Reviewed by Leigha on
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the mythology and the setting effortlessly wove together into one beautiful tapestry. The djinn culture felt rich. The sensory descriptions were well-written, creating a setting and environment that felt real. The Middle Eastern setting really stole the show for me. Can we have more books set here?
On the other hand, I never connected to the characters. The two narrators, Nahri and Ali, worked well as foils to each other. I enjoyed their friendship and sincerely hope the next book does not turn it into a romance. However, I didn't necessarily like them or their actions throughout the story. The characters tended to be reactive instead of proactive. In some ways, it felt very much plot driven despite the obvious effort on character development.
tl;dr While I was not a fan of the characters, I did enjoy the rich Middle Eastern setting and intriguing mythology.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 5 March, 2018: Finished reading
- 5 March, 2018: Reviewed