“Being alone isn’t as bad as people think it is. The true birth of a person isn’t when they come out of the womb into the world, but rather when they leave the world behind to look inwards, and that only happens when you’re alone.”

This historical fantasy just barely includes magical elements, so the comparison to the Daevabad series is a little unearned, but it makes for an interesting world I would’ve liked to see more of.

It features the prevailing issue of misogyny as almost everyone (save for her father, and later Muallim Ishaq) tells Nardeen her dream profession as a doctor is unsuitable for a girl. I find it more hurtful when it comes from her own mother:

“You won’t get anything out of those books, binti. If only you put some kohl around your eyes, you’d drive the men crazy. Men were made to use their brains and women to look pretty.”

There’s also brief talk about Nardeen’s value as a slave for her beauty.

The timeline gets a little wobbly when it jumps a couple years later then then goes back and forth to show some of Nardeen’s experiences in that span without warning. The resolution comes too quickly, missing the emotional punch it would have packed otherwise.

The romance doesn’t seem to be as relevant, but plays an important part in the conclusion, so I would’ve liked to see more of that too. The story is filled with interesting characters that could well belong to an epic fantasy story.

I really enjoyed this one and would’ve loved every element to be more developed in a longer format.