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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this. I was glad to have a long car ride so I could get to bigger chunks of the book, as this one does not do well in small doses. I love all the characters. I enjoyed getting to know better ones from the last book, but also enjoyed all the new characters too.
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Soooooooo slow and BORING!!!!!
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this one just as much as the first one. A very different story from the first, covering a much larger time frame, but that's why it's so good. Wecker didn't try to do the same thing twice, but instead created something new while building on the previous story, and the result is wonderful. Beautiful writing and historical detail make this incredibly engaging; I spent all of last night and this morning reading it, unwilling to put it down until I was done. I hope Ms. Wecker is working on something new, because she's now a writer whose work I will pre-order no questions asked.
I read the first book in this series so long ago that I was worried that I wouldn't remember a thing when I started this one. No worries, that author does a wonderful job of summarizing, and things came back to me fairly quickly. And I loved this one just as much as the first! The Jinni was kind of rude this time around, but I also understood why. The Golem will forever be one of my favorite fictional characters. Overall just a wonderful story about love and friendship and accepting help when it's needed.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This duology is so charming and immersive. History, folklore, and amazing storytelling, all rolled in to one unique tale. I listened to the audiobooks and plan on buying physical copies to read again.
I am so smitten. What a tender, heartfelt read. I struggled initially as I had wrongly assumed The Hidden Palace would mean a return to Ahmad’s glass palace, and maybe coming up with a way to free him.
Instead, we have something much more poignant and powerful. This is historical fiction, fantasy, and reminds me of a lot of Neil Gaiman’s “American God’s.” Except we feature figures from the Middle East, and they’re immigrants trying to find and come to terms with identity and how it changes coming to America. So real to the American experience of what it’s like to be “othered” from another culture, wanting to hold onto your culture, but also thrive and adapt in the new. A whole new identity manifests.
And what’s more, it’s really special to see Syrian, Jewish, etc characters in community and connection and love together.
Instead, we have something much more poignant and powerful. This is historical fiction, fantasy, and reminds me of a lot of Neil Gaiman’s “American God’s.” Except we feature figures from the Middle East, and they’re immigrants trying to find and come to terms with identity and how it changes coming to America. So real to the American experience of what it’s like to be “othered” from another culture, wanting to hold onto your culture, but also thrive and adapt in the new. A whole new identity manifests.
And what’s more, it’s really special to see Syrian, Jewish, etc characters in community and connection and love together.
I loved the first one, and really enjoyed this follow-up. I should've re-read the first before reading this, but it still sucked me in.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes