A review by braveprincess11
These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

She’d risen up from dust, come to life on a breeze, and left a trail of perfumed flowers in her wake as she ushered in the fall of a king who’d ruled the greatest empire on earth for nearly a century. The true wonder was how she’d done it. Without lifting a finger— without even raising her voice—
She’d simply stood tall, and his world had collapsed.

Once again, Tahereh Mafi has managed to create a vivid, beautiful picture with the most elegant, lyrical prose. The entire book takes place in a single day, but the way that she writes, you find yourself constantly forgetting that so little time is passing, and that so little time has passed since the end of This Woven Kingdom. 

Cyrus and Alizeh manage to develop their relationship, and Cyrus showcase his humanity, in a way that is simultaneously fantastical and entirely realistic. Despite the book taking place in less than 24 hours, the growth of their relationship and tentative trust in one another and themselves grows so gradually and fully that it wrenched my heart right from my chest. The language Mafi uses when Cyrus is expressing his fondness for Alizeh — it manages to be subtle and lyrical and sensual, while also just being absolutely gorgeous writing. Their grip on lyrical prose will never cease to amaze me.

Mafi’s choice to have Alizeh step out from behind the door to face Cyrus’s mother, and then have the chapter end and cut to Kamran in the tower… I don’t think I will ever recover from that. And the deliberate parallel between Alizeh falling from the dragon’s back at the end of This Woven Kingdom and this book ending with Kamran, Hazan and their ragtag group of rescuers ascending into the sky on the backs of Simorgh and her children… some of the most beautiful writing that I’ve encountered this year, if not ever.

I’m already waiting with bated breath, on pins & needles for the release of All This Twisted Glory in February 
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