Review of The Underwater Ballroom Society Anthology
Mar
29
2019
The Underwater Ballroom Society
by Stephanie Burgis and Tiffany Trent (Editors)
398pp (Ebook)
My Rating: 6/10
Amazon Rating: 4.6/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4.08/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.08/5
 

Book Description:

Would you rather dance beneath the waves or hide your smuggled magic there? Welcome to a world of sparkling adult fantasy and science fiction stories edited by Stephanie Burgis and Tiffany Trent and featuring underwater ballrooms of one sort or another, from a 1920s ballroom to a Martian hotel to a grand rock ‘n roll ball held in the heart of Faery itself.

Stories in this anthology:

Ysabeau S. Wilce, “The Queen of Life”
Y.S. Lee, “Twelve Sisters”
Iona Datt Sharma, “Penhallow Amid Passing Things”
Tiffany Trent, “Mermaids, Singing”
Jenny Moss, “A Brand New Thing”
Cassandra Khaw, “Four Revelations from the Rusalka Ball”
Stephanie Burgis, “Spellswept”
Laura Anne Gilman, “The River Always Wins”
Shveta Thakrar, “The Amethyst Deceiver”
Patrick Samphire, “A Spy in the Deep”

The Underwater Ballroom Society is an anthology of ten speculative fiction tales with a variety of subgenres, prose styles, and themes that share one element in common: each of them includes some sort of underwater ballroom, although its overall importance to the plot varies from story to story. Of course, how engaging I found each story also varied. Most of them were about average for me, but there were two I thought were exceptional and two others I thought were standouts with only one that I didn’t like.

My favorite is one of two novellas in this anthology, “Spellswept” by Stephanie Burgis. It’s a prequel to The Harwood Spellbook novellas (Snowspelled and Thornbound), set in an alternate nineteenth century England in which tradition dictates that only women can be politicians and only men can be magicians (and only a woman married to a magician can be part of the group of women that rule the nation). However, the protagonist is not Cassandra Harwood, the first woman to become a magician, but her supportive, practical sister-in-law, Amy—though she isn’t yet officially part of the Harwood family in this prequel. “Spellswept” tells two stories that occur during a party in an underwater ballroom: that of Amy and Jonathan’s engagement and that of Cassandra’s first public spellcasting.

As Mrs. Harwood’s protégé, Amy is expected to one day join the body of women governing the country, and at the beginning of “Spellswept,” she’s also expected to take the next step in that direction by announcing her engagement to a magician that night. But when the spells that make the underwater ballroom possible begin to fail with everyone inside it and Cassandra reveals that she may be able to fix the problem after having studied her father’s work with it, it leads Amy to ponder traditions and their creation. “Spellswept” is a delight from start to finish, and I actually enjoyed it more than either of the other Harwood Spellbook novellas. Amy is wonderful and levelheaded, and I loved the way she took charge of a difficult situation without dwelling too much on the impropriety of it all. (I also thought the underwater ballroom was best integrated into this particular story.)

Another highlight is “The Queen of Life” by Ysabeau S. Wilce, a whimsical story that starts with a rock band’s gorgeous guitarist being swept off to Faery by Oberon. Although the beginning is self indulgent and seems to take too long to get to the point, I was enchanted once it began following its true hero: the band’s singer, Sylvanna, now eighty-two-years old and determined to retrieve the man Oberon stole from her so long ago. After she tricks Death to enact her plan to do just that, her journey takes unexpected twists and turns, and she doesn’t end up making the choices she’d anticipated when she first set out on her quest. This story is largely about Sylvanna herself while being an ode to the personal growth that comes from age and experience.

Two other stories I found notable are “Twelve Sisters” by Y.S. Lee and “Penhallow Amid Passing Things” by Iona Datt Sharma. The former is a sequel to the fairy tale “Twelve Dancing Princesses” that challenges the wisdom of choosing a king based on someone’s ability to successfully solve one mystery. The prince who discovered the secret of the twelve dancing princesses turned out to be a domestic abuser who will be a terrible ruler, and the youngest of the sisters hopes that all twelve of them working together can correct that mistake before their father dies and the crown passes to him. Of course there’s some tragedy given its content, but it also contains some wonder in its beautifully imagined underwater ballroom, and there’s a touch of charming humor too (the hedgewitch!).

