Wow! This book is a 5 star read, hands down! From the blurb alone I was already intrigued, but the book itself blew my mind!

A boy named Khurafa wakes up surrounded by corpses, and is unable to move. He finds himself surrounded by vultures, ready to start pecking at him but stop once he starts talking. He decides to tell them the story of how he ended up in his situation.

The story is a wild one, full of adventure and risks. We have:
• Kuhrafa, who could sniff out pious, holy beings and objects. He's also been seeing and communicating with his neighbor-turned-mentor who's been dead for the past 12 years. The boy swore he was alive the entire time!

• Shaykh Nariman, Kauhrafa's mentor, who can shape shift & turns from apparition to mouse to worm, back to mouse.

• Zakiyya, a girl who can read minds. She's clever and very cunning, and helps a lot along the way

• Shahid, a strong sword-fighting, demon hunter who can absorb heat through is body and expel it through his hands, burn objects, perform exorcisms, and heal people.

• Demonic books, religious relics (like Moses's staff) demonic cults, monsters that appear to be corpses by day but are bloodsuckers by night, more monsters and demons..

Kuhrafa and his crew team up to try to rid the world of the evil Servants, who are finally resurfacing after many years. Kuhrafa's dreams are revelations and he relies on his friends and their gifts to guide them on this journey.

This book was amazing. It setting was so good! I absolutely loved the magic system and the writing. I could not put this down!

This is like the best combination of the Witcher and the last air bender! My boy Khurafa knows he’s destined for bigger and better things. He’s sick of the servants (a really old group of powerful bad guys)

I loved Zakiyya, probably my favorite character! I LOVED the back and forth banter!! I stayed giggling my way throughout.

I was so engrossed I finished this book within 10 hours! I didn’t want it to end. I can’t wait for another book, I’m seriously devastated it’s over for now. I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. If you enjoy YA, adventure and mythology, this is for you! I’m so glad I got the opportunity to read this!

Thank you NetGalley. This book is now available

Holy mother of Pearl but this book was utterly magical. It is in my brain and my thoughts with spikes and won’t let go. The way the story ebbed and flowed off the pages was nothing short of raw talent.

Review posted on Good reads & Instagram
The book "Vultures in the House of Silence" by A.R. Latif is a well-written and thoughtfully planned out book. Although it took me some time to get into it because of the religious aspects, I found that it wasn't as heavy as I originally thought. Once the story developed, it became harder to put down.

The story follows Khurafa's journey, which begins with a heavy tone but soon becomes sarcastic as he deals with the events happening around him while telling his story to the two vultures. The different magical creatures they encounter throughout their journey reminded me of "The Witcher," which is why I chose to read this book. Moreover, the dynamic duo of Khurafas and Zakiyya was enjoyable to follow.

I would like to thank A.R. Latif for writing such a great fantasy book!

With a hook like "avatar the last airbender meets the Witcher set in medieval Baghdad" I knew I had to read this.

Main character Khurafa has a dream that shows him he's destined for more. He goes on a spiritual journey collecting allies in pursuit of getting rid of an evil group of ancient sorcerers called the Servants.

I loved the supporting characters. Zakiyya is a little spitfire and has confidence where Khurafa does not. They have a very fun, sibling-like teasing relationship between the two. His mentor Shaykh Narimen supplies enough wisdom but doesn't interfere that much. Sweet cat Kedi that can sniff out the bad guys. Overall a wholesome cast. The pacing was great. I read the first 55% in one sitting. I was immediately engaged and cared about their quest. There's a plot twist about 80% through that switched up the story that I didn't like as much, but I know we're just being set up for a great book 2.

I haven't read YA in awhile and I was pleasantly surprised by this. The writing was engaging. I can't say that I read that many religious forward books, but found this very enjoyable. You don't need to know much about the Muslim faith going in. I felt like I learned something and expanded my preferences.

I highly recommend to any fans of YA, adventure novels, and religious/mythology retellings. I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you A.R. Latif, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. It was refreshing to have an Islamic theme throughout the story. It was easy ily accessible to anyone who wasn’t Muslim, but also not so repetitive that it would be too much for someone who is.

A haunting tale of ghosts, jinn, gardens and Mongols. At at the center of it a boy trying to make sense of the world.

Vultures in the House of Silence is book one in The Servants series by A. R. Latif.
I had the best time reading book one in this series. And now I have to wait for the second title. This was such a fun and engrossing book.
I love that I was glued to my Kindle.

Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

amazing book! this book is very much a page turner and the author did a very good job with the book! 6/5 stars!