overall, this was a solid book. I enjoyed the characters and their histories and loved how dimensional each of the characters were. My main issue is that I didn’t love the storyline and the main cause for the adventure. I also don’t have the pull to continue the series. 3.5 stars rounded up

4.5 Stars rounded down, a unique tale of adventure in your third act featuring a middle-aged female adventurer

A great fun adventure romp, full of pirates, magic, evil sorcerers, exotic locations, romance, djinni, grudges, and a happily ever after(-ish). It's set in a medieval Indian Ocean, a melting pot of people and cultures. Amina al-Sirafi is a middle-aged mother of a cute ten-year-old, retired from a life as one of the most notorious pirates in the Indian Ocean. She's "invited" out for one last job by a rich woman from Aden, to rescue her granddaughter, kidnapped by a "Frank" (European). The plot then rattles along at a good pace, with events snowballing believeably into something far more complicated and dangerous than we first thought. The characters come across as real people, with their own personalities and in many cases a shared history that is often mentioned in passing, rather than through laborious exposition. The writing's good, with enough description to give good mental images of places, without getting bogged down. I liked that a lot of Chakraborty's storytelling choices are outside the typical range. The main character is a middle-aged woman who's competent but not invulnerable. The story is told from the point of view of the people of the western Indian Ocean, and celebtates their cosmopolitan makeup. The only European in the mix, Falco, is most definitely not a white saviour! One to read. It's a great ripping yarn, and I'm looking forward to the clearly-signposted next installments of the series.

This was SO good. I LOVED Amina Al-Sirafi, badass pirate and adventurer and also a 40-something-year-old mom. She wanted to stay home with her daughter and keep her safe, but she also craved adventure, and she spent a lot of the book trying to reconcile the two desires.

The characters were wonderful. Amina, of course, but also her chaos demon ex and her group of friends and former shipmates (deadly and interesting in their own rights) and the mysterious Jamal who is chronicling the story.

The adventure was rollicking and fantastical and of course every solution led Amina and her friends further from their safe lives and deeper into trouble.

I LOVED seeing through the eyes of a middle-aged Muslim mother -- who is also a pirate. It made everything new and fresh and enhanced the story so much. Because those aren't just descriptors - Amina's age and daughter and faith came into play in every decision she made. It's part of what made her feel so fleshed-out and real as a character.

The story is thick with magic and eventually you don't question it - you just go with it. I loved seeing all the magical creatures and beings and learning about them. One of my favorite things about reading diverse books is the exposure to legends and myths and magical creatures I am not familiar with.

I listened to the audiobook and it made everything even more magical and immersive. The narrators used different voices for each character and really made them come alive. I especially liked having one narrator for the story and one for the historical / chronicler sections.

I also really enjoyed how the narrator leaned away from the mic and muffled her voice when Amina was 'arguing' with Jamal about how the story should be told.

This is one I will definitely reread and I can't wait for a sequel!

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

Having never heard of this author before, I went into reading this book with zero expectations. To my delight, I was rewarded with a fantastic adventure tale full of pirates, djinn, sorcerers, and spectacular creatures. By far the best part was the heroine, a middle-aged woman with a sharp tongue who used to be a greatly feared pirate and is now finding a new place in the world.

I also loved the queer people represented in the story as well as the terrific descriptions of Muslim beliefs and Arab seafaring. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Lameece Isaaq and Amin El Gamal, who both did a wonderful job; Isaaq in particular brought Amina to life with plenty of emotion and depth to her delivery. If you do listen to the audiobook, the publisher has a pdf on their website with a glossary and bibliographic references.

The end of this book clearly sets up a sequel and I would be happy to read more. I would also be happy to read Chakraborty’s earlier trilogy.