Though I did find it a bit slow and therefore not quite as compelling as the others I’ve discussed so far, “Penhallow Amid Passing Things” is perhaps the best written of all the stories. This story is about a smuggler and a King’s woman who are usually on opposite sides of the law but find themselves uniting for a common cause (and there is some romance between these two women as well!). There wasn’t as much emphasis on the underwater ballroom in this one, but I did rather like the idea of a secret room under the sea for hiding smuggled goods.

Most of the other stories were okay: I didn’t dislike them, but I didn’t find them particularly memorable, either. Tiffany Trent’s “Mermaids, Singing,” about a charmed werewolf king who manages to escape the circus where he’s been enslaved, was readable but forgettable once finished. I felt similarly about “A Brand New Thing” by Jenny Moss, which focused on a woman who didn’t fit in with her family discovering an underwater dome in a lake, even though I thought its vivid ballroom was one of the best ones. The longest story, “A Spy in the Deep” by Patrick Samphire, follows a spy-in-training who is tested with an undercover mission for an intelligence agency on a Regency/steampunk Mars. Though fun, I felt that it could have been trimmed since it took some time to get going, and I also thought that the characters were sometimes a bit over the top.

Two of the stories I only found moderately engaging did, however, made me interested in possibly reading more by their authors. Cassandra Khaw’s “Four Revelations from the Rusalka Ball” is prettily written and well done for a brief descriptive piece but didn’t entirely work for me due to its lack of plot and characters. “The Amethyst Deceiver” by Shveta Thakrar is a creative story with a Magic Mushroom woman who gives others Mushroom Powers to wage war against Industry and Technology. It ends up having an interesting twist involving the secret agent trying to rescue her mentor, but I also felt it was a bit underdeveloped and was disappointed that the main character was supposed to be this amazing Amethyst Deceiver but didn’t really get to do any interesting heist high jinks. (I’m not sure whether or not there are other stories about this character this was built upon, though!)

The only story I did not enjoy to some extent was “The River Always Wins” by Laura Anne Gilman, in which a siren and Erinyes visit an underwater club one last time before it closes and relive some memories—including one rather traumatic one. Although I liked that it centered female friendship and feminism, I didn’t find it developed enough to interest me and was bored by the club scene.

The Underwater Ballroom Society contains a few gems, including one that is significantly longer than most of the other stories in the anthology. However, I did find about half the stories fairly forgettable, even though I could appreciate aspects of most of these tales.

My Rating: 6/10

Where I got my reading copy: Electronic ARC from one of the editors.

The Leaning Pile of Books
Mar
24
2019

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I discuss books I got over the last week—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (most of which are unsolicited books from publishers). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

This covers multiple weeks since there was only one new book until recently—but last week brought multiple books, including one I was very excited to see!

Before getting to that book, here’s what happened since the last one of these features in case you missed either of these posts:

  • Review of Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis — Much like Snowspelled (the first/previous book in The Harwood Spellbook series), Thornbound is a fun, cozy page-turner with fluid writing and optimistic storytelling. However, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Snowspelled, largely because it didn’t significantly expand on the world or characters.
  • Giveaway of Unfettered III: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy edited by Shawn Speakman — Courtesy of Grim Oak Press, I’m giving away a copy of the newly released anthology Unfettered III, which contains stories by amazing authors with the goal of raising money to help authors and artists with medical debt. This US-only giveaway ends on March 29.

A Sword Named Truth by Sherwood Smith

A Sword Named Truth (Rise of the Alliance #1) by Sherwood Smith

A Sword Named Truth, an epic fantasy set in the same world as the Inda series, will be released on June 11 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).

This sounds intriguing, and I’m especially curious about it because I very much enjoyed one of Sherwood Smith’s other novels set in the same world as Inda, Banner of the Damned.

