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Heart of Noorenia #1
Crowning Soul
Be swept away in this unique fantasy debut from Sahira Javaid. A spellbinding adventure of belonging, finding hope and where the price of a soul is another soul’s fate. Perfect for fans of InuYasha, Children of Blood and Bone and The Candle and The Flame.
Nezha Zaman considers her gift to control fire a dangerous secret. A secret that unravels when she encounters a vengeful shadow jinni in a maze garden that has been stalking her family, and knows about her power. Weeks after seeing the demonic being, Nezha is torn from her world through her backyard pond and transported to another dimension which sought out the light inside her heart.
Nezha learns from two unicorns that the dimension is her family’s roots, and the light is a fragment of an angel’s shattered soul. The three must work together to find the soul’s shards in a land teeming with shape-shifting jinn. If Nezha fails to stop the corrupted Iron Prince, the malevolent jinn at his side will shatter her soul next.
Nezha Zaman considers her gift to control fire a dangerous secret. A secret that unravels when she encounters a vengeful shadow jinni in a maze garden that has been stalking her family, and knows about her power. Weeks after seeing the demonic being, Nezha is torn from her world through her backyard pond and transported to another dimension which sought out the light inside her heart.
Nezha learns from two unicorns that the dimension is her family’s roots, and the light is a fragment of an angel’s shattered soul. The three must work together to find the soul’s shards in a land teeming with shape-shifting jinn. If Nezha fails to stop the corrupted Iron Prince, the malevolent jinn at his side will shatter her soul next.
635 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 17, 2020
September 24, 2020: It feels so bad to say this is an average read. Maybe I expected a lot but I do think there were discrepancies that could have been easily reformed if an extensively technical editing was attempted, and this makes me even sadder.
Let's start with the best aspects: the culture is so beautifully represented, left right and centre, that it makes me extremely happy as a person of colour; the simple writing is so easy to dive into and feels so much at home in some parts that I almost forget what's lacking. There's some interesting bits of magic, including the extraordinary creatures like unicorns and dragons, that are bound to keep you lightly engrossed.
However, the plot was all over the place and the voice read a lot younger than the YA it was trying to align with. At times, there's a lot of focus on what's going around and simply telling the readers what's occurring rather than letting the main character convey it through herself, and that resulted in a lack of character connectivity and loss of plot attachment. If it was intentionally written for a middle-grade tone, it would've certainly done better. This isn't to say YA characters can't be too young but it's to say this story would've worked so much better if the right demographic was considered earlier.
Also, this review that arises after reading an early copy should be received with an open likelihood of a finished copy showing immense improvements. Basically, this has so much potential and no one is more heartbroken at this opinion of mine.
August 18, 2020: Starting this and so very excited. Buddy reading with Mis and Vee!
August 09, 2020: I have a digital review copy via Netgalley! And I'm freaking with happiness OMG. Also, the gorgeous cover is UFF <3
July 10, 2020: I mean, we're talking about soul business and a jinn so you know I'm very much ready for this stunning book.
Let's start with the best aspects: the culture is so beautifully represented, left right and centre, that it makes me extremely happy as a person of colour; the simple writing is so easy to dive into and feels so much at home in some parts that I almost forget what's lacking. There's some interesting bits of magic, including the extraordinary creatures like unicorns and dragons, that are bound to keep you lightly engrossed.
However, the plot was all over the place and the voice read a lot younger than the YA it was trying to align with. At times, there's a lot of focus on what's going around and simply telling the readers what's occurring rather than letting the main character convey it through herself, and that resulted in a lack of character connectivity and loss of plot attachment. If it was intentionally written for a middle-grade tone, it would've certainly done better. This isn't to say YA characters can't be too young but it's to say this story would've worked so much better if the right demographic was considered earlier.
Also, this review that arises after reading an early copy should be received with an open likelihood of a finished copy showing immense improvements. Basically, this has so much potential and no one is more heartbroken at this opinion of mine.
August 18, 2020: Starting this and so very excited. Buddy reading with Mis and Vee!
August 09, 2020: I have a digital review copy via Netgalley! And I'm freaking with happiness OMG. Also, the gorgeous cover is UFF <3
July 10, 2020: I mean, we're talking about soul business and a jinn so you know I'm very much ready for this stunning book.
August 17, 2021
This book started off well and good.
I was so hyped up regarding the main female protagonist and the myriad other fantastical characters and also that beautiful cover and the premise!
I guess I had expected too much from it.
I guess it's the writing that didn't work out for me.
Some parts gets too repetitive. And until 40 percent of the book I was groping for information and details about this fantastical world.
I find the character introductions and character development a bit haphazard.
I just couldn't get connected with any of the characters.
And tragedy keeps happening even before the characters get to get to me.
I just couldn't enjoy this one.
But I appreciate the descriptions of the cultural backgrounds used; the food and the family dynamics.
It wasn't just enough for me.
I wanted more connection with the characters.
I wanted the world system in details so I have a fair idea about it.
I wanted the magic to happen.
I wanted my reader heart burn and yearn for more.
Looking forward to the next book. Hope I get to enjoy it more than the first book.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
I was so hyped up regarding the main female protagonist and the myriad other fantastical characters and also that beautiful cover and the premise!
I guess I had expected too much from it.
I guess it's the writing that didn't work out for me.
Some parts gets too repetitive. And until 40 percent of the book I was groping for information and details about this fantastical world.
I find the character introductions and character development a bit haphazard.
I just couldn't get connected with any of the characters.
And tragedy keeps happening even before the characters get to get to me.
I just couldn't enjoy this one.
But I appreciate the descriptions of the cultural backgrounds used; the food and the family dynamics.
It wasn't just enough for me.
I wanted more connection with the characters.
I wanted the world system in details so I have a fair idea about it.
I wanted the magic to happen.
I wanted my reader heart burn and yearn for more.
Looking forward to the next book. Hope I get to enjoy it more than the first book.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
October 9, 2020
To be honest, this book was an average read compared to the other books Ive read recently, but it presents a different culture and ethnic representation so if anyone is interested in reading diverse book they can pick it up!
August 24, 2020
I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was super excited for this one, but what I thought I was getting and what I got were two very different things. While I still did generally enjoy this story, it was way too long and wandering for my taste.
Crowning Soul revolves around Nezha Zaman who is a fire jawhar (elemental). When a shadow jinni threatens Nezha and hurts her family, her life begins to unravel. Simultaneously, in Noorenia (a parallel realm to the mortal one) the angel who is the heart of land is attacked and his soul shatters. Nezha's great uncle realizes she is the key and sends her to Noorenia with one part of the soul to find all the others and save the land.
