I seriously loved this so much. It's everything I've been craving ever since finishing the Daevabad trilogy.

I really enjoyed the plot, especially the fact the book starts in media res, it really helps the reader to get right into it. The writing style could use some work, but I'm hopeful it can only improve as the series progresses.
The characters are well-developed and while not all of them are likable, they really crawl up under your skin and make you care about them, a lot.

Sometimes the stars align and you're the type of mood reader who's looking for a fast-paced adventure which also makes commentary about important issues and then this book lands in your lap.

Spice Road is about Imani - a warrior, a young woman from an esteemed family, a magic wielder with an affinity to iron and a grieving sister. She grew up protecting her beloved city from magical demons - Djinns, serpents, ghouls and other terrifying creatures of mythology. When there was an opportunity to find her missing her brother beyond the city barriers, she sets off with a team chosen by the Council. From there, Imani has to choose between saving her brother or her beloved city.

I absolutely had a wild time reading this, which was beautifully narrated by Krupa Pattani. There's a few books I would think would benefit from Krupa's talent if publishers wish to re-record the audiobooks for. She gave the dialogue vitality and emotional weight. The characters each had distinct voices that made it easy to follow. Her pace during action scenes had the staccato rhythm that matched my own beating heart.

It's staggering just how much was crammed into this book, djinns with ulterior motives, a forbidden city ruin, a daring parkour chase, a prison break. While the story kept moving from thrilling event to another, there were moments where you were able to reflect on the core themes of the story. This was a story where the characters are all conflicted between personal love and duty to their beloved city. It definitely made an interesting read because of it.

Notable the world around them is being controlled by colonizers, who wish to control the spice trade. I enjoyed the different perspectives of the invaders and raised the question of who is responsible for helping the oppressed? Themselves or their neighbours?

At times, I wished we can take a longer breather between some of terrifying events Imani went through. I needed a moment longer than she did to sit with her emotions and reflect on some traumatic things that she went through. But I hope that in the sequel, we get to delve deeper into those emotions. Overall this was an enjoyable read and I really look forward to finding out what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed listening to this! It was a slow start but Spice Road ended up being a great start to what I'm sure will be an even more captivating YA Fantasy trilogy. I really enjoyed the world that's been created here, I just would have liked more world building. The magic system was very interesting (it's magic tea C'MON!) and I enjoyed seeing all of the actions and decisions that were happening in the background come to light.

Imani is an incredibly flawed character (of course she is, she's a teenager). She's reckless, makes rushed decisions and poor choices that reflects just how privileged she actually is. It's because of this that she is quite an unreliable narrator. However, on her quest to find her brother she has surrounded herself with a number of great supporting characters that help her grow and develop as a character. Taha and Quyn are really well developed and I look forward to seeing more of them in the next book.

This story really came into it's own once the initial group split up and I'm excited to see where this trilogy goes next!

STUNNING!

One of my first audiobooks, and so chunky at that! This world was so rich and intriguing. I loved the enemies to lovers dynamic and the writing was just absolutely gorgeous! I can't wait for the next book, and I loved every second of this one- I would highly recommend if you're looking for an Arabian-inspired book rich in worldbuilding and depths of characters that was just so so nice to read about.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc!!

This world— of deserts and bazars and powerful warriors— exudes magic. Spice World is a brilliant story of alliance and betrayal set in a truly unique world. I love how the djinn work and how determined Imani is to stay loyal to her culture’s hatred of the djinn for as long as she can. More than anything, the story of a family that will fight for each other creates a strong foundation of character relationships that make this an absolutely lovely read.

I loved the first 25% of this book but the plot seemed to slow down to a crawl after that.  I found Imani quite reckless, constantly acting without thinking which seems a bizarre trait for someone who is supposedly the best in her field.  Everytime I thought she had developed some awareness, she would go on about how important her family was and it just made me roll my eyes.  I think this is the first book in a series and because of that, I wish there had been more world building especially in connection to the magic system.  Overall 2 stars but I still might pick up book 2.

The story line and plot twists are all amazing however you definitely need a physical copy while reading as the audiobook is kind of confusing due to the complex world-building. The narrator did an amazing job regardless!!

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!

I really enjoyed the narration of this audiobook.

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

2.5 stars rounded up.