 

Untested young rulers must cooperate to protect their world from the magical threat of the mysterious kingdom of Norsunder in a new epic fantasy trilogy set in the same world as the popular Inda series.

Long-dormant magical forces are moving once again in Sartorias-deles. Agents of Norsunder, a mysterious bastion of incredible dark power, have reappeared in the world, amassing resources and sowing instability.

But with numerous nations led by young rulers brought too early to their thrones, the world is hardly ready to defend itself. Atan is still uncomfortable with her new queenship, gained after her country was freed from a Norsundrian enchantment that left it frozen outside time for a century. Senrid strives to establish rule of law, after deposing his brutal and cruel uncle, seeking to exert control over rebellious jarls and a distrustful military academy. Jilo never expected the responsibility of leading his nation, but when its dictator vanishes after a Norsundrian attack, Jilo finds himself stepping into the power void, taking the reins of a country so riddled with dark magic that its citizenry labors for mere survival. Clair and CJ lead a band of misfits against magical threats that overshadow their tiny country, including a direct incursion from the Norsundrians.

Those in power are not the only individuals working to subvert the plans of Norsunder. Liere, a young shopkeeper’s daughter, battles her own debilitating insecurities to live up to her reputation as a former savior of the realm. Hibern, a mage’s apprentice, must act as a liaison between national leaders, negotiating politics still foreign to her. Rel, a traveling warrior, stirs powerful allies to action encourages common folk to take up arms.

These leaders soon realize that any significant victory against Norsunder will require an alliance between their nations. Yet good intentions may fracture in the face of personal grudges, secrets, and inexperience. As the Norsundrian attacks become bolder, the members of this tenuous alliance must find ways to trust one another and bind themselves together—lest they fail to defend against a host that has crushed entire worlds.

Additional Books:

Giveaway: Unfettered III Edited by Shawn Speakman
Mar
20
2019

Courtesy of Grim Oak Press, I have a copy of Unfettered III: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy edited by Shawn Speakman to give away! This anthology contains short fiction by an AMAZING collection of authors—the complete list can be viewed below—and a foreword by Jacqueline Carey, in which she discusses why so many authors donated stories to raise money for helping SFF authors and artists with medical debt.

 

Unfetted III Anthology Cover

 

About UNFETTERED III: NEW TALES BY MASTERS OF FANTASY

From the editor of the award-winning anthology Unfettered comes the newest installment in the science fiction and fantasy series, Unfettered III.

Lacking health insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer, Shawn Speakman asked friends in the science fiction and fantasy writing community to donate short stories he could use to counter mounting medical debt. The result was Unfettered, an anthology offering tales from some of the best authors working today.

Now, in Unfettered III, Speakman continues to pay forward the aid he received, raising money to combat medical debt for SF&F artists and authors. He has gathered together a great mix of new and favorite writers―free to write what they like―the result a powerful new anthology perfect for all readers.

Be haunted by the chilling ghost story of Megan Lindholm. Revisit the world of the Magicians with Lev Grossman. Return to Osten Ard in an epic first look at Tad Williams’s Empire of Grass. Callie Bates shares a heartfelt story of magical loss and gain. Cross the sands of the desert planet Dune with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Travel the Ways with Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson. And many more stories, all wondrous alongside beautiful art by Todd Lockwood!

  • Callie Bates
  • Terry Brooks
  • Delilah S. Dawson
  • Jason Denzel
  • David Anthony Durham
  • Lev Grossman
  • John Gwynne
  • Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
  • Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
  • Mark Lawrence
  • Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb)
  • Todd Lockwood
  • Seanan McGuire
  • Naomi Novik
  • Peter Orullian
  • Cat Rambo
  • Robert V. S. Redick
  • Ken Scholes
  • Scott Sigler
  • Anna Smith Spark
  • Shawn Speakman
  • Anna Stephens
  • Patrick Swenson
  • Ramon Terrell
  • Marc Turner
  • Carrie Vaughn
  • Tad Williams
  • Deborah A. Wolf

Unfettered III is sure to astound with the magic bound within its pages. All the while raising money for a charitable cause.

