The narration here was impeccable! The narrators, Lamence Issaq and Amin El Gamal, played up the banter between the scribe and Amina wonderfully. I thought it was so well done from their performance to the production. I enjoyed how it got quieter and more muffled when they were talking to each other!

My review of the story itself is pasted below and can also be found in my review of the earc which I was also gracious enough to receive.
This was such a fun adventure full of swashbuckling, strong women, and great humor! There was even some bread crumbs to follow for a touch of mystery in the plot. I am very excited for the next installments to come.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narration and Amina's voice. I loved her conflicts as a mother and wanting the best for her daughter and still being able to be a totally powerful, strong, and confident woman. Mothers are amazing. Women are amazing. I now need to read through Chakroborty's backlist while I wait.

I loved Amina al-Sirafi, both the book and the character. This was my first Shannon Chakraborty book and I loved her writing! Amina's voice is so strong and there are so many memorable moments in this story! It was nice to have an older main character with a past to explore as well. If you love a good pirate story and morally gray female characters, I'd highly recommend The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi!

I will start by saying the audio version was well done and thank you Netgalley for advancing me the copy. I love this author’s previous series, but this book from the start was a struggle. Fantasy with strong Middle eastern women who write their own stories are a plus, but this storyline dragged for me. This could be due to the development of the characters and the slow build up of the adventure, but I was three quarters through it before my interest was piqued. I will strongly consider reading the next adventure as in the last series the middle book was the best.

What I liked
While listening to this book I felt like I was missing something, or that something was wrong with me because so many of my friends are loving this book. Now that I've finished it and am thinking of writing my review I'm having an even better time thinking of the story and all the adventures. I think this will be a fantastic book to reread because now that I've had time to reflect I realized how much I loved it.

All of our character are lovable and have their own appropriate amount of backstory. You want to hear about everybody that is speaking and having an outside Scribe narrator was a really fun way to give us the lore on our characters and the world around them. This was unique and hilarious. The entire book was original, unique, and genuinely hilarious. You feel like you are apart of the banter with the group, and the internal thoughts and jokes are great. There are a lot of serious big challenges but they're all done in so much style it was a delight.

Having a main character who is a mother and is actively sacrificing her time away from her child was a really interesting perspective. Its not one we often get in fantasy books so seeing how this changed the characters decisions was interesting. We also got to see how having a child has changed her in so many ways but no matter what at the end of the day she is still to her core the same person she has always been with just more room inside of her for love and desires.


I'm not much of a full cast graphic audio so this one was a bit harder to listen to. I typically listen to audiobooks when I drive so some parts were too quiet and I had to pause the book and wait for later when I wasn't driving. But the audio was funny and did add a lot of personality into the book. If you do not have difficulty with different volumes in an Audiobook, or a better stereo than me lol, then this is still a fantastic audiobook to listen to.

If you're looking for a book with adventure and strong momma who knows that no matter what happens she will get through it because she has to, for her daughter. Truly an epic book with fantastic descriptions, and lovable characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book!

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Chakraborty’s Daevabad series so I had high hopes for this book. Overall, I enjoyed it. It had slow moments (reminding more of the pacing of City of Brass), but set up some great character dynamics and plot threads that I am excited to follow in future books.

The audio narrators were great. The one thing that I hope they continue to improve in the future audiobooks is the audio when one of the narrators is talking to someone “off page”. I loved the concept (it made it really clear that she was addressing someone outside of the reader), but often part of the lines were obscured by other sounds or by muffled speech. These happen infrequently in the audiobook, so overall it did not affect my enjoyment of the story.

Not only was the audiobook great but the story was brilliant as well. I like sea/pirate stories as much as I like space stories, which is to say not a lot, but for some reason Chakraborty's writing mixed with the narration style did something for me that I came out of this story loving it.

The story is narrated in a way that is like a story being told. There are times in which the narrator will lean back and the voice will get lower and farther away. It is very remanent of stories and how they'd be told during that time period and it was great.

