“Resolved, Zala angled her sword straight toward the dark figures, relaxing her muscles into a fight-ready stance.”
4/5 stars
I had the awesome opportunity to read this book early and I’m so happy that this book is finally here!
This book is about Zala, whose on a mission to save her husband, Jelani. And to do so, she’s going to need an airship like no one’s ever seen and become a pirate like no one’s ever seen.
Starting with the world-building, I think it gets harder to make original worlds that feel like their own, especially in fantasy. I think making left field choices and following through with them is the best way to solve this problem. This book does that, a lot. I mean- sky pirate, ya know?
The world is incredibly well-developed full of depth, history, and color. I don’t know too much about the history and culture of the West Indie/Swahili/Arabian, but from what I do know, it’s clear that this world holds a lot of inspiration and love for all these regions has to offer.
I was overall really impressed with the world despite my initial struggle with understanding it. Some of the creatures were hard to remember because the book uses names I’ve never heard before. All the characters like Fon, who weren’t just human were really cool, but I did have to consult google often until I got the hang of it.
As for the characters, I definitely could have used a bit more development for many of the characters, but Zala is honestly incredible. Not to be all “she isn’t like other girls”, but she is honestly really different than other protagonists! She makes honest mistakes, messes up, and keeps going. She’s complicated, which makes her super compelling to read and also kind of unpredictable? In some ways, at least. She carries this book for me and I couldn’t be happier about that.
The story of this book is also really exciting. It gives me a really mixed bag of vibes. Like yes, it’s pirates, but contrasted with empire air crafts, whoch low key gave me Fire Nation Airship vibes? Just in terms of what this world could look like. Actually, in general, this is a world that I would live to see adapted into an animated show like Avatar: The Last Airbender, just to be able to capture this particular aesthetic.
In any case, the story is quite the adventure that surprised me at every turn. Just the writing really kept turning my head, its such a unique voice that it makes the story intereating completely separate from what’s actually going on. It’s an impressive combination.
The last thing I want to mention is that this book is technically the first in its series, but is far from the only story set in this world. The author has a list of all the works, but also a recommended reading order. Consider checking that out.
TL;DR: An inventive, exciting fantasy series that is as entertaining as it is enlightening. I can’t recommend enough!
E-galley provided by Author in exchange for an honest review. All quotations and opinions are based off an uncorrected proof.
Paperback Wishes 