Review: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (#Ad)

I was sent an ARC of the First Anniversary Edition for free by Usborne for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Published: Original Edition: 10th June 2021 , First Anniversary Eition: 9th June 2022 | Publisher: Usborne | Source: Gift / Publisher
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Website

A compelling, incendiary, and unputdownable thriller with a shocking twist, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism with this compulsive debut.

Hello, Niveus High. It's me. Who am I? That's not important. All you need to know is...I'm here to divide and conquer. - Aces

Welcome to Niveus Private Academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. Until now. Because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light.

Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public.

Head girl Chiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.

Someone is out to get them both. Someone who holds all the aces. And they're planning much more than a high-school game... From The StoryGraph.

Purchase from Bookshop.org*
The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features anxiety and panic attacks, blood, reference to drug use and drug dealing, bullying, poverty, off-page sex scene, outing of a queer character, suicide ideation, non-consensual pornography, implied sexual assault, stalking, a fire building on fire, reference to police brutality, gun threat, a hit and run, homophobia, and instutionalised racism.

Continue reading Review: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (#Ad)

Guest Post: Aneesa Marufu on the South Asian and Islamic Folklore that Inspired The Balloon Thief

Ad: Titles with an asterisk (*) were provided to me for free by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Links with a circumflex (^) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Aneesa Marufu on the South Asian and Islamic Folklore that Inspired The Balloon Thief

I'm super excited to have a guest post to share with you today. YA author Aneesa Marufu is stopping by the blog to talk about how South Asian and Islamic folklore and myths inspired elements of her debut YA high fantasy novel, The Balloon Thief*.

Continue reading Guest Post: Aneesa Marufu on the South Asian and Islamic Folklore that Inspired The Balloon Thief

Review: The Blue Eye by Ausma Zehanat Khan

The Blue Eye by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Published: 20th August 2020 | Publisher: HarperVoyager | Source: Bought
Ausma Zehanat Khan's Website

The Companions of Hira have used their cunning and their magic in the battle against the patriarchal Talisman, an organization whose virulently conservative agenda restricts free thought. One of the most accomplished Companions, Arian, continues to lead a disparate group in pursuit of the one artifact that could end the Talisman’s authoritarian rule: The Bloodprint.

But after a vicious battle, the arcane tome has slipped once more beyond her reach. Despite being separated and nearly losing their lives, Arian’s band of allies has remained united. Yet now, the group seems to be fracturing. To continue the fight, Arian must make a dangerous journey to a distant city to recruit new allies. But instead of her trusted friends, she is accompanied by associates she may no longer be able to trust.

Building on the brilliance of The Bloodprint and The Black Khan, this third volume in the Khorasan Archive series ratchets up the danger, taking the conflict to a darker, deadlier place, and setting the stage for the thrilling conclusion to this acclaimed #ownvoices fantasy. From The StoryGraph

My other reviews of The Khorasan Archives Series:
The Bloodprint | The Black Khan

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features racism, violence against women, and male rape.

Continue reading Review: The Blue Eye by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Review: The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

Published: 14th May 2019 | Publisher: Scholastic | Source: Won
Nafiza Azad's Website

Azad's debut YA fantasy is set in a city along the Silk Road that is a refuge for those of all faiths, where a young woman is threatened by the war between two clans of powerful djinn.

Fatima lives in the city of Noor, a thriving stop along the Silk Road. There the music of myriad languages fills the air, and people of all faiths weave their lives together. However, the city bears scars of its recent past, when the chaotic tribe of Shayateen djinn slaughtered its entire population -- except for Fatima and two other humans. Now ruled by a new maharajah, Noor is protected from the Shayateen by the Ifrit, djinn of order and reason, and by their commander, Zulfikar.

But when one of the most potent of the Ifrit dies, Fatima is changed in ways she cannot fathom, ways that scare even those who love her. Oud in hand, Fatima is drawn into the intrigues of the maharajah and his sister, the affairs of Zulfikar and the djinn, and the dangers of a magical battlefield.