Imani’s brother goes missing and she is sent to find him, along with her rival(?) and his friends. Sounds fun right? It was an ok read but I have some negatives.

First of all, I read this as an audiobook, the narrator was great. Because of her I initially got sucked into believing Imani was the BEST at everything. Can’t fault the narrator at all.

Our main character is constantly referred to as the BEST in her field. Imani, the SLAYER, she the BEST ‘Shield’... etc… Yet we hardly see it and the book even disproves it. She constantly goes against her leader's commands, doesn’t THINK before she does anything dangerous and falls for the bad boy. She’s obviously very spoiled and pretty full of herself. I don’t feel as though she grew up much at all on her adventure to find her brother.

Taha (the rival turned love interest turned enemy) is T.R.A.S.H. He bullies her in front of his friends but is nice to her in private, yuck. Red flags all round. Trash men in YA needs to go. Is this what I get for reading a ‘straight’ book? I would have liked this book more if the ‘romance’ subplot was erased.

Oh, and the fatphobic line was unnecessary. “I wouldn’t suggest it if he didn’t look like he needed a break from bread’, a line from the book when talking about stealing bread from a bakery. The baker is described as fat previously to this line. Can we stop putting fatphobia in books? Just say the man was selfish and move on.

There's tea magic, but I kept forgetting it was a thing. And one of the travellers can MOVE earth, but I also kept forgetting this was a thing too….. The book would have worked without ANY of the magic, so I was disappointed.

Did I even like the book?
Yeah, It was ok. Didn’t hate it and it was a bit fun. This book already has so many perfect 5 star reviews, if you want to see positivity for the book I suggest you read those and go from there. I was excited to read an Arabian Inspired YA fantasy: I could picture the dessert, the food and the buildings, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make up for the unlikable characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.


How I rate books
1- I disliked this book very much. Highly unlikely to read this author again
2- Eh. I didn't hate it. Might give the author another go
3- It was fun
4- Amazing and would read again
5- I'm in love. Give me more right now!

This book gives of fives of city of brass mixed in with attach bit of twin crowns, and creates a scene that is colourful and beautiful to read from page to your imagination. Sadly though it for me lacked a depth of character and was a tad bit too predictable for my liking. I always have a book that Challenges my thoughts on what may happen and that creates characters where I can feel every emotion they are feeling, sadly this did not happen and so I cannot give this book more than a three star.

3.5 rounded up ~

The narrator was perfect - she really brought all characters and the atmosphere to life.
I did read along with a text version for some parts, but found it took away from the immersion of the world this audiobook brings.

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 fantasy tale of family, duty, honour, love, politics, and magic. I really enjoyed the Arabian-inspired setting and the world building was easy to follow and picture. The author makes us care about each of the characters, even if they are at times infuriating in their stubbornness. The audiobook narrator has a soothing reading voice and makes it easy to follow the story and dialogue, which is essential for me to enjoy an audiobook. I’m really glad I chose to listen to this story, as I really felt immersed in the world and felt a strong emotional connection to the characters and plot.

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio and Maiya Ibrahim for the advanced audio copy of Spice Road via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

Spice Road contains a new world of magic and traditions based on Arabian inspirations. For any fans of the old video/computer game Diablo II, the first half of the book strongly reminded me of the game!

Maiya Ibrahim has created a new and interesting magic system, weaving it together with folklore traditions of djinnis and spirits. To this she introduces the concept of ‘us versus them’ and also a colonial/invader power and this gives a strong basis for this new fantasy series.

Definitely aimed at young adults, the romance aspect of the book does not go beyond a very chaste kiss. There is a slight love triangle (or love arrow as I prefer to call the shape!) but it’s a very minor thing compared to similar series. It also follows the main character finding out about the world around her and realising her own mind and beliefs.

I found the pace of the book to be a bit on the slow side, and that perhaps it was a bit on the long side, but I would read the next in the series.

The narrator, Krupa Pattani, was a joy to listen to. Listening to her pronounce the names so beautifully was lovely and was so much nicer than what it would have sounded like in my head. The voices for the individual characters were distinct, but not over the top or annoying. I would listen to other books narrated by her.

