

However, I think I will return to it in the future. Was feeling a bit slumpy 30% but I think I just needed to be in the right mindset.

One of my favorite books of 2023, I was unable to post a review due to the HC strike.

I cannot wait for the sequel — this book was enchanting from page one. I loved all the characters and the ending still has me in a bit of a book hangover months later. Revolution. Honor. Duty. Feminine Rage. And a dash of love to keep those soft-hearted romantics entertained too!

Fantasy generally isn't my thing, but I really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this one. It was masterfully done and I found the characters engaging. I was also pretty invested in the plot from start to finish.