Feminist Fantasy – LairOfBooks

Spoiler Free Review: The Adventures Of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Title: The Adventures Of Amina Al-Sirafi

Author: Shannon Chakraborty

Pub. Date: February 28th. 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Format: eARC

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Pages: 483

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☆☆ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review☆☆

╰☆☆ “𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚗: 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍. 𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍.” ☆☆╮

When I first heard we were getting a story with a middle aged single mother who was a renowned fearless Pirate…I smiled, nodded and paired it with a fist pump! We get a healthy balance of plot + character growth in this seafaring adventure full of excitement and world building. Admittedly the first 40% is a bit slow + that’s because our girl is in retirement! After several husbands, backstabbing rogues and an actual demon…she’s spending time with her child and mother on some remote island far away from all of the enemies she’s accumulated over the years as a Pirate in the Indian Ocean. When the mother of a former crew member finds her and pleads her case for aid in finding her kidnapped grandchild, Amina sets out to get the old gang back together again on her ship. Dalila, Majed, Tinbu, the Scribe and another character (I won’t mention their name as it is spoilery) make a phenomenal supporting cast. The queer representation felt organic and I personally would love a Tinbu novella *fingers crossed*

We follow Amina as she recruits her crew members back and it’s been 10 years, they’re all feeling a little worse for wear. That being said, they also share one thing in common and that’s that they miss the high seas/high stakes adventures that comes with Amina at the helm. This job also comes with a promised hefty pay-off, one that can truly secure their retirement. In this world there are stories of Djinn and Gods/Goddesses and before venturing out on this last journey, that’s all they were to Amina…Just stories. The life of a Pirate has enough challenges but things get all the more interesting when those stories filled with magical beings become your reality.

Slow to start while the troops are being rallied, This is one you just have to trust that you’re in for a good time. I thoroughly enjoyed Amina seeking out each of her crew members out from their hidey holes (haha!) because it provided the opportunity for their backstory. This led to each crew member being well fleshed out and easily imagined with personalities that are quite distinct from one another. Amina is at the very start telling her tale to a scribe and with that come challenges to decisions she made that probably weren’t the best. That is where the humor shines and we get GRADE A SNARK! Amina dishes it out and I ate it up! In fact I’ve heard that the audiobook narration really delivers on those one liners our girl Amina was quipping. I will absolutely be doing a tandem read with the audiobook when it’s time for a re-read. Also, as a Fantasy reader I love jumping into a freshly made up magic system and setting like the rest of us. However, I have found that I enjoy a Fantasy ten times more when it draws inspiration from History or recreates it as best possible. In the preface, Chakraborty states that she tried to stay true to the history of the 12th century Islamic societies of the northwestern Indian Ocean but it’s still Fiction. I loved seeing the representation of various religious beliefs in her characters, religion as a whole is an important theme in this story. Amina is a Muslim woman trying to get back on track with her religion and acknowledges where she falls short. Her crew members have their own differing religious beliefs and we see Amina try and respectfully understand theirs as they respect her own. It truly was beautiful to see this found family not only co-exist with one another but also honor each other’s beliefs. I am eagerly anticipating another adventure with Amina and her crew!

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Spoiler Free Review: Fable by Adrienne Young

Title: FABLE

Author: Adrienne Young

Pub. Date: September 1st 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Format: eGalley + audiobook

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 357 pages

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🖤ALC provided by author in exchange for an honest review🖤

There are five rules. Only five.

🏴‍☠️Keep your knife where you can reach it.

🏴‍☠️Never, ever owe anyone anything.

🏴‍☠️Nothing is free.

🏴‍☠️Always construct a lie from a truth

🏴‍☠️Never, under any circumstances, reveal what or who matters to you

These are the five rules Fable lives by, the ones her father had her memorize at a very young age. The same rules she thinks about whenever she thinks of making her way back to him. Saint, a well known Pirate with a fleet abandoned Fable on her fourteenth birthday. After experiencing the death of Fable’s mother, he believed Fable would do best away from the world of Pirates. He sailed away leaving her to fend for herself on an island that is pretty tough to survive as it is filled with sketchy cutthroat pirates. He did make her this one promise…

“Get yourself off this island and the next time I see you, I’ll give you what is yours”

Fable is a Dredger, she hunts for underwater treasure and turns a profit from local merchants. She also has the unique inherited gift passed down to her from her mother of deciphering gems. She manages to hustle a Pirate named West to allow her passage on his crew ship as a Dredger. He begrudgingly grants her passage without first taking a vote with his crew. Fable then has the task of gaining the crews trust and earn the spot she was given without their say. The Marigold sets sail to The Narrows where Fable hopes to find her father Saint. All the while, never revealing that the well known Pirate is her father. It is the one secret he asked her to keep but one thing is clear to Fable…she isn’t the only one keeping secrets on The Marigold!

