This story was really interesting, while at times it definitely focuses on character more than plot and there is a slight instalove aspect it's not unreadable and the main story is still very enjoyable. There was quite a bit of character development especially towards the end and I am looking forward to seeing how this develops further in the next book.

Wow. There's so much to love about this book, I could go on for ages. Amani is a brilliant heroine, courageous and intelligent, but also with plenty of inner conflict as she deals with the horror of her current living situation. I loved her romance with Idris, but what really sold me was her dynamic with Maram. The two of them start on such a bad footing, but their relationship evolves in such interesting ways that it's hard not to be hooked. But the thing that I loved the best was the worldbuilding. The awful effects of the occupation are spelled out so clearly, even through the little things like the horror of Idris having forgotten his mother tongue because speaking it is forbidden or the need to hide poetry books because they were seen as sedition. Also, how refreshing to see a sci-fi setting which isn't based on Western society! The Arab and African cultural elements of the oppressed society, contrasted with the pale Vatheks, added a really interesting angle to the book especially given its themes of colonialism and quiet resistance. I cannot wait for the next one and am going to be actively shoving this book at everyone I can think of, for sure.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this novel!

Title: Mirage
Author: Somaiya Daud
Genre: YA Sci-Fi Fantasy
Released: August 28th 2018
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Rating: 3.5 stars
Trigger/content warnings: War (not very detailed descriptions, mainly the aftermath of war) Some torture scenes towards our main character (again, not detailed)

The premise of this book sounded very interesting to me and while I have never read anything like it before, I do know a few books with similar storylines. The thing that really intrigued me about this story was that it is inspired by Moroccan culture and it's Own Voices!

I found the world building very undeveloped. This is definitely more of a character-driven story. However, I am someone who doesn't tend to read a lot of Sci-Fi and I was extremely confused by that aspect of the book, maybe because the novel is a mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

While this is mainly a character-driven story, there are hardly any basic descriptions of character appearances, which left me struggling to picture anyone besides our main characters, Amani and Idris.

The writing style felt jumpy, with passages of time skipped over and a lot of telling and not showing. Also, not enough detailed descriptions for me to picture the world/characters clearly. However, the plot is extremely fast-paced, I like how it kicked off with action almost straightaway.

I really liked how we never knew who the real villain of the story was, most of the time, especially in YA, there is a clear-cut villain which no one thinks to question why they are that way. The line between who was a villain was blurred, it is a very interesting concept.

The romance, while a little rushed, was lovely. Filled with loyalty and trust, I really liked Idris and Amani together and I can't wait to see more of them in future books! 

Another thing I loved was the symbolism throughout the book with the bird and poetry. The bird represented hope and appears when our main character needs it most. The symbol of poetry was also very interesting, I don't tend to see a lot of fantasy books with this element. Also, the author herself loves Arabic poetry just like our main character.

Overall, while I was intrigued by the idea and the diversity, I didn't really understand the world or connect with the characters. I will definitely be picking up the second book as I would love to give this author another go and for a debut novel, the author deserves all the hype this has been getting.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, I would recommend giving it a go and seeing what you think!


My review will be posted on my blog by the end of the day.

I won’t lie, the cover is what initially made me gravitate towards this book. It’s intriguing summary, however, made me certain that I had to pick it up.

We’re thrust straight into a new intricate world which is home to both sci-fi and fantastical elements. Mirage depicts the story of a galaxy which has been conquered by the Vathek Empire who are brutally repressing the culture, religions and beliefs of those on the planet Andala. In turn, a lot of intergalactic politics come into play.

I was expecting a story of rebellion and survival, but rather, we confront themes of love, loss, friendship and suppression. This wasn’t a bad thing by any means as it gives rise to faultless character development: Amani is such an admirable heroine.

Kidnapped by imperial droids, Amani is forced to work as Princess Maram’s body double. Maram is ruthless and wicked, disliked by all those close to her and is ultimately in fear for her life. Thus, Amani is obliged to pose as Maram and learn to imitate her at royal societal events. What I admired is how she exhibits both weakness and bravery. Even when she’s at her lowest, she maintains control. As the story progresses, she grows to become fierce in her desire to save others and protect the culture and traditions that the scheming Vathek aim to erase from her life. From her indigenous language’s poetry to the heroine of legend, Massinia, Amani speaks of her Kushaila culture with such passion that it was enchanting to read about.

