“Often the mightiest things have the humblest beginnings.”

3.5☆ rounded up to 4 on gr. — This was a solid electrifying first installment to the Daevabad Trilogy I greatly enjoyed. From the captivating interwoven Middle Eastern folklore, easily loveable characters one can empathize with, and its world building. To be honest the first half of the story had me a bit lost at times keeping up with the world and lore but once I hit the fifty percent mark, I was completely hooked. Like especially the second half, particularly the last quarter of the novel had me stunned and so many thoughts going through my mind. Nahri's introduction into this world was a good set up to see how exactly she'll grow through this series, as personally she fell into the chosen one trope at times but nevertheless I loved her and her witty, strong personality defiantly sticking up for herself. Dara, to be frank I found him funny at first but as the story went on my feelings became mixed and frustrated with his overprotection of Nahri and his untold secrets he kept from her. Alizayd, best boy the youngest prince, we see directly from the start his wavering loyalties between his family and the shafit and how steadfast he is in his outspoken honesty on equality towards the shafit towards his father. Yet while have a heart set with beliefs he also has an outstanding mind always curious which is shown as he forms a friendship with Nahri as they bond learning new knowledge and languages. Muntadhir, I hope to see more of him in the next installments as I was intrigued by his social yet loyal persona and his dynamic with Jamshid. Most particularly after the ending, his changed dynamic with his brother Alizayd and his new role within Daevabad. I'm quite excited to pick up the sequel as I've heard raving reviews about it as its a step up from this first installment.