Throughout the first 50% of the book I was still trying to get my bearings. The way the information is given to us about why Nezha is important and what she needs to do was haphazard and confusing. I know this was an unedited arc, but there was so much repetition and weird scenes that didn't make any sense in the overarching plot line. I spent a majority of this confused and annoyed.
When Nezha enters Noorenia, she finds two unicorns who become her guides and dearest friends. The addition of unicorns seemed random but it was kind of fun. However, the way this group went about their quest was so strange. They would go out to find pieces of the soul and then come back to the same house. Even though there's a bad guy and jinni who want to hurt/kill Nezha (was unclear). I've never seen a fantasy adventure like this where they consistently come back to the same place while traversing the whole country for objects.
Another thing that was very strange was the timing throughout the story. Not only did the timeline feel weird, but there were several scenes where I felt like I missed part of the information that should have been there even though it was completely missing. Something that didn't help was the inter-chapter POV changes. We'd skip between several characters at any given moment and it gave me some whiplash.
Lastly, the big bad is constantly built up over the course of the story. Nezha and her friends battle him at least 3 times if not more before the story climax. And every time it seemed like she almost sways him to her side of things. But then the actual ending came and it seemed like nothing really happened. It was the most anti-climactic climax I've read recently.
Overall, very interesting premise. I wanted to love it. The world was cool and the characters were fine but the execution of the story in general was confusing and a tad off-putting.
I was super excited for this one, but what I thought I was getting and what I got were two very different things. While I still did generally enjoy this story, it was way too long and wandering for my taste.
Crowning Soul revolves around Nezha Zaman who is a fire jawhar (elemental). When a shadow jinni threatens Nezha and hurts her family, her life begins to unravel. Simultaneously, in Noorenia (a parallel realm to the mortal one) the angel who is the heart of land is attacked and his soul shatters. Nezha's great uncle realizes she is the key and sends her to Noorenia with one part of the soul to find all the others and save the land.
Throughout the first 50% of the book I was still trying to get my bearings. The way the information is given to us about why Nezha is important and what she needs to do was haphazard and confusing. I know this was an unedited arc, but there was so much repetition and weird scenes that didn't make any sense in the overarching plot line. I spent a majority of this confused and annoyed.
When Nezha enters Noorenia, she finds two unicorns who become her guides and dearest friends. The addition of unicorns seemed random but it was kind of fun. However, the way this group went about their quest was so strange. They would go out to find pieces of the soul and then come back to the same house. Even though there's a bad guy and jinni who want to hurt/kill Nezha (was unclear). I've never seen a fantasy adventure like this where they consistently come back to the same place while traversing the whole country for objects.
Another thing that was very strange was the timing throughout the story. Not only did the timeline feel weird, but there were several scenes where I felt like I missed part of the information that should have been there even though it was completely missing. Something that didn't help was the inter-chapter POV changes. We'd skip between several characters at any given moment and it gave me some whiplash.
Lastly, the big bad is constantly built up over the course of the story. Nezha and her friends battle him at least 3 times if not more before the story climax. And every time it seemed like she almost sways him to her side of things. But then the actual ending came and it seemed like nothing really happened. It was the most anti-climactic climax I've read recently.
Overall, very interesting premise. I wanted to love it. The world was cool and the characters were fine but the execution of the story in general was confusing and a tad off-putting.
Shelved as 'dnf'
May 2, 2020dnf @ 50%
i can't go on. its confusing and i don't quite understand what's going on.
*review of sorts coming soon*
i can't go on. its confusing and i don't quite understand what's going on.
*review of sorts coming soon*
September 25, 2020
Really can't get over the sloppy writing. While the cultural aspects were done with authenticity, the characters and story arc went hay-wire. Expected so much from this one.
September 7, 2020
I am so sad to say that this book was disappointing for me and not what I was expecting, based on the synopsis and hype I was so eager to read this, but I found it so hard going , it was just an effort to get through this. It felt just unrealistic, in a not relatable way, overly far fetched ! Dialogue didn’t feel natural and was actually cheesy at times. It just wasn’t for me at all.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
August 5, 2020
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Crowing Soul in exchange for an honest review.
I wish i'd loved this book. Full of just about every mythical creature you can think of and featuring a muslim lead in a genre where it's normally challenging to even find a muslim side character, Crowning Soul is incredible on paper. The plot and world are detailed and unique and it has a mythos all of its own but unfortunately, this book is just trying to be too much.
Crowning Souls felt like watching a bunch of episodes of a 5-minute segmented animated kids show back to back if you skipped the first few episodes. At first, I found myself stopping to check and make sure I hadn't picked up a sequel because of how quickly I got lost. Then when you start to gain your footing, more and more is thrown at you. A conflict is introduced. It's defeated. The plot so far is recapped to a new character. A new conflict is introduced. It's defeated. The plot so far is recapped to a new character. I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading segments of a story instead of an actual story and it made it incredibly hard to connect with the narrative.
I want to say this book is best for readers at the younger end of middle grade even though it's shelved at YA, but I truly think it is too dense of a story for a younger reader to understand. The ideas and world are incredible and I almost wish this book went through one or two more cycles of drafting because it could have been amazing but as is, this was too confusing of a read.
I wish i'd loved this book. Full of just about every mythical creature you can think of and featuring a muslim lead in a genre where it's normally challenging to even find a muslim side character, Crowning Soul is incredible on paper. The plot and world are detailed and unique and it has a mythos all of its own but unfortunately, this book is just trying to be too much.
Crowning Souls felt like watching a bunch of episodes of a 5-minute segmented animated kids show back to back if you skipped the first few episodes. At first, I found myself stopping to check and make sure I hadn't picked up a sequel because of how quickly I got lost. Then when you start to gain your footing, more and more is thrown at you. A conflict is introduced. It's defeated. The plot so far is recapped to a new character. A new conflict is introduced. It's defeated. The plot so far is recapped to a new character. I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading segments of a story instead of an actual story and it made it incredibly hard to connect with the narrative.
I want to say this book is best for readers at the younger end of middle grade even though it's shelved at YA, but I truly think it is too dense of a story for a younger reader to understand. The ideas and world are incredible and I almost wish this book went through one or two more cycles of drafting because it could have been amazing but as is, this was too confusing of a read.
