The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, is an incredible swashbuckling journey full of magical lands, wicked sorcerers, hidden realms, and monstrous sea creatures…

“For I have always had a gambler’s soul, finding prizes tinged with risk utterly irresistible. But my gambler’s soul had gotten innocent men killed. My gambler’s soul was now so heavy with crimes that God would have to be most merciful indeed if I was to escape hellfire.”

Amina Al-Sirafi is a retired pirate with a steep bounty on her head. She was once a notorious nakhudha who sailed the Indian Ocean. A fearsome rogue and a talented smuggler that inspired decades of scandalous tales and vicious rumors. Now she resides in a small hovel in the mountains with her young daughter, Marjana, living a simple life in order to shield her little one from the ghosts of her past. When a wealthy stranger crosses her path with a tantalicing offer; return their kidnapped granddaughter to receive a life-changing sum that would provide her family with a lifetime of security, Amina finds herself tracking down her old crew and returning to the Seven Seas for one final adventure.

Our fearsome heroine, Amina, is an absolute gem of a character. I adore how she is both a protective mama bear and a vicious bandit that wouldn’t hesitate to rip the yellowing teeth from anyone who doubts her. She has both a foul mouth and murderous tendencies, but I for one would follow her anywhere.

Chakraborty has created a beautiful tale of friendship and family on the high seas. I can tell that this will be the book EVERYONE is talking about next month. It’s full of remarkable twists, clever throwbacks and carefully woven myths and folklore. It’s vibrant, entertaining and packed with suspense and elements of the supernatural.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi
By Shannon Chakraborty
Release date: 2nd March 2023
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Where do I start with this book, let’s start at the beginning within the first few lines I has chills whole body chills as I started to read about Amina. I love her, she is fierce, a warrior and someone I want to be like when I grow up. [I mean when I finally work out how to adult] this story had it all, Muslim culture which made me so happy because as a teacher it is so good to read about a culture, to characters you love and characters you hate. Shannon Chakraborty knows how to build an atmosphere and times I sat devouring the book knowing exactly where I was and the way it was all laid out. I cannot wait to have this book in my hands because this book was everything I wanted and needed. I was extremely hyped to watch this and it did not disappoint. I cannot describe the feeling I had reading this book and the emotional connection I felt to Amina- who was a woman trying to carve her way into the world. I cannot wait for more stories from her because her name deserves to be remembered and whispered about.

I won’t get into too much detail about all of the characters but I love the mythology in this book and of course Amina is steeped in it. I also loved the way it was written as well, you will be transported into a story and then added parts to it as you move through. And although it is only January I feel this book will be a contender for my book of the year already.

If you loved the Daevabad trilogy you will not be disappointed with this book because it holds the wonder that series wove.
Thank you to Harper voyager for allow me to review this and Netgalley for letting me review this.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was an enjoyable reading, with a strong worldbuilding and a lot of action. It was really quite the journey! So why the low rating? Because this time I couldn't connect with the characters. While I've loved the ones in The City of Brass, here I struggled with Amina. The problem wasn't the first person narration, I just couldn't feel the spark I felt with Nahri. All in all, I enjoyed it but not as much as I expected.

Chakraborty is the only author whom I've read all their works and she knocked it out of the park with this one.

I knew from reading her portrayal of the Ayanlle in the Daevabad trilogy that she could write a seafaring adventure and am thoroughly impressed with what she has accomplished here. Amina and the crew were adorable and made the most lovely family.

I love that she decided to write some badass older characters ( in their 30s to 40s) which the people have been asking for from fanstasy in recent years.

The magic and worldbuilding was top notch as always, that is where she shines. You xan see how much time and effort she put into describing things in a way that still felt authentic to people at that time i.e. using words and language that would have been common in their time.

I always laugh in her books and this was no exception, the humour was present and accounted for. I think she writes some of the most sarcastic characters out there. If you want a funny fantastical read, you're sorted.

I love pirate stories and seeing one that takes place on the Indian Ocean, traversing North and East Africa was that extra bit special. I cannot begin to explain how wonderful it is to read about places that I know of and not have to go wait.... where is that? When a place is mentioned.

I will read whatever she chooses to write for as long as she wields a pen as fiercly, enchantingly and imaginatively as she has.