One thing I feel Adrienne Young does so well is familial bonds, fleshing them out so that the reader really understands the connection. After reading Sky in the Deep I knew I’d want to read more from this author and Fable once again delivered, this time with Fable’s found family. We see her throughout this entire journey revisiting the memories she has of when she had her father & mother together on their ship The Lark. She hasn’t given up on her father despite his abandonment, it just motivates her to prove her worth as a Pirate in his eyes. While on the ship she starts building these connections with the crew members that fill the hole she has for her family. Then there’s the relationship she forms with West which personally had me wondering if there was more to it than them just being crew mates. Their relationship doesn’t take center stage in the story nor is it really a slow burn. Instead we see West having to trust in Fable’s abilities and learn to respect her need to not be restricted. Voice notes with my good friend Taylor over at Nerd Narration helped me see the father/daughter relationship from a different angle. Yes I absolutely ended the night in tears & said to myself yet again, Adrienne Young is an author to keep an eye out for.

P.S. The audiobook only further enhanced the already SUPER atmospheric world building. The narrator really brought Fable to life on the ship, brave & daring!

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Spoiler Free Review: SEAFIRE by Natalie C. Parker

Title: SEAFIRE

Author:Natalie C. Parker

Pub. Date: August 28th. 2018

Genre: YA FANTASY

Publisher: Penguin/Razorbill

Pages: 384

Content Warnings: Violence, murder, death, drug addiction, loss of loved ones, and captivity

Buddy Read: Melanie from Meltotheany & Amy from ACourtofCrownsandQuills

🦋 ARC provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review 🦋

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“Loss is inevitable. Some losses will be harder than others. So remember this: Never risk more than you’re willing to lose”

I have a fascination of all things Pirates & reading all of the YA pirate themed books this past year has been quite the fun adventure, none as pulse pounding as SEAFIRE though! We are introduced to a world with a villain by the name of Adric & his crew of boys he calls Bullets. Terrorizing both land and water, Adric takes young boys away from their families and puts them to work for him. Caledonia Styx grew up on a ship alongside her Captain parents and younger brother. The Ghost became a refuge ship for families trying to keep their sons safe and away from Adric’s grips. Catastrophe strikes and Cal’s family is killed while she is off the ship scouting for danger. Both Cal and her best friend Pisces are the only survivors and together they put together a crew of fifty two girls to navigate the Mors Navis. Loyal and fiercely protective of one another, this all female crew take no risks with their safety. This all changes when pisces rescues a Bullet who claims to have gone rogue and is in need of help. Cal is adamant on not helping this Bullet for personal reasons…she believes taking him in can only lead them straight to trouble. When Oran (Rogue Bullet) claims to have some very important knowledge about Adric, Cal has to decide whether she can put her reservations aside for the sake of taking Adric down once & for all. Fast paced and full of action, SEAFIRE had me rooting for the crew of the Mors Navis! I celebrated their victories and felt deeply for their losses.

It can’t be easy writing a large cast of characters and yet Parker gave us some stand-out crew members I’ll find very hard to forget. Our MC Caledonia is just trying to be the very best Captain she can be by following in her mother’s footsteps. She’s learning from her mistakes and for that we can thank her best friend Pisces who isn’t afraid to check her BFF no matter that she is the Captain of the ship. It was interesting seeing some of their power struggles play out especially since Pisces clearly doesn’t want the responsibility, she just wants Cal to be the best she can be. Cal & pisces have their ups & downs but what pair of sisters doesn’t? 🖤 Then we have crew members that are more of a Sisterhood, each with their own voice/personality. Redtooth, Hime, Amina, Lace got the most page time and I LOVED each one of them for their loyalty to one another. This book may have made its rounds as being a Sapphic Pirate tale & although it isn’t one in the most forthcoming sense, a relationship is implied between two of the shipmates. I won’t say who for spoilers sake but I will say that I love these two characters to pieces & together they made me smile all the more 🖤

