This Woven Kingdom
by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 1, 2022
★★★☆☆
A girl in hiding, secreting away her true identity as a queen among her people.
A prince, bound by duty but free of heart, seeking to find his place in his political and social climate.
One fateful event that sets their worlds spinning, but also threatens the kingdom’s reality as they know it.
Classic fairytale meet Persian folklore in this spell-binding and fast-paced novel. Set in an illustrious world pulled directly from Middle Eastern influences, the magic and political system is rich and the writing is even richer.
This is my first exposure to author Tahereh Mafi. Her Shatter Me series has reached popularity amid younger readers - I own the first two but haven't been able to get to them yet as I slog through my ever-growing home library. I was very excited to pick up this book, as Tahereh is an author with a diverse background, and part of my goal as a reader is to diversify my shelves.
This Woven Kingdom has luscious prose, setting it apart from most Young Adult fiction I’ve devoured. The first half of the book contains a lot of world building, as it introduces the reader to the magical lore of the Jinn, the beautiful setting of an ancient world, and the complex political platform related to royalty and the delicate machinations involved.
I will admit, I was very close to not finishing it - in fact, I started it on January 31st and had to put it down at 26% because I simply could not get in the headspace to enjoy it. It's HEAVY on the eloquent language, making it hard to muck through during the first half. The dialogue felt very stilted, choppy and awkward. Though the second half of the book picked up significantly - and became magnetic and enjoyable - the conversation between characters still felt unnatural.
Plot-wise, I really enjoyed the thematic events once I was able to get through the establishment of the world. It had heavy Cinderella vibes, which usually would annoy me, but it was different enough it didn't feel like a complete rip-off of the story. As a seamstress myself, it was really cool to see how Alizeh's story developed as she maneuvered around the intricacies of hiding her identity while trying to survive as a low-class civilian. Top this off with the lyrical folklore of the Jinn and it transported me to the world immediately.
The characters felt very well-thought-out. I saw a depth in them that made it easy to relate to them. Alizeh: beautiful, strong, adaptable. Kamran: sensitive, powerful, strategic. Even the supporting characters were excellent in bolstering the story and not feeling like simple fillers to move the plot along.
One piece felt very unrealistic for me in my experience in sewing and garment making: the time Alizeh is given to finish multiple gowns by hand while still maintaining her work as a house servant. Add to the fact she was fighting with injury and that she could not utilise any of her Jinn abilities and it became a little bit far-fetched. There were several times I thought the timing was off due to this fact, even though the events happen in a matter of days and not over weeks or months. I do realize, however, that this is purely speculation and not a huge focus for the story.
I am quite interested to see where Alizeh and Kamran's stories take them, as the book ends on a slight cliffhanger that just NEEDS to be resolved. Unfortunately, there's no news on when the next book in this trilogy will be released.
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