September 17, 2020
Incoming a torpedo of spelling mistakes. I don't plan on posting this on my blog and I would like to forget this book asap. I apologise for this ramble of a rant. I usually hate writing extremely negative reviews as I would prefer not to post them. But I gave this the exception because I don't plan on editing the mess below. So what you're reading is literally my thoughts that I wrote in my phone as I read along. This book is a mess, but the potential was SO there and it made me so upset. I was a part of the book tour for this debut, but I obviously did not include this in the post. I did manage to find a few quotes that were okay to share. If you enjoyed this book, then look away, you'll find nothing here for you.
After reading the book description, I was initially very interested in this book. A girl who hides her ability to conjure fire finds herself in a land of magic and an array of jinns on her tail. But there was something nagging me at the back of my mind about the description. It felt blunt, and rather uninspiring, especially, now that I look back on it. And I feel like that should've been the first warning sign.
I took on this book because of the blog tour and I was unable to write a review for this book because, frankly, I don't think I have anything good to say about it. I felt annoyed when I finished this book, irritated that I should've trusted my gut feeling instead of choosing to go ahead with my participation, in hopes that the book would redeem itself. And it didn't. Not in the slightest of bits.
The story begins with Nezha and her family in celebration. They run the family store where they sell a variety of flowers and treats for any occasion. Aware of her fire skills, her parents are quiet about her secret and Nezha feels like her aunt is the only person who truly knows her. And in the midst of a party, she hears a voice that kept saying "fire elemental," which leads to her being cornered inside a maze by djinn. Nezha's aunt is soon killed off, which was so infuriating because if you know a djinn is after you, a djinn that is aware that you have a special power, why on earth would you let your defenceless family member leave your sight?
The perspective then changes over to our main villain, Zul Sharr, an Iron prince turned djinn, who is heartbroken after losing the love of his life. He gives into a djinn called Lexa, who swears she can help him gain the power she needs. I didn't understand what was happening, I didn't even think half of the chapters we get from their POVs were even necessary. There was no distinction at all between the voices of Nezha, Zul Sharr and Lexa and the other supporting character. It felt jarring when they were all together in some chapters because it read like an absolute mess.
Nezha ends up in the magical world of Noorenia in the strangest way possible. It begins with an earthquake, which leads to her grandfather swapping bodies with his brother, who resides in Noorenia. And the grand uncle brings her to Noorenia via a pond where she is faced with two unicorns. Sounds familar? Because that is where the book's official description ends and we've barely scratched the surface of the book. (In my e-copy, I believe it wasn't even 10% into the book?) If anyone that is a part of the team that worked on this book is reading this, please, I beg someone to rewrite the book description, because it is so bad. And I'm not even saying this to be rude, I JUST WANTED THIS BOOK TO BE BETTER.
Okay, now onto the unicorns, two siblings, Sapphire and Thunderbolt. Again, two new voices with zero colour in their voices. Thunderbolt acts like an annoying child, rather pretentious and Sapphire is very lacklustre. But we are told they are important so therefore, we have to go along with it. They encounter their first enemy djinn very soon, and this is where I first got really frustrated because we are about to be introduced to SO many villans whose roles in these stories are completely irrelevant. They're introduced to us to frighten Nezha but they are easily killed in the next page. There's NO pacing whatsoever, and it really brings this entire book down. Another example is not that far after fighting the "first" enemy, Nezha and co. enter this island where they are explicitly told not to trust what they can see because it's enchanted with tricker djinns. And guess what happens a few paragraphs later? A djinn disguises herself as a helpless girl, which Nezha basically falls for and scolds the unicorns when they tell her to be careful. This is straight-up terrible storytelling. I also forgot to mention that Nezha also has her pet cat that ended up in Noorenia too. Which conveniently disappears for times on end and then randomly mentioned in a line. Why even bother having it there? You could remove the cat and the story wouldn't change at all.
There was one specific moment where I genuinely thought I couldn't continue. Nezha and co. find themselves recovering from an encounter with the enemies so they decide to take a break? Literally, Nezha returns to her home in the human world and chills there as if there aren't multiple djinns chasing after her. After being told she possesses an angel's light, a power that is very important to the survival of Noorenia. Her aunt DIED in the beginning before she even entered Noorenia. I literally couldn't fathom WHY would you just return home and put your entire family at risk like that?
After all this confusion, Nezha finally faces her aunt's murderer and decides to let the djinn go. At first, I was like huh fair enough, you can forgive the murderer, that's your decision. I might not agree but you go girl. But to compare the murder of her aunt to her decision to not kill the djinn was a WACK comparison. And then we discover that Thunderbolt was *cue audience gasp* the old guard for Zul Sharr before he turned evil? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS WASN'T MENTION AT ALL? WHY IS THIS INFORMATION GIVEN TO US AT THE VERY END. WITH ZERO SUSPENSE. I actually wanted to cry, this is information that could've been SO good if it was given to us earlier. It gave us an interesting aspect of the twins and their link to Zul Sharr. It would have made it SO much more impactful in terms of the story. Except Thunderbolt SAYS NOTHING ABOUT IT. No even a sneer or a backhanded comment. ANYTHING that could've remotely suggested his connection to the prince.
There is also a love interest. Kayan, a boy who can control the wind, is conveniently introduced to us with a sad backstory about his sick father and sister. He joins the trio in hopes of finding a cure for his father. He is locked out of certain parts of the story because his power is basically too OP. The major battle at the end and this boy is literally not even there because he is conveniently not allowed to enter so his entire existence isn't even useful until their final escape. The final battle was a convoluted mess that even Nezha had to give a summary of what happened after it all ended.
There is an attempt for some semblance of a romantic relationship but it fails terribly because, again, the author chooses to tell us how to feel and react rather than show us. There is even a line where two characters joke about knowing the other so well and saying the line "your body language gave it away," I swear, I almost drop-kicked my phone. WHERE IS THIS BODY LANGUAGE? WE ARE THE READER. WE CAN'T SEE THESE CHARACTERS, SHOW US WHAT'S HAPPENING. And I cannot get over how quick to argument all these characters get because that seems to be the only way the author can make the story move along, by making them fight over insignificant things that made no sense to the story. And then rally the characters back together because ~teamwork makes the dream work~
And the ending again made no sense because Nezha returns home so she can finish her schooling but she agreed to be Noorenia's queen? Like, there was a whole fanfare moment where she promises the people to help them? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING??! I'm leaving this review (if you can call it that lol) here. The only good parts of the book was when Nezha would describe any food that was mention because more detail went into those than most of the book. I'll probably forget about this book in week, now that I've put all my thoughts here.
