Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this debut! Elsbai did an excellent job creating an alternate world Egypt, and I loved how lived-in Alamaxa felt, and you can tell that Elsbai knows her world extremely well. I also thought she did an excellent job at creating the magic (those born with magic are called weavers), which is reminiscent of Avatar the Last Airbender. The magic also created a nice tension within the story, as the political backdrop is both about women’s suffrage and anti-weaver sentiments, and there is a looming war in part due to the existence of weavers.

The Daughters of Izdihar follows Nehal, who is an upper class waterweaver that wants to join the army but is forced to get married, and Giorgina, who is a working class earthweaver who fears her ability and is fairly involved with the Daughters of Izdihar. Early on, their connection is established by Nico, who is Nehal’s betrothed and Giorgina’s husband. Nehal is rash and outspoken where Giorgina is anxious and thoughtful, and both feel very realistic. Their internal struggles are wonderfully presented (Giorgina’s especially), and I quite like how all of the interpersonal relationships are handled—to me, this is where the novel really shines.

I will say Nehal’s perspective was challenging to get through as many of her decisions completely lacked political savvy or clever thinking. I don’t think this is a detriment, because she still feels incredibly real, she’s just also a very frustrating person and Elsbai did a good job at showcasing that. It is hard, though, to watch her try to bulldoze through a situation that requires a bit of tact or at least a deeper understanding of the issue at hand. I also think that Elsbai generally captured the sheer rage these characters feel at their situations very well.

I do wish that the prose was a little more… complex? At times while reading I felt it to be a smidgen simplistic and young, and did not quite match up to the content of the writing. I think more than anything that’s just a case of this being a debut, and I’m certain these rough patches will be smoothed over in Elsbai’s future works. Either way, this was a really good debut and an excellent story, and definitely one worth a try.

From very early on in this book, I knew it was special. And as I read it, my obsession with it only grew. It was absolutely fantastic. I was especially impressed with just how quickly I came to root for Giorgina and Nico. Established relationships can be tricky, but this one was very well crafted. In fact so many of the relationships in this book, romantic and platonic alike were great. I cannot overstate how much I loved this book and how excited I am for the sequel. Definitely an early contender for best of the year.

This is a wonderful feminist story with incredible world-building, high stakes, and beautiful explorations of female relationships of all kinds. I love how it all came together and am eager to read the second book! It seems like the story is really just getting started.

I thought this was very well written. I’m not sure if this is the book for me but I can imagine many readers enjoying it.

Thanks to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Debut author Hadeer Elsbai wrote a stunning debut that explores feminism and social resistance through the lens of modern Egyptian history and light magic. It is a tale of two women connected by a man, who together challenge the patriarchy and fight for what they believe in. It burns brightly not just in the fight scenes but in the electric dialog.

The Daughters of Izdihar has all the feminist rage of Iron Widow, though presented with more balance and realism. While the resistance group, The Daughters of Izdihar, fights for freedom, both Nehal and Georgina search for their place in a society that oppresses them daily.

The magic of weaving is fascinating and unique because of how intricately it is connected to the social fabric of the world and its history. The plot moves quickly, and by the end you will be begging for the sequel. The Daughters of Izdihar is an early contender for my top 10 for 2023.

One Sentence Summary: In a patriarchal Egyptian-inspired world, a noblewoman and a working class woman will do what they can, using what magic and connections they have, to create a world where women are treated more fairly, but war seems to be looming on the horizon, and most of the men don’t want to change tradition.

My thoughts:

I was very excited to see Hadeer share the news on her blog that her debut novel, The Daughters of Izdihar, was going to be published early this year, so I jumped on the chance to request it from NetGalley. I knew going in that it was the start to a duology, it’s Egyptian-inspired fantasy, and it’s taken a bit to get the second book going. Of course I expected an interesting fantasy full of magic and women. This definitely felt very feminist, though I was a little lost on how the magic works, exactly. But the world is incredibly, thoughtfully, built from the ground up. Every detail felt like it was tended to, so it offered an incredible springboard for our female leads.