Because protecting our artists and authors is as important as the stories they tell.

The Grim Oak Press website has more information on Unfettered III.

Giveaway Rules: To be entered in the giveaway, fill out the form below OR send an email to kristen AT fantasybookcafe DOT com with the subject “Unfettered Giveaway.” One entry per household and one winner will be randomly selected. Those from the US are eligible to win. The giveaway will be open until the end of the day on Friday, March 29. The winner has 24 hours to respond once contacted via email, and if I don’t hear from them after 24 hours has passed, a new winner will be chosen (who will also have 24 hours to respond until someone gets back to me with a place to send the book).

Please note email addresses will only be used for the purpose of contacting the winner. Once the giveaway is over all the emails will be deleted.

Update: The form has been removed since the giveaway has ended.

Review of Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis
Mar
07
2019
Thornbound
by Stephanie Burgis
186pp (Ebook)
My Rating: 6/10
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4.4/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.33/5
 

Stephanie Burgis’ The Harwood Spellbook books are stories about breaking old traditions—and making new traditions—set in an alternate version of nineteenth-century England with magic, elves, and fey. In this Angland, Celtic Queen Boudicca successfully defeated the Romans with some aid from her spell-casting husband, and the country has been ruled by a powerful group of women, known as the Boudiccate, wed to magicians ever since. After all, it is known that women are most suited to politics given their practicality, and men are most suited to magic given their creativity.

As the daughter of a member of the Boudiccate, Cassandra Harwood was supposed to follow in her mother’s footsteps, but she always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps instead. She was never interested in politics or diplomacy (nor did she have an especially diplomatic nature), but she was drawn to magic from an early age and discovered she had a talent for it. Though she was discouraged from pursuing her ambitions, Cassandra persisted and became the first woman accepted into the academy for magicians, where she excelled as one of their best students.

But this is not the story of Cassandra’s struggles and triumphs as the first female magician in Angland: It’s about how she picks up the pieces and moves forward after she burns out her magical ability attempting to prove herself as the only female magician in Angland. When Cassandra is introduced in Snowspelled, the first Harwood Spellbook story, she’s devastated by the loss of both her magic and her fiancé, another magician she believed to be better off without her once she lost her ability to cast spells (though Wrexham, her ex- fiancé, disagreed and was unhappy she broke off their engagement). In this delightful book, the two get a second chance at romance when they both attend the same winter house party, and Cassandra contends with a new problem involving a devious elf-lord’s challenge.

Snowspelled also shows Cassandra grappling with her career as a magician having ended and coming to realize that, although she no longer has the ability to cast spells, she can still advance the cause of gender equality in magic by sharing her knowledge with other women who wish to pursue it. Thornbound is largely about Cassandra taking that next step in her journey, and it begins with her preparing to open her magic school for young women.

However, some of the women of Angland are not pleased with her new venture and have concerns like it potentially leading to men getting wild ideas about practicing politics. As a result, the Boudiccate sent Cassandra’s new husband away in the middle of their wedding reception and kept him traveling on urgent business, seemingly just to spite her. Weeks later when Cassandra is ready to accept her first students (and her husband is still away), they also send a delegation that appears rather eager to find reasons to shut down her academy to observe her first classes. To make matters worse, Cassandra discovers evidence that someone currently residing in her estate/school made a deal with a fey, which can only bring further trouble. And when a house on her property becomes entirely covered by thorns in the course of about a day, Cassandra begins to wonder if the recurring nightmares she’s been having about being held captive by thorns in the forest are more than simply bad dreams…

Like the previous book, Thornbound is a fun page-turner: cozy, predictable, and effortlessly readable with its entertaining, smoothly flowing prose and dialogue. I admired the skill that went into making it such an enjoyable reading experience, but I also felt that it was fairly forgettable once I finished it since it lacked the freshness of its predecessor. The plot advanced with Cassandra’s marriage and new magic school, but it didn’t significantly expand the world or characters. Besides introducing the fey, it didn’t seem there was much new about the setting or its workings, and I also didn’t think the fey were fleshed out enough to be particularly compelling.