After reading the book description, I was initially very interested in this book. A girl who hides her ability to conjure fire finds herself in a land of magic and an array of jinns on her tail. But there was something nagging me at the back of my mind about the description. It felt blunt, and rather uninspiring, especially, now that I look back on it. And I feel like that should've been the first warning sign.
I took on this book because of the blog tour and I was unable to write a review for this book because, frankly, I don't think I have anything good to say about it. I felt annoyed when I finished this book, irritated that I should've trusted my gut feeling instead of choosing to go ahead with my participation, in hopes that the book would redeem itself. And it didn't. Not in the slightest of bits.
The story begins with Nezha and her family in celebration. They run the family store where they sell a variety of flowers and treats for any occasion. Aware of her fire skills, her parents are quiet about her secret and Nezha feels like her aunt is the only person who truly knows her. And in the midst of a party, she hears a voice that kept saying "fire elemental," which leads to her being cornered inside a maze by djinn. Nezha's aunt is soon killed off, which was so infuriating because if you know a djinn is after you, a djinn that is aware that you have a special power, why on earth would you let your defenceless family member leave your sight?
The perspective then changes over to our main villain, Zul Sharr, an Iron prince turned djinn, who is heartbroken after losing the love of his life. He gives into a djinn called Lexa, who swears she can help him gain the power she needs. I didn't understand what was happening, I didn't even think half of the chapters we get from their POVs were even necessary. There was no distinction at all between the voices of Nezha, Zul Sharr and Lexa and the other supporting character. It felt jarring when they were all together in some chapters because it read like an absolute mess.
Nezha ends up in the magical world of Noorenia in the strangest way possible. It begins with an earthquake, which leads to her grandfather swapping bodies with his brother, who resides in Noorenia. And the grand uncle brings her to Noorenia via a pond where she is faced with two unicorns. Sounds familar? Because that is where the book's official description ends and we've barely scratched the surface of the book. (In my e-copy, I believe it wasn't even 10% into the book?) If anyone that is a part of the team that worked on this book is reading this, please, I beg someone to rewrite the book description, because it is so bad. And I'm not even saying this to be rude, I JUST WANTED THIS BOOK TO BE BETTER.
Okay, now onto the unicorns, two siblings, Sapphire and Thunderbolt. Again, two new voices with zero colour in their voices. Thunderbolt acts like an annoying child, rather pretentious and Sapphire is very lacklustre. But we are told they are important so therefore, we have to go along with it. They encounter their first enemy djinn very soon, and this is where I first got really frustrated because we are about to be introduced to SO many villans whose roles in these stories are completely irrelevant. They're introduced to us to frighten Nezha but they are easily killed in the next page. There's NO pacing whatsoever, and it really brings this entire book down. Another example is not that far after fighting the "first" enemy, Nezha and co. enter this island where they are explicitly told not to trust what they can see because it's enchanted with tricker djinns. And guess what happens a few paragraphs later? A djinn disguises herself as a helpless girl, which Nezha basically falls for and scolds the unicorns when they tell her to be careful. This is straight-up terrible storytelling. I also forgot to mention that Nezha also has her pet cat that ended up in Noorenia too. Which conveniently disappears for times on end and then randomly mentioned in a line. Why even bother having it there? You could remove the cat and the story wouldn't change at all.
There was one specific moment where I genuinely thought I couldn't continue. Nezha and co. find themselves recovering from an encounter with the enemies so they decide to take a break? Literally, Nezha returns to her home in the human world and chills there as if there aren't multiple djinns chasing after her. After being told she possesses an angel's light, a power that is very important to the survival of Noorenia. Her aunt DIED in the beginning before she even entered Noorenia. I literally couldn't fathom WHY would you just return home and put your entire family at risk like that?
After all this confusion, Nezha finally faces her aunt's murderer and decides to let the djinn go. At first, I was like huh fair enough, you can forgive the murderer, that's your decision. I might not agree but you go girl. But to compare the murder of her aunt to her decision to not kill the djinn was a WACK comparison. And then we discover that Thunderbolt was *cue audience gasp* the old guard for Zul Sharr before he turned evil? I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS WASN'T MENTION AT ALL? WHY IS THIS INFORMATION GIVEN TO US AT THE VERY END. WITH ZERO SUSPENSE. I actually wanted to cry, this is information that could've been SO good if it was given to us earlier. It gave us an interesting aspect of the twins and their link to Zul Sharr. It would have made it SO much more impactful in terms of the story. Except Thunderbolt SAYS NOTHING ABOUT IT. No even a sneer or a backhanded comment. ANYTHING that could've remotely suggested his connection to the prince.
There is also a love interest. Kayan, a boy who can control the wind, is conveniently introduced to us with a sad backstory about his sick father and sister. He joins the trio in hopes of finding a cure for his father. He is locked out of certain parts of the story because his power is basically too OP. The major battle at the end and this boy is literally not even there because he is conveniently not allowed to enter so his entire existence isn't even useful until their final escape. The final battle was a convoluted mess that even Nezha had to give a summary of what happened after it all ended.
There is an attempt for some semblance of a romantic relationship but it fails terribly because, again, the author chooses to tell us how to feel and react rather than show us. There is even a line where two characters joke about knowing the other so well and saying the line "your body language gave it away," I swear, I almost drop-kicked my phone. WHERE IS THIS BODY LANGUAGE? WE ARE THE READER. WE CAN'T SEE THESE CHARACTERS, SHOW US WHAT'S HAPPENING. And I cannot get over how quick to argument all these characters get because that seems to be the only way the author can make the story move along, by making them fight over insignificant things that made no sense to the story. And then rally the characters back together because ~teamwork makes the dream work~
And the ending again made no sense because Nezha returns home so she can finish her schooling but she agreed to be Noorenia's queen? Like, there was a whole fanfare moment where she promises the people to help them? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING??! I'm leaving this review (if you can call it that lol) here. The only good parts of the book was when Nezha would describe any food that was mention because more detail went into those than most of the book. I'll probably forget about this book in week, now that I've put all my thoughts here.
September 11, 2020
DNF @ 15%
I really tried with this book. I love the culture representation and the characters I met were charming. Something either about the prose or the story was the most confusing part. I couldn't understand what was happening with the fantasy part of this. Because of that, I didn't feel any pull to read this. I was actually dreading reading it because I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. I may try to read this again later, but that depends on then.
Also, whoever created this cover is a genius. It really is striking.
