Spice Road is an action-packed story filled with magic and adventure. The story focuses on Imani and her journey across trecious lands to find and return her lost brother. Just the theme of family is one of the central themes in this book. Not only because of Imani’s search for her brother, but also her relationship with her younger sister Amira. Their relationship was really relatable, which I really enjoyed reading about.

Imani was the perfect main character who’s story and personal growth really resonated with me. Her conflicted feelings of loyalty, doing the right thing and disobedience really help set the emotional weight of the story. Furthemore both the writing and the world-burning was amazing, it’s a very lush fantasy world. However, not everything was as enjoyable. For instance - the constant back-and-forth, hot-and-cold romance, not to mention the general douche vibes one of the main characters had, just drag down my enjoyment of the book. It just wasn’t something I was too keen on in a romantic context.

But with that said I’m intrigued to see where the story will go next, and I’m gonna wait patiently for the next book in this series. Because I really enjoyed this author, and the world of the book.

I'm gonna be honest. This is not the kind of books I like to read. I wanted to give it a try and read something outside of my comfort zone, but I should know better. I think the plot was promising, but it was not for me.

I had both a digital and audio version of this book available to me, and I am glad I worked my way through the audio version. The young adult protagonist shone through the narration, and I could feel and empathize with her inner conflict as she worked things out.

It took me a while to finish this book, mostly because audiobooks take longer to complete. This is the first in a series, something I did not realise until I reached the very end and realised there were things that needed resolution.

Our lead protagonist is someone who belongs to a high-ranking family with money and power behind them. They live in an oasis with magic to keep them safe and flourishing. There are several levels of people who can use this magic, and the manifestation of the magic is different for each person. The magics' classification and their uses are only told to the readers as we encounter instances and uses during the course of the narration.

When we meet Imani, she is still grieving her missing brother and struggling to come to terms with her sister's rebelliousness when she ends up finding out some secrets her brother kept from her. When this information is revealed to the council, further secrets come out, things that a select few have always known. Imani is reluctantly allowed to be part of a team that sets out over the sands outside the protection of existing wards to bring back their loss. What Imani finds out once she leaves her sheltered surroundings has her questioning her own thought process and the entitlement she unknowingly lived with.

It is a simple story in some ways. The world building is done well, and the ambience is set in a manner that works well for audio narration. I could picture the sights and even the smells of the descriptions. There is less gore than some of the other books of this ilk and I would recommend it to young adults as well as adults. I would love to know how things work out, given the way the situation rests (uneasily) at the end of this work. Even if I do not read the next, this felt like a good story in itself, something that does not often happen for me in serialised works.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own listening experience.

This one was really only OK for me - great concept of an Arabic-inspired fantasy of a people locked away behind an impenetrable sand barrier with a magic spice/tea that allows them to have an affinity for a particular power and fight off demons/djinni/monsters. But it turns out that they are not a completely isolated people and that there's a whole parallel culture beyond the sands, who are under the threat of an invading empire.

It's an idea that draws on lots of other stories from the fantasy genre and should present this one well ... BUT ... we have an unfortunately insufferable teen MC who is supposed to be the best sorcerer/Shield for generations yet is incredibly naive (she's young!). The Shield army? Troop? All seems to be made of young irrational teenagers too, which doesn't seem like a solid defence. And at 17 Imani has already earned the title of Djinni Slayer.

She's joined by her younger sister, who is bright and sparky and troublesome when she first appears in the story, and largely weepy and screamy by the end.

And then we have the boys. Because there has to be a love triangle, right? Taha hates Imani, is rude to her, dismissive and nasty. Yet so kind when he's on his own. And he looks great with his shirt off. Qayn is a mysterious djinni, who is rude and secretive ... and hot in a completely different way. And of course the boys hate each other.
This whole triangle felt very tired. Just because it's in a new setting, doesn't mean it makes it any better.

Once Imani is out of the Sahir and exploring the world beyond, things also get a lite painful. The actions of the Harrowland Empire in colonising the Alqibahi people are really well explained, and evidenced, with not just physical cruelty, but examples of economic and social colonialism. And maybe it's because I'm a white person reading this, but things very quickly fall into "white people bad, cruel and cold, everyone else, no matter their potential social and cultural differences good".

I wanted to love this a whole lot more, but with the two MCs being extremely painful and an uninspiring love triangle, this wasn't a winner for me.

I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rated up!


I'm a huge fan of diverse fantasy stories that explore different cultures across the world. I haven't read many books that were inspired by Arabian culture so that was definitely the major reason for requesting this one. It does a great job of delivering a story steeped so well in Arabian culture. As is the case with many first books in a series, the first half kind of dragged a little but things started picking up towards the ending. Of course, after that particular end, I need to read the next book asap so I'll be waiting with bated breath!!

This book was absolutely AMAZING!! Like I was so hooked, I could not put the book down!! I didn't think I'd like this going into it but low and behold Maya Ibrahim SLAYED. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!

3 .5 (rounded down) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book

This wasn’t a bad read, the author can definitely write and I think it has promise, but it also just didn’t bring anything new to the table. I felt like I have read many books like this one before.

I will say that towards the end things picked up for me and got a bit more engaging, so I will likely pick up the next book in the series to see if that momentum continues.

I also hope the next book makes the characters a bit more interesting. Save one or two I found everyone to be so beige and just blah. But the couple I did find interesting makes me have hope…

An Arabian inspired young adult fantasy that involves a magic system where powers are manifested after drinking a special type of tea - ensues a fun and compelling read.
Imani is the narrator who sets off on a quest to find and bring home her wayward brother before there are dire consequences for her people.

For anyone that likes some of the expected tropes that come with the young adult fantasy genre, this book has enemy to possible lovers friction which I felt also went deeper as it had another dynamic to it as we learned more about the characters.
There’s also a djinni with no powers but plenty of secrets, and his intrigue holds Imani too captivated at times.
There’s also a deeper layer to the story which explores colonialism as one of the central themes. The political aspects of the world building in this book were so interesting to me, and this is something which I find really compelling in fantasy novels. I also really enjoyed the dynamics of the characters and I love that there is evidently a lot more to be revealed about each of them so I look forward to the sequel.

Spice Road features:
☕️ spice magic & magical tea ceremonies
🧞‍♀️ a range of magical creatures
✨ Arabian inspired world
🔥 enemies-to lovers-to enemies
🫶🏽 warm sibling dynamics
🌻 a headstrong main character

It took me a while to get into this despite it being so fast paced but once it hit, it hiiit.

In Spice Road we follow Imani, a 17 year old girl living in a secret magic city in an Arabian inspired world. After her brother, Atheer, is caught betraying their city by sharing their magic with outsiders, Imani and a group of “shields” (basically magic-wielding soldiers), venture out into the unknown to find Atheer.

In their way is a harsh desert full of djinn and werehyenas, a very angry giant protecting an empty city, and new cities with different rules. The magic was absolutely fascinating, consisting of spices and tea rituals.

Imani has such a cool affinity related to her weapon. She is headstrong, fiery and so courageous. She often acts a little recklessly, but definitely learns some important lessons by the end. Imani’s sister, Amira, was also a great character full of strength and rebellion. I loved the dynamic between the two which only got sweeter and more intimate.

Qayn was a very intriguing character full of mystery, and it’s unclear whether he is trustworthy. He has questionable motives, but I found myself wanting to know more about him which I hope we get in future books. I’m also excited to know about Taha’s backstory. He’s clearly very troubled and although I’m not sure he can redeem himself after what he did, I’m curious to see what the author does with his character.

Now onto what I think could have been better - the world is amazing and vibrant, but I don’t think it was as detailed as it could have been. A lot is brushed over and things aren’t as nuanced as I’d have liked. I also think Imani’s recklessness could lead to some readers rejecting her as a character. I think she put her group in danger a fair few times, despite knowing the dangers.

Still very excited to see what Ibrahim gives us next!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There is much to captivate and entrance in this debut, with its strong and sense of place and intense characters! I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed fantasy books based on Arab-inspired worlds in the past, so this book naturally caught my interest. The world-building was one aspect that I really liked about the story. The Arab culture and folklore is very prevalent throughout, and I enjoyed learning about the history of the world and the tea-based magic system. I also liked seeing the world-building expand as we follow the characters on their journey, learning more about the history through their new experiences as well as seeing the magic system develop. Imani in particular learns to recognise her flaws and I'm excited to see how she develops as a character throughout the trilogy.

I would have liked more development between some of the relationships between the characters, but there's a lot of potential for growth for future books, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story progresses.

