Best Read of the year!

This is exactly the kind of adventure story that I was looking for!

In a market where most of the popular fantasy stories revolve around teenagers, it was so refreshing to read about a middle aged mother going on a quest in order to provide for her family.

Chakraborty is such a talented writer.
She has masterfully blended history and fantasy to create an irresistible setting for this story.

And the characters! They were top notch!

Amina is relatable, endearing, funny and realistic. It was sooo good to read about a mature, intelligent and brave woman making educated decisions, taking responsibility for her actions and knowing when and where to stop.

There are few fantasy stories where we get such good representation of adults and their struggles.
Amina, struggling with her past choices; Amina feeling conflicted because of her ambitions and her duty towards her family; Amina, feeling guilty for leaving behind her child to go on her adventures; Amina, complaining about her knee ache - all of this made Amina all the more endearing and relatable.

I also loved Dalila, Tinbu, Majed and the entire crew of Marawati and their interactions.
The villain in the story was actually very disturbing and scary.

And yes, I loved getting an additional glimpse into the world of Daevas.

I ended up buying this copy even though Netgalley did accept my request and circumstances beyond my control meant I couldn't download in time, however - I'm glad I did. Not only is the cover spectacular - I managed to dive back into some writing from one of my absolute favourite authors.

The worldbuilding as always is a really strong point for Chakraborty - everything is so vividly described and the same is extended to her characters, and the atmospheres created. The plot was really fun and a truly magical beginning to what I expect to be a really wonderful series!

Thank you!

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

Sometimes a book is EXACTLY what you need and The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi was exactly that for me,

Our protagonist is a retired pirate, trying to live a quiet life with her mother and daughter when she is sought out by a wealthy woman who wants to employ slash blackmail Amina into tracking down her missing grand-daughter. What follows is a highly entertaining and enjoyable adventure tale with dashes of romance and fantasy.

This book was just brilliant. I enjoyed every page and am pretty certain I'll re-read it in the next few years. I loved the older female protagonist, coming out of retirement to kick some ass. Its great to see this fantasy character wrestling with a very real dilemma faced by mothers all over. Now that I'm a mother, am I still all the things I used to be and can I do all the things I used to do?

The characters are great, the found family trope being used but to great effect. Amina's useless but lovable supernatural ex-husband was highlight for me, as was Dalila.

There's so much to love here, rollicking adventure, brilliant set pieces, witty dialogue. There's a sea monster for goodness sake, just read it!

ARC provided by the publisher—Harper Voyager—in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

I gave in to the hype. I finally read Chakraborty’s book for the first time, and it certainly will not be the last.

“Exaggerations, but the truth scarcely matters when it comes to a good tale.”

Since her debut novel, The City of Brass, was published in 2017, Chakraborty is a name that keeps getting more popularity and recognition with each new book. That debut was six years ago. It is unbelievable that it took me this long to finally read a book written by Shannon Chakraborty for the first time. The first trilogy by her, The Daevabad Trilogy, was completed in the year 2020, and it is a historical fantasy series with a lot of diehard fans. A LOT. And yes, I am ashamed to admit I haven't read that trilogy yet. That said, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a new book in a new series by her taking place in the same world as The Daevabad Trilogy, but before the events of The City of Brass. And it is very much possible to read this without reading The Daevabad Trilogy first. Because of that, and also the stunning cover art by Ivan Belikov (US edition) that got my attention, I decided to read The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi first instead before reading The Daevabad Trilogy. I am happy to say I had a fun time reading it, and if possible, I would love to read The Daevabad Trilogy before the release of the second book in the Amina al-Sirafi trilogy.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is the first book in the Amina al-Sirafi trilogy by Shannon Chakraborty. Amina al-Sirafi was once one of the most notorious pirates in the Indian Ocean. She has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon. But now, she has retired peacefully to a life of piety and motherhood with her daughter, Marjana. But then, an extremely wealthy mother of a former crewman finds out about Amina’s location, and she decides to visit her and offers her a job she cannot refuse. The job is to retrieve her granddaughter in exchange for one million dinars upon completion. Amina has the chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever. But of course, it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job and the girl’s disappearance. There is always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, and Amina and her shipmates will face a new kind of danger in their mission. This is the general premise of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, and the story is told almost entirely through her perspective that she is telling to a scribe named Jamal.