The story as a whole wasn’t anything too different to what I’ve read before. The incorporation of droids and other sci-fi elements didn’t really bring much to the story, and it’s easy to spot the common YA tropes from a mile away. This meant I didn’t find myself racing through the pages to find out what happened next.

Additionally, despite his charming nature, I found Idris to be slightly boring. Nonetheless, the poetry and the romance didn’t fail to tug on my heartstrings and I really enjoyed the story as a whole. I paced through Daud’s seamless writing and although it’s not action-packed, readers of romantic, tense and slow-burning fantasy will be enthralled. I look forward to reading more in the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There wasn't really anything awful or bad about Mirage: it just wasn't quite to my personal taste.
It didn't have that pizazz for me: not managing to either grab or retain my initial interest.
I even found myself having to concentrate and work really hard on staying the whole course and I started this three actual times before progressing any further than the first few chapters.
I think maybe there might have been a bit of an information overload when it came to the world building; too much info dumped on the reader in one go, I myself would have prefered to be drip fed.
This also wasn't really what I thought it was going to be at all and considering I was actually so looking forward to this one I'm a bit bummed, to say the least.
My journey will definitely be ending here as I am just not invested in this at all.
So the premise here was intriguing eighteen-year-old Amani is taken to the palace to act as the body double to a princess; here she enters a whole new world of politics, intrigue and also romance.
The concept behind this story was fabulous indeed: just for me personally it worked better as that concept rather than in reality.
I also think this was much to heavily geared towards the romance and as a result, a large part of the story was lost.
For me, I was expecting a much faster pace with more of a sci-fi action vibe, but what I got was far from that.
this was more heavily steeped in legend, mythology and love.
Look don't get me wrong if this is your thing then it's probably going to blow your mind: Mirage is full of lyrical prose and fantastical descriptions throughout.
The language used here is so beautiful with an almost poetic flow to it.
I myself am not a big fan of this type of prose: I imagine if you were this would definitely be your thing.
Though I'm not much of a fan myself I can still applaud and appreciate the appeal of this type of literature and this as a prime example disregardless of my own personal taste.
I also wasn't that keen on Amani herself and also found the fiance Idris a bit lacklustre as well.
In fact, if I'm being completely honest the cruel Princess Maram was perhaps the most interesting character here for me and I would have liked to have seen a chapter from her POV.
On a sidenote just want to add that the front cover here was gorgeous, very eye-catching indeed.
So Yeh, in a nutshell, gorgeous front cover, beautiful language overall but this was not quite to my taste.
Thank you to the Publisher, Author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of "Mirage (Mirage, #1) " of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Mirage has been getting a tonne of hype lately (“lately” meaning pre-release, but I know it’s now October by the time this post goes up) and I totally fell for it. I thought it sounded like everything I loved. Science fiction about a conquered galaxy, a revolution, and some kind of fantasy other than English. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations.


I feel like the author had a good idea going on. The premise was a really good one, but I didn’t feel like it was fleshed out enough. It was really just the bare bones of an idea that never truly flourished, which is a damn shame because I was really excited for this world. I think the author should have spent some more time on the plot and the world building, because I think this one had a lot of potential. It was just never fully developed.

The Moroccan-inspired culture, though, was very interesting. It was probably the best part of the book, and you could tell that Daud put a lot of time and effort into that part of it. I think it was clear which parts of the book she was passionate about.

Also the love story was bloody awful. It was rushed, with no chemistry or real depth between the characters or with their relationship. That aside, I think Daud wrote a really good relationship between Amani, the main character, and the princess. I enjoyed their scenes very much.

Overall, this was generic and more than a little disappointing, but the culture and representation was rich and is probably the only part that kept the book going.

One of my favourite things about Mirage is how unique it is. It straddles that sweet spot right between science-fiction and fantasy while seamlessly weaving in touches of Moroccan culture. It's unlike anything I remember reading recently.

