This Woven Kingdom

“Though if you mean to take me captive, you need only ask. I would come willingly.”

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This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom # 1)

Tahereh Mafi

Summary: Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—bestselling author Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

My Review: This book is, in a word: lush. The writing style is so descriptive, so good that I had a hard time putting it down and getting back to work. I loved that this draws on Iranian folklore, something I rarely have a chance to read in mainstream young adult books. The only drawback for me was that it did feel a little bit insa-lovey. I wanted more tension between the characters, especially because I have a bad habit of wondering what things would actually feel like - obviously as a reader we know these two are thinking about each other constantly after their first meeting, but they don't know that. So when our hero comes in and dramatically saves our heroine, it felt a bit strange to me, because although they'd had their time separately to pine for each other, they hadn't had much time together on the page yet. It left me feeling like I may have missed a good chunk of the relationship build. Overall though, I loved it.

Recommended ages: 15+ (mild thematic elements, violence, some kissing)