I dnf’ed this book when I was about 50% through. It just wasn’t for me. The story felt a bit slow and I had to push myself to continue more then I would’ve liked.

I didn’t really connect with the MC the same way I do with most other books.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, I was fully convinced that my friends who didn't really enjoy it, were completely wrong. I think the worldbuilding could be better, I think the characters could be.. better. It just didn't really have me invested. It's been a while since I've read this, and I still can't really put my finger on what it is that kept me from liking the story.

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!

Thank you for the ARC copy!

This was a captivating read right from the start, with beautiful poetic writing which drew me in to the story. The beginning has a very nice balance of weaving exposition in to the story as it is progressing, there aren't pages of heavy info dump. The world building and history is lovely too, Im always hungry for more world detail but I imagine that will come with further books.

The two leads are an interesting pairing. Both characters are dealing with internal conflict, and the FMC more than anyone has a swirl of contradictory traits; intelligent but naïve, confident but anxious, well trained but easily flustered, etc. With this battle of emotions comes a heavy amount of internal dialogue, especially in the last third of the book, which on some occasions slowed down the action/urgency.

The overall journey and the places we get to see is all really interesting and adds to the scope of this wonderful world, the only niggle for me was the continued redirection at each destination - while I understand the need for suspense it was a little heavy.

I think it wrapped up nicely and left lots of intrigue for the next portion of the story. In review I really liked the concept, the style of writing and how the story played out - I would definitely recommend it and I am excited about reading the sequel in the future!

I’m getting really interested in books dealing with these part of the world’s folklore and mythology, it’s always fascinating.
And the magic behind the book was really creative.
Would recommend

Parece que hay una corriente de influencia árabe en parte de la fantasía actual, porque ya son varios títulos los que he leído recientemente con esta premisa, como The Daughters of Izdihar o The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. En esta ocasión Maiya Ibrahim basa más su novela en la relación fraternal de la protagonista y en un sistema mágico de afinidades que en la ambientación arábica que le sirve como marco.


Como digo, el sistema mágico es atractivo puesto que se basa en la ceremonia del te, infusionado de una especia mágica llamada misra. Los poderes se irán descubriendo poco a poco en la lectura y tienen un papel importante en la historia, pero no fundamental. Lo fundamental es la relación de Imani con su hermano. Por que la protagonista, a pesar de todos sus méritos, está a la sombra de su hermano desaparecido, al que creen muerto. Su función como Escudo protegiendo el reino oculto en el que vive de los ataques de djinn, ghouls y monstruos variopintos no tiene el reconocimiento que mereciera por las acciones de su hermano, huido fuera del reino mágico con una importante cantidad de misra.

Casi un año después de la desaparición, Imani consigue información que hace que sospeche que su hermano sigue vivo, así que se organiza una partida de búsqueda para su recuperación, de la que la propia Imani forma parte, aunque no la lidere.

La mayoría de la novela nos narra el viaje de los expedicionarios y resulta a veces demasiado lenta en su forma de mostrarnos los hechos. Me gusta la importancia que Ibrahim da a la familia y a las relaciones familiares, es de lo más atractivo del libro. Pero lo cierto es que el escenario en el que leemos la historia está apenas esbozado, los personajes son un poquito arquetípicos y en general, la novela no deja mucha huella.

La existencia de un triángulo amoroso que implica a Imani parece un poco metida con calzador, porque la verdad es que los otros dos vértices del triángulo son bastante odiosos. Tampoco es que la prosa sea una maravilla, por eso creo que Spice Road es una novela que se puede dejar pasar perfectamente.

*4.5 stars rounded down to 4*

This book was admittedly longer than I expected it to be, and while it took s few pages to really get into this world, I adored it!

The world building was so intricate and interesting, and a magic system based on tea? Yes please! It was certainly not what I was expecting, but I loved it anyway.

The characters had so many dimensions and sides to them, I never knew who to root for and who to dislike! With every chapter came a new twist.

I am so looking forward to reading the next book and finding out where the rest of the series goes!

I particularly loved the plot of this novel, honing in on the Arabian-inspired land with an equally engrossing magic system. However, I was slightly let down in terms of character development and world-building which the plot didn't manage to prop up. I'm still looking forward to the next instalment as the action-packed fantasy is enough to rope you in.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.