“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.”


As I said earlier, I haven’t read The Daevabad Trilogy yet, so I can’t make an accurate comparison on which one is better between The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi and The Daevabad Trilogy. Or how similar they are to one another. But as far as I know, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a different kind of book and series that takes place in the same world, but again, before the beginning of The Daevabad Trilogy. It is a swashbuckling adventure with themes of motherhood, wealth, freedom, and found family. I will say, though, I am not sure whether I heard this wrong or not, but I thought this book would have a heist-centered narrative. And due to the main character being a pirate, I expected this book would be full of sea adventure portions like The Tide Child trilogy by R.J. Barker, for example. These, for better or worse, were not the case. There was indeed a mission, and obviously, there were seafaring sections, but almost the entire story in the book takes place on the land. This is not a complaint. Generally speaking, seafaring portions in fantasy novels tend to bore me. So I am pleased most of the story takes place on land instead of the sea. But I AM a fan of heist stories. Unfortunately, the supposed heist was the standard main quest to retrieve the granddaughter instead of a heist comprised of intricate planning. And, well, stealing something.

“I have traveled widely enough that I take everything written about “foreigners” with doubt and know better than to judge a community by their worst individuals.”


Although I enjoyed reading this book, that and one other issue are why I cannot give this book a higher rating than 3.5 stars. I mentioned that found family is one of the tropes implemented into The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. The first half of the novel is about getting the band back together. But the characters felt likable only on the surface level. They were there simply to help drive the story forward. But that was it. The found family trope was evident in the narrative, but other than Amina herself, the other supporting characters did not feel developed enough for me to remember them distinctly. Tinbu, in particular, was incredibly forgettable. I had to research his name again because I already forgot his name at the time of writing this review. Dalila and Majed’s roles in the story, and also their characterizations, were more prominent, and I liked them. But still, they were not focused and developed enough. A few days or a week from now, there is a good chance I will not remember them anymore. This could totally be fixed in the upcoming books, and it might just be the plan to do that, but for now, it feels like a missed opportunity from my perspective because I do like Amina as a character, and I liked seeing Amina’s affection for her shipmates.

“How much easier her life would be if she were rich. For while the pious claim money doesn’t buy happiness, I can attest from personal experience that poverty buys nothing. It is a monster whose claws grow deeper and more difficult to escape with each passing season, with even the slightest misstep setting you back years, if not forever.”


It can be argued that Amina's first-person POV narration is why the characterizations and focus on Amina were so much more dominant. However, some of my favorite fantasy series and books with first-person narration, like the recently released The Will of the Many by James Islington or Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown, to mention a few, managed to make me care deeply about the supporting characters almost as much as I care about the main character. Sometimes even more, in the case of Sevro to Darrow! At the very least, I can remember them distinctly, and I truly hope I will grow to like Amina's shipmates more in the sequel. Because I do think Chakraborty's prose was captivating enough, and she is a great storyteller. If the first half was about gathering the band back together, the second half was about executing the mission and navigating all the chaos that came from it. I found the second half of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi more engaging than the first half, even when the villains and the truth behind the Moon of Saba felt comical. But the adventure along with the themes of social injustice and faiths implemented, plus Amina's struggle in juggling her responsibility as a mother and doing what she would love to do, has made the narrative intriguing for me.

“For the greatest crime of the poor in the eyes of the wealthy has always been to strike back. To fail to suffer in silence and instead disrupt their lives and their fantasies of a compassionate society that coincidentally set them on top. To say no.”


Do note that this is a historical fantasy novel. The story takes place in our world in the past, but despite that, there were plenty of fantastical elements to keep the readers engaged if you’re in it for the fantasy aspects, such as sea monsters, demons, forbidden artifacts, djinns, and more. Also, I should mention that historical fantasy isn’t usually my preference for reading. I love historical fiction, but I rarely click with historical fantasy novels. But because of where I live, some of the terminologies used in this book were fascinating. I am a Chinese born and raised in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. But I did not realize how similar some Indonesian words are to Arabic until I read this book. Even though I probably should’ve guessed that. Muslim is a religion that is portrayed heavily in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. And well, here’s a fun fact. Indonesia is the country with the largest population of Muslims in the entire world. More or less 13% of the world’s Muslims. And Jakarta, the capital city, is the largest city in Southeast Asia. Although I am not Muslim, as a citizen here, seeing daily words here like fajr (fajar in Indonesian means dawn), raja (king in Indonesian), nikah (marriage in Indonesian), Iblis (devil in Indonesian), peri (fairy in Indonesian), and Quran, Inshallah, Masjid, was a refreshing reading experience. I rarely see these in Western-published fantasy novels.