I will read anything S. A. Chakraborty writes. Her worlds are so fully realized, so lush and rich with details, I never want to leave. Her characters are all well-developed and deeply interesting.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4. Overall I enjoyed this book, though I read it very casually. I wasn't as gripped as I expected to be for being a fantasy pirate adventure.
I always love a good strong female character though and thought it was well written with solid descriptions and great fantasy beasts.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was an incredible ride! I loved her relationships with her daughter, mother, and crew. The banter and jokes had me laughing out loud at times. This story of a female pirate pulled out of retirement and away from her family kept me engaged from start to finish. High adventure, magic, pirates, magical creatures, high stakes, and LOVE. This was a great book, and I'm so happy to have read it. I will recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy and adventure. I new beforehand that Chakraborty has very clever characters and dialogue, which drew me to the book in the first place, and I'm so glad it did.

I LOVED this book! If you find yourself wanting to read a book with that "classic fantasy" vibe but set in a completely new and different setting, you will also LOVE this book! I found this book so refreshing and so easy to read. The world building was easy to jump right into. I did about half e-book and half audio and would HIGHLY recommend the audio. The narration is wonderful and the little fourth-wall breaks are so fun.

Chakraborty has created a diverse, deeply feminist historical fantasy that is heartfelt and passionate while celebrating motherhood, faith, and magic. But at its heart, this book is a fantastically enjoyable read with the most lovable mismatched crew.

Thank you SO much to Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy! The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is OUT NOW!

I thought this was a decently solid pirate fantasy. Amina the character is what really carries this story and makes it enjoyable. The plot was a bit lackluster and too drawn out but Amina herself and her crew are the main reason why I didn't DNF. I think it was a little bit too long and the audio narrator didn't quite feel like the right choice for this story. My two notes while reading:
-The court thing with the avian creates was so cringe [I have no recollection whatsoever about what this means]
-I swear to god I thought this book was set in the 1400-1500s [Again, I have no idea why I thought that or if I was even actually wrong??]

The story felt forgettable but I liked Amina so much that I will probably still read the sequel.

To the shock of no one, Shannon Chakraborty does it again. Her atmospheric and transformative writing always intrigues me from page 1. Chakraborty has been an instant-buy author for me since City of Brass, and I cannot wait to see what other stories have yet to come.
4.5/5

The notorious pirate captain Amina Al-Sirafi is called out of retirement/hiding for one last job, a rescue, that will set up her family for life. But the rescue isn't as simple as she was led to believe. With her old crewmates, she is soon caught up in a rescue of someone who might not want to be rescued and pitted against a man with unnatural and vast powers. And Amina wants to be on the ocean on her ship, but will she be able to make it home to her waiting daughter who needs her.

I loved this book so much. It's so rare to see a middle aged woman and mother as a protagonist for a swashbuckling fantasy novel and I love to see it. The structure of the story was a bit different so that was fun too. I enjoyed the heisty-ness and all the side characters. I did feel like the villain was a bit one note, but that was okay. I really wanted to know more about the powers that Amina's husband had an how they would impact her daughter, but I guess that's a story for the future. I also liked how even though the good guys were righteous, they were complicated . The book doesn't shy away from the fact that pirates are actually criminals no matter how much they are romanticized. Definitely enjoyed and would recommend.

Thank you Harper Voyager, Avon books, the author, and @netgalley for the advanced ebook!

There’s nothing better than a swashbuckling tale that takes place on the high seas. The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty is one of those tales, and one well worth reading if this type of story is your cup of tea. It’s also worth reading if you’ve been underwhelmed by pirate yarns of publishing yore—Chakraborty’s book takes place in a magically infused version of the 12th century on the Indian Ocean, for one, which is not a common location for well-known pirate stories we’ve seen from, let’s say, Walt Disney Studios. The book’s protagonist, Amina, is also not your usual nakhudha (captain). She is a middle-aged woman who is formidable and courageous and, frankly, a little worse for wear at this point in her career.