Not surprisingly given this novel’s short length, Cassandra is the only character with any depth, and she too seemed rather stagnant. Although she has undergone some growth since the previous volume as she seems to be more accepting of her circumstances, she also makes some of the same mistakes: trying to solve problems on her own without giving her extremely supportive family a chance to help her and assuming she knows her husband’s goals without asking him. It certainly makes sense that she wouldn’t change old habits overnight, but at the same time, it wasn’t particularly engaging to revisit the same issues once again, especially since they were handled similarly in the first volume and continued to make up the majority of Cassandra’s self-created problems. (That said, I did get the impression she was finally starting to understand what she was doing by the end of this story, but this also seemed like an attempt to neatly tie things up before the main character focus changes in the next book.)

Thornbound is entertaining but a bit too tidy and straightforward to be a standout book for me personally. However, I appreciate Stephanie Burgis’ fluid writing and optimistic storytelling, and I think it may appeal more to those looking for a pleasant, diverting tale (assuming they have already read Snowspelled, of course!).

My Rating: 6/10

Where I got my reading copy: Electronic ARC from the author.

Read Chapter One of Thornbound

Review(s) of Previous Books in The Harwood Spellbook:

  1. Snowspelled
The Leaning Pile of Books
Mar
03
2019

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature where I discuss books I got over the last week—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration (most of which are unsolicited books from publishers). Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included.

Last week brought one expected book (since I had ordered it) and two more surprise books in the mail. But first, here’s the latest review in case you missed it:

  • Mirage by Somaiya Daud — It took me a few chapters to get into this one, but once I did, I could hardly put it down. “Mirage is a quiet yet powerful, character-driven, feminist book and a finely crafted work of art. I loved it, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to those craving beautiful writing, realistically drawn main protagonists, hope shining through the heartbreak, and slow burn complicated sort-of-friendships…Somaiya Daud doesn’t just tell us that Amani is a woman of faith and compassion, a poet, a scholar—but imbues her narrative with these qualities to create a perfect fit for the character whose story she’s telling. It’s rare that I read a book like this in which the author so vividly brings their protagonist to life through their viewpoint, and it’s especially impressive how Amani’s poetic voice reflects her soul.”

And now, the latest book arrivals!

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

This massive epic fantasy novel by The Bone Season author Samantha Shannon was just released last week (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).

The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog has an excerpt from The Priory of the Orange Tree.

This book appeared on my list of anticipated speculative fiction books of 2019, and I was excited when the copy I pre-ordered showed up on release day. It sounds excellent, plus the hardcover edition is beautiful!

 

From the internationally bestselling author of The Bone Season, a trailblazing, epic high fantasy about a world on the brink of war with dragons—and the women who must lead the fight to save it.

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

The Women's War by Jenna Glass

The Women’s War (The Women’s War #1) by Jenna Glass

This epic fantasy by Jenna Glass (also known as author Jenna Black) will be released on March 5 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).

The author’s website has an excerpt from The Women’s War.

 

In a high fantasy feminist epic, a revolutionary spell gives women the ability to control their own fertility—with consequences that rock their patriarchal society to its core.

When a nobleman’s first duty is to produce a male heir, women are treated like possessions and bargaining chips. But as the aftereffects of a world-altering spell ripple out physically and culturally, women at last have a bargaining chip of their own. And two women in particular find themselves at the crossroads of change.

Alys is the widowed mother of two teenage children, and the disinherited daughter of a king. Her existence has been carefully proscribed, but now she discovers a fierce talent not only for politics but also for magic—once deemed solely the domain of men. Meanwhile, in a neighboring kingdom, young Ellin finds herself unexpectedly on the throne after the sudden death of her grandfather the king and everyone else who stood ahead of her in the line of succession. Conventional wisdom holds that she will marry quickly, then quietly surrender the throne to her new husband…. Only, Ellin has other ideas.