Another strength was the characters. Amani is a compelling protagonist who makes brave but still believable choices in a really tough situation. While the romance with Idris was entertaining enough -- although too predictable from the start -- for me, the real second character was the villainous Princess Maram. I really liked how Daud handled her characterization and the development of the relationship between the two girls over the course of the novel. Maram was suitably evil and intimating at the start, earning her place as the villain, but gained depth and complexity as we went along, stopping her from becoming too moustache-twirling or clichéd.

The world-building is well thought out, with lots of detail over the various planets, the history of the empire and the political landscape. I thought the pacing was a tad slow overall and the ending just a little anti-climatic.

Mirage has an interesting premise and is a good start to the series but it feels like the first in series. I'll look forward to seeing how it develops.

Mirage is Somaiya Daud’s debut novel, the book is a gripping tale of lies, cruelty, political conspiracies, colonialism and rebellion. The book is set in a fabulously detailed world with plenty of cultural detail that is Moroccan inspired, I honestly loved reading the Moroccan inspired traditions and familial heritage. The beautiful poetry, and the way Somaiya seamlessly fuses science fiction and fantasy together at times it felt a little more like a fantasy novel, with a timeless quality to the setting, just as you let fall into the fantasy bubble then a Droid comes along to remind everyone it is sci-fi after all. The way the traditions, heritage and sci-fi elements are beautifully intertwined is a magnificent unique twist! Unlike anything have read before.

On a serious note, cultural destruction is a very prominent theme throughout this book. Mirage follows Amani, a young girl growing up in a poverty-stricken village on a planet called Cadiz, the daughter planet of Andala. The day of Amani’s Majority Night, a spiritual blessing into the life of adulthood, she is kidnapped by imperial droids and taken to the palace of King Mathis to serve as the body double for Princess Maram. Amani is forced to shed her old identity and receives rigorous lessons on Princess Maram’s personality and mannerisms. Amani is in way over her head she is living under constant threat of assassination, the physical and emotional abuse from the Royals, along with studying the Vathek, history, ancestry, and customs. However, despite the horrors of this new life, Amani finds comfort in poetry and Idris, Princess Maram’s fiancé. She risks her life every day for a brutal princess and is forced to fool all of the Vathek royalty into thinking that she is in fact Maram.

A Wee Bit About Mirage

Andala and its people is under the occupation of The Vath – a people who ruined their own planet and set about conquering others.

Amani is an 18-year-old girl living on Cadiz, a moon of Andala. Living with her parents, she’s the daughter of a farmer and has two brothers. Her family are Kushaila, which are the oldest tribe on Andala, and disdained by The Vath who are slowly eradicating their people, language and customs.

On the night that Amani and her peers join together to make the journey to adulthood, the village has a celebration in the kasbah whereby those of age receive their Daan (a face tattoo that denotes their heritage). The majority night is interrupted by Imperial droids who kidnap Amani, taking her in secret to the Ziyaana, the imperial palace that now hosts the Vathek King Mathis and his new court.

It transpires that Amani is the double of the King’s daughter, Princess Maram. She is rumoured to be as cruel as her father, and despite being half Kushaila (her late mother was Andalaan royalty) she holds the same Vathek beliefs and attitudes as the King.

Maram, like her father, is hated by the Andalaan people. With the Princess’ life often under threat, Amani is tasked with becoming Maram. She is to take Maram’s place at events and fool those around her into believing it is Maram who is in their midst. Amani’s life is at risk as she takes Maram’s place, but it’s also in great danger should she fail.

My Thoughts

The storyline of Mirage piqued my interest when I read the blurb online. However what I ended up enjoying most wasn’t actually the story itself, but rather the world in which it was set.

Although set in space (which I wasn’t really expecting), Mirage doesn’t particularly feel sci-fi. I guess I might compare it to The Lunar Chronicles in that respect – it feels more fantasy than sci-fi.

Amani’s story is set in a world with an Arabian feel. Daud has created a rich world, exploring colonisation and culture. It was this world, its cultures, mythologies and Daud’s descriptions and writing itself that I enjoyed most.

I found the relationship between Amani and Maram interesting. I like it when we get to see a bit more to our ‘villain’ and the development of their interactions was something I really enjoyed.