This is a wonderful adventure story with Pirates of the Caribbean and found family vibes.
Amina feels very different to typical heroines as all of our main cast are middle aged and she is a parent. All the characters have their own amazing stories and personalities so they are easy to contact with and have lots of depth and complexity. This book explores the balance of motherhood, especially in Amina’s case, being a single parent, and then having your own ambitions, passions, and identity and still gives Amina her own sexuality, which is really nice.
The representation in this book is so heartwarming and I love it, certain points even brought me to tears - both in terms of the amazing positive rep for Islam and wonderful LGBTQIA+ rep (although Amina herself is not queer, as far as we are aware).
This can easily be read as a standalone but there is a bit of plot filling in the end put in so that more stories can be added, but this can be self contained if you want it to be.
I have not read the authors other series, City of Brass, but I can see how the two series can intersect and how they are likely some little breadcrumbs dropped for fans of that series.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this eARC

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for letting read and review the eARC of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi details one last escapade of a retired female pirate-smuggler. Yet this last folly turns into a haneous battle with the unknown magic's of Aminas world.

If you love pirates and treasure hunting, adventures and battles, magic and mythical creatures, and even companions with all their own unique, advantageous abilities, this book is the right read for you. The book touches on topics of equality that relate to feminism, social classes, religion and the lgbt+ community.

The way Shannon Chakraborty wrote this in a way that was a narration written by the scribe, Jamal, and first hand account of a legend, but also a point of view was phenomenal. The breaking of the books fourth wall, so to speak, honestly made me laugh at times, and it was these interactions, plus those of the scribes accounts at the end of some chapters, that made me fall in love with Jamal. Towards the end where Jamals identity was revealed I was utterly shocked but honestly so indubitably happy.

Jamal, however, isn't the only character I loved. Honestly, all of them touched my hearts, even Raksh - I mean with a proposal like that, how couldn't you - From the mistress of poisons to the map reader to the first mate to the Nakhudha. Each had their ambitions, each have their pasts, and God I hope to further read more of Amina al-Sirafis adventures if I get to learn more about all of them.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is a 5 star read.

This book follows Amina, a pirate legend. She is tasked with a quest that she just can't refuse and sets sail one final time. We follow her as she finds members of her old crew, and let me tell you these characters and their relationships had me laughing throughout.

I adore the setting of this book, the diverse characters and the subjects this book touches on. The writing is easy to read, flows well and I never wanted to put the book down.

I know it's only January but I know this book will be in my top reads of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy.

AHHHHH Chakraborty has done it again! She has such a wonderful way with words. Aside from the first chapter, this booked completely sucked me in. Everything from the characters, to the pacing, to the world building was perfectly executed.

In terms of characters, Amina is now a new favourite. She’s quite unique for fantasy: an older woman who is past her prime time, but one who has led an incredibly rich life. She’s also a mother, with a daughter she adores. She still yearns for her past life and I loved how Chakraborty didn’t fall into the trap of making Amina ‘settle’ for what was expected of her. There was a great cast of secondary characters, whose arcs I can’t wait to see develop.

Lastly, I loved how rich and familiar this world felt to me. I have never read a fantasy book that focusses on Islamic culture, and Muslim characters (and other religious groups) with Arabic words, and mentions of locations that if they were set in a Western fantasy, would be described as ‘exotic’. I’m sick of being reduced to a stereotype and WE DID NOT GET THIS AT ALL. Why? Because this wonderful author knows what she’s talking about. Thank you so much, Chakraborty, for making me, and people like us, feel heard through your exquisite writing. This is WHY diverse stories MATTER. Not because of nonsense statistics. This book was perfect for me and I cannot wait to see how the series develops.

PS: review to come on my channel.

PPS: Thank you NetGalley, for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager for providing me this book in exchange fro an honest review*

This book confused me. Since I haven't read her other books I didn't go with high expectations. But still I'm undecided, hence the 3.75 stars. First of all the middle aged protagonist overwhelmed me since I prefer reading much younger audience. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good. It has a lot of world building and Amina was narrating her story. It was really funny at some points, but other than it didn't captured much my attention. And I wanted it to catch my attention because it had Muslim representation, which is a vibe I love in books. Other than that, I suggest you to read it to form your opinions. I would like to know them.

I'd never read anything by this author before, so I was curious if Amina had ever been told in a previous book because I couldn't get into the story until I was halfway through chapter 10, and then I was hooked.

It tells about Amina, a retired pirate who chooses to spend her retirement with her family until one day when a wealthy mother of a former crewman approaches her and asks her to save her kidnapped granddaughter. The pace is slow at first, and it is told in the first person. Amina, the introduction of the characters and the world-building overwhelms me a little. I have mixed feelings about following her adventures; there are times when I'm convinced I won't finish it, but I'm also intrigued by how it will end lol.

The author keeps telling rather than showing, which makes it difficult for me to connect with characters like Tinbu, Dalila, and Majed, all of whom have a significant influence on Amina story. Nonetheless, their jokes made me laugh. This surprised me because I expected their adventures to be more suspenseful and action-packed than the hilarious crewmates'. Furthermore, they hold different beliefs. I like Amina, who does not abandon her Muslim obligations; she is also portrayed as an imperfect person. Her encounter with Raksh is the most absurd and hilarious; I'd like to know what happened to Raksh in any case, perhaps in the sequel.

