Oh this was so so so beautiful!!! I fell in love with this story, and I had tears running down my face in the final pages. I do think the ending felt a bit rushed, and it didn’t really feel believable that after all that she was no longer bothered by the townspeople and they just left her alone??? But I adored this overall!!!

The Jinn Daughter is fantasy and mythology, with the age old story of a parent trying their best to hold onto their child in different ways. Nadine is a jinn, but also a mother. I feel this story was as much about magic rooted in Middle-Eastern mythology, as much as it was about what it means to be a parent.

Nadine wants to hold her daughter close and protect her, and there are so many layers to that as the story progresses. We also get to see parenthood from different perspectives - a parent who views their child as something they own, but not something they need to care for; a parent who is far from their child and wishes to see them again; a parent who has and is grieving their child; and a parent who is afraid to let their child be their own person and let go of the idea of their child. The way these perspectives are shared is so unique and interesting and I loved how stories and parenthood were depicted throughout. It was definitely a heavier book as a result of how steeped it was in the concept of parenthood, but I am honestly amazed by how these complex relationships were relayed and depicted.

Beyond that main theme of parenthood, we have the mythological and fantastical side of the story. Nadine tells the story of the dead which helps them to pass through the gates to the afterlife. I found the magic of the underworld fascinating, with the storytelling of the life seed and Nadine's ability to cross to the Waiting Place. Nadine's magic is a larger part of the story at the beginning and at the end, with a lot of focus on world building and mythology. I enjoyed these part immensely and I'm so curious to learn more now. I liked seeing the layers of the underworld and the different beings that are part of it. I'm also so curious about Death and her story. The stories were also a highlight - I will probably reread them in the future to better digest them, as I feel like those had hidden meanings and parallels to them that I missed.

For such a short novel, The Jinn Daughter is intricate, emotional, and full of magic. This really has been the year for debut novels, and I'm exceedingly impressed that this is the first (of hopefully many) by Rania Hanna. It's always interesting to see how different cultures have built mythology around the universal concept of death and beyond. Definitely recommend if you love mythology and the underworld.

TW: racism (against jinns), sexism, death, blood, death of a child, violence, grief; mentions death of a parent, suicide, pregnancy, abortion, murder
 

As someone who is part Lebanese, I am a sucker for books featuring Middle Eastern folklore/mythology, so I was very much looking forward to reading The Jinn Daughter. It follows a Hakawati Jinn who shepherds the souls of the dead into the afterlife. One day, she wakes to find that there are no souls and it thrusts her whole world into collapse. 

I thought the MC was a pretty compelling character. Her emotions, especially regarding her family were very realistic and portrayed well. I love that she was so loving and protective of her daughter, but was also in some ways a morally grey character due to the lies she tells to keep her child safe. It definitely made her more complex than I initially thought she was. 

I also really enjoyed the incorporation of stories within this book. As our MC eats pomegranate seeds to release souls to the afterlife, she tells their stories. These little stories within the main story were a nice touch. 

The descriptive prose was also lovely and I always had a clear visual of what was going on or where a scene was taking place. It created a really vivid, lovely reading experience. It also helped really bring some of the fantasy elements to life. 

Unfortunately, I felt that this book struggled with its editing. I will try not to be overly critical as this is an Indie publisher, but there were some fairly significant structural issues that affected the reading experience. 

In my opinion, this book has far too many plot lines and not enough space to explore them. I felt a bit like I had whiplash as on one page our MC would say she was going to do something and then on the next page she would do the exact opposite without any time for the reader to understand why she’d changed her mind. This left me feeling emotionally detached and disconnected from the characters for most of the book. 

I also felt like a couple of the plot points (Ex: the whole situation with the grandfather) were included for no reason. The outcomes did not affect the conclusion of the story nor did they enhance the story. Had these unnecessary plot points been trimmed out, the story would have been much more streamlined and effective. 

That said, I did enjoy this book. I think it is an ambitious debut novel that clearly shows Hanna’s talent. I look forward to seeing how her writing grows with her next book. If you enjoy a fast read with Jinn, Ghouls, and other Middle Eastern folklore, you may enjoy this book. 

*Thank you to the author, Rania Hanna, for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.