Sadly, I did not enjoy the romance aspect of this book. I won’t get into much detail but, for me, it fell into the ‘instalove’ category. I struggled to get on board with it, I wanted to, but I just felt it needed more foundation. Just my personal opinion.

Overall, it was the world and detailed culture that I enjoyed most. Daud’s descriptions and scene-settings transported me to this world. I found the politics interesting but I was just left wanting more from the story itself.

That said, I am intrigued to see how this series will progress. No spoilers, but I’m hoping for more politics and maybe a bit more action.

3.5 stars

I'd seen the cover of this one floating around book Twitter for a while so I thought I'd request it on NetGalley and I was really pleased when I was accepted to read it that I dived in pretty much straight away. My initial understanding was that this was a Moroccan style fantasy and this alone was enough to make me want to read it as I love African inspired fantasies. However, when I looked into it further I discovered this story was a blend of fantasy and sci-fi and this excited me even more. It sounded new and fresh and I couldn't wait to dive in and it's safe to say I wasn't disappointed.

I thought this book was a great mix of some more typical aspects of fantasy stories with a some interesting twists. Some may describe some of the aspects of this story as a bit tropey, particularly the romance, but I thought it was great all the same. The Moroccan inspiration and the sci-fi elements made the book stand out from others that I have read in a similar genre. When I first started reading this is actually reminded me of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer so I would say if you were a fan of that series then you will enjoy this one.

The plot was fast moving, we often moved on days or weeks at a time between each chapter. However, the author did this well and the story flowed, it wasn't disjointed at all. Again the plot was quite typical of fantasy novels that I've read but I still enjoyed it. I loved learning about the unique customs and cultures of the characters.

I liked the characters in this book too. I loved how strong-willed Amani was, she didn't give up and kept on fighting, even after being taken from her family. I also enjoyed Maram as a character. I thought she was quite a complex character and it was interesting to see both sides to her personality and how she handled herself in different situations. The conflicts and expectations she faces throughout the story enabled the author to really explore her character and I enjoyed that. I also quite enjoyed the romance, even though it was a little tropey. Idris was super sweet and I was definitely routing for him and Amani although, there were times when I felt a little sorry for Maram.

Overall I enjoyed this one. It was a great blend of fantasy and sci-fi with a Moroccan influences. I loved reading this one from start to finish and I can't wait to dive into the sequel.

Despite a slow start, this is a gripping tale of lies, cruelty, political machinations, colonialism and rebellion. It’s also set in a fabulously detailed world/system/universe that is completely absorbing, with plenty of cultural detail that is refreshingly based upon Morocco. At times it feels more like a fantasy novel, with a timeless quality to the setting, but then a droid or a spaceship comes along to remind everyone it is sci-fi after all.

Best of all, for me, were the characters. Specifically Amani and Maram. Amani has a very rough road ahead of her, but I admired the way she handled the changes. She’s not rash or foolish or recklessly brave for no reason, but nor is she a doormat. She’s smart and compassionate, but she’s not entirely perfect either. There were times when I thought she recovered a bit quickly from things, but then again I’m not into gratuitous torture, so it’s probably for the best in some cases. Maram is much, much more complicated, and far darker, especially at first, but I loved seeing how Amani’s view of her changed over the course of the book as she came to understand her better.

There is a romance, it is cute and fluffy at times, but also full of all the expected angst of the genre. It’s okay. A little predictable, perhaps, but that’s because I expected something more out of Idris. Compared to Amani and Maram he’s a bit lacking in depth. As are the Vathek. They are vicious colonial overlords out to crush the people of Cadiz. There’s not a single sympathetic/unique one amongst them. They could all be clones, especially with their silver hair. Maram doesn’t count because she’s only half. Her other half, the conquered Kushaila, suffered from a similar lack of depth – the nobles are sad over what they’ve lost, but have been mostly brutalised into acceptance (Idris is the epitome of this), while the people have been crushed but are angrier, more rebellious, more determined to fight back. I’d like to see a bit more nuance in both camps, although that might come as Amani gets to know individuals better.