“After all, we build our homes upon the ruins of lost cities and sail our ships over the drowned palaces of forgotten kings.”

Speaking of djinns and peri, I believe there were cameo appearances from the characters in The Daevabad Trilogy here. But again, I do not think it is a MUST to read The Daevabad Trilogy first before reading this book. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi works really well as your first time reading Chakraborty's book, and more importantly, it is a great and fun start to a new trilogy. It is easily one of the most hyped new fantasy releases of 2023, with plenty of special editions published already. Although I had a few issues with this book, I am assured this won't be the last time I read a book by Chakraborty. On top of looking forward to reading the continuation of Amina al-Sirafi's infamous and scandalous tale, I feel more energized to read The Daevabad Trilogy now.

“It is not always easy to do the right thing, Amina al-Sirafi. More often than not, it is a lonely, thankless ordeal. That does not mean it is not worth doing.”


You can order this book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

The short version of this review is that this was a fantastic book. If you like fantasy adventure on the high seas, you should read it.



The longer version of the review sees me wax more lyrical. As a child, I loved Sinbad the Sailor. Later, I realised how much that cycle - a late addition to 1001 Arabian Nights - had been trimmed for a western audience and had lost some of its original context. Ok I still have an affection for the somewhat shonky 70s films, but I'm aware that there's a lot wrong with them.



Anyway, <i>The Adventures of Amina al Sirafi</i> more than makes up for those early favourites. It has everything you'd want from that sort of seafaring adventure - magical powers, strange creatures, wicked magicians, and a bold, irascible and adventurous captain who also happens to be a 40-something year old woman with a daughter, a questionable husband and an old knee injury that keeps reminding her she's not as young as she used to be.



Amina is one of the most engaging and likeable characters I've ever encountered. Deliciously flawed, headstrong, savvy with a lust for travel and knack for getting into trouble. She's backed up by a crew of misfits, each of whom is just as likeable. (Tinbu and his cat were personal favourites.) The adventure itself is made up of smaller adventures and mishaps - always my favourite kind of story in adventure fiction. The settings are perfect. Chakraborty really makes you see the Medieval Muslim world, and has anchored her story with rich historical detail that made me immediately check her bibliography.



There's clearly potential for a series here given how the book ended, and I sincerely hope that comes to fruition because I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for more. Overall this is one of my favourite reads of 2023. Highly recommend.

Some Spoilers Ahead

“A pirate of infamy and one of the most storied and scandalous captains to ever sail the seven seas” is the kind of description that paints a very vivid picture of what to expect from the protagonist of this book. Shannon Chakraborty then spends the next 500 ish pages completely deconstructing this stereotype.

Amina al-Sirafi is a wonderfully complex character, she’s a Muslim, (sort of) single mum, with a dodgy knee who has spent a decade away from the kind of adventures that made her the notorious, revered and feared ‘nakhuda’ of legend. She convinces herself that she wants nothing more than to peacefully retire and look after the child she dotes after, however it becomes abundantly clear throughout the book that the irresistible temptation of adventure courses through her veins.

Amina embarks on ‘one last journey’ to recover the daughter of one of her former shipmates who has got herself tangled up with a Frankish sailor with a burgeoning reputation that threatens to exceed that of her own. She gets the band back together (one of my absolute favourite tropes) for one last job and embarks on a journey that “makes her more than a pirate, more than a witch, she becomes a legend.” Along the way she comes up against powers beyond her own understanding or imagination, horrors of lovecraftian proportions, and literal demons from her past.

