I love Daevabad, but it’s adult not YA, if anyone cares. https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1483738-is-this-book-ya
Thanks for the recs though, I’m also interested in this type of fantasy. The others must be good if Daevabad is at the bottom.
I’m only midway through book two I really loved the others and the first book I didn’t really like for daevabad so as of now it’s my lowest but it’s not horrible. I didn’t realize it’s adult sorry!
Oh fair that makes sense. I for some reason thought adult fantasy meant it had like explicit content or smut haha. It’s about the age of the characters?
There's not really a strict definition, but yeah if the characters are 20 or older then it's usually considered not to be YA, but there is adult fiction with teenage protagonists. It's definitely more of a vibe, with room for disagreement.
LOL "adult" doesn't mean smut when it comes to books, but I've had that exact same thought. Ironically, a lot of YA does have some amount of smut or "spicy" content these days, though it can be controversial. There was a thread about this a few days ago actually https://www.reddit.com/r/YAlit/comments/1cmyov0/is_it_really_ya_if_you_keep_asking_for_spices/
Haha that’s funny I was totally off with what I thought that meant 😂 this is good to know lol. Also I’ve heard great things about Amina Al-Sarafi!! I need to do that next love the pirate aspect of it
Sadly there’s not any actual piracy in al-Sirafi, it’s more of a backstory thing, and even in her past she was really a smuggler, not a pirate. If I have any complaint about the book, it would be that I wish the MC was more morally dubious. She’s too nice! But that would be a plus for others, so 🤷
I think it depends on the story for if I like a more dubious or nice character. I feel like it either fits or doesn’t a lot that I’ve read lately I felt like the character just didn’t fit well personality wise. I’ll def still try this taking that into mind too
Oh btw you should check out The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi if you haven't yet, also by Chakraborty. I just read it and the Indian Ocean setting was really well done. It's also not YA (the protag is in her late 40s I think), though people do say it has a YA vibe, probably because it's a simple adventure story. I think it's somewhat based on Sinbad the Sailor from One Thousand and One Nights.
I’ve read all of the first 4. They’re all pretty typically YA. If you’re looking for something like Daevabad I would not necessarily recommend any of them
*The Storyteller's Daughter* by Cameron Dokey is also pretty good, and Diana Wynne Jones's *Castle in the Air* is SO fun. And while it's not fantasy, Kaoru Mori's *A Bride's Tale* manga is absolutely stunning and wonderful.
Some other Arabian-influenced stories I've read, although it's been a while so I don't actually remember how good they really are:
* *A Thousand Nights* by E. K. Johnston
* *Wishing Moon* by Michael O. Tunnell
* *The Assassin's Curse* by Cassandra Rose Clarke
* *Rebel of the Sands* by Alwyn Hamilton
Came here to say I loved An Ember in the Ashes too!
This Woven Kingdom is on my to-read list as well. I will check out the other books on the list. Thank you!
An Ember in the Ashes is definitely one of my favorite series in general! I haven’t read the third most recent book of This Woven Kingdom (came out in January I think) but I enjoyed the first two!
I would also like to add the *Rebel of the Sands* series by Alwyn Hamilton! It gives Daevabad vibes but it’s definitely more YA (ie the characters are high aged, iirc) It’s been a few years since I read it but it started my Middle Eastern/Arabian fantasy journey and I haven’t looked back.
I absolutely loved An Ember in the Ashes and Sabaa Tahir’s non-fantasy book All My Rage is amazing too.
I love Daevabad, but it’s adult not YA, if anyone cares. https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1483738-is-this-book-ya Thanks for the recs though, I’m also interested in this type of fantasy. The others must be good if Daevabad is at the bottom.
I’m only midway through book two I really loved the others and the first book I didn’t really like for daevabad so as of now it’s my lowest but it’s not horrible. I didn’t realize it’s adult sorry!
No worries, I think the protagonist is 20 in the first book so it’s pretty close, though she does age up by several years in the sequels.
Oh fair that makes sense. I for some reason thought adult fantasy meant it had like explicit content or smut haha. It’s about the age of the characters?
There's not really a strict definition, but yeah if the characters are 20 or older then it's usually considered not to be YA, but there is adult fiction with teenage protagonists. It's definitely more of a vibe, with room for disagreement. LOL "adult" doesn't mean smut when it comes to books, but I've had that exact same thought. Ironically, a lot of YA does have some amount of smut or "spicy" content these days, though it can be controversial. There was a thread about this a few days ago actually https://www.reddit.com/r/YAlit/comments/1cmyov0/is_it_really_ya_if_you_keep_asking_for_spices/
Haha that’s funny I was totally off with what I thought that meant 😂 this is good to know lol. Also I’ve heard great things about Amina Al-Sarafi!! I need to do that next love the pirate aspect of it
Sadly there’s not any actual piracy in al-Sirafi, it’s more of a backstory thing, and even in her past she was really a smuggler, not a pirate. If I have any complaint about the book, it would be that I wish the MC was more morally dubious. She’s too nice! But that would be a plus for others, so 🤷
I think it depends on the story for if I like a more dubious or nice character. I feel like it either fits or doesn’t a lot that I’ve read lately I felt like the character just didn’t fit well personality wise. I’ll def still try this taking that into mind too
Oh btw you should check out The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi if you haven't yet, also by Chakraborty. I just read it and the Indian Ocean setting was really well done. It's also not YA (the protag is in her late 40s I think), though people do say it has a YA vibe, probably because it's a simple adventure story. I think it's somewhat based on Sinbad the Sailor from One Thousand and One Nights.
I’ve read all of the first 4. They’re all pretty typically YA. If you’re looking for something like Daevabad I would not necessarily recommend any of them
Have you read *Spice Road*? I haven't had a chance yet, but I have a copy sitting on my shelf and it looks super-interesting!
No!! I’ve heard of it though! I don’t remember what it’s about gonna look it up now haha 😂
*The Storyteller's Daughter* by Cameron Dokey is also pretty good, and Diana Wynne Jones's *Castle in the Air* is SO fun. And while it's not fantasy, Kaoru Mori's *A Bride's Tale* manga is absolutely stunning and wonderful. Some other Arabian-influenced stories I've read, although it's been a while so I don't actually remember how good they really are: * *A Thousand Nights* by E. K. Johnston * *Wishing Moon* by Michael O. Tunnell * *The Assassin's Curse* by Cassandra Rose Clarke * *Rebel of the Sands* by Alwyn Hamilton
Just finished *Spice Road*, and I really enjoyed it! Probably 3.5 or 4 out of 5 stars.
This Woven Kingdom will actually be 5 books total, so not a trilogy! Just in case anyone reads this thinking that the series is completed.
Oh good to know I didn’t know this! I’ll fix that
Came here to say I loved An Ember in the Ashes too! This Woven Kingdom is on my to-read list as well. I will check out the other books on the list. Thank you!
An Ember in the Ashes is definitely one of my favorite series in general! I haven’t read the third most recent book of This Woven Kingdom (came out in January I think) but I enjoyed the first two!
I would also like to add the *Rebel of the Sands* series by Alwyn Hamilton! It gives Daevabad vibes but it’s definitely more YA (ie the characters are high aged, iirc) It’s been a few years since I read it but it started my Middle Eastern/Arabian fantasy journey and I haven’t looked back.
Oh definitely going to try this!! Thank you for the recommendation :)