This is a historical fantasy set during the height of the Spanish Inquisition. That it revolves around two Muslim characters was enough to convince me to read it. But what I found was something that gives you a lot of food for thought.
I'm a big fan of platonic relationships, so I love Hassan and Fatima's friendship. They clearly love each other more than anything, yet there's no romantic tension between them.
There's also a level of philosophy to the story that gives you a lot to discuss. There are a ton of quotable lines (that I pray make it to the final cut of the book) that stick with you afterward.
The world building is excellent, although sometimes I would have to read a description a couple times before it stuck with me.
The character of Fatima isn't always likeable for me, but she never fails in being interesting. You want to see where she ends up.
Oh, and that one scene near the very end practically kicked me in the heart. But it was excellent.
I'm a big fan of platonic relationships, so I love Hassan and Fatima's friendship. They clearly love each other more than anything, yet there's no romantic tension between them.
There's also a level of philosophy to the story that gives you a lot to discuss. There are a ton of quotable lines (that I pray make it to the final cut of the book) that stick with you afterward.
The world building is excellent, although sometimes I would have to read a description a couple times before it stuck with me.
The character of Fatima isn't always likeable for me, but she never fails in being interesting. You want to see where she ends up.
Oh, and that one scene near the very end practically kicked me in the heart. But it was excellent.