The tensions building in the two kingdoms grow abruptly worse when a caravan of exiled women and their escort of disgraced soldiers stumbles upon a new source of magic in what was once uninhabitable desert. This new and revolutionary magic—which only women can wield—threatens to tear down what is left of the patriarchy. And the men who currently hold power will do anything to fight back.

Additional Book(s):

Review of Mirage by Somaiya Daud
Feb
25
2019
Mirage
by Somaiya Daud
320pp (Hardcover)
My Rating: 9/10
Amazon Rating: 4.2/5
LibraryThing Rating: 3.67/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.77/5
 

Mirage, Somaiya Daud’s debut novel and the first book in a young adult science fiction/fantasy trilogy, intrigued me long before it had a cover or a full description. Basically, I knew it was inspired by the author’s Moroccan background and featured the body double trope (one of my favorites!), and that was all it took for me to want to read this book.

Months later, I visited a bookstore and found a display of recent releases, including Mirage. The final book’s generic summary made me a little hesitant to pick it up, especially since I hadn’t seen enough discussion of this novel to know whether or not its prose, characters, or themes might be compelling. But in the end, that memory of my initial excitement about Mirage and its influences, my love for stories involving secret identities and palace life, and its promising opening sentence convinced me to purchase it.

 

On a small moon orbiting a large planet, in a small farmhouse in a small village, there was a box, and in this box was a feather.
—page 8 (first line of Chapter 1)

Not judging this novel by its cover copy turned out to be an excellent life choice: Mirage is a quiet yet powerful, character-driven, feminist book and a finely crafted work of art. I loved it, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to those craving beautiful writing, realistically drawn main protagonists, hope shining through the heartbreak, and slow burn complicated sort-of-friendships.

 

There were moments when I glimpsed the world as it was before the occupation of the Vath. When my mother or father spoke without thinking, or a village aunt said “when I was young,” or a man sang an old song I’d never heard before. The bones of our old ways of life were there, barely traceable, and I wanted them back. I wanted all of us to remember what we’d been, how strong we were. And endurance was strength, to be sure, but even a rock wore away to nothing if asked to endure enough rain.
—page 11

Eighteen-year-old Amani has spent her entire life on a poverty-stricken moon in a star system claimed by Mathis of the Vathek Empire, Conqueror of the Stars, before she was born. Throughout his reign, the ruthless king and his government have done all they can within the confines of galactic law to erase the culture and traditions of those they colonized, from the nobility’s ancestral tattoos to their language to Amani’s beloved poetry—that which has power to kindle the flames of rebellion.

Though the Vath have been known to interrupt large gatherings of Amani’s people, they do not tend to interfere with majority night celebrations for small villages on backwater moons. However, Imperial droids do just that on the night Amani and other girls within her community are being welcomed into adulthood. They demand that all the girls around Amani’s age line up against the wall and then scan each of their faces. When they get to Amani, they appear to find what they are looking for and force her to accompany them, making her leave behind her home and family without any explanation as to why.

Amani is taken to the planet around which her moon orbits and brought before the daughter of the king and a deceased noblewoman from his conquered realm, Princess Maram: who, Amani is shocked to realize, looks like her mirror image. Now that Maram is nearing the age that will require her to make more public appearances as Imperial Inheritor, her father would prefer that any assassination attempts be directed at someone other than his heir. Given her uncanny resemblance to the princess, Amani was chosen for this role and must learn to mimic Maram’s mannerisms and behavior—including the sharp tongue and maliciousness that make it likely someone will try to kill her—or her own life will be forfeit.