The elements of kinship and friendship that pervade this book amuse me, and the sea adventures filled with magic and supernatural creatures add to the excitement. Thank you to Netgalley and HarperUK for sending me the ARC! I enjoyed reading it, and I hope you will as well when the book is released on March 2nd.

Amina Al-Sirafi is a retired pirate captain, living quietly with her 10-year old daughter. However, she is tempted to take on one last job, retrieving a missing heiress, on the promise of a big payout.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, is a great big, swashbuckling pirate novel, with a middle-aged mom as the hero, and it is great fun. The world building is great: a historical novel with a distinctly magical twist, that keeps you turning the pages. The thing that really made this novel for me however, is Amina’s voice, she is funny, acerbic and intensely likeable. I can’t wait to go on more adventures with her.

Amina al-Sirafi is a retired pirate, who's quiet life with her daughter is interrupted by a wealthy woman who wants to enlist Amina to find her kidnapped granddaughter. What follows is an epic adventure across seas with a literal helping of magic and action!

The book is a little bit too long in parts and took a beat to get going. However, Shannon Chakraborty is a masterful storyteller with a real flair for world building. If you're looking for a gripping adventure, this is the book to get!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Having absolutely loved ‘The City of Brass’ and ‘The Kingdom of Copper’ (I still need to catch on the third one in the Daevaband Trilogy!), I picked up ‘The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi’ knowing I will enjoy this title very much. Shannon Chakraborty definitely didn’t disappoint this time either!

While ‘The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi’ starts fairly slowly, we are drawn to the main character, Amina, since the very initial pages of the book. Even in those quiet moments in the family house, you get the feeling that Amina has been fierce once, that there’s much more to her than you can see. And once the action kicks going, things are definitely starting to move very quickly in the book – it’s definitely about “the adventures” as this title is full of actions, complications, and adventures.

It's great to see the main character’s struggle not just with going back to her old life and regaining her abilities, but also being conflicted about her choices and how does they affect her now and most importantly her family.
‘The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi’ has a great cast of characters, with so many different stories and potential to grow. I absolutely adored reading about them and I can’t wait to see where they go next!

Wow I loved this!
This is my first pirate fantasy so I wasn't sure what to expect or whether I would even enjoy it.
I loved the characters (even ones we weren't meant to)
I loved the adventure and how it twisted and turned, the writing was so good and i could picture everything clearly
I loved the found family and friendships
I loved the culture
I loved the humour!

I cant wait for the next instalment and I have a strong feeling that this book is going to stick with me for a long while!

Thankyou to Net Galley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty 🦀⚓️🌊

It’s books like this that are the reason that I love to read, Shannon has blown it out of the waters yet again!!

Amina is a wonderful main character who has layers of personality and traits. It’s an absolute joy to follow her many voyages in this multi stage quest in other realms, unexpected visitors and magical creatures

I thought the side characters in this book were also brimming with personalities and secrets that made them all stand out, put them all together and it’s a swashbuckling combination

This is one great well paced adventure in the start of what I already know is going to be a fab trilogy, it is not to be missed

Firstly, huge thanks to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for the arc of The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Having absolutely adored the Daevabad Trilogy, I approached this book with equally matched excitement and trepidation. My hopes were for an action packed, swashbuckling pirate adventure but, what was delivered was something so much more, magic, supernatural, and marvel of marvels a mature female protagonist!

Amina is an amazing protagonist, I empathised completely with the aches and pains, especially the battered knees. Dalila is just sweet, sweet, acerbic, poisonous perfection. Majed is an utter delight, and trust me still the fastest swimmer of them all! And Tinbu, I just loved him and a certain cat! 😂 The other benefit for me if having more mature protagonists was that there was a distinct sense of experience, knowledge and total self-awareness, particularly when they do something that definitely didn’t work before…here I go, being daft again monologue.

The story is told from Amina’s perspective and the dry humour just shines through, there are some serious rest moments in this book that had me laughing out loud. These sit alongside a depth of feeling and emotion that shape the characters and adventures.

The world building is perfect, set centuries before but, it feels like it’s the same world as Daevabad, you can smell the brine of the ocean, and feel the gritty sand between your toes; although one part did rather blow my mind - you’ll know exactly what I mean when you get to it.

In addition to the wonderful narrative, the book uses extracts from travellers’ stories, books and stories to fill in the reader and plug those gaps Amina prefers not to. The pacing is great, this is a quest with multiple stages that builds on the tension and emotional pull to totally engrossed you. Woe betide anyone who interrupts this read!

A fabulous start to what I dearly hope is a new series that totally delivers action, adventure, amazing characters…maybe even the odd one you might recall and definitely should not be missed!

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.