At the beginning of the novel, Amina is retired and living a quiet life with her mother and daughter. She misses the sea, but she left her beloved ship, the Marawati, after her demonic husband (at the time—Amina has taken on multiple husbands in her life, with some marriages only lasting a night or two) destroyed her crewmate’s soul after an ill-fated deal. The trauma of this unnatural death scarred Amina and the rest of her surviving crew, and they all disbanded after locking her chaos-seeking lover in a trunk and leaving him for dead. For the past 10 years, Amina has lived on land and in anonymity.

[Rest on Tor.com, here: https://www.tor.com/2023/05/18/review-the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi-by-shannon-chakraborty/]

Eh.

I am shocked that I didn't thoroughly enjoy this book. I was sure that this would be at least a 4 star read for me, if not a 5 star read. I realize that a lot of that came from the GORGEOUS cover and the premise being oversold.

This is historical fiction, and while I can respect liberties taken in fiction, especially with fantasy elements, some of the historical inconsistencies seemed like poor research and not deliberate choices.

The plot was boring, the characterization inconsistent, and this really read like a modern character trying to blend into the past.

Also, the continuous appropriation of a culture that is not her own (by the author) is extremely exhausting. If it had been done well, perhap some forgiveness could be given but that was not the case.

“I wanted to travel the world and sail every sea. I wanted to have adventures, to be a hero, to have my tales told in courtyards and street fairs, where perhaps kids who’d grown up like me, with more imagination than means, might be inspired to dream. Where women who were told there was only one sort of respectful life for them could listen to tales of another who’d broken away—and thrived when she’d done so”

Amina is the embodiment of badass and and I 👏🏻 am 👏🏻 here 👏🏻 for 👏🏻 it 👏🏻

After devouring Daevabad, I absolutely love seeing adult content from Chakraborty. It goes so well with the story given the saying “I curse like a pirate” and boyyyyy did Amina absolutely knocked this out of the park.

The story starts very slow but picks up all of a sudden and it’s just so so well done. Once the action starts you get hooked in and cannot put the book down. Chakraborty’s imagination is wide and vast and seeing this new world through her eyes was amazing.

The shocked laugh I let out when Amina came across Daevas could have qualified me as insane but I love when authors have little cameos and Easter eggs of their others books and series!!! When Khayzur mentions slaved souls in rings white talking about the Transgressions MY HEART LEFT MY BODY thinking of my precious Dara 😭😭

The world building was excellent. Having read Daevabad previously definitely helps a lot as I am now more familiar with the folklore and certain culture specific words. I love the incredible guides Chakraborty gives us in her books, they are magical and help the reader a lot!!

I cannot wait to see what Amina’s next adventure will be!!!

“I can snap a man’s bones with these legs”

"Are not all mothers capable of being monsters when it comes to their children?"

---

NetGalley, thank you thank you THANK YOU for sending me a copy of what is probably my favorite book of 2023! Where do I even begin to describe how much I am obsessed with this book?

Within a few pages I KNEW that this book was going to become a new instant fave. Chakraborty has a gift for storytelling that weaves together adventure, history, fantastical elements, layered characters, potent themes, and excellent banter! When you find a book that you equally cannot put down and never want it to end, you know you've found your latest book obsession. And for me, that was The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

The character of Amina al-Sirafi is an absolute breath of fresh air, and I YEARN for more characters like her in the stories I read. Amina is strong and fierce and FUN! She's older in age (but not old), she's a mother who will do anything to protect her daughter, she's a pirate, and she's unabashedly herself. She's an icon, she's a legend, she is the MOMENT, and 2023 BELONGS. TO. HER. She is, without a doubt, in my top 5 of female protagonists.

The banter and dynamics between the characters in this book...Y'ALL. This book is HILARIOUS. I loved the friendships, particularly between Amina and Dalila. The two of them together are a force to be reckoned with and they feed off each other so well.