(Plus I absolute loved that this was connected to this authors other series. If you want to know how you're just going to have to read it)

I loved this one. Chakraborty is so great at writing adventure stories and this one is an A+. I adored Amina and all of the other characters that she dragged into her adventure. The story had a lot of fun twists and turns and kept me engaged the entire way through.
Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal were super easy to listen to.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi This was such a entertaining read! I adored Amina! She is the ultimate pirate, smuggler, and adventurer! She is the notorious "nakhudha" (captain). A fierce, tall, woman who explored the seas, smuggled bounty, commanded a ship full of men, raised hell and almost became a legend.

When Amina became a mother however, she gave up her pirate life, scandalous ways and adventures on the sea, to raise her daughter. She now lives a quiet, spiritual life with her mother and child far away from the maddening crowd. But the love of the sea and adventure never stopped whispering in her ear like a siren's song...

When Amina is offered a job that promises her a king's ramson and adventure to rescue the granddaughter of a prominent family who has been kidnapped, she can’t turn it down. Just one more adventure. One last time to be the Nakhudha of a ship on the high seas with her old crew and she and her family can be set for life. Amina can not say no. Amina doesn't want to say no...

Getting her old crew back together is an adventure in and of itself which leads to some really amusing scenes. Yet, there is one person from her past that she encounters who she hoped to never see again and that leads to the most entertaining of entanglements.

Amina and her crew face many dangerous situations and the vilest of villains during their rescue mission and the action is so perilous and alluring, I felt like I was right there with them with my sword in hand.

The author has written such a wonderful character in Amina. She is the embodiment of strength, loyalty, courage, leadership and absolute fierceness. She is a big, badass and tough pirate and yet, she is also a mother and Nakhudha who protects and cares for her friends and crew. I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing Amina al-Sirafi in action fighting the bad guys and commanding a ship. I'm so excited to read about her next great adventure. This is a wonderful start to a new series.

WOW. Just… WOW!!! What an absolutely epic adventure!!! This book did not disappoint. There’s so many incredible qualities. It’s FUNNY! Amina is also an incredible woman who is not as young as we are used to heroines being, but her absolute strength and wisdom is unmatched. She’s also a mother. As a mother myself, I greatly appreciated the feeling of having ties to your child, and guilt you experience when you can’t always be by their side. It was so well done and I felt such a connection with Amina as she tries to make a name for herself in the world beyond who she is to her family.

The MAGIC was so unique. I felt so enamoured with what will happen next I sometimes reread sections because I really wanted to understand how it all worked. The in depth lore/mythology/history behind this story is phenomenal. It truly shows the skill of Shannon Chakraborty as a writer and historian of sorts. I loved this story. I absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys fantastical adventures! Also the audiobook is phenomenal. I would love to listen to more of these actors as they were so great!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time listening to this audio book. Not really because the book was bad or the narrator was bad. In fact, they were both very good. But the narrator was not one that jived with my likes. However, I LOVE this book and would recommend this book and audio book for any one who is looking for a great adult pirate fantasy.

Wow, this was absolutely incredible. The story, the audio quality, and the narration were all spectacular! Hands down one of my favorite books this year, I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

Why I absolutely loved:

- A kick ass female pirate Main Character in her 40s
- The audiobook narration was absolutely stunning & highly entertaining
- The adventure in this story was unparalleled! Pirates, sea monsters, treasure, magic, genies!! Everything you could ever want in an adventure book.
- Representation within the characters, in a way that was seamless and memorable.

This was my first book by Shannon Charkraborty and it will certainly not be my last!!

Thank you Harper Audio and Netgalley for this stunning advanced listening copy!

I really, really enjoyed this story. I am looking forward to the future adventures of Amina and her crew.

The story is a ton of fun. The adventure never stops but it doesn't feel overwhelming. I wasn't so sure about Issaq's narration in the beginning but she did great with character voices. When the character Amina spoke to the scribe writing down her story rather than the reader, the narrator turned away from the mic to mimic talking over her shoulder. It was very cleverly done.

