One of my favourite reads of the year so far! The start of a stunning fantastical adventure and a brand new author who I can't wait to hear more from.

Spice Road was on my most anticipated list for 2023 so of course when I saw it was available on NetGalley I had to grab myself a copy. I am a sucker for Middle Eastern inspired fantasy and I had great hopes for this one. I loved the sound of the magic system which is somewhat based on tea, combined with djinn and ghouls and all the usual creatures.

The main character, Imani, is super loyal to her family and also quite powerful. She showed a little of the “not like other girls” trope but I overlooked it to be honest because I was enjoying reading about her relationship with her sister so much and I was willing to forgive.

Her relationship with the two guys in this book is going to be very hit or miss for readers. I think a lot of people will like Taha, the broody soldier, even if he is a bit much. Qayn was intriguing, but I’m not sure I really bought into him being an actual potential love interest considering he’s thousands of years old.

Anyway, the romance wasn’t the main draw at all and I pretended none of it happened.

I found the beginning of the story to be incredibly info-dumpy. The reader is given Imani’s entire backstory, the history of the world, and Imani didn’t actually uncover anything like the synopsis suggests. However! Past the 20% mark things really got going and the whole thing was a lot more interesting. I thought the world building was very intriguing and contained themes of colonisation, secrets, and betrayal.

Overall, this was an intriguing debut and I’m glad I had the chance to read it.

Spice Road begins in the hidden land of Qalia, a part of the Sahir where magic exists (fuelled by drinking misra tea). It’s set in the first person perspective of Imani, who is incredibly skilled in duelling but… woefully ignorant of most things (but she’s trying and she’s learning more about the world, and of course as she does, the reader does as well).

Imani’s brother, Atheer, had disappeared and was presumed dead, but their sister, Amari, never gave up hope that he may be alive (despite it being known he’d stolen some of the misra supplies beforehand). They follow Atheer’s horse into dangerous territory one day and come across Qayn, a djinni who claims that he can help Imani find Atheer.

No one can find out about Qayn, as Imani technically should have killed him, but she ends up having to be escorted on her quest to find Atheer with three others who aren’t exactly keen on her. This includes Taha, a beastseer with a traumatic past thanks to his father. Arrogant, committed to duty and also just pretty mean. There were times I felt he might end up more redeemable but pretty quickly each time I went back to being Team Qayn in terms of my favourite character.

The world-building is magical and I loved the concept of Imani’s home being hidden away by magic itself, and we had some very interesting creatures such as a giant and other beasts. Once the group exits the hidden Sahir though, the narrative takes a slight turn and the real monsters are instead human in kind. Personally, I really enjoyed this as it helped to open Imani’s eyes a little.

What took a lot longer was her realising that Qayn was an absolute diamond. No matter how much he helps her, she just can’t see past that he’s a djinni. It makes sense, she’s been practically brainwashed into just wanting to kill every and all djinni (even earning the nickname ‘Djinni Slayer’ from excelling in this), but he was a treat from his first appearance. When she wasn’t threatening to kill him then their chemistry was also fantastic! I really liked learning more about him throughout the story too, and I’d 100% read a Qayn backstory prequel in a heartbeat.

In essence, Spice Road is a really great set-up to the trilogy, with a strong plot in itself. Younger YA readers will adore it from start-to-finish and I will most definitely be reading the sequel thanks to how much some of the characters grew during the story, and because I need to know what happens next!

Spice Road is the first book in the debut series by Maiya Ibrahim, and what an epic debut to the series it is!

We follow Imani, who is part of an elite group, Shields, that protects the people of Qualia, Sahir. She discovers her brother, Atheer, who disappeared a year ago, and everyone thought him dead, might be alive. With this newfound information, she sets on a quest to find him with a group of people she's not exactly fond of, her rival from Shields, Taha and his friends. But what the others in the group don't know is that Imani broke the law and has a help of a djinn, Qayn, who is the only one that knows the way to her brother. They journey far beyond their known world, through places that shouldn't exist anymore. Along the way, she learns that what she learned in their history books is not the whole story.....

