The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

“I had an irrational urge to hug the Marawati's worn wooden railing, to press my brow to the damp hull as I reunited with my beloved ship for the first time in ten years. It felt like this moment should be more momentous, more solemn. Then again, having to sneak on board was probably more fitting given our history.”
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What a wonderfully written story! Amina's journey is not only exciting and action packed, but also emotional and heart breaking and true to her character. She never gives up fighting for what she needs to, and learns a few lessons along the way. The historical tidbits bring the story to life and truly immerse the reader.

Incredibly engaging book. I especially appreciated the linear storytelling that helped me keep straight all of the characters and places. I was originally nervous when it mentioned maps and names as a separate pdf, but none of it was needed. The storytelling is just incredible. 

I can't wait for the next book. 

Wow! The book hangover from this one will last awhile. I was so entranced with Amina and her crew. The world that Chakraborty set up is compelling and really made me look at history in a different way. The adventure is amazing. The characters are so well drawn. I just wanted to hug this book when I was done and not put it down.

“Terrible pirates, they were. No sense of self-preservation.”

This is one of the most fun fantasy books I have ever read.

This wasn't what I expected at all, and I do feel like the pitch is slightly misleading. But I'm glad I picked it up, because it was so much better than I expected.

This is a historical fantasy book set in the 12th century middle east. It features a middle aged protagonist who has already retired from her younger pirating days. Unfortunately for her (fortunately for us readers), she is forced out of retirement and has to get the crew back together. That's the whole first half of the book, before the adventure really begins. Getting a crew together, especially a reluctant crew, is one of my favorite tropes, so I was having a blast with this book from beginning to end.

The crew is an absolute delight. I love stubborn Majed, who has left pirating behind him and only wants to live an honorable life now. And the poisoner Dalila and her schemes are enough to keep anyone on their toes.

This book also has tropes I don't usually like, but it presented them in a way that made me fall in love with it. I don't usually like paranormal romance stories, but the marriage to a demon in this book is one of the best plot lines.

The fantasy elements are only in the story subtly at first, but towards the end we have a full on fantasy adventure, complete with magical creatures, magic, and mayhem. Honestly, my interest waned slightly the more magical the story became. But I was invested enough in the characters to want to know what happened next.

This is the first book I've read by Shannon Chakraborty, and I want to read everything she writes now. I rarely give out the favorite author designation, especially if I haven't read multiple books by the author, but this book makes me want to break my own rule.

I listened to the audiobook while reading the physical book, and I highly recommend the audiobook. The physical book is gorgeous, with decorated pages. But the audio narrators really elevate this story. lameece Issaq reads with such emotion and takes on the character so thoroughly that I never once doubted that she really was Amina. That's a hard act to follow, but Amin El Gamal, who narrates the scribe, does so with ease. My only complaint is sometimes the characters would talk to someone off page, and the audio was too quiet for those parts compared to the rest when I was listening with earbuds.

See full review on my youtube channel

I can't stop smiling, it's such a great book! Highly recommend if you enjoy an older female mc, Indian/Arabian/Muslim cultures, pirates, swashbuckling adventure with a lovely dash of humor!

I did not expect Jamal to be Dunya!!! What a plot twist LOL I'm so glad Amina got home safely and her crew still all in one piece, except for the few who have lost their lives ;-; I loved how the crew respected each other's culture/religions!! I don't often see that concept in books, but I think this one did so well. Raksh reminds me of Loki, I couldn't stop laughing when he got rafted at the end. I'm so glad this book didn't have any explicit intimate scenes or crazy amounts of romance. I feel like it often happens with fantasy books recently, but without it, it's done so well.

I listened to the audiobook version. The story over all I give 4⭐️. The narration was okay, not really worth choosing audiobook over paper book. Loved Amina's story as a female pirate and all the found family vibes with her crew. Also really enjoyed learning more about a place and time in history I wasn't familiar with. Definitely inspired to read the authors earlier trilogy now but won't try them on audiobook.

The first half of the book was kind of boring and sets up a wholly different story than the part that comes after. I enjoyed the second half more, which had more fantasy elements and was less filled with tropes. It also has the best character in the boost (the demon husband) who I was sad didn't get as many scenes as I would have liked.

First of all, I loved the narration! Voice actors did their job perfectly. Not sure that I'd have enjoyed the story as much if it were an eye read. Sidebars were a great touch.

As for the story itself, I enjoyed following Amina's adventures, especially in the second half of the book, but it wasn't a wow-experience. Maybe I had too high expectations going into the book, maybe it's just because the whole naval-piraty theme doesn't resonate with me as much. There is nothing I feel the need to criticise, but at the same time 4 stars feels like the most I can give the book at this point. Maybe when the other two instalments come out and I binge read all three my opinion will change. I did like the setting up for the other books and look forward to finding out how the things turn out for the crew of Marawati.

Raksh. He's so amazingly bad and selfish (and mostly blind to the fact). I love how Shannon portrayed him in a way, that I can't completely hate and despise him. There's something about him that makes me want to see him reformed and reunited with his family, no matter how naive and simplistic it may sound. And oh I want to “see” his face when he finds out about his daughter.

Amina herself did not impress me at first. She was supposed to be some super legend pirate captain, but the way she told the story (not even the events she described) were in such a dissonance with all the hype around her. It was difficult for me to create an image of her in my head because of it. But after she got to the magic island, it all somehow clicked into place. She became the hero I expected her to be from the very beginning.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty is a great historical fantasy adventure.    Amina Al-Sirafi is a middle-aged piratey sea captain who is persuaded out of retirement and away from her daughter. What she thinks will be a fact finding and rescue mission to recover the daughter of a former crewman turns into a full scale supernatural adventure.    This book had a lovely, satisfying ending. Open ended with room for more stories, but not in a cliffhanger way.    I got my book from Book of the Month Club and read it in hardcover, as well as listening to the audiobook for some of it. 

Amina al-Sirafi is a retired pirate, living quietly at home with her mother and daughter when she is pulled back into her old life. While embarking on a new quest, pieces of her past keep cropping up and intertwining with her adventure. There are battles! There is romance! There is magic! Set in the 12th century in the Indian Ocean, this was a fun backdrop for a fantasy novel. It is extremely well-written and very fun to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to planned future novels!

This was another great reminder of why I love getting recommendations from friends. Not sure I would have ever found this on my own, and I'm already considering this as a gift for K.

A truly marvelous tale. A diverse crew, in ethnicity, sexuality, religion and gender, leading to the occasional important and thought provoking discussion amidst high action and intricate plot. Did not expect to laugh as often as I did. More supernatural elements than I expected which made me love it more. Love the interstitials between some chapters, different formats of epistolary or asides, used to provide background on certain characters. 

Amani is as much a mother as a captain, among other attributes, and the tension between roles needing to be fulfilled, and personal ambitions, priorities seemingly at odds, is given careful attention. I appreciate that Amani has a history of acknowledged mistakes and is only slightly wiser as a result, aka still human. 😉 Gleeful to discover it's going to be a series.

Transgender and queer rep.🙌🏻

⚠️Mention of SA, enslavement, some scenes get pretty violent/gross

SAC's storytelling ability is phenomenal!! I absolutely loved the Daevabad Trilogy, and this was equally as great in a very different way. This book took me on an adventure across the Indian ocean, to places I've never dreamed of going, and I loved EVERY.SECOND.OF.IT!! I laughed through most of it because the characters' banter was