The Daughters of Izdihar is set in an inland city in a country where women are considered second-class. They’re meant to be married off and to keep their household and raise their children. For anything else, they require permission from their father or husband or another male responsible for them. It spectacularly pins women down, but one woman named Malak refuses to bow down to the patriarchy, pulling women from all classes into her orbit, including our two leads, Giorgina and Nehal. Giorgina is a working class woman who wants to do something to help women, so is pulled towards Malak with some help from a friend. But she fears ruining her reputation as it would destroy her family and her own future. Her powers are not exactly under her control, so she holds herself even tighter, trying not to call attention to herself. She appears quite meek in this story, and more dependent on men than I would like, but her character experiences some true growth, which was absolutely wonderful. Nehal, on the other hand, is a noblewoman from an old family who is married off to settle her father’s debts. She’s headstrong and openly practices her powers. She’s very clearly a privileged woman who will use whatever she’s got without a thought. She’s gutsy, but she can afford to be, especially since her husband Nico is basically a doormat, and in love with Giorgina. I have to say I liked Giorgina better, though I appreciated that Nehal was capable of actually getting things done.

It’s the secondary characters who really stole the show for me, though. They were all so interesting, and I liked that they fell on either side of the line, some supporting the women and others supporting the patriarchy, whether male or female. But they were given personality and some of the more major ones had their own fascinating stories. They all blended so well together and with the main characters and had such an incredible world to work off of that I felt like this book came alive. There were also numerous undertones that kept things interesting and pieces and gears moving and turning. There are LGBTQ undertones and discussions related to classism, gender, and women’s rights. I could practically feel the push for reform and modernity, but could also feel the push back. And then there’s the hint of war on the horizon that could absolutely tilt this world on it’s head, especially after some major events in the second half. Parts of this world and these characters felt absolutely tattered by the end, but I could also almost feel them just picking up those pieces for a stronger push in the second book. I can’t wait to see what they do and are capable of next. I also hope the magic will be better explained because, while I found it fascinating, I really couldn’t conceptualize of how it worked.

The Daughters of Izdihar tells an interesting story. It’s rooted in a traditional society with people on the fringes who are pushing for something different. I definitely found the second half to be much more engaging, so I was a little disappointed during the first half because it was a little slow and all I really had to rely on were Giorgina and Nehal to get me to the second half. No one really seemed interested in actually doing anything outside of Malak and Nehal, and I so wish we had gotten Malak’s perspective, because I think there’s a lot that goes on in her head. She felt so complex, but we don’t know her outside of what Giorgina and Nehal experience. I also just had such a hard time with Nehal. Her characterization was fantastic and consistent, but her privilege was just so annoying.

The Daughters of Izdihar really shines when it comes to the world. It’s meticulously crafted and so consistent I wanted to cry. There were no loopholes so it could fit the plot; instead, the plot had to fit the world. It stood up so well, and I can’t wait to get back into it and find out how the events of the story end up changing it. The characters were not terrible, but I had a better time reading about the secondary ones than the main ones. I loved that they had their own personalities and I always felt the hint of a greater complexity to them. This book really speaks to women fighting for what they deserve, and I liked how it managed to sweep me up in that fervor while also offering a balancing viewpoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5315315019Daughters of Izdihar is something like a cross between Avatar: the Last Airbender and Naomi Alderman's The Power set in a fantastical version of Egypt. The takeaway? Perhaps fighting for equal rights is hard even with magical powers.

Nehal and Giorgina, our two protagonists, are opposites. Nehal is a waterweaver, and she desperately wants to attend the Weaving Academy to master her powers. However, as a young woman from an illustrious family, she's forced to marry instead. She finds out immediately that her fiancé doesn't want to marry her either because he's in love with a poor earthweaver named Giorgina. Despite their differences, Nehal and Giorgina cross paths because of the Daughters of Izdihar, a women's rights group fighting for suffrage and other legal rights. And when the protests turn violent, the two become one another's closest ally.