As Amani is thrust into Maram’s role, she discovers ways to use her unique position within the palace to aid the resistance and even comes to enjoy her time spent with the princess’ handsome fiancé, although she does not feel the same way about her time spent with the princess herself. But the more Amani observes Maram and (literally) walks in her shoes, the more she comes to understand the struggles and vulnerabilities that forged the infamous princess. Amani comes to realize that Maram too may have just been trying to survive within her father’s harsh Empire and that the face she presents to the world may not actually reflect her heart—or the ruler she’ll be someday, if it’s not too late for her to learn to be her true self instead of the cruel king’s heir…

Mirage is not an action-heavy book, nor is it one filled with twists and turns; its intensity stems from its emotional impact and thoughtful creation of true-to-life characters and relationships. Although the lovely prose was captivating from the very beginning, I didn’t expect it to be an especially memorable book at first, but I became hooked after reading about 15–20%. Once I reached that point, I savored every word and scene, finding myself more invested in Mirage than in the vast majority of books I read—and more invested in Amani than the vast majority of characters in the books I read.

Amani is the heart of Mirage, and as such, she is the main reason this book is fantastic. Her first person perspective is artful: It’s smooth and elegant and can be quite beautiful, but it doesn’t become ornate or dense enough to make the writing the primary focus instead of Amani herself. Somaiya Daud doesn’t just tell us that Amani is a woman of faith and compassion, a poet, a scholar—but imbues her narrative with these qualities to create a perfect fit for the character whose story she’s telling. It’s rare that I read a book like this in which the author so vividly brings their protagonist to life through their viewpoint, and it’s especially impressive how Amani’s poetic voice reflects her soul.

And I loved Amani. Despite the confines of her new life as the princess’ body double, she quietly but purposefully drives her own story through her own decisions and their consequences. She takes risks to help her people, not rashly but because she has evaluated the potential outcomes and judged that the good she might do outweighs the bad that may come to her as a result. Amani doesn’t have magic powers or flashy skills with which she can fight back against the Empire; her weapons are subtler ones that can nevertheless leave a large impression, ones that grow out of her hope, empathy, and insight.

These traits—particularly Amani’s affinity for understanding people and the experiences that shaped them—also affect the relationships she develops in the palace, especially that with her love interest and Maram. Even though Amani was immediately attracted to the former and their relationship grew quickly, this didn’t seem like a case of insta-love to me. There were scenes showing what drew them together as they built a foundation upon respect and trust, discovering the freedom to simply be themselves around one another. The progression of their romantic relationship was sweet and well done, and I enjoyed it.

But it was Amani’s complex relationship with Maram that I found most compelling. Amani hates Maram from the first time they meet (quite understandably, as the princess had her mauled by a bird of prey shortly after they were introduced), and although she doesn’t disregard her terrible actions later, she also starts to see the vulnerable edges below her callous exterior. Amani is probably the first person to ever look below the surface and truly see Maram: her loneliness, her fears, her longing to belong. She realizes how it must have been to grow up surrounded by people who only cared about her as a princess and not as a person, including her own father and her own half-sister, who would like nothing more than to take her place as their father’s successor. She realizes how it must be for Maram to visit her mother’s family, dreading that they can only see her as the daughter of their conqueror. As Amani comes to see there’s a different side of Maram that she tries to keep hidden, she begins to draw out that other side and even finds herself becoming surprisingly fond of the princess. (Though, by the end, the two are on rockier footing once again, which is one of the reasons I’m reluctant to refer to their relationship as outright friendship even though that’s the closest descriptor I can think of. As I said earlier, it’s complicated!)

Despite its short length and large focus on the major characters, Mirage does provide an in-depth picture of the world’s history and culture. Amani’s religion is especially prominent since she finds joy and comfort in sacred writings and especially loves poetry and stories about the prophetess Massinia. These are important to Amani, and it seems as though they will likely have a large role to play in the series as well.

Mirage is an unforgettable novel with an unforgettable protagonist, and once I became immersed in it after the first few chapters, it completely worked for me on every level. Without a doubt, Somaiya Daud is a new author to watch with her gorgeous writing that masterfully intersects character and voice. I’m excited to read more of her work in the future, starting with the continuation of Amani’s story in Court of Lions (coming in August 2019!).

My Rating: 9/10

Where I got my reading copy: I purchased it.

Read an Excerpt from Mirage