One last major highlight of this book were the excerpts, missives, and tales. These added so much to the world building, lore, and history. Sometimes when books have these extras woven into the story, they can be distracting, but not with this book. In my opinion, it only elevated an already amazing story that much more.

INFINITY out of 5 stars! If you haven't read this book yet, go read it! And while you're at it, also pick up Chakraborty's Daevabad trilogy!

Usually, you know what you’re getting with a pirate story. Swordfights, rum, probably some treasure, maybe a little misogyny, and generally the sort of grizzled, damaged characters who, as the kids say, have seen some shit. This is a big part of the reason that Shannon Chakraborty’s The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi feels like a breath of fresh air: It’s a story that pushes back against everything these kinds of tales are known for. A delightfully wry and self-aware romp, this first installment in a new fantasy series from the critically acclaimed author of the Daevabad trilogy is, more than anything else, simply fun.

A swashbuckling adventure with genuine stakes and richly developed oddball characters whose found family of misfits vibe is endlessly charming, the novel’s brisk pace and dry self-deprecating narrative style (the story is framed as Amina recounting—and commenting on—her life story for a scribe) help the pages fly by, and Chakraborty’s detailed, immersive worldbuilding makes the various villages and island of her medieval Islamic world sing with life. But what truly makes The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi stand out is its heroine.

In fantasy tales like this, the story’s central figure is almost always a young woman on some sort of journey of self-discovery, who grows into the person she’s meant to become along the way. Chakraborty’s Amina, in contrast, is a middle-aged mother who has lived an entire life before this book’s title page—surviving dangers, exploring her beliefs, and having her flaws made all too plain to her. She has a checkered past, a young daughter she adores, a bum knee, and a laundry list of things she’d do differently if given the chance. This isn’t the beginning of her story.

Throughout this novel, Amina is still living with the consequences of the choices she made when she was younger and felt untouchable. Her rededication to her Muslim faith is in large part about atonement and penance for the choices she made them. Her relationships with her crew are steeped in shared history and mistakes. Her reputation may seem fantastical, but it’s one she came by honestly and she carries the emotional and physical scars to prove it. It’s a perspective and a character type we see very infrequently in this genre, which is why Amina feels like a revelation from the book’s first pages.

Easily a five-star read for me, this book was absolutely captivating with its richly detailed world-building, a lively cast of characters, and exciting plot. From the very first page, I was drawn into Amina's world and taken on an immersive journey around the Indian Ocean during the 12th century. Amina herself is a wonderful protagonist, with a fierce determination and a relatable vulnerability that makes her easy to root for.

The ride-or-die camaraderie between Amina and her old crew is one of my favorite aspects of the storytelling. The dynamic among the old friends is spot on and very entertaining, especially when they find trouble and have to get themselves out of it. Honestly, this whole crew had me in stitches, especially Raksh who is just ridiculous and delightful throughout.

I also loved how many different pirate adventure tropes the author managed to squeeze into this story. We have quests, a ship heist, a prison break, sea monsters, clashes with other pirate crews and more. The risky, high-stakes nature of each challenge kept me reading well past my bedtime, and I really enjoyed seeing how Amina and her crew navigated the various obstacles.

Lastly, this book was everything I had hoped for and I'm just a tiny bit obsessed with it. I rarely collect multiple editions of the same book, but this one was so good, I didn't mind sacrificing some extra shelf space for an extra special edition copy. If you enjoy historical fantasies, exotic locales, and strong female protagonists, this is likely to be a new favorite!

Thank you for the ARC! This review has been cross-posted on Goodreads and Instagram.

I found the writing style interfered with my ability to take in the story. I tried to pick it up a few times and ultimately decided it wasn't for me. Disappointing because I love this author's other work.

After picking up this book several times, I find that the pacing makes the story rather droll and dry. in just the first 12%, there are so many asides that don't move the story forward. Many of the conversations last a lot longer than they needed to be and felt repetitive at times. I'm not going to be able to finish this one.