So it isn’t perfect, but it’s still really good and beautifully crafted, and by far one of my favourite YA reads for a while. The pace is slow, but this allows plenty of room to develop both Amani and her culture. I loved so many of the details, particularly the poetry and the way it formed such a large part of Amani’s faith. If you prefer your books to have plenty of action, this might not be for you, but if you like a twisty maze of political machinations and complex female characters growing slowly into their own, then give this a go. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to get my hands on book two.

'Mirage' is Somaiya Daud's Moroccan inspired debut novel, and what a beautiful young adult fantasy it is. Amani has lived most of her life in a small village before being kidnapped by the Vathek empire. As she is identical to her, Amani is taken in order to be the body double and protector of deeply despised half-Vathek princess Maram. Although she dreams of escaping and visiting her family, she has unintentionally started to become drawn to Maram's fiance, Idris. When a rebellion, which has been formed to try and overthrow the Vathek government, asks for Amani's help to make their mission a successful one, she needs to decide exactly where her loyalties lie. After all, her life depends on it.

What initially drew me to this was the Moroccan inspired setting. Having been to Morocco I have searched for an authentic novel based there, but until now have not come across a book that is able to vividly bring to life the bustling souks, sun soaked beaches and snake charmers that represent the country in my mind. I could almost taste the hot mint tea! Daud cleverly and effortlessly mixes fantasy with science fiction elements such as interplanetary exploration and space travel, and as a fusion of genres, it really works wonderfully and makes the whole story more interesting.

There is non-stop action and a lot of suspense throughout, and the book is brought to life by the bracingly intelligent characters the author creates. Each character whether good or bad fizzles with an exciting energy which helps you warm to each of them. Although this is most definitely a character-driven novel, I felt the world-building was pretty sound, and I felt myself remembering forgotten elements of my Moroccan visit from years ago. My only slight criticism here is that I felt there was quite a large amount of information landed on the reader regarding the backstory of the world, and I felt that not all of it was necessary. I guess some people may feel overwhelmed by the information overload. This is the only reason I have not been able to award the book the full five-stars, but overall if you are into the fantasy genre do not miss out on this one!

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

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<p>The past couple of books I've read lately have been pretty dark and twisty; Damsel and The Surface Breaks, and I was ready for something a little lighter. I've been seeing this book hyped everywhere, and decided to find out what all the fuss was about. I was approved for an e-ARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley UK. Was it worth the hype? Feel free to keep reading to see what I thought!</p>
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<p>Synopsis from Goodreads:</p>
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<p><em>In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.</em></p>
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<p><em>But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.</em></p>
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<p><em>As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection...because one wrong move could lead to her death.</em></p>
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<p>The main character, Amani, is taken from her home, and told, by Maram, the future Queen, to impersonate her; be her body double, as there is so much unrest in the country, and Maram can't risk getting assassinated. Amani has to deal with being stripped of her culture, away from her family, and is tortured into being a person she is not. Amani is strong and gives the reader so much hope that she will return home. </p>
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<p>Maram. Okay, this character won me over. She is definitely the villainous character with the deep back story. I felt myself laughing and smiling at the little quips she showed us, from wanting to make bread, to playing the Persian game Shatranj with Amani. There is definitely more to Maram that meets the eye, and I look forward to seeing her continue to grow as a person and character. </p>
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<p>Idris. Am I the only one who immediately fell for him? The chemistry and cheek and playfulness. I just think he is a character who needs a bloody good hug. I feel for him and his family and the situation that he is in, and I hope Somaiya treats him better in the next installment!</p>
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<p>I was not expecting this book to feature space and moons and space ships at all! It was actually a nice surprise, even if I did have to read the first couple of pages more than once to realise, YES THIS WAS SPACE. Somaiya writes such a beautiful story, and I like how she has incorporated the Moroccan elements into science fiction. The writing is descriptive, and the Kushaila language towards the end of the book with no set translation, I felt, finished me off and I fell so hard for these characters.</p>
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<p>This story is deep, and covers themes such as colonialism, with those in charge being white, having white hair, etc. and those who are made to suffer, are those who are brown skinned, which highlights that race can definitely be an issue in science fiction. There are also themes of love and friendship, although love is a lesser theme, and finding out lost histories and personal discovery. </p>
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<p>I was not ready for this book, and it was exactly what I needed to escape the dark and twisty reading hole I was finding myself going down. Definitely read this book when it is published tomorrow, and let me know your thoughts!</p>
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<p>B x</p>
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Mirage was a book I was really excited to read and it comes out later on this month, so make sure you pick it up here because this book blew me away! It was completely different to what I expected but in an outstanding kinda way! I was really worried that this was going to be a trope-filled YA, which seems to be a recurring issue with the books I have read in the past and I’m probably over cautious when it comes down to YA now. I have said in the past that I think I might be outgrowing it. Well I should never have worried, this book was fantastic and although there were tropes, they were well written and well developed, something of a rarity.

