THIS WAS AMAZING! Though, to be fair, I expected nothing less from Shannon Chakraborty. I loved Amina al-Sirafi and her movements between reluctance to get back into the world and the clear signs of her ambition. Though my favorite thing about Amina?? Our heroine is 40 years old with a daughter! I love YA as much as the next person, but even adult fantasy tends to cast their main characters around 20 years old and it was a joy to read about someone who has already lived their adventurous life and who has so much experience under their belt. Her love for her daughter was really the driving force of her story and her adventure home. She also happened to marry a demon, have his child, and is trying to shelter that knowledge from him as he is a tentative companion on her journey....does it sound messy? It is but it is gloriously messy and full of smart dialogue and high stakes and wonderful scholarship. This was masterful and I have a feeling I will be re-reading this one within the next year. The audiobook was also stunning with Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal adding such a wonderful narrative for this book.

This was a FANTASTIC audiobook. When I read the physical ARC a few weeks back, I was unsure how an audiobook would follow the “interview” format some of the early chapters have, but the production team did a stellar job and the narrator knocked it out of the park by making it seem as if she was talking to another person and having frequent asides to them, even if the reader couldn’t hear them. I also thought that having different narrators reading the compiled notes and interviews that are between the “real” chapters of the book was very smart — not only did it break up the main story nicely, since it can sometimes be hard to tell how much time or chapters have passed in an audiobook, but it makes the world feel very lived-in.

Will certainly be recommending the audio version to patrons at my workplace.

-BELOW IS A SUMMARY OF THE BOOK - NOT AUDIOBOOK SPECIFIC, TAKEN FROM MY REVIEW ON THE PHYSICAL ARC-

THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI is a high-seas adventure following the exploits of the notorious pirate Amina al-Sirafi as she's dragged out of retirement to settle a threat against her family. This did <b>not</b> read like a pirate book, but that didn't bother me as much as I thought it might (given the way this book was advertised). Instead, this reads like a mashup of a heist book, adventure novel (à la TREASURE ISLAND), demon-hunting quest, break-up story, and historical account all in one.

THE CONS (of which there are few, but they were early enough in the book to almost turn me away from reading): This book was trying to be too many things at one time. For the first 90-120 pages, I was contemplating putting it down pretty frequently. Though having Amina's background was necessary to understand her motivations, I thought the plot dragged on far too long, from her first encounter with Salima--who sets in motion the course of events of this book--to getting the crew back together to finally getting a lead on the whereabouts of their quarry. This book is long, so 100 pages of not-so-good material isn't the end of the world (it clocked in at 682 pages on my e-reader), but it is still a <em>long</em> time to go without being fully immersed in the story.

So. What saved it?

I felt like my entire outlook of the book shifted during one specific scene, and I went from being extremely so-so to extremely excited to see what was in store for us. (I will leave it at <em>silver coins</em>, in an effort to keep at least a little mystery to this book). In no time at all, the story jumped into action and kept me turning page after page until the very end. I was completely drawn in to Amina's journey, her crew, her (supposed-to-be-dead) husband, and the mythology surrounding the artifact at the center of so much bloodshed. In fact, I had such a good time reading the rest of the book that I forgave it for anything I'd disliked about it before, and that's ... pretty rare for me, haha.

I haven't read any of S.A. Chakraborty's previous works, and I'm not sure I will (because if they're this long, and they're a trilogy, when will I find the time???), but I immensely enjoyed myself throughout (the majority of) this book.

And since I'm making a conscious effort to evaluate books less on the technical or nitty-gritty pet peeves they irk in me this year and more on my enjoyment overall, this gets a full 5 stars from me! The first of 2023! You go, Amina al-Sirafi!

As an end note, I also loved the commentary on how much of Amina's notoriety comes from the simple fact that she's a woman stepping out of the traditional role in the society that she lives in, and though I found the in-between chapters where people tell their accounts of her or her compatriots largely unnecessary, I think they paint a fun picture of the way her legend spread versus the woman we actually meet and follow in the present day of the story. And! Raksh's annoyance at being considered a demon when he is much older than the concept, and his true origins having been lost to time so people box him in when he's a lot larger and mythical than even that. Things I'm hoping continue to come up in the sequel!

Thank you so much to Harper Audio for this advance listening copy of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. I really wanted to challenge myself to read/listen to books that are outside of my normal plots/genres and this book did not disappoint. Not only was the book itself wonderfully written and full of life, but the narrators were also so incredible and kept you on the edge of your seat. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi brings back pirates in an epic fantasy full of mystery, magic, and strong female characters that you'll root for from beginning to end. Her ambition and call for adventure made Amina one of my new favorite characters of all time. I highly recommend this book, especially as an audiobook, for my pirate and high fantasy lovers. You will not regret it one bit.

This is definitely going to be one of the best books of the year. The characters were deep and lovable. They way they interacted were all realistic. Even the side characters had depth. The plot flowed well, and all the little asides added to its uniqueness. I. Need. More.

I loved how the asides were audibly portrayed. They brought great joy to me ever time they happened.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a thrilling tale of adventure on the high seas, filled with pirates, sorcery, and ancient mysteries. Shannon Chakraborty weaves together a story of one woman's determination to seize a final chance at glory and leave behind a legacy that will live on long after she's gone. Amina al-Sirafi is a remarkable character, a former pirate who has retired to a life of piety and motherhood. But when she's offered a job to retrieve a kidnapped girl, Amina can't resist the call of adventure. As she delves deeper into the mission, she discovers that there's more at stake than just the girl's rescue, and the price for her ambition might be too high. Chakraborty's vivid and immersive world-building, combined with her sharp and engaging storytelling, make this a must-read for fans of high fantasy and adventure tales.

WOW! What an adventure this book was! our FMC is Amina. Famous pirate who is notorious but alas she's in retirement to raise her daughter and give her stability. While Amina's daughter gets older and she misses her past life she springs on an opportunity to get the time together for one more adventure. A little disclaimer from me: I've never read anything by SA so this was my first intro to her world and flow of writing. The beginning was foundation building and was kind of slow. We get a lot of background and told how badass the FMC is but once the adventure begins the action doesn't stop! I not only liked the MC but the side characters were amazing! I want a novella on a few of her crew members and some of their past adventures! I also liked how Amina isn't portrayed as young and tough. She's in her 40's, has a teenager of her own and is very much a modern Muslim portrayal!

This book has it all: a strong FMC, an amazing crew of side characters, an adventure, some magical beings (mostly demons) and Pirates led by the strong FMC!