It's very neat to read a fantasy not set in the west, especially one that explores women's rights. There's some welcome nuance here, like when Giorgina is blackmailed because of a devastating event in her past. And there are multiple depictions of womanhood on display. Nehal is a firebrand who acts without thinking, quite a contrast to the way society expects her to act (and perhaps how we, as readers, would think of a waterbender). As much as these qualities get her into trouble, as danger escalates, they also become an asset of sorts.

I loved the message of the book but not some elements of the execution. The book feels like a lengthy set-up and ends on a cliffhanger, which makes it an unsatisfying read on top of some other issues. The characters, their relationships, and the magic system all are deprioritized for a focus on political events, which might have worked well if I had more attachment to the characters. But they and their relationships with one another aren't fully-fleshed, and we're told more things than we witness. There is a sapphic romance, but it gets so little screentime.

The most frustrating aspect of this book is that the discrimination the women in this book face is not the fantasy element. They are thwarted at every turn by men who think that they are lesser based solely on their gender, even more so if they happen to have any weaving abilities. The weaving abilities, themselves, are not very original, but hopefully we will get more expansion on those in the next book.

The main characters were relatable and a little flawed. They are constantly butting up against this discrimination and limitations set by the male populace, but it is done in such a way that you still feel connected with them and feel their frustration and pain. I’m definitely invested in their story and am looking forward to picking up the next book when it releases.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Hadeer Elsbai for an e-arc of The Daughters of Izdihar in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe I'll read this again some time in the future but I ended up DNF'ing this time at about 30%. I didn't hate it but completely lost interest and after not reading for 2-3 days, I didn't miss it so I don't think I'll go back to it soon. Nehal was also not my favorite character so it was hard to relate to her and keep reading. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A fascinating debut with interesting, multi-layered characters. This is a fantasy novel, set in a world inspired by modern Egypt, with a narration split between two pov-s.
I found the main characters interesting, the two are members of contrasting social classes, and the story focuses on the depictions of each woman’s individual experience, including their own struggles and privileges, and how they are perceived and interact with others in reference to the respective positions they hold in this society and how they are affected by the systemic oppression and misogyny in this particular nation.
I thought the pacing was not perfect, the main events that occurred in the book served mostly to build the world, both in inner and foreign politics, and establish a clear view of a patriarchal social hierarchy. The author does dive deep in how female weavers are demonized and made to resent their powers, as opposed to their male counterparts. Magic is elemental, which is always fun to read about, however I do wish we sat with the magic more. (We’ll probably be getting a lot more of that in the next and final installment) There was a bit of a sapphic romance towards the end of the book, which I was expecting to show up earlier.
Overall, a very promising start to a story with so much potential.

The Daughters of Izdihar was provided as an ARC for my honest review

The Daughters of Izdihar follows two women named Nehal and Giorgina navigating the city of Alamaxa and their forbidden powers. Nehal is a spoiled noblewomen raised in a wealthy household that is forced to marry a man she doesn't love. Giorgina is a lower level citizen with very little to her name, but who is in love with a man well above her status. With the impending threat of being found out for their earth weaving and water weaving abilities, the two women's worlds collide in the most unforeseen ways.

This book surprised me in so many ways that I cannot possibly list them all here, so if you are interested in finding out more please visit my YouTube page where I talk more in depth about my thoughts on this book.

What I liked about the book:

The feminine struggles that are represented in this book are raw and powerful to say the least. The plot revolves around the idea that women in this society are currently in the suffrage movement and they are fighting for their rights to vote and have a voice. As a women myself, I felt such a deep rooted connection to the struggles that these women were faced with every where they turned. The idea that arranged marriages are referred to as tropes now days is something that has always bothered me and this book challenges the idea that this isn't just a trope but a reality for women who do not love their partners who they are forced to marry for money or status.