I really tried with this book. I love the culture representation and the characters I met were charming. Something either about the prose or the story was the most confusing part. I couldn't understand what was happening with the fantasy part of this. Because of that, I didn't feel any pull to read this. I was actually dreading reading it because I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. I may try to read this again later, but that depends on then.
Also, whoever created this cover is a genius. It really is striking.
September 30, 2020
Update September 29 2020:
The ARC and the FINAL will be drastically different. The final also has fewer pages.
UPDATE
There were technical difficulties when uploading the book, so it did not show up on Amazon today. I'm so sorry. I'm hoping the issue will be resolved and Crowning Soul will be available online soon.
Also the final book did go through edits, so the ARC and the final will be different.
Thank you for all your encouragement and patience. I hope the book of my heart and soul will be out in the world soon. Despite there being hurdles, I know it will be worth all my effort. <3
The ARC and the FINAL will be drastically different. The final also has fewer pages.
UPDATE
There were technical difficulties when uploading the book, so it did not show up on Amazon today. I'm so sorry. I'm hoping the issue will be resolved and Crowning Soul will be available online soon.
Also the final book did go through edits, so the ARC and the final will be different.
Thank you for all your encouragement and patience. I hope the book of my heart and soul will be out in the world soon. Despite there being hurdles, I know it will be worth all my effort. <3
August 1, 2020
2,75/5
Nezha is a young girl with a secret: she has the power to control fire. After the mysterious death of her aunt, she is transported to another dimension. With the help of two unicorns, she must find and gather the pieces of an angel's soul and eventually confront the evil jinn who may be responsible for her aunt’s death.
I really wanted to get hyped by this book. It has everything I wanted : a strong female character, a found family and magic. But I guess Crowning Soul wasn’t for me.
I DNF’ed it at around 40 % because I had lost interest in the story. Too much was happening too fast and it became repetitive and confusing…
Well I was always confused while reading this book. At first, I thought it was because it was only the beginning, I didn’t know much about jinni, and as I read it everything would become clearer. It didn’t. The plot just became messier and messier ; I had the impression that the author never gave proper explanations and that she expected us to understand the backstory and her world-building without having to explain it to us.
I am pretty sure the arc I had wasn’t the edited version and I think the final version will be much better. There are several scenes that I didn't understand because they didn't make much sense but I think the author can easily edit that and I hope she has.
Just because Crowing's soul hasn't met my expectations doesn't mean it won't meet yours.
I’d recommend this book for an audience between the ages of 10 and 14. This book should be perfect for people who are a little to young for YA.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me this ARC.
Nezha is a young girl with a secret: she has the power to control fire. After the mysterious death of her aunt, she is transported to another dimension. With the help of two unicorns, she must find and gather the pieces of an angel's soul and eventually confront the evil jinn who may be responsible for her aunt’s death.
I really wanted to get hyped by this book. It has everything I wanted : a strong female character, a found family and magic. But I guess Crowning Soul wasn’t for me.
I DNF’ed it at around 40 % because I had lost interest in the story. Too much was happening too fast and it became repetitive and confusing…
Well I was always confused while reading this book. At first, I thought it was because it was only the beginning, I didn’t know much about jinni, and as I read it everything would become clearer. It didn’t. The plot just became messier and messier ; I had the impression that the author never gave proper explanations and that she expected us to understand the backstory and her world-building without having to explain it to us.
I am pretty sure the arc I had wasn’t the edited version and I think the final version will be much better. There are several scenes that I didn't understand because they didn't make much sense but I think the author can easily edit that and I hope she has.
Just because Crowing's soul hasn't met my expectations doesn't mean it won't meet yours.
I’d recommend this book for an audience between the ages of 10 and 14. This book should be perfect for people who are a little to young for YA.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me this ARC.
February 6, 2024
Exciting
Some people might expect a generalized young-adult fantasy. What you get with Crowning Soul is unique--it's a look into the vibrant culture of Morocco plus that of a fantasy world called Noorenia.
Fans of InuYasha and other fantasy-style animes will love this book. Those that are unfamiliar with the genre may be disappointed, as it does take some getting used to. So, expect angels that shapeshift into unicorns; a housecat that stays by the protagonist's side despite the danger; and tons of action-packed fight scenes between characters with magic and elemental powers (think Avatar: The Last Airbender and you're on the right track). This book was really well done in my opinion and would make an excellent cartoon series.
Some people might expect a generalized young-adult fantasy. What you get with Crowning Soul is unique--it's a look into the vibrant culture of Morocco plus that of a fantasy world called Noorenia.
Fans of InuYasha and other fantasy-style animes will love this book. Those that are unfamiliar with the genre may be disappointed, as it does take some getting used to. So, expect angels that shapeshift into unicorns; a housecat that stays by the protagonist's side despite the danger; and tons of action-packed fight scenes between characters with magic and elemental powers (think Avatar: The Last Airbender and you're on the right track). This book was really well done in my opinion and would make an excellent cartoon series.
Want to read
May 21, 2020
Want to read
May 17, 2020the cover's cool, and that's probably the most beautiful sword i've ever seen, so i'm in.
Want to read
June 1, 2020so . . . firebending, right?
August 22, 2021
The book:
Nezha is a girl with magical flames who is snatched from her maghrebi household and taken to an astral realm. In this new realm, she must reassemble the fragments of an Angel's soul to save the world, helped along by a group of noble companions.
What I loved:
I liked the setting, the scope, and the unicorns of Crowning Soul. I also really adored some of the anime-sque sequences. To top it all off, some of the descriptions made me pause.
What confused me:
Possibly, the writing style didn't fit my natural thought processes, so I often found myself pausing in the middle of a page, only to go back and reread a paragraph because I didn't understand how we got where we got. Some of the dialogue also didn't resonate with me.
Nezha is a girl with magical flames who is snatched from her maghrebi household and taken to an astral realm. In this new realm, she must reassemble the fragments of an Angel's soul to save the world, helped along by a group of noble companions.
What I loved:
I liked the setting, the scope, and the unicorns of Crowning Soul. I also really adored some of the anime-sque sequences. To top it all off, some of the descriptions made me pause.
What confused me:
Possibly, the writing style didn't fit my natural thought processes, so I often found myself pausing in the middle of a page, only to go back and reread a paragraph because I didn't understand how we got where we got. Some of the dialogue also didn't resonate with me.
November 12, 2020
DNF @ 20%
Everything from the stunning cover to the powerful premise of Crowning Souls made me want to love this book so much, which is why I’m so sad to say that it did not meet my expectations.
