Full review and links to social will be posted as soon as possible.

I'd like to thank the publisher Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to it before it was archived but will review in full when I do.

A truly wonderful action packed debut novel. The political aspect of this really drew me in and I screamed from the rooftops to my friends about it.

This was a very good feminist plot based fantasy novel. We follow two females in alternating chapters and it was refreshing to see the difference in class and personalities between the two. The two main characters are both very independent and feisty women, although Nehal (the higher class main character) did come across as more childish and foot-stampy, so I'm hoping the sequel has some character development for her as I was starting to find her a bit tedious.

The magic system is called weaving and is based on controlling the elements. It's very rare for a weaver to be able to control more than one element and each element has different types, for example, earth and sand. I particularly enjoyed the chapters based in the magic school.

I really enjoyed the Egyptian setting and the food descriptions left me so hungry and drooling! I'm very interested to see what happens in the sequel after that cliffhanger and will be purchasing asap.

I wanted to love this. Obviously. It sounds great! However, I bounced off pretty hard. The prose didn't work for me and the themes felt too on the nose. I did not want to have to write a negative review, so I rather stopped reading.

I really enjoyed this and loved the combination of elemental magic and the politics / suffrage movement. I did get some Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes from this but that is definitely not a bad thing! I also really liked Nehal's character development - from brash and bolshy to more considered and thoughtful, I hope both main characters continue their development in book 2 and can't wait to see what happens next!

I've honestly been trying to read this one since I was accepted but I start it and then just never have any urge to pick it back up again which sucks because on paper this one sounds like one I should love and enjoy.

I'm so sorry to the publisher for such a late review but I really wanted to like this one so kept trying to give it chance after chance.

This was a rich and complex narrative with great characters and a compelling plot. I thought the women's rights aspect of the novel was particularly well done and there were many many scenes of casual female oppression that enraged me. Our protagonists were both flawed, with Nehal being impulsive, selfish and somewhat unaware of her own privilege as a wealthy woman of good family and reputation, whereas Giorgina is unwilling to accept her power and is very cowed by her circumstances for much of the novel. A real surprise for me was Nico, who was a delight for the most part, while also having his own flaws making him a well drawn and rounded character. There are a couple of pacing issues with the narrative, but overall, I really enjoyed this one and will be picking up the sequel.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a lovely debut! I enjoyed the commentary and class in this so much. Taking two main characters on the opposite ends of the class spectrum and thrusting them together made for a great political backdrop to the story. The world building is very good. The magic system is very unique and I'm excited to see more of it.

This was a very engaging read and I'm excitedly looking forward to the sequel!

First book in this duology introduces us to Nehal and Giorgina. Both are two gorgeous women, weavers from different social class whom fight together through arrange marriage issues, political drama and women oppression.

The premise and the plot kinda heavy but the writing it self make this story easy enough to follow. Both voices from main character so different in class and personality. It is help reader to see contra impact of the dysfunction society they live. Although their elemental magics only given small portion on narratives but it is really intriguing. I love see both women follow their personal arc to become better and stronger characters.

The setting take place at an Egyptian inspired fantasy world. I think the author is doing great job to introducing the real elements and approach feminist historical oppression with strong tone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit from Little Brown Books for providing a copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Daughters of Izdihar is an Egyptian-inspired fantasy story that follows two women from different social classes: Nehal is a spoiled socialite who is forced into an arranged marriage, while Giorgina is a poor worker who is secretly part of the women’s suffrage movement. But they’re both weavers, people with powers tied to elemental magic—Nehal is a waterweaver and Giorgina is a earthweaver, neither of them trained in the use of their powers. Both women live very different lives, but when Nehal is forced to marry Nico, Giogina’s lover, and decides to join the Daughters of Izdihar, the lives of these two main characters get irreversibly entwined.

I really enjoyed this first installment in the duology, how it focuses on suffragism and forbidden elemental magic. I liked both main characters, their different personal journeys and their determination fighting for their rights. I also enjoyed how the book explores different areas of the city of Alamaxa and the fact that one of the settings is a magical school, the Weaving Academy where Nehal trains. There are also a couple of romance storylines, one of them sapphic, which I loved.

I really can’t wait for the sequel to see how the author wraps up this duology.

Full review pending.

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

Reviewed by Elliose Hopking for the British Fantasy Society:

Nehal Darweesh is about to be married to the wealthiest man her parents can arrange. They always promised her she would be free to find her own husband, yet here she is, two weeks off becoming wife to one of Ramsawa’s most desirable bachelors and all she wants is to become a weaver at the Alamaxa Academy. Finally there is to be a female military division, the first of its kind, and Nehal firmly believes her future lies there, as a waterweaver.

Theirs is not a progressive society; however, and rather ironically, Nehal will not be allowed to enter the academy unless she is given a man’s permission. Whilst there is no chance of securing that from her father, perhaps her new husband will be amenable to a couple of adjustments to the marriage contract. Niccolo Baldinotti has secrets of his own, it would appear.

Giorgina Shukry, a humble, low-born bookshop employee, is now late for work, having been caught in a dust storm. Her boss will be even more put out than normal. An untrained earthweaver, Giorgina has to work hard to control her emotions and hide her wild ability. Attending a fundraising drive for the Daughters of Izdihar – with her face concealed, of course – will set her on a path to change the course of her mundane existence more than she ever imagined.

The Daughters of Izdihar details the plights of Nehal and Giorgina through a story that highlights well the challenges and prejudices of a patriarchal society and the terrible decisions faced by oppressed women as they fight for each small step towards equal rights. Set in an Egypt-inspired land that enjoys, for the moment, tenuous peace with its neighbour, the academy has just started training women against much opposition from parliament.

This book is an easy reader of good pace and sits well among its peers. Although key to the story, the magical elements take a lesser part of the narrative, with the focus really being on the various character relationships and with much page time spent embedding the ‘them vs us’ society in which both protagonists are trapped. Nehal and Giorgina have contrasting social positions, which adds interesting perspective, and their lives clash and interconnect, allowing further tension. Book two will be gladly received to find out where the fight takes these likeable characters next.

It was a little too plot-driven for my taste, and I would have enjoyed a few more scenes developing the beautiful sapphic relationship we got here. Still, a great start to the new releases this year for me.

First in a duology by debut author Hadeer Elsbai, set in an alternate Egyptian-inspired world featuring elemental magic and some seriously badass women fighting for their rights in a male-dominated world. Very much looking forward to book 2.

This book is a show stopper - one I would give to my friends. I would buy multiple copies of this book for people!

Another wonderful addition to my collection of feminist historical fantasy novels. I feel this novel has really built things up for the second book in the series and I am looking forward to seeing how the plot, magic, and character development play out. I am hoping to see quite a bit of character development through the second novel. While it was there in this first one, and I enjoyed the cast of strong female figures, I hope that some characters do come into their own a bit more as the series progresses. Overall I loved this book and felt it was well paced and full of adventure.

I really enjoyed this books. I loved the characters, the world building, the magic and the plot in general was absolutely fantastic!

The Daughters of Izdihar is a solid debut full of surprises. I really enjoyed my time with it, although I did have a few grievances to air later on in the review.

Starting with the positives, I really enjoyed the elemental magic. True, it's mostly ATLA magic, even down to the more niche weaving powers. I think it could have been more present in this book, as the politics were more up front and centre than the magic itself. I think this will change in the sequel due to the themes that the author was clearly working towards. I love elemental powers though, and I do try not to compare everything to ATLA but it really set the standard for me.

I also really liked Giorgina's storyline, starting off with her being in love with a rich man but coming from a poor family. I look forward to seeing more of Giorgina in the second book as she comes to terms with her powers and learns to weave them properly.

I liked the focus on women's suffrage as well, and I wasn't expecting it to be such a huge part of the book. It overwhelmed the fantasy side of things a little, and I think it affecting the pacing a lot, but that wasn't necessarily bad. It just wasn't what I was expecting.

Now, for the negatives. Nehal, the second main character, got on my nerves more and more as the book went on. Nehal grew up very rich and was thrown into a bad situation, and she acted like a complete brat the entire time. She had no subtlty, and I'm sure some readers will love that, but after the tenth time of her barging in and shouting at another character and demanding she got her own way, without thinking of the consequences of her actions on the other women involved, I had honestly had enough.

I hope to see a lot of character growth for Nehal in the future. I'm sure the author was going for a "badass, take no shit" kind of character but due to her background Nehal moreso came off as a snobby brat who didn't understand anything that was going on.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel because I think a lot of the elements (ha) that I thought were missing from this one will have to surface. I can't wait to see what happens to all the characters next!

I loved this book! A gripping adventure with a strong cast of women. It left me seething with feminist anger and a need for more.