SEAFIRE had my adrenaline going for the majority of my time spent within it’s pages. When I wasn’t pumped up for this feminist pirate tale, I was wiping away tears for their losses. I love a good found family story & this year we’ve been blessed with so many good ones, SEAFIRE now joins those ranks. The only reason I docked this a star was because I wish the romance was a bit more convincing, I saw it coming but wasn’t really with it. Who knows, maybe they’ll win me over in the next one haha! Nevertheless, I LOVED all of these characters to pieces and seeing them handle some hard hitting issues made them feel all the more real. Grief and drug addiction are two of the darker themes we see the crew struggle with, making Adric in my book, one of the most vile villains in YA Fantasy I’ve come across. The abduction of young boys already being a major threat, we then see how Adric keeps them in his service through forced addiction to a drug he pushes. The scenes in which certain characters experience withdrawals were tough to read but also came across as a healing/fresh start for those who made it off the drug. Cal and her crew don’t have a history of giving up on people which is part of the reason I think Pisces was so hard on Cal for not coming around to Oran aka the Bullet who wants to defect. One thing is for certain, the crew of the Mors Navis is a Sisterhood! 🖤

Happy Thursday Bookworms! I hope you’re all having a fantastic day! SEFAIRE has already hit the shelves & everyone is talking about this Feminist Pirate tale 🖤 I am in deep need of the sequel but for now I’ll settle for fan-girling with those who love it as much as I do! 🖤

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SPOILER FREE REVIEW: GRACE AND FURY BY TRACY BANGHART

Title: GRACE AND FURY

Author: TRACY BANGHART

Pub. Date: July 31ST. 2018

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Little Brown Books For Young Readers

Pages: 320

Content Warning: Physical abuse, violence, threatened talk of rape, and death

Buddy Read: Melanie, Amy, Jules, Jen

*HUGE thanks to Little Brown Books For Young Readers for the early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion

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Grace & Fury opens up in an Italian inspired Fantasy setting that has been compared to that of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Women are limited to the role of housewives and the simplest of educations is deemed illegal to them. We meet Serina and her sister Nomi who are complete polar opposites. Serina is in training to compete for a position as a “Grace” for the Heir to the throne. Nomi in turn is being trained to be her handmaiden of sorts if Serina secures a position as a Grace. To be chosen as a Grace is viewed as a honorable thing & blessing bestowed upon a family. In truth, a Grace is groomed in all sorts of manners & etiquette but is also to assume the role of concubine to the Heir. To Serina, being chosen is all that matters & it’s what she’s worked so hard for. For outspoken & Feminist Nomi, this all sounds more like a life sentence. Free spirited and hungry for knowledge of the written word, Nomi wants Serina to see that this life isn’t a choice at all. While Serina aims to please the Heir someday, Nomi can be found sneaking in lessons with her brother on how to read. They both seem to have their life purpose laid out in stone until their world is turned upside down and they are forced to step into each others shoes…LITERALLY! One random run in with the heir leads to Nomi securing a most undesirable spot as a Grace leaving Serina to be her handmaiden. This twisted turn of affairs is one of many that will keep you flipping the pages as fast as you can drink in the words.

Grace & Fury is told from the alternating points of view between Serina and Nomi which worked really well to show us just how different these two siblings really are. I started off really favoring Nomi and her refusal to be boxed into a role she never asked for. I found myself really wanting to see more from this character & her contribution to the overall story. About half way into Grace & Fury, I found myself really frustrated with Nomi’s situation but understood that it wasn’t ideal for either of the two sisters. Made to swap roles, neither Serina or Nomi were prepared for the cards they were dealt. I did however have higher expectations from Nomi who knows how to read & is from the very start is very rebellious. Instead, I feel like we didn’t get much character growth from Nomi vs. the immense transformation we see in Serina during the last half of this book. Given, Nomi was in a very subdued position given the very nature of having to fulfill the role of a Grace but it doesn’t explain some of her decisions specifically when it came to insta-love. Serina on the other hand really won me over during the second half of the book as she came to terms with the hard consequences of her sister’s secret. I also really enjoyed Serina’s POV chapters because of the supporting characters we are introduced to on the island she is cast away. Not only is Serina stripped of her chances to become a Grace but she takes the fall for her sisters secret & is discarded on an island where the women fight to the death for their meals. The women on the island all have a story and getting to know them had to be my favorite part of this story.

This was such a fast paced easy read that caught me by surprise each & every time I sat down. I easily read chunks at a time every sitting but won’t deny that the second half of this story is where all the action and character growth really hooked its claws into me. I also found myself enjoying Serina’s chapters way more than Nomi’s which is a shame since Nomi and what she represents really appealed to my Feminist soul. There is so much good to this story though, including the history embedded into the ways of the land and why women are not allowed to learn how to read. Fear of what is perceived to be the weaker sex gaining knowledge & one day reclaiming power is at the root of the story. I found Grace & Fury to be a solid start to a Feminist Fantasy that I am very interested in continuing on with. If that ending is any indication of things to come…I am one very excited Bookworm! 🖤