I had to DNF this book at 25% because I simply did not understand what was going on, and couldn’t find myself caring for the characters or confusing plot. While I went into Crowning Soul excitedly awaiting a powerful main character and lush worldbuilding, I found myself having a lot of trouble following the story.
Crowning Soul follows Nezha Zaman, a Morrocan-Pakistani girl who has always hidden her abilities to control fire in fear. But when her aunt—the one family member she has who truly accepts her for who she is— is killed by an evil jinni who has been mysteriously appearing near Nezha’s home for days, Nezha is devastated.
Soon, she’s transported to the magical dimension of Noorenia, where she learns of a quest that only she has the power to complete, one that will decide the fate of the entire land.
At first, this sounds like the basis for an amazing story, and I did enjoy a few things about it! For one, the author’s prose is so beautiful, crafted in stunning sentences that helped me easily picture the different settings in my head. The representation in Crowning Soul was also wonderful, I loved reading about the different worlds inspired by Morocco, Pakistan, and more.
However, as I progressed further and further into the story, I just couldn’t understand what was happening. Although the writing was beautiful, it felt like a lot of effort went into crafting beautiful prose rather than explaining the world and what was actually going on in the story.
Speaking of the world, I wish that the magic system and entire world of Noorenia had been explained better, because I was truly confused when reading about it. The characters were also not well-developed: I felt like I was being told what they were feeling and thinking rather than being shown, and they all didn’t feel like three-dimensional people.
Also, sometimes, the point of view abruptly switched from one character to another in the same chapter, which was extremely disorienting. I also thought the dialogue felt bland and filler, as one moment the characters would be talking about something and then would change to discussing a completely different topic.
Overall, while Crowning Soul has beautiful writing and representation, there were major issues with the plot, characters, dialogue and more. I’ve seen other reviewers say that this book felt a bit too childish for YA and would fit better as a middle grade novel, and I completely agree.
(I was not reading a finished copy, so take my words with a grain of salt if you will!)
2 stars
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Everything from the stunning cover to the powerful premise of Crowning Souls made me want to love this book so much, which is why I’m so sad to say that it did not meet my expectations.
I had to DNF this book at 25% because I simply did not understand what was going on, and couldn’t find myself caring for the characters or confusing plot. While I went into Crowning Soul excitedly awaiting a powerful main character and lush worldbuilding, I found myself having a lot of trouble following the story.
Crowning Soul follows Nezha Zaman, a Morrocan-Pakistani girl who has always hidden her abilities to control fire in fear. But when her aunt—the one family member she has who truly accepts her for who she is— is killed by an evil jinni who has been mysteriously appearing near Nezha’s home for days, Nezha is devastated.
Soon, she’s transported to the magical dimension of Noorenia, where she learns of a quest that only she has the power to complete, one that will decide the fate of the entire land.
At first, this sounds like the basis for an amazing story, and I did enjoy a few things about it! For one, the author’s prose is so beautiful, crafted in stunning sentences that helped me easily picture the different settings in my head. The representation in Crowning Soul was also wonderful, I loved reading about the different worlds inspired by Morocco, Pakistan, and more.
However, as I progressed further and further into the story, I just couldn’t understand what was happening. Although the writing was beautiful, it felt like a lot of effort went into crafting beautiful prose rather than explaining the world and what was actually going on in the story.
Speaking of the world, I wish that the magic system and entire world of Noorenia had been explained better, because I was truly confused when reading about it. The characters were also not well-developed: I felt like I was being told what they were feeling and thinking rather than being shown, and they all didn’t feel like three-dimensional people.
Also, sometimes, the point of view abruptly switched from one character to another in the same chapter, which was extremely disorienting. I also thought the dialogue felt bland and filler, as one moment the characters would be talking about something and then would change to discussing a completely different topic.
Overall, while Crowning Soul has beautiful writing and representation, there were major issues with the plot, characters, dialogue and more. I’ve seen other reviewers say that this book felt a bit too childish for YA and would fit better as a middle grade novel, and I completely agree.
(I was not reading a finished copy, so take my words with a grain of salt if you will!)
2 stars
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 26, 2021
I received an e-ARC from the author, and here is my unbiased review.
I enjoyed this book! It was a really fun fantasy with a classic quest, but with a Pakistani-Moroccan Muslim hijabi main character. The cultural rep at the beginning of this book was amazing, and the Muslim rep in the rest of the book was so cool to see. I felt like I could tell the world was very colorful just based off of the descriptions, which I loved. One of my favorite aspects of this book was the fight scenes. This book takes influence from the anime Inuyasha, and I thought the action in anime translated to this YA book in a really cool way.
I'm really excited to find out more about Eizen, who is a villain of sorts. The book teased an interesting past for him that I'd love to see explored in sequels.
I actually thought the romance was kind of cute. It was definitely held back by the writing a lot, which brings up a critique a lot of people had that I share. The writing was a bit hard to get into. The dialogue especially was very offsetting. It made character interactions feel very clunky. The was information was given to the reader wasn't done super well, too. It was super confusing.
I also thought that the main trio was kind of forced upon the reader. They have a sibling dynamic, but it kind of came out of nowhere. This made the chemistry they were supposed to have nonexistent at times.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty good debut! I enjoyed it, and just think it could use some editing. I'm excited for the sequels!
I enjoyed this book! It was a really fun fantasy with a classic quest, but with a Pakistani-Moroccan Muslim hijabi main character. The cultural rep at the beginning of this book was amazing, and the Muslim rep in the rest of the book was so cool to see. I felt like I could tell the world was very colorful just based off of the descriptions, which I loved. One of my favorite aspects of this book was the fight scenes. This book takes influence from the anime Inuyasha, and I thought the action in anime translated to this YA book in a really cool way.
I'm really excited to find out more about Eizen, who is a villain of sorts. The book teased an interesting past for him that I'd love to see explored in sequels.
I actually thought the romance was kind of cute. It was definitely held back by the writing a lot, which brings up a critique a lot of people had that I share. The writing was a bit hard to get into. The dialogue especially was very offsetting. It made character interactions feel very clunky. The was information was given to the reader wasn't done super well, too. It was super confusing.
I also thought that the main trio was kind of forced upon the reader. They have a sibling dynamic, but it kind of came out of nowhere. This made the chemistry they were supposed to have nonexistent at times.
Overall, I thought this was a pretty good debut! I enjoyed it, and just think it could use some editing. I'm excited for the sequels!
Read
March 5, 2021DNF’ed at 15%
Thank you very much, NetGalley for providing me an ARC before release! I was so happy once I knew I'd access it.