Our main characters Nehal and Giorgina were so flushed out from the moment you meet them both and you have such a strong connection to both for different reasons. I personally loved both characters at different points in the book, where I began with really liking Nehal and ended up liking Giorgina more by then end.

The world was so enriched by the descriptions that felt real and necessary for the setting and atmosphere. The authors ability to craft such vivid pictures in mind of clothing, food, and surroundings was very well done.


What I didn't love / Improvements:

I am not a romance reader so to me the romance felt a bit rushed but for the characters it makes sense and is a good fit in my personal opinion.

I loved where to book left off and the cliff hanger that we now have to wait for the second book to come out. But my gripe here is that I felt that the ending was a bit rushed in everything that continued to happen to our MC's. I wanted things to be a bit more spread out throughout the course of the book, where the ending felt a chaotic and like she ran out of pages to tell the story. I hope that the conclusion to this duology is less rushed and a bit better paced.

All in all the book was something I never saw coming and I didn't expect to like it and enjoy it as much as I did. I cannot wait to read the second book and know how things turn out for our Water weaving and Earth weaving duo.

WARNING: This book ends on a *massive* cliffhanger, and I found it wildly unsatisfying. It wasn't even a "wrapped up for the moment" cliffhanger, but a "next chapter now please." Elsbai uses a well-built magical world based loosely on Arabic culture to explore issues of race, class, and misogyny, akin to suffragette movement in the west in the late 19th-early 20th century. Excellent characters and great LGBTQ+ rep.

The Daughters of Izdihar was well written and highlighted relevant issues pertaining to misogyny and police brutality. I did find it exhausting, though. It was just the misogyny in your face all the time and it felt like the fact that some people having elemental powers fell to the side, like it’s only been added to the story to fuel the misogyny themes and declare the book as fantasy. I just felt relieved to be done reading it. As a fan of The Poppy War, I don’t avoid difficult or triggering themes, but I’m hoping the next book in this series finds balance.

I loved this book! It had an elemental based magic system which is something I always think is fun and I especially liked seeing the different ways our two main characters reacted to having powers. I enjoyed the suffrage plot line quite a bit and especially in the second half really got sucked in to it wondering how it was going to go.

I also really liked both of our main characters. I thought they acted as interesting foils to each other both personality wise and plot wise. There were some pieces of their story that mirrored the other and just seeing the juxtaposition of their reactions based on personality but also based a lot on their experience from different world was really well done i thought. And I found myself invested in both of their story arcs. I also liked the main secondary character because I identified heavily with part of his personality and reading his arc was satisfying as well. I also loved that there was no love triangle between the three of them. The synopsis sounded like if it was a synopsis I had read on a YA book then it definitely would have had one but this was an adult book and the author made the adult book choice and didn't do that, which was greatly appreciated.

I definitely cannot wait to see how the story goes whenever the sequel comes out!

I would like to start off by thanking NetGalley as well as Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The world building in this story is done so beautifully, giving you a well rounded taste of the setting as well as the intricacies of each country's culture and political agenda. The character’s themselves are complex and well developed with their personal motives artfully moving the plot along.

When I initially read the synopsis I assumed that the elemental powers of the characters would become the forefront of the story but that ended up being the exploration of the women’s rights movement that is taking place in their world. So while I expected the story to be more of an adventure it ended up falling more on the side of political intrigue and activism.

The story centers around two women, Nehal and Giorgina. While seemingly opposites they share two important similarities, weaving and the Daughters of Izdihar. Through the eyes of each of these women the reader gets a glimpse of how societal standards for women affect those in different stations of life. Overall, this was not the read that I was expecting but I loved it nonetheless.