I fell in love with the story very quickly. I loved the world-building, the magic system, and the focus on sibling love more than romance. The characters are complex and interesting. I admit, Imani annoyed me at first, but when she realized and saw that what Qayn said about her brother and the kingdom of Alqibah might be true and started to change, I liked her. Without a doubt, my most favourite character is Qayn, the djinn. He's perfect - mysterious, powerful, handsome and complex with a lot to say and learn about him. Hopefully, we'll get even more of him in the next book.

It's definitely the kind of fantasy I enjoy - beautiful world-building, a strong female character, supernatural beings, and action-packed. I recommend this story to everyone who loves to travel to faraway lands!



Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for granting me access to an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
This book was an absolutely brilliant read. I loved the rich and imaginative worldbuilding. The setting was great and so was the pacing of the story. The book has complex characters, as well as a unique magic system. I'm really excited to read more books by this author. I can't wait to see what happens next.

This is the first book in a fantasy trilogy, which excites me because I know there’ll be another two and I can’t wait for my fairyloot edition to arrive now ! Like the first book in any series it’s a touch slower at the start, you know because of world and character building, scene setting and I never expect anything different in epic fantasy, this still had me gripped from start to end, even when slower I still wanted to know more, it’s a wonderful debut, once your scene is set the pace takes off, the story steps up a gear and the twists and turns are amazing . I Definitely recommend this to all fans of Fantasy

Spice Road is the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy set in an Arabian style land. It’s based around a desert city called Qalia, where magic is awakened by a special tea called misra. This action-packed adventure story is lead by a 17 year old girl called Imani. Imani has an affinity for iron and can wield a dagger with skill and precision. This has earned her a reputation for slaying monsters and creatures and has awarded her the position of a Shield.

The book is a good foundation for the beginning of a trilogy, there is some action and a few plot twists along the way. The story fell a little flat in terms of atmosphere and I felt the characters needed more depth and emotion. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the characters, including a bit of banter. However, I did find Qayn’s character interesting and I think he has much more of a story to tell. As a big fan of romance in fantasy novels the enemies-to-lovers sub plot was a little lack lustre for me, there wasn’t enough romantic tension or love/hate emotion. I also sensed a little love triangle developing and it will be interesting to see where this goes.

A reasonable debut novel and introduction to a trilogy and definitely one to pick up if you enjoy Arabian inspired fantasy novels. It was not quite the gripping adventure I had been expecting, however there is plenty room for manoeuvre and further development in the next two novels.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley to review.

3.5 rounded up ~

I did read along with a audio version for some parts, but mostly listened to this one!

I LOVED the magic system and how it is somewhat a mix between Sanderson's Mistborn and Lin's Book of Tea duology and really wished we could have seen more of it. Also the setting was really cool and easy to immerse myself in.

I also....mostly enjoyed the plot and adventure of it all, but unfortunately I didn't quite 'click' with the characters and wasn't really sure what the author was trying to say with the characterisation of them - our MC is a very privileged girl from a rich and important family and this isn't really challenged in a good way - maybe in book two it will be....but it felt very ~politician/ruler/etc. visits poor country and feels upset because of the poverty but is oblivious to wrongs on their own doorstep~ like....the author *tried* to make a point and challenge this POV but this was coming from unlikeable characters and just didn't really gel - her response to these comments and challenges were jealousy/they're bullies/wah - big celebrities singing Imagine during lockdown vibes. There was so much potential with the characters - they are all well established and different from one another, just their interactions and motivations could have been tighter.

So I don't really know how I feel, I would have loved to read from multiple povs or for deeper characterisation, and dear god whatever that love angle was to make sense.

I feel like this one might be a grower and I'll more than likely pick up the next book.

Spice Road is an epic YA fantasy set in an Arabian-inspired world. This is a solid debut novel where the dessert world is full of magical and immersive atmosphere. We follow our main character Imani who has been sent to an adventurous mission with a crew of warriors to find her lost brother.