I’m so sad about it, but I prefer to let it go than getting through it, knowing that it’s not what I am looking for.
To start on a positive note, I love how the author incorporates Moroccan and Pakistani cultures. The sentences in darija warmed my heart 💕.
The beginning really reminded me of The City of Brass, plus that book is of the author’s favorites. I can see where the hint of inspiration came from.
//BUT//
The tone felt too young for me, like the younger range of YA, while I expected it to be more mature. Maybe it’s just me looking for content I will find more relatable? After all, it may be the part I read that felt younger. I can’t judge the rest.
The characters did not seem developed, to my taste. I am all for good plot-driven stories. However, I prefer beginnings focusing more on characters, taking the time to care for them, then after will come the epicness. The writing remained too mechanical: I could not understand what was happening in Nezha’s head. Therefore, connecting to her character was kind of hard for me.
Thank you very much, NetGalley for providing me an ARC before release! I was so happy once I knew I'd access it.
I’m so sad about it, but I prefer to let it go than getting through it, knowing that it’s not what I am looking for.
To start on a positive note, I love how the author incorporates Moroccan and Pakistani cultures. The sentences in darija warmed my heart 💕.
The beginning really reminded me of The City of Brass, plus that book is of the author’s favorites. I can see where the hint of inspiration came from.
//BUT//
The tone felt too young for me, like the younger range of YA, while I expected it to be more mature. Maybe it’s just me looking for content I will find more relatable? After all, it may be the part I read that felt younger. I can’t judge the rest.
The characters did not seem developed, to my taste. I am all for good plot-driven stories. However, I prefer beginnings focusing more on characters, taking the time to care for them, then after will come the epicness. The writing remained too mechanical: I could not understand what was happening in Nezha’s head. Therefore, connecting to her character was kind of hard for me.
April 12, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. The below opinions are my own.
Crowning Soul is the first book in a Muslim inspired fantasy series. I read the blurb at first which promised an amazing story and the cover is absolutely fantastic.
I had a really difficult time in reading this book and the plot was confusing. I felt that there was too much happening in this book and too much of an information dump. Some parts of the book felt very repetitive and I couldn't connect with any of the characters even though tragedies occurred. The character development fell flat for me.
This book has Muslim representation and I liked that and I also enjoyed reading about the culture. An interesting premise but the execution could have been better.
Crowning Soul is the first book in a Muslim inspired fantasy series. I read the blurb at first which promised an amazing story and the cover is absolutely fantastic.
I had a really difficult time in reading this book and the plot was confusing. I felt that there was too much happening in this book and too much of an information dump. Some parts of the book felt very repetitive and I couldn't connect with any of the characters even though tragedies occurred. The character development fell flat for me.
This book has Muslim representation and I liked that and I also enjoyed reading about the culture. An interesting premise but the execution could have been better.
October 25, 2020
I had a high expectation of this book but it kinda flopped. Crowning Soul could be a high potential book if not for its messy plot and writing. Maybe this is her debut novel after all? I just hope she will improve her writing or maybe find some critic readers before getting it published. As a side note, I really love the Muslim representation and diverse cultures from this book so maybe it is not a bad read after all. Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc
August 27, 2020
Even though I'm giving this book two stars I have nothing negative to say. This was a solid idea, just not as a YA. At least, not the way it was executed.
The book itself was about Nezha finding orbs and restoring the Angel's soul. The way it was written was almost each chapter was discovering an orb and securing it without much trouble really. It felt more episodic than an actual book.
Now, I think if this was marketed towards a younger audience it would do better. Take the concept, simplify it and break it down over the course of six small books. A lesson could be learned in each one, and an orb retrieved.
I also imagined this would do really well as a cartoon.
And to further my reasoning why I think this would be amazing as a children's series is because there needs to be more young characters that aren't stuck up. Now, this is based off of the few middle grade reads I've picked up. But, it would be good to have a main character like Nezha who genuinely cares for others and is selfless.
I can tell the author put a lot of love into this book. It flows out with how the characters interact with each other and lift each other up through the trials. I truly hate to give it such a low rating. But I want to encourage the author to keep writing and not to let this discourage her. It's clear she has a great imagination and I look forward to seeing how she grows from here.
I was given an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book itself was about Nezha finding orbs and restoring the Angel's soul. The way it was written was almost each chapter was discovering an orb and securing it without much trouble really. It felt more episodic than an actual book.
Now, I think if this was marketed towards a younger audience it would do better. Take the concept, simplify it and break it down over the course of six small books. A lesson could be learned in each one, and an orb retrieved.
I also imagined this would do really well as a cartoon.
And to further my reasoning why I think this would be amazing as a children's series is because there needs to be more young characters that aren't stuck up. Now, this is based off of the few middle grade reads I've picked up. But, it would be good to have a main character like Nezha who genuinely cares for others and is selfless.
I can tell the author put a lot of love into this book. It flows out with how the characters interact with each other and lift each other up through the trials. I truly hate to give it such a low rating. But I want to encourage the author to keep writing and not to let this discourage her. It's clear she has a great imagination and I look forward to seeing how she grows from here.
I was given an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 21, 2020
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.
I had several reasons to like this book a lot. The unapologetic showcase of Muslim culture, the decadent descriptions of food, the wonder-inducing sense of adventure and the representation of various countries and cultures (the Pakistani culture and language in particular was really interesting for me since, as an Indian Muslim, a lot of my culture overlaps with it).
However, despite the very prominent and heartwarming pros, this story didn't work for me on two levels: the prose and the technicalities.
The writing was... simple. which in itself isn't a bad thing. But it did feel a bit jarring at times, with some clunky transitions and pacing. I do believe that this book would work a lot better as a MG than a YA. It was structured and paced more like a MG fantasy, and the characters and writing style would be better suited to a younger audience. This in itself isn't a bad thing, but it just wasn't for me, neither was it what I went in expecting.
I did feel like technicality-wise, this story needed a lot more polishing. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE ARCS REVIEWERS RECEIVED UNDERWENT SOME BIG PICTURE EDITS BEFORE PUBLICATION. So I don't want to comment too much on it, and I hope this book underwent the editing I think it needed. From my experience of reading submissions, writing, and doing critiques for authors, I could tell this book needed some big picture edits, and also some microscopic, line-line edits. However, as I said, this book has apparently gone through major edits, so I cannot comment on the final form, just the ARC as it was presented to me.
