This Woven Kingdom Book Review

Title: This Woven Kingdom
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Series: This Woven Kingdom #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: February 1, 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance
Pages: 512
Format: Paperback

Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—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.

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This book was SO much better than I was expecting! It had fantasy, it had politics, it had romance, it had it all! (At least for me lol) This Woven Kingdom is the first in a planned five book series by Tahereh Mafi, whose Shatter Me series I read many years ago, and I’m so pleased to see how she’s advanced in her writing and storytelling since those days.

The plot itself starts off slow, following our main female character, Alizeh, a Jinn who is perpetually cold due to ice being in her veins. This, however, comes with a secret and a weight that she has to hold heavily on her shoulders. I found that Alizeh, as a character, was quiet in many ways (mostly because she had to be), and strong in others. She seemed headstrong and willing to do what she needed to survive, but not to the point of arrogance. A lot of times in YA novels, main protagonists have a haughty air around them, but Alizeh had a level head most of the time, and a very sharp wit.

I think that sharp wit was honestly one of the strongest points about her. It was often repeated, because of her station as a snoda, or the lowest tier of servant – the one she purposely took on – how well spoken she was, and that often got her in trouble. The banter back and forth with the other perspective we had in the novel, Kamran, was especially fun to read.

Speaking of, Kamran, at first, felt like a typical hot headed, stoic, boorish male lead who every fawns over and wants to do anything for. But I honestly found his perspective to be fun, because where Alizeh was living life as a servant, Kamran is a prince who has everything handed to him in life. He does a lot of reflecting in his chapters, and though you know many of the answers from Alizeh’s chapters, I found myself getting frustrated when Kamran would come to some conclusion that was too farfetched to the reality of the situation. It was very good writing!

The romance was subtle at first, but also so swoon worthy the more it went on. There was a quote that was so romantic it practically had me throwing the book because I needed to write it down!

Basically, there’s a history of the Jinn existing for so long that Iblees (the devil) caused the light of the world to go out, so Jinn have an inherent fear of the dark. Alizeh has an excruciating fear of the dark, and there’s a circumstance where the only light source in the room goes out. Kamran discovers she’s shaking with fear and crying and says,

You have consumed my thoughts since the moment I met you,” he said to her. “I feel now, in your presence, entirely strange. I think I might fetch you the moon if only to spare your tears again.“

UGH IT’S SO ROMANTIC STOP IT

Anyway.

The book started off kind of slow, but as it kept going it hooked me in more and more. It’s a steady build, and the payoff feels worth it because that cliffhanger? That ending? Oh man, I’m excited to read the next book in the series! (Which I’ve started already!) If you’re more into medium/slower paced books, I think you’d like this, including if you’re also looking for a fantasy romance.

And the writing? As I said before, the writing has definitely improved since Shatter Me, in my opinion, and I felt like I could envision everything that was being described so easily. The story is definitely plot driven, and boy did it go places! Some lulls and dips, but they were few and far between.

Overall, I recommend this book! It was a fun first book in a YA fantasy romance, and if you’re looking for something that doesn’t feel rinse and repeat of many romantasies out there, then check this one out! (It also reminded me of the Daevabad trilogy, so that made me even more drawn into it.)

4.5 stars