In this William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist novel, Nafiza Azad weaves an immersive tale of magic and the importance of names; fiercely independent women; and, perhaps most importantly, the work for harmony within a city of a thousand cultures and cadences. From The StoryGraph

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features death, infant death, murder, grief, PTSD, a hostage situation, violence against children, and the threat of sexual violence.

Continue reading Review: The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

Review: The Black Khan by Ausma Zehanat Khan

The Black Khan by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Published: 11th July 2019 | Publisher: HarperVoyager | Source: Bought
Ausma Zehanat Khan's Website

To fight against the cruel and superstitious patriarchy known as the Talisman, members of the resistance group known as the Companions of Hira have risked their lives in a failed attempt to procure the Bloodprint--a dangerous text that may hold the secret to overthrowing the terrifying regime. Now, with their plans in ashes, the Companions of Hira have scattered, and the lives of two brave women at the center of the plot--Arian and Sinnia--face unprecedented danger.

Yet a spark of hope flickers in the darkness--the Bloodprint has survived. It is hidden in Ashfall, the seat of Rukh, the Black Khan, whose court is ruled by intrigue and conspiracy. Treacherous enemies ruthlessly maneuver for power behind the throne, including the autocratic Grand Vizier; the deadly and secretive Assassin; the Khan's deposed half-brother; and the commander of Ashfall's army, who is also Rukh's oldest friend.

The Companions of Hira must somehow reunite, break through Talisman lines, and infiltrate Ashfall. A master of treachery himself, the Black Khan joins forces with these powerful women to manipulate them for his own ends. But as Ashfall comes under siege, he is forced to make a deadly calculation... one that could cause irrevocable damage to the Companions and their fight for freedom. From The StoryGraph

My other reviews of The Khorasan Archives Series:
The Bloodprint

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features graphic descriptions of blood, consuming blood, violence against women, torture, forced drug use, threat of sexual violence, and homophobia.

Continue reading Review: The Black Khan by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Review: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Macmillan Children's Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Published: 27th August 2019 | Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books | Source: NetGalley
Hafsah Faizal's Website

People lived because she killed. People died because he lived.

Nobody knows that Zafira is the Hunter. Forced to disguise herself as a man, she braves the cursed forest to feed her people. If she is exposed as a girl, all of her achievements will be rejected.

Nasir is the infamous Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the sultan. If he refuses he will be punished in the most brutal of ways.
Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya – but neither wants to be. And when Zafira embarks on a quest to restore magic to her suffering world, Nasir is sent by the sultan on a similar mission: retrieve magic and kill the hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds, and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine...

Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, Hafsah Faizal's We Hunt the Flame – first in the Sands of Arawiya duology – is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands. From The StoryGraph

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, death, grief, abduction, child abuse, and murder.

Continue reading Review: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal (#Ad)

Review: The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Published: 19th October 2017 | Publisher: HarperVoyager | Source: Blogger book swap
Ausma Zehanat Khan's Website

A dark power called the Talisman has risen in the land, born of ignorance and persecution. Led by a man known only known as the One-eyed Preacher, it is a cruel and terrifying movement bent on world domination—a superstitious patriarchy that suppresses knowledge and subjugates women. And it is growing.

But there are those who fight the Talisman's spread, including the Companions of Hira, a diverse group of influential women whose power derives from the Claim—the magic inherent in the words of a sacred scripture. Foremost among them is Arian and her apprentice, Sinnia, skilled warriors who are knowledgeable in the Claim. This daring pair have long stalked Talisman slave-chains, searching for clues and weapons to help them battle their enemy’s oppressive ways. Now, they may have discovered a miraculous symbol of hope that can destroy the One-eyed Preacher and his fervid followers: The Bloodprint, a dangerous text the Talisman has tried to erase from the world.

Finding a copy of The Bloodprint promises to be their most dangerous undertaking yet, an arduous journey that will lead them deep into Talisman territory. Though they will be helped by allies—a loyal ex-slave and Arian’s former confidante and sword master—both Arian and Sinnia know that this mission may well be their last. The StoryGraph

I received this proof in a book swap with a fellow blogger.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, death, racism, slavery, discussion of paedophillia/child abuse, discussion of the rape, discussion of forced dependency on drugs, torture, and an execution.