Spice Road held my attention from start to finish! I loved the dessert world and the whole journey was really tense with all the danger lurking around. I really loved fighting and action scenes as they were very well done with many twists and tension. The writing style was immersive with a beautifully descriptive prose. Apart from the actual mission, the story involved themes of colonisation, slavery and the effect it has on the people living there.

Our main character Imani felt very young adult, so I was frustrated many times with her decisions and attitude that was sometimes annoying. However, I found her internal fight intriguing. She had to adjust her thinking about her priviledged world as she has known it previously to a truth she has found out recently. I really liked how her mind was changing and evolving with new information. That's why I liked her character a lot and I hope we will see her further character development in the next books.

The reasons why I didn't give it a full rating are romance and rules of the magic system. The whole romance felt really forced and like an insta-love (which I hate in books). Their mutual adoration and feelings suddenly emerged from nowhere and it just wasn't believable at all. The second thing I didn't like was the magic system's rules. Although I found the tea magic quite unique, the rules of using it were not really clear. At the end, the magic was used at the current situation's convenience. I hope it will be explained more in the next book though.

Overall, it was a great introduction to a new world, characters and story. I definitely want to continue with the series!

This book will work for a lot of people. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.

Feel free to take my review with as much salt as you like: just because this book has all the classic YA fantasy tropes I dislike* doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad book. But I can’t pretend that this wouldn’t be at best a 2-star read if I were rating it purely on enjoyment.

I found it an absolute slog: I could only read for half an hour or so at a time before I got bored and/or frustrated, and every time I put it down, I had no desire to pick it back up. If I hadn’t been reading this for review, it could very well have been a DNF.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about all the elements that frustrated me, because this will just turn into a rant, which isn’t really fair when we’ve already established that this book was never going to be for me. Instead, I will just say that the kinds of readers I can see enjoying this would be fans of Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian - as well as books in the Shadow and Bone, early <i>Shadowhunters-type vein - and leave it at that.

That’s not to say there was nothing good about it. The discussions of colonialism and privilege, while a little basic, were well done for a middle-YA audience, and Imani’s journey of coming to terms with her own privilege and all the ways she’s been ignorant is important. I also liked the desert setting, though I wish the magic had been a little more developed/explained (and I really think all the marketing around ‘tea magic’ was misleading; the tea really isn’t important in the way that implies.)

*a non-exhaustive list includes: a stubborn and impulsive heroine who makes the worst decision every time; enemies to lovers romance based on absolutely nothing + hints of a love triangle in the sequel; not one but TWO dark, brooding love interests with Mysterious Tragic Pasts, at least one of whose attraction manifests as rudeness bordering on outright cruelty)

CW: colonialism, violence, imprisonment, family separation, grief, references to domestic abuse, death of a pet

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Spice Road was not for me. The first 20% was hard to get into, the characters were unlikable and annoying. After the characters began their journey, I enjoyed the book more, but they were constantly arguing, and it was very exhausting.
I wasn't a fan of the romance either. Imani has her faults, she was impulsive and dumb, and yes, she was privileged, but Taha was no better. He was a bully, but every time he said some nice thing to Imani, she suddenly developed feelings for him?
Qayn's character was the best in the novel.

Despite a shaky start Spice Road turned out to be a captivating opener to a YA fantasy trilogy. I loved the world the author created, the magic system and the web of intrigue that is slowly being revealed.


I really had to push through the first 10% or so, I found the dialogue quite stilted and can't say I warmed to either Imani or Amira. What I, and Imani, discovered as the story unfolded was that she was quite an unreliable narrator due to her narrow and biased view of her world. She goes on two huge journeys in this book, the first is across the Swallowing Sands to the distant lands of Alqibah, whilst the second was a much-needed one of personal growth and development. Imani was prone to rushed choices, reckless decisions and poor choices that all reflected the somewhat sheltered and pampered teenager she was. Those actions could have become irritating has she not also begun to learn from them and try to be a better person.