Moods: adventurous, mysterious
Tropes: enemies to lovers, love triangle/arrow
Pace: slow
Character development: strong
Plot or character driven: 50/50
Diversity: medium
Spice: 0/5
Trigger warnings: Animal death, Racism

Rating
Story: 4/5
Audio: 5/5

This review will be featured on my blog at www.mymentalshelf.com in future

Spice Road is a stunning epic young adult fantasy set in an Arabian-inspired land (The Spice Road Trilogy)💛 and I absolutely loved it! The story was refreshingly different and yet gave me the familiarity vibes of the Daevabad Trilogy (one of my favourites).

What I enjoyed:

🧡Epic fantasy
🧡An Arabian inspired world
🧡Magic, monsters, djinn and ghouls
🧡Hidden Cities
🧡Betrayals, battles and action
🧡Love Vs Duty
🧡 Strong female lead
🧡 A story about sibling love

“Whoever controls the Spice . . . controls the Kingdom itself.”


4.7 stars

Firstly I'd like to thank NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton audio for sending me a copy of this audiobook for review.

And onto that.

This was a hard listen for me. The Narrator was fine. The book was fine. But that was it, it was just kind of fine.

I'd like to start by saying that I'm not the intended age range. I do enjoy a great many YA books, but this one is possibly just not one of them. So take my review with a pinch of salt.

The plot was the driving force in this book. There was pretty much always something happening to keep you engaged. But I felt a lack of world building, specifically in relation to their magic, that really dulled that plot for me. And the characters... were not for me. I didn't particularly like any of them, and felt no real growth barring right at the end, which didn't even feel that natural. I don't know, they just were all naive and frustrating a lot of the time.

I do think it's a promising start to a new YA fantasy series, and it by all means wasn't a bad book, it just didn't quite hit the spot for me. I may still check out the sequel, because I think it has potential to be really interesting once the magic is embraced more fully and certain things come into play, and I would absolutely like to see these characters bloom.

I'm big fan of Middle-Eastern inspired fantasy and Spice Road did not disappoint. Politics, magic, djinn, monsters, an epic adventure. Spice Road has it all. It would have been 5 stars but I didn't feel that connected with any of the characters. I'll definitely continue with the series though so maybe over time the characters will grow on me.

Spice Road is the story of a sister longing to find her lost brother and bring him home. This is what this book is about in its essence. What ensues is an epic journey into the mesmerising dunes of the Spice Road, who offer mysticism, adventure and grave danger for our main heroine.

I loved listening to the narration of this book, transporting me into the fantasy world of Qalia - and beyond - as we see Imani's great pathos to uncover what really happened to her brother. The book is infused with middle eastern themes and magical elements, that make the story much more interesting.

The only sore point for me, sometimes the story seemed to drag a little bit more than it should, making me feel rather uninterested in the endgame.

If you're a fan of We Hunt The Flame and Children of Blood and Bone, then this is one book you'd want to add to your TBR.

Thank you to the publisher for granted me access to listen to the audio arc of this book.

a captivating story with beautiful writing and a gorgeous world that you can't help but dive into. the audio narrator did an absolutely impeccable job bringing 'spice road' to life! 100% recommend

I was quite disappointed in this book. I was looking forward to it and it just fell flat. I guess to an extent it’s down to personal preference but I just don’t think it was executed well. It’s not by force for us to like characters but there has to be some level of likability about Imani and there wasn’t any so it was hard to root for her beyond chapter 3 or so. She was a user, a hypocrite, ignorant, classist - though sets her up for hopefully better character development later, was a bit too much for a first book to hook me into being on her side.

Considering she’s supposed to be this incredible warrior with her blade she barely had any actual battles and the fact she has all this talk for everyone else but her sister, made it even more unbelievable that she was actually a good warrior. Also considering she’s a Gen Z and an ethnic minority I found their dynamic hard to believe that Imani let her baby sister run riot and talk to her anyhow.

The love triangle wasn’t believable at all. She had absolutely no connection with either of them only that they did nice things for her and it would have been nice if she had actually chemistry with them.

I did enjoy how the author described the monsters. I could vividly picture them and it felt like I was in a Darren Shan book and I adore him.

Would have been nice if the spice tea was built upon more beyond, it being the equivalent of spinach for Popeye

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton Audio, and the author, for the ALC 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 labour