Actual rating: 3.75
I have a lot of thoughts about this series and this is acting as a review for both books.
In short, it's a rich Arab-inspired fantasy steeped in culture and balanced worldbuilding. Zafira, Nasir, and Altair are the main stars of the series and they easily shine the brightest. Nasir and Altair's dynamic was easily my favorite, but Zafira and Nasir grew on me, especially toward the middle of this book. Even though I wish certain scenes had lingered longer than they did. (Specifically their reunion.) But that's a nitpick I had throughout the series. Some bits dragged on, while others didn't last nearly as long as I wanted them to.
The first book introduced Benyamin and Kifah far too late into the narrative to hold them at the same height as the main trio which required them to infodump their own histories to the main heroes in order to even come to close to holding a candle to Zafira and Nasir's thoughout backstories. Kifah, however, was more thoroughly integrated into this sequel and I love that she didn't end up as Altair's love interest and instead is proudly and unapologetically aromantic/asexual.
Most of my mixed feelings have to do with tropes. The first book waited until the last 20% to introduce the antagonist of the series and had him monologue exposition so the heroes could understand how everything fit together. The second had the "villain takes the shape of the male love interest and tricks the female main character into kissing him" trope which I think is both outdated and unneccessary. It's almost always used to shame the female character into wanting some sort of physical relationship with her love interest, which again, I find unneccessary. The second also tried to redeem the main villain by giving him a small, chapter-long, one off which included his tragic backstory. It honestly felt shoe-horned in and didn't actually do that much in terms of making me feel any sympathy for him.
Overall, this is a solid duology and I'm looking forward to reading Faizal's future releases.
I have a lot of thoughts about this series and this is acting as a review for both books.
In short, it's a rich Arab-inspired fantasy steeped in culture and balanced worldbuilding. Zafira, Nasir, and Altair are the main stars of the series and they easily shine the brightest. Nasir and Altair's dynamic was easily my favorite, but Zafira and Nasir grew on me, especially toward the middle of this book. Even though I wish certain scenes had lingered longer than they did. (Specifically their reunion.) But that's a nitpick I had throughout the series. Some bits dragged on, while others didn't last nearly as long as I wanted them to.
The first book introduced Benyamin and Kifah far too late into the narrative to hold them at the same height as the main trio which required them to infodump their own histories to the main heroes in order to even come to close to holding a candle to Zafira and Nasir's thoughout backstories. Kifah, however, was more thoroughly integrated into this sequel and I love that she didn't end up as Altair's love interest and instead is proudly and unapologetically aromantic/asexual.
Most of my mixed feelings have to do with tropes. The first book waited until the last 20% to introduce the antagonist of the series and had him monologue exposition so the heroes could understand how everything fit together. The second had the "villain takes the shape of the male love interest and tricks the female main character into kissing him" trope which I think is both outdated and unneccessary. It's almost always used to shame the female character into wanting some sort of physical relationship with her love interest, which again, I find unneccessary. The second also tried to redeem the main villain by giving him a small, chapter-long, one off which included his tragic backstory. It honestly felt shoe-horned in and didn't actually do that much in terms of making me feel any sympathy for him.
Overall, this is a solid duology and I'm looking forward to reading Faizal's future releases.