I think what makes Mirage great is the way the characters develop throughout this story. I loved seeing the different sides of the same people and how everything would fit together and move the story forward. Amani and Maram, although looking exactly the same both had completely different stories and also motivations but it was great to see them both in the same atmosphere and struggle with different insecurities. Which is what makes this book so great in my opinion, the two main characters are so similar but so far apart in most cases.

I really enjoyed reading about the setting and I loved the amount of culture that was given to the world especially seeing as it is technically a planet and space can be a cold and unyielding setting to have a book set in. But I found myself forgetting that Mirage was set on a planet purely because of how much detail and how warm the world was. I was extremely impressed if I’m honest. Usually, I find space to be a setting that can be quite repetitive and a little boring, this book blew me away in that aspect.

I will say and the main reason that this book didn’t receive a five star review is basically because the romance element was really predictable and tropey. I struggled with the development of it all and thought it came across as almost as a token romance. I kind of wish that it would have been kept out of the book to be honest and the focus to be more on the emotions of the two girls without the distraction of romance. But that’s just my opinion on it.

I would definitely recommend Mirage and I will be buying a physical copy for my shelves! I really enjoyed the storyline and thought the plot line and setting was unique and completely different to anything I have read before.

Amani lives on a moon in a star system dominated by the vicious and brutal Vathek empire. Amani dreams of what life was like before the Vathek, she dreams of writing poetry, and she dreams of adventure away from the moon she is stranded on. However, her way off her moon doesn’t come how she expects. She is kidnapped by the regime to be a body double for the hated Princess Maram. Amani must do her best to be the spitting image of the Princess because if she fails to be anything but perfect it could lead to her death.

Mirage is an impressive Morrocan inspired fantasy/science-fiction debut. It is full of culture, mythology, faith, poetry, and romance. I went into this not really expecting the blend of both sci-fi and fantasy so I was pleasantly surprised and it was done well. It is a science fiction novel but reads like a high fantasy one. So, Mirage is a book that will appeal to fans of either sci-fi or fantasy.

At its core, Mirage is mainly a book about the devastating effects that colonization has on culture, identity, and language. The writing is lovely and the world building is expertly and richly done – it is well thought out, imaginative, and had some lovely imagery. The beginning had a little bit of a rocky start in terms of plot but the book does definitely drag you in.

One of the strongest parts of Mirage is the character building and the dynamics between the characters. I enjoyed the romance, but it wasn’t my favourite aspect of the book. What I did love was the relationship between Amani and Maram. I loved how complex our ‘cruel’ and ‘villainous’ princess was and I loved how they had an intense but fragile friendship and how we saw how Maram really felt and how well she put that wall up around her. She was an excellent villain of the book as she was extremely multi-dimensional and complex. If you are also a fan of poetry then Mirage is definitely a book you should pick up.

Overall, Mirage is an impressive debut that I do highly recommend. I will definitely be looking out for more works by Somaiya Daud.

"For a sliver of a moment I wasn't Maram or Amani. I was a girl in a temple, filled with nothing but want and expectation"

* * * * * 
5 / 5

Mirage is a simply beautiful novel. Daud paints a vivid tale of a girl torn from her family to serve her conquering oppressors, but it has so much more than that; Mirage is about hope and resilience, about myth and religion and tradition, about power and duty and sacrifice. Above all else, it is the simple beauty of the writing that elevates this book to one of my favourites of the year.

