Thanks you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars to this one!!!

It started at a very promising note. The intersection of Middle Eastern mythology with fantasy was definitely the catch for me. I loved the protagonist for the way she was written. She’s strong, doesn’t rely on a man to her needs and is witty enough to retort when the time calls for it. Besides, her and Ashrush’s bonding was the most beautiful part for me about this book. I think this is where the author should be thoroughly praised because in most of the fiction, we find the negative sides of djinns and spirits which have no other purpose but to haunt ordinary people. This one did justice in portraying “their side of the story”. The devilish and greedy nature of the humanity was beautifully described. I loved the adventurous spirit the book possessed right at the beginning.

However, as you move on, things get a bit bland (not that they become downright boring but you find an element of repetition within the narrative; considering the fact how protagonist brings up a peculiar incident times and again). It could have been better. Besides, I totally get the idea that the protagonist was not shown to be romantically involved with the two male characters, but her indecisiveness was apparent. At one point, bonding with one of the characters seems more than of a romantic nature. As I always leave a room for angst, so it was really difficult for me to evaluate whether the author actually wanted to be with that one character because of her inner thoughts.

Besides, I wanted the revelation of Ashrush’s mysterious companionship in this book, because we find that the characters talk about it, discuss it but not much is revealed which should have been there (though my fingers are crossed to read that in the second part of the series). Saif’s death broke my heart and I cried a lot because somewhere the poor boy didn’t deserve it and he was the character I liked the most from the book. Even at the final moments, I was hoping for a miracle, so this high-voltage scene is the beauty of the book.

I believe that the end was pretty much rushed and the epilogue could have been made much better than the repetitive ramblings of all that what we had read right on the previous pages. The ending was too open and equally incomplete to me as I didn’t get the hint of a final resolution and it was pretty much disappointing to find that nothing more was said about the ifrits and their fates which were discussed through consecutive chapters. It seemed that in the end nothing significant happens and the book rather ends at a reverse note. It stops where it actually started so that made no sense at all to me. Though the concept is really great and I hope the writer comes up with her second instalment soon because a lot of my questions are still unanswered about this one.

Daughter Of Light and Dark has wonderful world building and a super interesting setting. Unfortunately, the interactions between characters was snappish, rough, and snarky wordplay that is found very often in fantasy novels. Communication is mostly sarcasm, which is a tiring trope. I can see this novel and ultimate series becoming very popular, it just wasn't for me.

Loved this book. I gave it 5 stars because I couldn't give any higher! This book is a masterpiece and deserves more than "just" 5 stars. I recommend everyone to read this book asap.

This was a fantastic beginning to the Rings and Chains series; the mythological element was wonderfully balanced with an original overall concept. It was a fantastic first chapter in the series and the characters felt like they belonged in this environment. I found the Jinn part to be really well done, and I was really interested in what was happening with Mina. Ahlam Faris writes books of this genre so well that I'm looking forward to more from her. The worldbuilding in this case, which combined a fantasy element with a setting modeled after the Ottoman Middle East, was excellent. I am grateful to the author for providing me with an eARC!