Whilst the book is written from Imara's perspective (third person) there is a good cast of supporting characters to add depth and interest. Stick with Amira, she becomes less petulant and actually has a better understanding of real life than her older sibling does. Taha and Qayn are well-fleshed-out supporting characters, Reza and Fey not so much, though that didn't impact on my enjoyment of the story. The pace definitely picked up once the group depart on their search for Atheer and this went from a book I nearly DNFd to a book I couldn't put down.


I will be adding book #2 to my TBR list and hope I don't have to wait too long for its release!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love love loved this book. The worldbuilding, plot and characters, everything was absolutly perfect.

The way the author depicted the arab culture was chefs kiss. If I am not mistaken the specific arab culture in the book is from the levant area, like Syria, Lebanon etc. I will never get over the feeling of seeing my culture and language represented accuratly and with care. The worldbuilding was so imensly developed and well built that I felt as if I had been int the same places that the characters was. The magic system and portrayals of the goverments made so much sense.

Imani, the main charcter was in my opinion very lovabel and changed through the whole story. Her character developed and the way the author portrayed her changing world view was very realistic. I like how visibly her change was throughout the story and how she recognized her flaws and worked on them. She was also so much of a badass and very inspiring.

The way that the plot thickens throughout the story and the plotwists left me at the edge of my seat to the point I couldn't wait to turn the page. I also loved the authors writing style and how alive it made the story feel.

Overall this was definitly one of the best books I have read in a while and definitly will recomend to everyone I know. It also reminded me of Hafzah Faizal's We hunt the flame duology and Sabaa Tahir's An ember in the flame series, which if you haven't read you should definitely read but if you have read them and liked them then you should definitely read this one.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and the author, for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A book based on tea magic, a walled secluded land protected by that magic and the outer world being colonized by light skinned people from far far away. How do you expect me not to pick this book up. But let me tell you this I have never disliked a MC this much in the beginning of a book. She grew on me is the only way to explain how at the end of the book with a generous amount of character development Imani became much more than the Djinni slayer who was full of herself.

The story follows the journey of Imani, the 17 year old Djinni slayer of Qalia, a desert land blessed by the spirit with the power of misra tea. Imani is on a journey to find her brother Atheer who was previously presumed dead after being afflicted by magical obsession and betraying the land of Qalia by sharing misra with the 'cursed outsiders of the forbidden wastes'. When she discovers that there might be a chance that Atheer might be alive, she convinces the council to send her to find him and bring him back. She is allowed to leave the protected lands of Qalia under the condition that she will be accompanied by Taha, the best beastseer of their generation and Imani's rival. The journeys is arduous and full of unwelcome surprises, at the end of which, all of Imani's world of beliefs might come crashing down.

The story was slow to take off and Imani was so annoying and irritating, so was everybody else. Egoistic with a tone of self righteousness and self-importance to the end where I was absolutely hating her. The story slowly started gaining pace and emotional depth as it proceeded to end, at a place where I was whole heartedly rating it 4 stars. The thrill and tension of the plot was real and it had me on edge many a time. I honestly loved the sibling dynamics and and beauty of people slowly coming into themselves and seeing their perspective about life change. The unraveling of indoctrination is a beautiful sight to witness. Also so much of the story is so real, as from tidbits of history to things happening across the world right now. This parallel was very painful and necessary

I honestly cannot wait for book 2 and will recommend this to tea magic lovers and people who love fantasy based on history, culture and politics.

TW: Death, blood, gore, death of animal, betrayal, Sexual assault, abuse, child abuse, colonization, barbarism, forced labor

Look, I wanted to love this, I really did. I have friends who really enjoyed this, so you can see that my opinion is not the only ine out there and should not be taken as unshakable truth.



For me the book was just a bit...meh. Weirdly nothing really stayed in my mind about this book, and I finished it yesterday. I just found it to be very forgettable.

Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't call it bad and I would still give it three stars, I had fun occasionally while reading it.

It's just. How do you write a book without a single likable main character. That is also not necessarily a bad thing, some people like characters like this, I just don't. Also not a fan of the Love Triangle we're heading into. The choice is between a bully and a centuries old guy getting creepy with a teenager, so no thank you.