Continue reading Review: The Bloodprint by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Review: Thorn by Intisar Khanani (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Hot Key Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Published: 24th March 2020 | Publisher: Hot Key Books | Source: NetGalley
Intisar Khanani's Website

A princess with two futures. A destiny all her own.

Between her cruel family and the contempt she faces at court, Princess Alyrra has always longed to escape the confines of her royal life. But when she’s betrothed to the powerful prince Kestrin, Alyrra embarks on a journey to his land with little hope for a better future.

When a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra of both her identity and her role as princess, Alyrra seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl.

But Alyrra soon finds that Kestrin is not what she expected. The more Alyrra learns of this new kingdom, the pain and suffering its people endure, as well as the danger facing Kestrin from the sorceress herself, the more she knows she can’t remain the goose girl forever.

With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Alyrra is caught between two worlds and ultimately must decide who she is, and what she stands for. The StoryGraph

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features blood, minor descriptions of wounds, animal cruelty/animal death, abduction, discussion of slavery, violence against women, domestic violence, attempted sexual assault, rape, hangings, and murder.

Continue reading Review: Thorn by Intisar Khanani (#Ad)

The Ramadan Readathon 2021: My TBR

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Ramadan Readathon, hosted by Nadia of Headscarves and Hardbacks, is back again in 2021 for it's fourth year! It's a reading challenge focused on reading books by Muslim authors held each year during the month of Ramadan, to celebrate and support those authors, and to help diversify our reading. This year's Ramadan Readathon will be held Monday 12th April - Wednesday 12th May.

Continue reading The Ramadan Readathon 2021: My TBR

Review: The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan (#Ad)

I was sent this proof as a giveaway prize by the author for the purposes of providing an honest review.

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

Published: 29th January 2019 | Publisher: Scholastic US | Source: Won from author
Sabina Khan's Website

Seventeen-year-old Rukhsana Ali tries her hardest to live up to her conservative Muslim parents’ expectations, but lately she’s finding that harder and harder to do. She rolls her eyes instead of screaming when they blatantly favor her brother and she dresses conservatively at home, saving her crop tops and makeup for parties her parents don’t know about. Luckily, only a few more months stand between her carefully monitored life in Seattle and her new life at Caltech, where she can pursue her dream of becoming an engineer.

But when her parents catch her kissing her girlfriend Ariana, all of Rukhsana’s plans fall apart. Her parents are devastated; being gay may as well be a death sentence in the Bengali community. They immediately whisk Rukhsana off to Bangladesh, where she is thrown headfirst into a world of arranged marriages and tradition. Only through reading her grandmother’s old diary is Rukhsana able to gain some much needed perspective.

Rukhsana realizes she must find the courage to fight for her love, but can she do so without losing everyone and everything in her life? From Goodreads

I won this proof in a giveaway on Twitter hosted by the author.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features colourism, homophobia, homophobic violence, discussion of forced marriage, imprisonment, drugging, a hunger strike, excorcism, a child bride, paedophilia, incest, rape, child abuse, domestic abuse, and murder of a gay person.

Continue reading Review: The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan (#Ad)

Review: Internment by Samira Ahmed (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Atom via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Published: 19th March 2019 | Publisher: Atom | Cover Designer:  | Source: NetGalley
Samira Ahmed's Website

Rebellions are built on hope.

Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.

With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp's Director and his guards.

Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today. From Goodreads

Trigger Warnings: This book features racism, Islamophobia, imprisonment, violence, violence against women, death, discussion of torture, discussion of internment camps - specifically Manzanar internment camp and Nazi concentration camps, and discussion of the Holocaust.

Review edited on 5th July 2019. My original review was harmful, due to discussing inconsistencies that had me questioning why there wasn't more pain for the Muslim charcters of colour. You can read my acknowledgement of my mistake and apology here. For transparency, you can find a screen cap of the original wording here.

