Thank you so so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book early.

I am giving this 5 stars on account of how refreshing and original this book was, extra points for being piratey.

But that does not mean I do not have complaints. Such as what in the ever-loving hell was that island Amina visits like halfwy through the book. That was genre-twisting and took me out of the story massivly due to its abstractness.

Back to the good:
1. The getting the band back together vibe was immaculate
2. MUSLIM PIRATES ARE A YES - but in all seriousness reading from the perspective of a Muslim character and more generally learning about Islam and its many mythologies and deep culture was fascinating.
3. The classic piratey themes: a good old kraken (but wait?), braving stormy seas, caves of treasure, scary jungles, and mutilated enemy soldiers taking on oceanic appendages (COUGH COUGH PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN)
4. I didn't miss that Gandalf reference with the *Run, you fools*
5. A main character that has a bunged knee just like me? Didn't know that was rep I needed but Lord, a shit knee can ruin your day and I'm glad the badass pirate Amina agrees.
6. The reveal for who Jamal the scribe is had me teary eyed
7. The many curses Amina hurles at her victims, by favourite being "Oh, fuck off, you fish-brained wizard"

Of course the world building mixed with histrical accuracies, and the general writing, and the plot were fab. All in all, I loved this book and I hope lots of people pick it up. This book is filled with so much heart from the author and I hope people give it a shot.

Amina al-Sirafi is known as one of the most famous pirates in the Indian Ocean, but she's also a loving mother.
Therefore, she decides to retreat from life in the waves and devote herself to her family.
As much as she tries to live life in anonymity, enjoying the joy of family, her fame hasn't gone away.
She's contacted by a very wealthy woman and the mother of one of her crew members.
The purpose of this visit? She's to retrieve her granddaughter; in return she'll be compensated appropriately.
The sea is clamoring for her, the chance to go on the last adventure together with her crew is a tempting proposition.
She accepts, but what Amina realizes during this adventure is that things are nowhere near as simple as she would have hoped.
Behind this little girl's disappearance lie other subplots, which brought to light, complicate things considerably.
Reading this book was an adventure from beginning to end.
Right from the start I was fascinated and intrigued by the story, the intrigue and subterfuge, the setting, and much more.
It's noticeable, Chakraborty, has greatly improved in her writing.
Let me be clear, I enjoyed Daevabad Trilogy very much, but The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi has an added sprint that, undoubtedly, despite being only the first book, is my favorite series by the author!
Amina Al-Sirafi is a strong woman and independent, but above all she's a commendable pirate. She knows how to stand up to her opponents, how to fight them, and how to win. Then again, her fame precedes her.

*There are plenty of slanderous stories like that about Amina al-Sirafi. She was too relentless, they say. Too ambitious, too violent, utterly inappropriate, and well… old! A mother, if you can believe it!*

To be greatly appreciated are the secondary protagonists, an active part of the story and the crew.
Between the lines it is clear that, Amina, without them, she would never have succeeded.
Some situations and characters (especially Rasks) caught my attention the most and I can't wait to read the sequel.
Structurally it's very well done, from the glossary at the beginning and end of the book, the letters (present in some chapters) that explain to the reader what he has just read, whether legends or otherwise.
Everything is in this book: there's the fantasy part, there are pirates, there's magic, there's mystery, there's friendship, but most of all it is divinely written!

*For when Amina chose to leave her home and return to a life at sea, she became more than a pirate. More than a witch. She became a legend.*

A new trilogy of magic and mayhem with this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artefacts and Certainly caught my attention from the start!

THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI is an action packed, swashbuckling adventure. It is a tale of pirates, a ill-conceived quest, supernatural and human dangers, and lots of boats. I loved reading this book so much and somehow managed to slow myself down so I could savour it and stay in world longer.

I loved having an older protagonist. You don't find many characters who are parents or old enough to be complaining of battered knees (and so on) but the core cast have all had their adventures (and most retired.) They have hard-earned perspective, experience, and physical considerations that makes this feel very different to the majority of books about young people and it was so nice to have it.

That experience (leading to a jaded weariness) comes through so well in the narration. It's very funny, with a self-awareness of "oh my goodness, I am doing something stupid again." It also plays with the idea of a narrator, deliberately letting you know that there are things being held back or going along the lines of "imagine x. Good, because I'm not describing it." It managed to strike the balance between engaging, fourth-wall breaking, and funny.

There are also extracts from letters, old stories, Amina's past, and travellers' accounts. I really liked the letter and travellers' accounts as they mimic the style of such historical documents so well. It helps drive home just how much research was done for this book to get all the little details right, and to evoke such a specific style of writing.

This book is not related to the Daevabad series. I mean, theoretically, they could exist in the same world, just ~600-700 years apart, but story wise there is no overlap. There is one potential character overlap, but I can't remember off the top of my head if that side character was also a side character in the other series. This means you can start with either series without spoilers etc depending on your preferred story type.

THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI is the first book in a new series (trilogy?) and the final third of the book hints at the goal that is going to at least initially spur the next book on. It promises to bring more adventure and near misses.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

There are so many aspects of this book to love. The adventure in these pages can only be summed up as exciting, my mind can’t think of a more appropriate word. There is something magical that made this impossible to put down and I honestly cannot think of a single negative comment.

I have always loved tales about pirates, sailing the seas on missions and fighting monsters and creating a family aboard their ship. This book delivers on every hope you could have and more, it warms and breaks your heart, makes you laugh and reminds you how fantastic books can be. The deeply rooted cultures explored with the characters, the discussions of Islam and Christianity all that time ago keeps you deep in thought, grounding the fantasy elements to stop it from being carried away.

I will be recommending this book to anyone and everyone who will listen to me and even to those who won’t.

Another incredible novel from this author, absolutely fantastic! This is set in the same world as the daevabad trilogy but hundreds of years before the events in those books. A certain character does make an appearance though!👀

It follows Amina as she gets her crew back together to try to find a kidnapped child and all the various adventures it takes them on. Loved the setting and you get a glimpse of the lush magical other world that the author creates and life of the seas.

I found it very refreshing for an adult fantasy novel to have the majority of the main characters to be 40+ and some of them parents. This was written beautifully.

Cannot recommend enough and looking forward the the future books in the series🥰

I first thing I have to say about this book is wow. What an amazon book.

From this Author I also read the The Daevabad Trilogy wish I also loved and to continue in that world with new and familiar characters is was an amazing experience.
Since starting this book i could nog put it down. The way that it starts and then the way the story slowly unfolds in a way i did not expect is amazing.

In some parts i had to check the books from the Daevedad trilogy to check i read something correct and check on characters.

When i finished this book i also felt i need to read it again and have the next book in the serie now.

So definitely a book i will recommend.

This was my most anticipated book of 2023 and Shannon Chakraborty has once again risen upto my expectations and gave me a thrilling seafaring adventure with a memorable cast of characters.This is a mini heist cum rescue mission cum coming of age Sinbadish adventure on the high seas with one of the bestest badassest funniest sarcastic 40 plus year old heroine and her equally crazy bunch of friends, crew and a himbo trickster demon! I had sooo much fun reading this book and just didn’t want it to end. Amina al sirafi would remain forever one of my favourite heroines!!! Subjectively it’s maybe around 4 stars but I keep thinking about them soo much afterwards that I had to give this book 5 stars!

3.75/5 stars! After hearing so much about this author's "City of Brass" series I think my expectations were different than what this book was. Although there are demons and a bit of magic, the story is more of a hijinks and heist epic adventure. It took me a bit to get into things but I enjoyed Amina and her journey. There were unexpected twists that kept me engaged and I'm eager to see what's next.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

My gratitude to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for a free e-ARC of "The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi" by Sannon Chakroborty.
An Epic Fantasy full of adventure inspired by the "1001 Arabian Nights" with cultural and historical references to the early navigation of the Indian Ocean.
This was such a pleasant surprise that reminded me why I fell in love with reading.
The main character Amina, a strong legendary older pirate, a protective mother, ship owner with a thirst for exploration and adventure was a delight to experience.
Her diverse crew, the embodyment of found family that can love, apreciate an accept their differences in religious beliefs and practices made me fiercely desire this for the whole world.
I was swept away, fully invested and imersed into this exciting world full of magic and adventure.
A new favorite book I highly recommend to those who trully love magic, Fantasy and wish to broaden their horisons.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is the first book in a trilogy set on the seas with pirates and magic. This is the first book in a trilogy and is completely different from The Daevabad trilogy. The story follows Amina who has lived a career of being a pirate. She is now living a life of motherhood after leaving behind the scandal of life on the high seas. Amina gets the chance to have one last adventure with her crew and can’t resist. However, there is more at stake in this last adventure and Amina’s last job could prove fatal. This was very well written and easy to follow for a fantasy. It was quite original and had a lot of new elements I haven’t read much of previously. However, I struggled to connect with this novel because I never felt as if I knew the characters. Unfortunately I had different expectations for this novel and it just wasn’t for me. I just didn’t enjoy this and I won’t be continuing on in the series. However I do think this is Brilliant if you love stories with pirates and seafaring. I also felt the cultural elements were well done. I would still recommend this simply because it’s so different from other fantasy books. 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4.