I received this book from the publisher as a Penguin Teen Influencer.
And I LOVED IT. I saw a lot of complaint that the world wasn't as "North African" as it should've been but I think that was a product of the brunt of the story being set in the palace. Outside the palace, we got lots of incredible worldbuilding, there just wasn't a lot of it. I think the main inspiration was in the clothing and the magick, which were both described GORGEOUSLY. I wish there was more on the magick aspect because it was so fascinating and unique. I don't usually enjoy stories about "fey/fae" but I liked that the focus wasn't so fully on them in this one and it made the fey characters all the more interesting and mysterious. My biggest complaint was that the "twist" was hardly veiled - within the first chapter, I think, it's dismissed as a "rumor" but I easily saw through that and the twist wasn't as shocking to me as it could have been. All in all I loved this and can't wait for the sequel!!
And I LOVED IT. I saw a lot of complaint that the world wasn't as "North African" as it should've been but I think that was a product of the brunt of the story being set in the palace. Outside the palace, we got lots of incredible worldbuilding, there just wasn't a lot of it. I think the main inspiration was in the clothing and the magick, which were both described GORGEOUSLY. I wish there was more on the magick aspect because it was so fascinating and unique. I don't usually enjoy stories about "fey/fae" but I liked that the focus wasn't so fully on them in this one and it made the fey characters all the more interesting and mysterious. My biggest complaint was that the "twist" was hardly veiled - within the first chapter, I think, it's dismissed as a "rumor" but I easily saw through that and the twist wasn't as shocking to me as it could have been. All in all I loved this and can't wait for the sequel!!