Amani is a farmer's daughter from a minor moon of Andala, a planet recently conquered by the Vathek empire. She is stolen away from her family by intergalactic droids due to her eerie similarity to the half-Vathek, half-Andalaan Princess Maram who is hated by both sides of her blood. Imprisoned in the royal palace, Amani is stripped of her identity, her familial tattoos, and her culture as she is taught to mimic Maram. Amani is a kind girl, one who loves poetry and the stories of her people; Maram is cruel and haughty and afraid. 

"Did she feel it - was a war being fought in her blood every time she looked at me?"

The setting reminded me of the book The Diabolic by Kincaid because of the futuristic space environment, complete with blaster guns and robots, and the body doubles aspect. However, these are two seriously different books. Mirage has Moroccan-inspired roots which lend the novel a very fresh and authentic feel, and is the source of much of the beauty; there is poetry woven into the narrative as well as local myths and traditions. So often authors go wrong in attempting to make their writing interesting by littering it with purple prose and ridiculous metaphors - Daud manages to keep her writing elegant and simple and evocative without being absurd.

"Idris was as Tala had said: beautiful and tragic. But he wasn't mine, and there was no world or reality where he ever could be"

Mirage has some very clear themes. In Amani we see rage and fear when she is taken from her home, but we also see understanding and an incredible amount of empathy. In Maram I saw cruelty and entitlement but also the instability of power and the loneliness of a woman who has grown up without kindness or family. Amani becomes involved with a rebellious plot against the Vathek and it causes her a lot of inner turmoil: she thinks of her duty to her people and her duty to Maram, she thinks of sacrifice and the cost of freedom. 

I loved that we, the reader, could see different facets of oppression. So often in fantasy novels we read about it from the point of view of the lowest of society - the farmers, the peasant boy with the murdered family, the orphan raised communally - and  these are important stories and we do see this in Amani. We see the fear of her brothers, the grief of her parents, her community's fear of losing their traditions, of their practices and poetry and rituals being slowly eroded by the conquerors and it's so sadly portrayed. We see Amani see the highest of Andaalian society, the makhzen who are the noble caste of the native population, who have adapted to life under the Vathek rule. She sees them and hates how they are still rich, still bedecked in finery, but then she sees their oppression; Amani sees how their families have been pruned until only one child remains from each family line, how they hardly dare to speak Kushaila to each other. The sensitivity and thoughtfulness of Mirage is evident in every page. 

"The world will decide what becomes of us."

"I am tired of being at the mercy of the world"

Mirage is a fantasy novel that carefully straddles that line between YA and adult. It is an elegant, thoughtful, passionate, and action-filled book that absolutely deserves your attention.

My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I'm currently ill so won't be giving a full review unfortunately, but to start off with I didn't know if I was going to like this, I'm not really a fan of sci fi, but I was blown away by this!

- It was gripping throughout
- I loved the characters
- The setting!

It was highly anticipated read and I loved it! So glad I wasn't let down!

OMG this book was AMAZING I haven’t read a book this good in a really, really long time and it was INSANE I loved it. Amani was awesome and strong and I loved her she was such a good change from the normal 'I’m strong oh wait' characters that I JUST KEEP FINDING (if you couldn’t tell, it’s started to bug me) but oh man the evilness of Maram and yet how she was ALMOST redeemed oh my. And Idris. MY HEART that boy deserves the best (read Amani) basically this book was absolutely insane and everyone needs to read it ASAP.

If you've been on Twitter at all in the last two months, you've probably seen people getting excited about Mirage, a Moroccan inspired story that blurs the lines between sci fi and fantasy. Well, I'm here to tell you that it's worth the hype, and is an extremely intriguing start to a new series!

So, I really wasn't expecting this to be space-y, for some reason! I was surprised when Amani, our protagonist, started talking about planets and intergalactic take-overs. I'm not sure how I missed that, but I'm glad I did, because it made the beginning of the book feel really fresh. I was going into this expecting another YA fantasy along the lines of The Wrath and The Dawn, and while that would have been fine, the sci-fi aspects of this seized my imagination and made the story really stand out. It reads like fantasy, but the tech aspects have been built in beautifully.

