Two identical girls, one a princess, the other a rebel. Who will rule the empire?
After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess’s body double, has been forced into complete isolation. The cruel but complex princess, Maram, with whom Amani had cultivated a tenuous friendship, discovered Amani’s connection to the rebellion and has forced her into silence, and if Amani crosses Maram once more, her identity – and her betrayal – will be revealed to everyone in the court.
Amani is desperate to continue helping the rebellion, to fight for her people’s freedom. But she must make a devastating decision: will she step aside, and watch her people suffer, or continue to aid them, and put herself and her family in mortal danger? And whatever she chooses, can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram’s fiancé, Idris?
-Goodreads
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I still remember getting an ARC of Mirage at Book Expo years ago – it was one of the ones I had been dying to get my hands on, and I read it almost immediately after getting home from the convention. It absolutely blew me away, seriously what a STUNNING and surprising debut. As I’m sure you can imagine, I had high expectations for the second book. I can absolutely confirm that they were met.
First, we need to give the Author a slow clap for the writing style. It is so beautiful and well done – seriously the prose in this book is stunning. The imagery swept me away and deposited me right into the story. I can’t even tell you how many times the food descriptions had me reaching for a reading snack, and I genuinely can’t wait to read more from Somaiya Daud.
There were a few parts about the overall climax of the book that felt a bit rushed, but that could also be my greed speaking. I feel like I always want a bit more in the height of the action. Overall, the conclusion fit perfectly and made sense with the plot progression of the duet. This book also felt a bit more political than the first, which is something I always love – I’m a sucker for political intrigue in any book.
I don’t want to give too much away because it is so easy to slip up and include a spoiler in a review for a sequel, but I will say that I really loved this duology and definitely recommend it!
As The Book Ends 