Published: 28 August 2018 by Flatiron Books
Format: Hardcover, 308 pages, English

“The blood never dies.
The blood never forgets.”

★★★★★ (4.7 / 5) This was such a great work of fiction. I am extremely attached to our two leading ladies, and I can’t wait for the sequel(s). I first heard about this book from Veronica Roth when she RAVED about it on Instagram (and probably everywhere else she could get the word out). Roth is an author I adore, admire, and trust the opinion of, so when Mirage came in my Owlcrate box, I was BEYOND excited.

I read the whole book in one sitting, and honestly, my biggest complaint is that I wish it were longer. There’s just so much story, action, and growth just waiting to happen, and I wish I could gulp it all in at once.

Nevertheless, here are some more detailed notes on plot and such (spoiler-free):

I love the sister-brother relationship Amani has from the start. I hope we get to see more of this later in the series (but maybe I’m just a sucker for some solid brotherly love).

The romance came suddenly, and it all seemed to escalate quickly and without many obstacles. It feels thrown in simply so the book would have romance at all. I was much more interested in Amani’s development with the other main character, so these pieces felt more like a distraction from the main event. However!! the scenes, the apprehension, the heartache, all written very well! I just wish we’d spent more time with them as a budding romance.

Amazing development between Amani and Maram. It felt realistic based on the setting and circumstances, and there’s a great cliffhanger at the end that makes me desperate for more.

The poetry and religious themes are really intriguing and add a great quality to the world-building, which by the way is fantastic! There is clear dissonance between two races, and every setting is just so clear to me. Plus, I loved the depictions of each moon/planet we got to travel to alongside Amani.

I hope we get to see more of the rebellion and buildup of tension in upcoming books. There’s a clear lead-in for that, and I’m eager to see how all of the characters move about on the shatranj board Daud has set for us. ;)