3.50 Stars. This is one of those times that I truly wish that we could use half stars. 3 stars really is low, but 4 stars is too high so in the end the real rating is 3.50 stars, but 3 stars is the best I can do. This was an average fantasy story that was entertaining, but I didn’t feel like I was reading about anything that new. This was a story about women who are very oppressed, while some are trying to take back their agency. Not to mention the fact that I can literally count on one hand the number of men (not boys) who were considered normal and not bad/awful/mean/evil in the whole book. It got a bit tiresome of all of the men being so horrible in this book. The magic system was very elemental based, which was also familiar -although it had some interesting changes near the end so hopefully it will get better in book 2-.

What was unexpected was the character of Nahel. Nahel, does not react like someone who lives being used to being repressed all the time. Instead, she is angry and yells and screams at everyone until she gets her way. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. She is this ball of fire that does not fit, and you can’t help but like her even when you want her to tone it done since her way is not always the best way to get results. In comparison, the character Giorgina is a dull boor. It is not really her fault, the type of oppression she lives under would crack anyone, so I think the way she acts is much more normal, but up against Nahel in this, Giorgina just doesn’t stand a chance.

There was some speculation of a love triangle, and as of this first book that is not true. There were the beginnings of a sweet sapphic romance, and there was a HET romance that was in a bit of turmoil. I wouldn’t mind if there ends up being an all sapphic poly triangle in book 2, as I have a feeling Giorgina might end up shedding her skin and turning into that badass that is hiding underneath.

While I complained that I didn’t feel like there was a lot of uniqueness in this first book, I think it had a lot to do with the set-up and getting the book ready to launch the next part. I think the next part has a chance to be interesting, distinct, and even more entertaining than this first half was. I felt like I was reading a spark waiting to ignite and I have a good feeling that the second part will be a much better fit for my personal tastes.

I really enjoyed this one. It weaves together magic, a beautiful Egyptian-inspired world, feminism, and queer themes effortlessly. Eagerly awaiting the sequal to see how Nehal, Giorgina, and Nico's stories end.

I support the Harper Collins Union, and will not be providing feedback until an agreement is made.

It is a shame this seems like a lovely book and hits every area of interest I have. But will have to return to it when Voyagers parent company pays their workers a living wage.

It is especially difficult for authors who just want their books to be read and their stories to be told. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on it in the future!

This start of an Egyptian inspired fantasy duology has a lot going for it. The world is full of culture, the elemental magic system is fun (and very much reminds me of Avatar: The Last Airbender in the best way), and the characters are fun to follow.

We have a dual POV where each woman is in an entirely different social class and we get to see how their class impacts their situations and how they fight against their place in society. Both women are also weavers and I found it interesting how they had different feelings and approaches to their ability to use magic. That being said, I wanted more than just watching women get beat down by the patriarchy and that is more than likely on me and not a fault of the book. I think this will be a hit with those who were fans of Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow as they have a similar angry feminist tears down the patriarchy tone.

I also found the writing to be pretty bland. It’s entirely serviceable and this is a debut so some clunkiness is understandable, but between that and some of my disconnect with the plot I wasn’t able to sink into this story as much as I might have hoped. That being said, this book leaves off on a major cliffhanger in both of our POVs so I will absolutely be finishing the duology when the second book is released.

Nehal comes from a noble family. Noble in name only. Her father has squandered all their money away. To pay for the sins of her father, she is being forced into marriage for the bride price.
Nehal is also a water weaver. She has very little control of her weaving and wants to join the Alamaxa Academy to learn to control it. Then she could join the military and fight.

Unfortunately, women have no rights so it doesn't matter what she wants. All she can do is hope her husband is a decent man that will allow her some freedom.

There's so much more going on in this book, but I don't want to spoil anything. I loved it!
I love the women taking a stand. I really liked the magic and characters. It would've been 5 stars, but I wanted more world building and I also wanted to know more about the history of the magic. Other than that, I thought it was great.
The ending was fantastic! There is a lot to resolve in the next book and I am ready for it right now!