Imani needs to save her people from an invasion - and needs to restore Qayn's stolen powers to summon an army to save Sahir. They must go on a journey to find the jewels needed to restore his power, but the path is a dangerous one, where one wrong move may cost her her life and her people.

Serpent Sea was a real journey - in a sense of the characters' physical journey across their world but also the fact that I just had no idea who to trust throughout this story. I was second guessing everyone's motives. It was fantastically written.

I love the expansion of the world and that we got to meet more characters and see more parts of the world. The world of The Spice Road series it definitely one of my main focus points for me, and one of the reasons why I loved the first book so much.

I love this series so much so far, and it's an amazing adventure that we go on with Imani, Qayn, Taha and the gang!

Thank you to Hachette Australia for an e-arc of Serpent Sea, all opinions are my own.

Maiya Ibrahim's 'Serpent Sea' is notably slower than in the first book, but this allows for an expanded exploration of the world. The narrative takes its time, but truly explores more of the world.

I'm not a huge fan of love triangles--particularly when very firm and ongoing--however, that is more personal taste.

The family dynamics truly shine here, with the bond between the three siblings standing out as one of the story's strongest aspects (and certainly realistic of true siblings).

The inclusion of dual points of view in this one was also a nice surprise, adding dimension across the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Australia & New Zealand, Hodderscape, and Maiya Ibrahim for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Siblings, Imani, Altheer and Amira, along with captured Taha and his cousin Rezi, plus Taha's falcon, were heading out of the city, desperate to escape. But Harrowlander soldiers spotted them, and their escape was foiled. Taken to their king, who was gleeful with their capture, he and the Harrowlanders continued rampaging through city after city, pillaging and murdering anyone who didn't yield control. The spice magic was their greatest weapon, and as King Glaedric obtained more of it, his power grew. But the powerful djinni, Qayn, was with Imani and the others, and the plan was to find and gain the crown with the jewels intact, which was stolen from Qayn millenia ago, so his power was returned.

Crossing the serpent sea was a danger in itself, but they needed to do it to get to where the crown was housed - on Prince Kendric's head. The challenge which was set was a fight to the death - was Imani confident enough in her skills to join the fight? And who would be her partner? Treachery and terror followed them around - would they survive to see the saving of their land?

Serpent Sea is the 2nd in The Spice Road Trilogy by Aussie author Maiya Ibrahim and it was awe-inspiring; as brilliant as the first in the series. Over 500 pages long, it took me awhile, but the pages sped by. Filled with power, magic and plenty of human responses, I highly recommend this, and book 1, to fans of the genre - and I'm looking forward very much to #3.

With thanks to NetGalley & Hachette AU for my digital ARC to read and review.

This novel was a rollercoaster and stressed me out - in a good way!

We return to Imani, Qayn and Taha's battle across the sands and sea to save their home. Imani and Taha risk losing their home to invaders and they both have different ideas of how to do this.

While I loved Imani in the first novel, I'd say Taha's journey was the most intriguing and heartbreaking in this second novel. We get more exploration of his complicated relationship with his father (and for Imani of course). When Taha was captured, the descriptions and storyline of his capture were haunting and (I assume) based on various real-life events. It was harrowing and realistic and I appreciate what the author was doing. Taha's experiences and development were the highlight for me. Again, I love Imani but in comparison, her development felt slower and Taha's had complexity which I enjoyed.

The plot was fast-paced and in hindsight, I realised that so much was covered in this novel. I enjoyed all the additional world-building and development of the magic system and knowledge we got. However, I thought at times it was a little bit too much, the whole book felt like it was giving me a lot of world-building, constantly and I felt fatigued after a while. In saying so, when I read the ending I think I can understand why there is a lot of development.

In the end, while one villainous King is defeated another magical enemy rises and I am already looking forward to the next instalment of this series! I enjoyed this second novel more than the first novel so I am excited to see where the rest of this series goes.