Continue reading Review: Internment by Samira Ahmed (#Ad)

Review: This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Bonnier Zaffre via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik

Published: 13th June 2019 | Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre | Cover Designer: Nick Stearn | Source: Publisher
Ayisha Malik's Website

Accountant Bilal Hasham and his journalist wife, Mariam, plod along contentedly in the sleepy, chocolate box village they've lived in for eight years.

Then Bilal is summoned to his dying mother's bedside in Birmingham. Sakeena Hasham is not long for this world but refuses to leave it until she ensures that her son remembers who he is: a Muslim, however much he tries to ignore it. She has a final request. Instead of whispering her prayers in her dying moments, she instructs Bilal to go home to his village, Babbel's End, and build a mosque.

Mariam is horrified. The villagers are outraged. How can a grieving Bilal choose between honouring his beloved mum's last wish and preserving everything held dear in the village he calls home?

But it turns out home means different things to different people.

Battle lines are drawn and this traditional little community becomes the colourful canvas on which the most current and fundamental questions of identity, friendship, family and togetherness are played out.

What makes us who we are, who do we want to be, and how far would we go to fight for it? From Goodreads.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features death, grief, discussion of drug use, racism and Islamophobia.

Continue reading Review: This Green and Pleasant Land by Ayisha Malik (#Ad)

Review: A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Published: 12th July 2018 | Publisher: HarperVoyager | Source: Bought
Sabaa Tahir's Website

After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt Elias and Laia as they flee the city of Serra.

Laia and Elias are determined to break into the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison to save Laia’s brother, even if for Elias it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

They will have to fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene, Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own, one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape . . . and kill them both. From Goodreads.

My other reviews of the An Ember in the Ashes Quartet:
An Ember in the Ashes (Book 1) (#Ad)

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Content/Trigger Warnings: This book features a fade-to-black sex scene, a panic attack, ghosts/spirits, slavery, torture, death, and genocide.

Continue reading Review: A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

Review: The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from HarperVoyager via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty

Published: 21st February 2019 | Publisher: HarperVoyager | Source: Publisher
S. A. Chakraborty's Website

Return to Daevabad in the spellbinding sequel to THE CITY OF BRASS.

Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.

Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali’s hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her family and one misstep will doom her tribe.

Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid, the unpredictable water spirits, have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.

And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad's towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve. From Goodreads

My other reviews of The Daevabad Trilogy:
The City of Brass

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the first book in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger Warnings: This book features prejudice and discrimination akin to racism, poisoning, discussion of self-harm, discussion of genocide, discussion of past wars, battles, and death.

Continue reading Review: The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty (#Ad)

My #RamdadanReadathon 2019 TBR

This post contains affiliate links.

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) were gifted to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The #RamadanReadathon is back for the third year! Run by Nadia of Headscarves and Hardbacks, the #RamadanReadathon is a challenge to read only Muslim authors during the month of Ramadan - 6th May to 4th June! Check out the Twitter account for updates: @MuslimReadathon.

The Readathon is a little different this year, with a bingo board challenge based on the five pillars of Islam! For this challenge, I think I'll be going for the Salah/Prayer column/pillar, which means reading books that fit the following:

• Part of a Series - Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty*
• Free Space - The Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shah*
• Comtemporary Fiction - Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali
• Recently Bought/Released - Internment by Samira Ahmed*
• Number/Name in Title - The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

I have been really looking forward to the readathon this year, as due to prior blog commitments last year, I was only able to read one book. So I've been saving up quite a few books with the intention of reading them during the readathon - and I'm hoping to read more than five! As with other monthly reading challenges, due to my blogging schedule, the books aren't likely to be reviewed on the blog during Ramadan, but they will be reviewed on Goodreads, and I will be tweeting about them.

Here are all the books I have saved up to read! I may not get to them all, but I love that I have such a wide range of stories!

Continue reading My #RamdadanReadathon 2019 TBR

Review: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty (#Ad)

The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

I received this eProof for free from HarperVoyager via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty—an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and One Thousand and One Nights, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for . . . From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features racism heavily, though between fantasy races.

