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kofolapumpkin's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful retelling of Aladdin's story!
The setting and the writing in this novel are just beautiful. I feel like people who enjoyed [bc:The Wrath & the Dawn|18798983|The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)|Renee Ahdieh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417956963s/18798983.jpg|26724902] would also enjoy this book. Not only because of the similar setting but also because of the strong female lead character and overall vibe this book conveys.
TINY ALMOST-SPOILER FOLLOWING. If you're VERY sensitive regarding spoilers, don't continue reading.
There were some parts that weren't very logical to me. For instance, Zahra is able to teleport 5 people who are miles away to the place where she is, but to save ____ she has to go to him/her and fight soldiers instead of just teleporting that one person to where she is? This really bugged me..
There were some other parts that I'm not going to mention here, just because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who's still reading this review and I want to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
All in all though, I truly enjoyed this novel and am glad that I picked it up. :)
The setting and the writing in this novel are just beautiful. I feel like people who enjoyed [bc:The Wrath & the Dawn|18798983|The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)|Renee Ahdieh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417956963s/18798983.jpg|26724902] would also enjoy this book. Not only because of the similar setting but also because of the strong female lead character and overall vibe this book conveys.
TINY ALMOST-SPOILER FOLLOWING. If you're VERY sensitive regarding spoilers, don't continue reading.
There were some parts that weren't very logical to me. For instance, Zahra is able to teleport 5 people who are miles away to the place where she is, but to save ____ she has to go to him/her and fight soldiers instead of just teleporting that one person to where she is? This really bugged me..
There were some other parts that I'm not going to mention here, just because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who's still reading this review and I want to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
All in all though, I truly enjoyed this novel and am glad that I picked it up. :)
juliapatt2007's review
3.0
Overall this was a sweet little story that I read in an afternoon. I like the shift for princess Jasmine making her a bad ass with a great crew. I also liked that Aladdin retained his flirty and sarcastic nature. Zahra was a good lead character with her faults but also her talents. There was some inconsistency in the jargon while the story is clearly set in the original time period some of the phrasing seemed a bit modern and pulled me out of the story occasionally.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
lyakimov's review
4.0
This book was much better than I expected it to be!! I bought it and was hearing good things about it, but had no desire to read it for so long. I am so glad that I picked it up, though!
My favorite aspect of the story was how it was written like she was telling it to her sister and their relationship really made this book ten times better for me. It showed how much she had touched her heart after so many years and it was just BEAUTIFUL. It mattered much more to me than the romance.
Even though it was an Aladdin retelling and there's a ton of them, it was surprisingly clever and I was pleasantly surprised on how good it was.
My favorite aspect of the story was how it was written like she was telling it to her sister and their relationship really made this book ten times better for me. It showed how much she had touched her heart after so many years and it was just BEAUTIFUL. It mattered much more to me than the romance.
Even though it was an Aladdin retelling and there's a ton of them, it was surprisingly clever and I was pleasantly surprised on how good it was.
illusie's review
4.0
This is a lovely retelling of Aladdin. The world building is great. I thought it was creative to tell the story from the genie's point of view and turning her into a girl. A very creative and well written story. I loved the romance part of it. That ending makes me hope for a story about Sinbad.
smart_girls_love_trashy_books's review
4.0
-POTENTIAL SPOILERS-
Wow, talk about a book completely taking you by surprise! Reading the reviews for this book, I saw all the praise and instantly got concerned. This really doesn't sound like the type of book I like-I'm not a huge fan of romance, believe it or not, and this is mainly focused on romance.
But wow, this book was really well done! The writing style was extremely lush, detailed and descriptive-just the way I like it. My favorite characters were of course the badass princess-turned-queen and her band of loyal female warriors. They were so cool! I wish we had more characters like them in YA literature.
While I'm not a huge fan of the Aladdin story, I will read any retelling I come across since it's just what I do, and this is a very good mature retelling. All the pieces are there for you to piece together the original, yet it does something completely new and different with it.
As for the climax, I actually admired its fast pace! It fit in well with the rest of the story, which was extremely fast-paced in certain portions.
Honestly the only reason why the rating isn't higher is because while I like the setting, it's not entirely original, I'm not a huge fan of the Aladdin story, and imagine the possibilities if it were a female genie with a female Aladdin! Although there was that friendship with the female genie and an ancient queen they build up quite a lot, so.
Overall, this was a surprising literal gem of a book I'm glad I read, and hopefully I can read another Aladdin retelling just as good as this one sometime in the future.
Wow, talk about a book completely taking you by surprise! Reading the reviews for this book, I saw all the praise and instantly got concerned. This really doesn't sound like the type of book I like-I'm not a huge fan of romance, believe it or not, and this is mainly focused on romance.
But wow, this book was really well done! The writing style was extremely lush, detailed and descriptive-just the way I like it. My favorite characters were of course the badass princess-turned-queen and her band of loyal female warriors. They were so cool! I wish we had more characters like them in YA literature.
While I'm not a huge fan of the Aladdin story, I will read any retelling I come across since it's just what I do, and this is a very good mature retelling. All the pieces are there for you to piece together the original, yet it does something completely new and different with it.
As for the climax, I actually admired its fast pace! It fit in well with the rest of the story, which was extremely fast-paced in certain portions.
Honestly the only reason why the rating isn't higher is because while I like the setting, it's not entirely original, I'm not a huge fan of the Aladdin story, and imagine the possibilities if it were a female genie with a female Aladdin! Although there was that friendship with the female genie and an ancient queen they build up quite a lot, so.
Overall, this was a surprising literal gem of a book I'm glad I read, and hopefully I can read another Aladdin retelling just as good as this one sometime in the future.
xenasorceress's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
A pretty easy and fun read! For me personally the romance did get a little grating and cliche at times, but it drove the plot in a really great way, especially by the end, so I can't complain much. The ultimate climax was soooo hype, that was definitely the book's strongest part to me. I only wish the princess' handmaidens got even more screentime... TuT their individual concepts are so so cool and I'd love to get to know them more, I was honestly most interested and curious about them out of the cast. They seem so ripe for further development... I'd love to see them in a spin-off series or something like that!
kristilynnmcd's review
4.0
Actual rating 3.75 stars
What a wonderful retelling of a familiar and beloved favorite. I wish more of these retelling of classic tales had the fire this one does.
What a wonderful retelling of a familiar and beloved favorite. I wish more of these retelling of classic tales had the fire this one does.
letsbebookfriends's review
5.0
*4.5 stars*
This was wonderful! The world building was enchanting. Both the primary and secondary characters were engaging, and the execution of the retelling of the Aladdin tale was AMAZING! I loved this book.
This was wonderful! The world building was enchanting. Both the primary and secondary characters were engaging, and the execution of the retelling of the Aladdin tale was AMAZING! I loved this book.
thereticentseer's review
5.0
I haven't read many Aladdin retellings, but this is like the BEST retelling I've ever seen?? I'm a sucker for books centering on Middle Eastern-like settings and characters, but Zahra and Aladdin have a special place in my heart rn. And the prose? One of the best I've ever read. I now have too many highlights on my ebook lol