Series: THIS WOVEN KINGDOM

   

 This is one of my favorite series right now!!! I love books and fantasy worlds that take place in the Arab/Persian area. Tahereh Mafi is such a talented author and her writing is just so lyrical and full of wisdom. It's a fun story to follow and it's funny to run into nuggets of wisdom here and there. This is embarrassing to admit but I thought the book was going to end with 'All This Twisted Glory' like a trilogy but boy was I surprised. I got half way through the book and realized that there is so much missing to the story and then I learned that there are going to be five books in the series lol 🤦🏾‍♀️

Characters: 

• Cyrus: He really is a good guy in disguise and truly a man of discipline and honor! It was a really nice to read about his background and history with the Diviners and his journey to becoming one himself. 
• Alizeh: Strong. Empathetic. Brilliant and a QUEEN. 
• Cyrus's mother: Evil. We need more info on her. 
• Karman: Kamran is such a jerk and has lost my interest so yea... I want to like him so hopefully his character is redeemable in the next two books. He is just an airhead who lacks empathy as well. 
• The crew: By crew, I am referring to  Miss Huda, Omid, Hazan and Dean. I always look for the group of small characters and and I enjoy it when they are all so different, funny and when they bond! I loooooooooooove a found family trope especially in a fantasy book that has adventures built into it. Omid is so precious and needs to be protected by everyone! He would make a great leader some day due to his heart and loyalty. Deen is so salty 😂 and Miss Huda is hilarious! Hazan is also super loyal and just wants the best for Alizeh. 
• The devil (Ibees): Will Mafi give us more information about him? I feel like he is a mystery villain but too mysterious and some information about him would have been good to spread through the books. I don't want a big splash of information all at once about him and the other hidden information. 

The Romance: The budding romance between Kamran and Miss. Huda was a surprise and I still don't know how to feel about it. Part of me likes the idea of their union buuuutttt Miss Huda deserves better. Their love story is not a cute type of enemies to lovers. Kamran is just a jerk 👀. Everything that was going on between Cyrus and Alizeh was sooooo annoying. I just wanted them to be vulnerable but I know that Cyrus is trying to do what is right with he limitations placed upon him. However, Cyrus and Alizeh BETTER be ENGAME! 

The Plot: Captivating and unique but more intriguing due to the characters. The plot is slow moving and fast paced at the same time just like the romance between Cyrus and Alizeh. I feel like things keep happening fast but there is still so much we don't know and I can't predict where this story is going. The best guess that I can make is that Alizeh is going to give the devil a run for his money and make him pay for hurting Cyrus and his father/family. She's going to save Cyrus somehow. The biggest surprise was Alizeh being a Diviner!! But of course, I should've seen it coming. 

World building: Most of the world building happened in the first two books, and I feel like the 3rd book was lacking in addition details about the world. The only big addition is the Priests and their sanctuary. 

Additional insights: 

• The covers are sooooo pretty and they just get better and better! 
• The secrets Cyrus is keeping kills me!!! But Alizeh is so smart to know that there is more to Cyrus and his story. I can't wait to find out about his dad and how he got wrapped up with the devil and everything about his brother! Also, there's probably more to his mother that we don't know about.
• Alizeh and Cyrus better share a kiss by book 4 😭