Shannon Chakraborty is an expert storyteller and all of her books that I've read so far have been great. I loved that she chose a middle aged heroine who is a mother to be the center of her story. The cover is fantastic - looks like the same artist as another adult fantasy favorite of mine. The audiobook narrator is also great.

Amina Al-Sirafi is retired from an infamous career as a pirate captain. She’s settled down to raise her daughter and care for her mother after a disasterous brush with the supernatural. Funds are a little tight but the family is making do. One inauspicious day an elderly woman shows up at her home. Amina tries her best to not be recognized as the larger-than-life pirate but it’s no use. This woman has suffered a tragedy and is offering Amina a truly obscene amount of money to fix it. Amina wants to say no but the money is just too good. Plus, Amina might not be as contented with the quiet life as she’s trying to convince herself she is. Amina sets off to gather her crew and investigate this crime.

Absolutely fantastic book! This book has adventure, intrigue, mystical characters, and a middle-aged woman who is able to be this swashbuckling pirate and be a good mom at the same time. Who knew we could do more than one thing at a time?! This is the first in a series and I cannot wait for more.

Shannon Chakraborty also wrote the Daevabad Trilogy which is one of my favorite series from the last few years. I will read anything this woman writes.

When you finish an audio book and you immediately restart it you know it’s about to become a fast favorite.

A strong, 40ish Muslim woman, momma, pirate and all around bad ass defeats a demon. There is so much to love about this book it’s hard to summarize.

She’s a retired pirate, but reluctantly comes out of retirement when she is hired to help find and save a young lady. She goes and recruits her old crew to help her and the adventures begin. We have giant battles with sea monsters, weird creatures and characters that you will fall in love with.

The biggest surprise was the humor in this book. So funny!!! I think I actually preferred the audiobook because the narrator did such an amazing job capturing the spirit and humor of this story.

The writing style is exquisite and devour-able! Highly recommend this book.

This was a great new start for Chakraborty’s next venture. I had a really great time with the main character and look forward to what happens next in this story. There was a complex cast within this well-written world. I love how this author can always teach me something while being simultaneously entertaining. The audiobook was also great! I love how they added dimension by making noises,etc. I can’t go into too much detail without spoilers but definitely worth an audio listen!!

4.5 rounded to a 5! I absolutely loved this new series in the Daevabad world! I’m a huge fan of the Daevabad trilogy, so I was ecstatic to see S. A. Chakraborty was releasing a new series, but when I learned it was a pirate book I was even more excited. And this did not disappoint, it gave me all the pirates of the Caribbean vibes and somehow exceeded my expectations. Following a 40 year old protagonist who’s retired from smuggling tasked with one last great adventure truly was everything I didn’t know I needed or wanted. I absolutely loved the diversity, exploration of religion, and I especially loved the narrative choices. This felt like a story within a story due to the scribe and Amina telling us of this adventure, but also reminiscing on past adventures with her pirates in arms. I loved meeting the crew and honestly the villain in this story was so well fleshed out and creepy! Honestly I have nothing but good things to say, it made me laugh, it put me on edge, but mostly I just had a really fun time!

A woman of myth and legend. A woman pirate. A woman in a position of power and prestige. I loved the dichotomy of motherhood and her need for self, her own identity and passions in life.
The humor - side conversations interspersed within the story, the best.
I am a huge fan of this author - City of Brass series. I absolutely bought the hardcover half way through the audio to not only support the author but also embellish my enjoyment.

Unfortunately the beginning just really didn't work for me with the slow plot and meandering around. By the time the plot and magic did kick in (while interesting) was too little too late. I was also expecting a different side to the culture/magic than we saw in Daeva and felt like it was a lot more of the same? I also liked the hubby character, but otherwise, even Amina, the characters were so flat. The shipmates had no personality. Idk if I'll be reading the sequel or not. I feel like this wrapped up pretty well so I'm concerned with more of the same.

The narrators did a great job though. It was very easy to listen to and I liked having two different ones for Amina and the past POV.