I was completely captivated by this book and will be going back for a re-read over the summer break. Set in medieval Arabia where the Crusades and Holy War are a backdrop, the reader is immersed in the period and its culture.
Our protagonist is Amina Al-Sirafi, pirate queen, legend in her own lifetime has been retired for the last 10 years and living with her mother, both raising her daughter Marjana. As a lead she is comfortably in her middle age and she has the associated aches and pains of a life well lived. However her retirement is disturbed when she is tracked down by Salima a rich dowager whose beloved granddaughter has been kidnapped by a treasure hunting Crusader. Reluctantly Amina takes the 'job' and reconnects with her original crew and her ship the Marawati - all of which she has missed more than she realised or wanted to admit to.
The characterisation, storyline, historical and mythological elements are blended into a fabulous adventure on the High Seas and one that no one should miss. The descriptions of Aden and Socotra in Yemen were so evocative I spent a happy hour on Google map viewing the city port and the amazing scenery to be found in Socotra - sadly this is the closest I will be able to get given the current situation in this region.
The story moves beyond a straight forward rescue mission to a race to find magical artefacts that could end the world. Plenty of humour, action and a lead whose moral code is a lived one creates a fantastic book I would whole heartedly recommend. Please read!
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, all thoughts are my own.

I have to say, I think I expected too much.

This was easily my most anticipated book of 2023. And that must have been its downfall. I love, love, love Chakraborty's Daevabad trilogy, and the entire time I was reading <i>Amina</i>, I just wanted to put it down and reread The City of Brass instead.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book. Actually, I do plan to wait until the entire series is out and then sit down and give it the proper chance it deserves. But for now, I think that Chakraborty's writing style just works so much better in third person. While the way <i>Amina</i> is told is certainly original (with Amina telling a scribe named Jamal her story, with her interjections occasionally interrupting his narration akin to an author's note on wattpad), it works against the story itself. This way of speaking buts a certain distance between Amina and the reader. We're always left feeling as if she is hiding something, and she usually is, but the reveals are not as satisfying as hoped. The characters that feature in Amina's story are ones she already knows well - old crew and old friends that she has known for decades, which means we barely get to know these characters and their story. They already exist in fully fleshed-out form and don't develop at all.

The plot itself feels kind of ... forced? Amina's main motivation is ultimately keeping her daughter safe, but it feels as though this whole adventure was not needed for her to achieve that goal, which ends up making her entire reason for being seem not genuine. Ultimately, her motivation is extrinsic, it doesn't come from within, and makes for very confused reading.

Ah, well. I think that in the end, the immense expections I had just couldn't have been met. Which, you know, is kind of my own fault. But I am kind of sad about it.

this was such a fun read. like pirates of the Caribbean on the page. I devoured every second of this book.

the world was written so well and vivid, the characters driving the story forward and making me want for more.
the banter between a certain character and Amina I was dying for.

I can't wait to see where the story goes next.

I had so much fun reading this.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager, for the chance to read this book in exchang of an honest review.

Amina al-Sirafi is a pirate of infamy and the protagonist of most stories about captain. She survived backstabbing, princes, demons and now she only wants a life of peace, far from supernatural entitities. But when she's offered a job that will ensure her and her crew a safe and glorious future, she accepts right away. But the risks are way higher she thought they would be and, maybe, becoming a legend isn't so worth it, if the price is your own soul.

From the author of the trilogy started with City of Brass, The adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is the first book of another trilogy, set in the same world of Daevabad, but many years before. A world populated by pirates and magic, forbidden artifacts and a woman ready to do anything to grasp her final chance to glory, in order to ensure her family a safe future. It's a wonderful and captivating story, with a powerful and stubborn main character, a complex and brilliant crew and so many adventures and plot twists it'll make your head spin.
I absolutely loved reading this book, it hooked me since the beginning and it's impossible not to love Amina. She's brilliant, amazing and so brave. A woman ready to do anything in her power, facing so many things ahead of her. I can't wait to know what will happen next.

After city of brass I had to get my hands on this!
It’s a nice book, the plot is so interesting and I can’t wait to read more! Would totally recommend

Honestly Amina al-Sirafi had me from the dedication, which is beautifully written and something I am definitely going to photograph one day. It's adventure, it's fun and it's about a retired pirate who also happens to be a mother. Amina was everything I wanted her to be, she is loyal and funny, but also fierce and protective of her own. Her love for her daughter and family shone through with every word, and her complaints about her knees and her badassery, made her relatable but also someone you just had to admire.

