Review: This Woven Kingdom

This Woven Kingdom
by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 1st 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins
Find This Book: This Woven Kingdom
Rating: 3/5

**A finalized copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

This Woven Kingdom contains beautiful prose and descriptions, but unfortunately very little plot. It comes with the territory of an almost 500-page book that spans about 3 days of in-book time. 60% of This Woven Kingdom is the main characters’ inner monologue, 20% is setting/food/clothing description, 10% is verbal dialogue, and the last 10% is where the actual occurring events happen. I prefer to be shown actions to back up character motivations and thoughts, but this book heavily relies upon the reader being told what to think. The whole experience made it hard to connect with, or even like, either of the two main protagonists.

I was hoping for a lush Persian mythology read, but This Woven Kingdom is essentially a Cinderella retelling with cosmetic Middle Eastern inspirations regarding food and clothing. A dual-POV read, we alternate between Alizeh a long-lost princess of the Jinn who is currently hiding as a lowly servant, and Kamran the heir to the human empire of Ardunia. Their lots in life place them at odds, for Alizeh was prophesized to end the reign of the current king of Ardunia, Kamran’s grandfather. Of course, Alizeh and Kamran happen to cross paths on the street and become an insta-love forbidden romance. As I mentioned, this book is about 10% plot. Over the course of about 3 days, Kamran and Alizeh think about the other non-stop and their inner thoughts take up the majority of the writing of this book. All of this builds up to a ball, (Yay, an event is finally occurring!) so you have that to look forward to in the last 100 pages or so. Check out my book recap for a more thorough summary.

If you come into this with the right mindset, I think it can certainly be an enjoyable read, but it was very different than how it was marketed and you have to be ready for it to be a slow-paced read, very trope-heavy and descriptor-heavy.

Book Recap: This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi
Publication Date: February 1st 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins

Alizeh is the lost princess of the Jinn, a magical race of beings made from fire. She raised to be royal until an attack on her home orphans her. Left to work as a servant, she has no money, no allies, no friends. This all changes when she is attacked on the street. She defends herself and lets her attacker go, an act observed by the human prince, Kamran. In disbelief at her skills and mercy, he believes her to be a spy from an enemy kingdom and starts investigating.

He makes an ass of himself in many ways that involve him making wild assumptions about others, but he also starts to care for Alizeh along the way. She, too, has become mesmerized by the prince giving a lowly servant such as herself attention and kindness. This budding romance is shaken by a new discovery: the kingdom’s diviners have prophesied King Zaal’s downfall at the hand of Alizeh! How can Kamran be falling for the person who will be the end of his grandfather?

A familiar face from her childhood gifts her a nosta. A small orb that changes temperature: hot when someone is telling her the truth and cold when someone is lying to her. A useful tool! Except she somehow jumps to conclusions and makes several horrible decisions at the end of the book.

Recap of MAJOR SPOILERS: The king of the enemy kingdom of Tulan, Cyrus, kills King Zaal at a royal ball. Very public, but/and it was probably justified. We find out that King Zaal had elongated his life to give Kamran more of his childhood (at the cost of killing orphans and eating their brains). Kamran challenges Cyrus to a duel and is saved by Alizeh who intervenes before Cyrus can deal a deathblow. Alizeh and Kamran can finally have their happily ever after, except Cyrus kidnaps her so Kamran assumes that Alizeh betrayed him. This all seems to contradict the prophecy King Zaal was worried about, as Alizeh had nothing to do with his death/end of his reign. Maybe Zaal misinterpreted the prophecy? I'm hoping this will be explained in books 2 or 3.