Continue reading Review: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty (#Ad)

The #RamdanReadathon Book Tag

The #RamadanReadathon, run by Nadia of Headscarves and Hardbacks, is back this year, taking place between 17th May and 15th June. And this year, there is a #RamadanReadathon book tag, created by Amna of YA Book Corner.

Now, sadly, I'm unable to take part in the #RamadanReadathon as I originally planned. As you may know, I'll be having a blog event in July, Mental Illness in YA Month, and I've still got quite a few books I want to read for the event. I'm currently reading The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty for the #RamadanReadathon, and the plan was to alternate reading a book for the readathon and a book for Mental Illness in YA Month but after I've finished The City of Brass, I'll be focusing solely on the books I want to get read for the blog event. I'll post a separate post about what this means for the blog, but as there won't be so many reviews for the readathon, I thought I could highlight a few more Muslim authors by taking part in the book tag! So read on for my answers!

Ramadan Readathon Book Tag

~*Mirrors and Windows*~
Name a book that you felt represented you or that you were able to relate to.
I'm not Muslim, so this one isn't one I can answer with a book written by a Muslim authors - if you know of any YA books by Muslim authors featuring anxiety, please do recommend them!


But the book I related to the most was Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall. I read it when my anxiety was starting to show itself and I was waiting for a doctor's appointment to get a diagnosis and some help. I was terrified, at the time, of what having anxiety would mean for me, but fortunately, I read Under Rose Tainted Skies. I don't have OCD and Agoraphobia, but I do have anxiety, and though mine was never as severe as Norah's, it made such a difference to read this story. I felt seen, I felt understood, and as Norah's story ended on a hopeful note, it gave me hope in regards to my own anxiety, when I was so terrified. It was exactly the right book at the right time for me, and I absolutely loved it. You can read my review here.

Continue reading The #RamdanReadathon Book Tag

Ramadan Readathon 2018: My TBR Pile

Banner used with permission of Nadia of Headscarves and Hardbacks.
The Ramadan Readathon is happening again for the second year, and is coming up pretty soon! The Ramadan Readathon - run by Nadia of Headscarves and Hardbacks - is a readathon dedicated to reading books by Muslim authors throughout  Ramadan, between 17th May - 15th June. Follow @MuslimReadathon on Twitter and Instagram for further updates.

I really enjoyed taking part in Ramadan Readathon last year, so I'm taking part again this year! Here's my are the books I plan on tackling during the event:

I Am Thunder by Muhammad Khan - Fifteen-year-old Muzna Saleem, who dreams of being a writer, struggles with controlling parents who only care about her studying to be a doctor. Forced to move to a new school in South London after her best friend is shamed in a scandal, Muzna realizes that the bullies will follow her wherever she goes. But deciding to stand and face them instead of fighting her instinct to disappear is harder than it looks when there's prejudice everywhere you turn. Until the gorgeous and confident Arif shows an interest in her, encouraging Muzna to explore her freedom.

But Arif is hiding his own secrets and, along with his brother Jameel, he begins to influence Muzna with their extreme view of the world. As her new freedom starts to disappear, Muzna is forced to question everything around her and make a terrible choice - keep quiet and betray herself, or speak out and betray her heart?

A stunning new YA voice which questions how far you'll go to protect what you believe in. From Goodreads.

Continue reading Ramadan Readathon 2018: My TBR Pile

Review: Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi (Bought) - Colour and magic combine in this enchanting new middle grade fantasy from the bestselling author of the Shatter Me series.

Born as blank as canvas in a world brimming with colour and magic, Alice's pale skin and milk-white hair mark her as an outcast. Because, for the people of Ferenwood, colour and magic are one and the same. And since the disappearance of her beloved father, Alice is more determined than ever to prove herself and her own magical abilities.

To do so she'll have to travel into the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, with the help of a fiercely annoying boy named Oliver. But nothing in Furthermore is as it seems, and it will take all of Alice's wits to find her father and return him safely home. From Goodreads.

Continue reading Review: Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Review: nejma by Nayyirah Waheed

nejma by Nayyirah Waheed (Bought) - all
of the
unsleeping. gold sweeping. poems.
i have in my hands. From Goodreads.

Continue reading Review: nejma by Nayyirah Waheed