The setting and world building were gorgeous, the cast were amazing (massive shout out to my fave mistress of poisons), there is rep, there is diversity. It's just an ADVENTURE and I urge everyone who loves fantasy to read it

Cannot recommend enough and I'm very much looking forward to diving into Chakraborty's backlog now!

Many thanks to HarperVoyager and Netgalley for the ARC.

Sooo good! Really really enjoyed it! Amazing world building that I was fascinated by! I haven't read anything else by this Author but I will be!!

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

It's no secret that I absolutely ADORE the Devaebad Trilogy, and so I was going into this pretty hyped! Shannon has a way with words and stories that really works for me, and this tale of adventure was no different!

I thoroughly enjoyed this in the end. It's not quite the same level of love and adoration for me, but that's a pretty high bar, so that's not saying a lot luckily. The story is a little slower to kick off, and I had trouble connecting to the characters at first. That said, it's so good to see an older female main character, and a single mother, and have completely different views as a result - I definitely haven't read much that fits in that bracket. Amina ended up as someone I totally adore as well - after that slow start, I was so bought into how she thought and what she was fighting for. It was also fun to see how some of the same creatures or myths were worked in, and therefore gave little nods to Davaebad, or showed us a different perception. That was lovely!

I ended up listening to it on audio, and I'm glad I did - while the book is from Amina's perspective, it's her telling it to a scribe, so we get snippets of their conversations as asides that worked so well in audio. Though initially, I was a little confused as to why there was more than one narrator!

Honestly, this is such a good time, and I can see so much more happening in this universe. I definitely recommend that you check it out! 4.5 stars.

Absolutely adored this book. The word building was incredible. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

I'll be honest and say that I had to take several cracks at this book before getting into the story. The only thing that kept me going was my enjoyment of the author's previous books.

Saying that, I'm glad I persevered!

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is a pirate adventure from the POV of an older Muslim woman - incredibly refreshing! I've been complaining (to myself) lately that everything feels so samey, and I've had to dip out of my usual genres for refreshment. It feels like if you want the perspective of a woman older than her 30s then you're gonna struggle to find it in the fantasy section but this was a lovely breath of fresh air and so much fun..

I am OBSESSED! What a book! I went in this with such high expectations, as I heard so many excellent things about it and I was absolutely not disappointed. The writing, the world building, the characters... THE PACING - chef's kiss!

How to describe this book which is fantasy, set on the high seas, with a diverse crew - girl boss Muslim pirate, dramatic first mate, a poisoner and navigator trying to hold it all together.

Setting sail on a quest to rescue the granddaughter of a very rich family, we follow the crew on their fabulous adventures with our badass pirate boss. This is a highly imaginative and densely packed novel which is just Fun, with a capital F!

Hooray! A book that acknowledges that a thirst for adventure, passion, friendship, or a life outside the home doesn't stop when you hit your mid-20s!!! I think this is the first fantasy I've read where the main character, a female, has some life experience, if Aragorn can bring down the dark lord in his 80s, why do we not see more women in fiction doing more interesting things in fantasy as late in life as they choose, and this isn't even late in life, it shouldn't feel so amazing to me that a book features a mother in her 40s, Amina al-Sirafi, who can acknowledge her love of being a mother, without giving up her drive, interests, or need for the world beyond the home, but this felt fresh to me, and I loved it.

I am based in the UK, so I cannot speak for how well the region of the world was represented, the book is set around Oman, Eastern Africa, and the Arabian Sea, but I worked and lived in Oman for a little while, and the book was vivid enough for me to get nostalgic. The hospitality mentioned was certainly familiar.

In terms of readership, this is another fantasy that's easy-to-read, and, while there is mention of sex, it is not graphic, and so would make a good transition book for younger readers edging into adult fantasy.

The book lost me a little bit towards the end, after being so delighted in the first half, and appreciated a heroine who was a mother, I was a bit disappointed when ...<spoiler>Amina wasn't exactly the agent of her success in the end, and it came down to magic and external forces more than her own intelligence or innate power.</spoiler> Despite that, this is still one of my favourite fantasies so far this year, and I'm really intrigued to see where it heads next.

Now I have to go and read The Daevabad Trilogy while I wait for the next Amina al-Sirafi adventure.