Amani, a girl from a moon that was invaded and colonised by the Vathek Empire, is snatched from her simple farming life in a traditional community, and forced to become a body double for the Vathek princess, Maram. She has to learn to navigate the court intrigues as the perfect princess, down to the very last detail - and Maram is not a nice person to become, despite their identical looks. Where Amani is kind and sensitive, Maram is cruel and spoiled, so to begin with it looks like the book will consist of a long training period for Amani - if this was traditional YA, we'd expect the book to be the story of how she passes challenges. However, this part of the book is condensed into a few chapters - she very quickly learns to mimic Maram well, which allows us to explore the Vathek court with her in a much more interesting way.

Amani is a fairly typical YA heroine, in that she's plucky, kind, and beautiful. She's deeply tied to her Kushaila culture, which is interesting - I would love to see more of the traditions, artwork, poetry, and so on that the Vath banned. In and of herself, she's pretty unremarkable, but it's easy to read in her voice and perfectly pleasant to follow her through the story. Maram, too, could so easily have become the typical villain, and at the beginning, it seems like she will be. However, as Amani spends more time with her, her character is explored carefully and thoughtfully, with so much nuance it's like nuance soup. Maram's been shaped by her father, and by the political situations she grew up in - where Amani's loving family and community has made her kind, Maram's been facing hatred and too-high expectations since birth, and it's ruined her. She was easily my favourite character to read about, and I hope that we get to see her grow lots in the next book.

There is a fairly predictable romance, where Amani falls in love with Maram's arranged fiancé, Idris. He is of course, the only one who can tell them apart, and he is deeply interested in the traditional Kushaila culture, which is the glue that comes to hold Amani and Idris together. Each of them represents to the other a way they can hold on to the things that they have lost to the Vathek Empire - but of course, their relationship is ultimately doomed as Idris must marry Maram. Their relationship was a little bit uncomfortable to me, because although I can see why they fall for each other, they both seemed to fetishise their culture in the other person, rather than loving them for themselves? On the plus-side, though, it wasn't the focus of the book. 

What this book is really about is not Amani or Maram or Idris at all, but about the complex interplay between coloniser and colonised. The Vathek Empire are 'the bad guys', sure, and the King is pretty much a caricature Disney villain with his random cruelty and cackling. But watching the three main characters come to terms with their various heritages is fascinating. Amani is Kushaila born and raised, forced to pretend to be Vathek; Idris does a great job of being Vath, having been brought up separate from his Kushaila roots; Maram is half-Vathek, half-Kushaila, brought up wholly Vathek, rejecting her Kushaila roots while the Vath reject her for having them. It's complicated. No-one has a straightforward relationship with their culture. It's a difficult subject to approach, and I am sure that as a British white woman, I missed a lot - there are many brilliant own voices reviews out there, so suffice to say, it really made me think.

The main thing that sucked me in with this book, though, was the sheer quality of the prose. It's descriptive and lush, without ever being too dramatic for the scenes it's describing. While there isn't actually very much action after Amani's kidnap, I never found myself bored, because there was always something going on that made me want to keep reading. The setting, and the world-building, is brilliant, and there are so many details I want to find out. 

Small minus point for just... ending? This felt like it needed to be one long book, rather than waiting for a separate sequel, but I get that the market is big for duologies right now. Still, an extremely strong and engaging debut, and I'm looking forward to the sequel! Four out of five stars

4.5 stars.

This started off really promising and held so much appeal for me, from the overall concept to the Moroccan influences, and come on, it's a sci-fi fantasy!

I liked Amani's character but sometimes I felt like I couldn't connect with who she was. Maybe that's just the feel of it though considering the plot. I did like Maram and Idris, although I did feel that the romance between Amani and Idris was too sudden, and some parts were a bit slower than others. Maybe in the middle that is. But it suddenly picked up and I'm definitely going to be reading the next one. I need more Amani /Maram relationship and Idris is such a sweetie. But Husnain - we only saw so little of him but I really liked him and so I need more.

I really felt Amani's emotions concerning what happened in *cough* that part - so sad. I felt like I knew her then and I want to see more of that part of her.

I'm looking forward to the next one!