So 3/5 but I'm not really interested in the sequel.

I pushed myself to finish this book last night, because I just didn't want to wake up in the morning and know that it was still waiting for me. I kept hoping it would get better. And sometimes, it did, but only briefly. All in all, it just wasn't enough.

I'll start with the positive, which is the Middle Eastern-inspired setting and the magic system. The world itself is interesting—Qalia is a city hidden by magic that the rest of the world has forgotten. The source of it is a spice called misra, from which they brew a tea. Once they drink it, they can use magic for a limited amount of time. Each sorcerer has a specific affinity as well—our main character, Imani, can manipulate the iron in her dagger. I liked the idea of tea fueling the magic. They take it very seriously, and have brewing ceremonies with which they start their day.

The plot itself is fairly straightforward, and consists of a lot of traveling. Imani's brother disappeared after stealing a large amount of misra, and Imani finally has a lead on where he is and is determined to bring him home. They encounter some precarious situations along the way, but none of what happens is very surprising what with all the foreshadowing. Except if your name is Imani, then everything is a shock to the system.

I don't mind reading about unlikeable characters, although I will say that I usually prefer not to read them in first person POV. But Imani was completely insufferable. For someone who is supposedly a great warrior, the Djinni Slayer, you'd think she would be much less naïve. Instead, she spends nearly half the book insisting that her brother would never do something like this and must've been brainwashed, despite all evidence to the contrary, including discussions she had with him that she reflects on. She's also extremely privileged but completely unaware of it, as if it is the most normal thing in the world that everything will be forgiven once she returns with her brother, including her blackmailing Qalia's leaders. She does get called out on this by Taha, but it still takes her an embarrassingly long time to figure out that she is the asshole to all the people in her life.

And even after she has this realization, she really doesn't do anything with it. The biggest example of this is her relationship/romance with Taha. Every interaction between them would start with Taha treating her almost kindly, and then suddenly doing a complete 180 and reverting back to his usual cold aloofness. And I can understand Imani being first confused by this, and then giving him the cold shoulder right back. Instead, she keeps joining him in this ridiculous cycle so that we can get constant internal monologues of, "wow he's so different when we're alone, maybe I like him, why did he just say that to me, he is the WORST I will never trust him again".

I wish I could say that the rest of the characters make up for it, but they really don't. I was mildly interested in Qayn, but the author teases a love triangle between Taha, Qayn, and Imani, and I have no interest in going down that road. I'm really sad that this didn't work for me.

Imani is one of the best shields in the kingdom. Nobody wields a blade like her, and no monster or djinn can stand in her way. When she receives news hinting at more information about her brother's disappearance, she doesn't hesitate. She'll find him, no matter what, even if she has to bite her tongue and work with her rival.

I love how strong and independent Imani is. I can't say the same about her sister, but one can't like all characters. Taha was a little bit annoying too, but at times he redeems himself. This is a great fantasy series with Middle Eastern folklore and magic. I can't wait to read more from this author.

The writing style here just did not work for me at all. I liked the concept, but I felt the execution lacked which was a shame. Considering the moments that really flashed, the connecting pieces of it fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book is incredible. The moment I saw this book announced was the moment I got excited about it. It's just a great idea and I love the way the magic system works and I want so much more of it!

The prose is beautiful and lends itself well to the plot as it develops. Each location in the book is so vivid and the development of the MC as they journey through these locations is gorgeously done. Each character in the cast bring something different to the story and I was intrigued to see how each one would affect the story, with each of them being so unique.

Sadly, I did not love the romance in this one. I didn't particularly like the love interest and found that he only seemed to get more unlikable as the book went on, and not in the broody bad boy way. I found him difficult to care for in any sort of way.

Overall, a solid book and I look forward to seeing where the rest of this story goes.

Actual rating: 3.5/5

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this, the plot was really good and while some of the characters were stronger than others I did like the interactions. I felt the world could have been fleshed out a little more but overall it was a really solid story. I liked it enough to want to pick up the sequel when it is released.