Character-wise, this story was... fine? I did really like what the author tried to do with Nezha and truly believe Nezha had the potential to be a heroine many Muslim girls could look up to. While execution did leave some things to be desired, but overall, I did understand the character and appreciated what the author tried to do. The character interactions were cute, but not as deep as dynamic as I would have preferred, which brings me back to the MG feel of the book. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, just something I didn't expect. The character interactions were fine in some places, a bit too simple and child-like in others. I did like Nezha's bond with her aunt though, it was believable and sweet.
Overall, I think this book had a lot of heart and a lot of potential. It's definitely a story we need. I did feel like the execution could be better in several technical aspects, and it needed a lot of editing which it hopefully got in those final rounds before publication.
I had several reasons to like this book a lot. The unapologetic showcase of Muslim culture, the decadent descriptions of food, the wonder-inducing sense of adventure and the representation of various countries and cultures (the Pakistani culture and language in particular was really interesting for me since, as an Indian Muslim, a lot of my culture overlaps with it).
However, despite the very prominent and heartwarming pros, this story didn't work for me on two levels: the prose and the technicalities.
The writing was... simple. which in itself isn't a bad thing. But it did feel a bit jarring at times, with some clunky transitions and pacing. I do believe that this book would work a lot better as a MG than a YA. It was structured and paced more like a MG fantasy, and the characters and writing style would be better suited to a younger audience. This in itself isn't a bad thing, but it just wasn't for me, neither was it what I went in expecting.
I did feel like technicality-wise, this story needed a lot more polishing. KEEP IN MIND THAT THE ARCS REVIEWERS RECEIVED UNDERWENT SOME BIG PICTURE EDITS BEFORE PUBLICATION. So I don't want to comment too much on it, and I hope this book underwent the editing I think it needed. From my experience of reading submissions, writing, and doing critiques for authors, I could tell this book needed some big picture edits, and also some microscopic, line-line edits. However, as I said, this book has apparently gone through major edits, so I cannot comment on the final form, just the ARC as it was presented to me.
Character-wise, this story was... fine? I did really like what the author tried to do with Nezha and truly believe Nezha had the potential to be a heroine many Muslim girls could look up to. While execution did leave some things to be desired, but overall, I did understand the character and appreciated what the author tried to do. The character interactions were cute, but not as deep as dynamic as I would have preferred, which brings me back to the MG feel of the book. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, just something I didn't expect. The character interactions were fine in some places, a bit too simple and child-like in others. I did like Nezha's bond with her aunt though, it was believable and sweet.
Overall, I think this book had a lot of heart and a lot of potential. It's definitely a story we need. I did feel like the execution could be better in several technical aspects, and it needed a lot of editing which it hopefully got in those final rounds before publication.
September 1, 2020
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of Crowning Soul be Sahira Javaid. I give this book 2/5 stars. The summary of this book was very exciting and I was so excited to read this book, but it just fell flat. The world building seemed very weak to me and the characters seemed very 1 dimensional. The other issue I had was that the writing just seemed choppy. This book had a very promising concept but lacked the elements needed to follow through on the concept. I think I would try a book by Shaira Javaid again if it was more character driven rather than plot driven, because there were some truly magical aspects about this book. I loved the whimsy and magic Javaid infused into the story with the plethora of mythical creatures, which is why this book earned its 2 stars.
April 7, 2020
First of all I wanted to thank the author for sending me a free copy of Crowning soul! Thank you so much for this!
Having read that this book was perfect for fans of InuYasha and The city of brass I couldn't not want to read it! The story is very interesting and captivating. The main character is a biracial girl, Nezha Zaman, able to control fire and keeping this a secret, a dangerous one. Her life is upset and, literally, she's transported into another dimension, when she meets a shadow jinni. In this dimension she has to heal, mend an angel's shattered soul, fight the jinni and protect her own soul from him.
This book is full of complex characters, above all the villains, adventures, Muslim rep, romance and hijabi main character, strong and stubborn, angels, magic...Crowing soul has basically everything you could ask for and it's really brilliant. I loved the setting and the writing style, so engaging and I can't wait for everyone to read this book because I really recommend it.
Having read that this book was perfect for fans of InuYasha and The city of brass I couldn't not want to read it! The story is very interesting and captivating. The main character is a biracial girl, Nezha Zaman, able to control fire and keeping this a secret, a dangerous one. Her life is upset and, literally, she's transported into another dimension, when she meets a shadow jinni. In this dimension she has to heal, mend an angel's shattered soul, fight the jinni and protect her own soul from him.
This book is full of complex characters, above all the villains, adventures, Muslim rep, romance and hijabi main character, strong and stubborn, angels, magic...Crowing soul has basically everything you could ask for and it's really brilliant. I loved the setting and the writing style, so engaging and I can't wait for everyone to read this book because I really recommend it.
August 6, 2020
I saw Inuyasha in the synopsis and I'm sold. And also, that is one gorgeous cover! Look at it! I can't wait to read this.
The story is very interesting and captivating. I loved that it had Muslim representation in a fantasy world, Nezha Zaman, able to control fire. The World Building is very steady. Character introductions and development was a little too fast for my liking but done well. The plot is amazing and story line is well thought out. Having her life interrupted one day she is a girl with a dangerous secret and the next she is having to use this secret to help her save another world with her companions she must set off to try and save the shattered soul of an angel while Fighting of the The Dark Shadows of Another World. The World is full of about as many different types of mythical creatures you can think of. Over all a great 1st time read.
The story is very interesting and captivating. I loved that it had Muslim representation in a fantasy world, Nezha Zaman, able to control fire. The World Building is very steady. Character introductions and development was a little too fast for my liking but done well. The plot is amazing and story line is well thought out. Having her life interrupted one day she is a girl with a dangerous secret and the next she is having to use this secret to help her save another world with her companions she must set off to try and save the shattered soul of an angel while Fighting of the The Dark Shadows of Another World. The World is full of about as many different types of mythical creatures you can think of. Over all a great 1st time read.
September 5, 2020
DNF
This was very disappointing. I went into this book really excited, the cover was beautiful and drew me in. I haven't read many books with a middle eastern influence so I was excited to learn more but sadly the story as a whole fell flat.
I really enjoyed reading the elements of Morrocan culture that popped up whether it was the clothes, food or the language.
But sadly it was a slog to get through. The pacing was weird as we switched through the scenes quite quickly but it felt really slow to read. The dialogue felt very cringey and unrealistic and I just struggled to find the desire to pick up the book.
This book has a lot of potential and some great ideas I just feel that it needs refining.
This was very disappointing. I went into this book really excited, the cover was beautiful and drew me in. I haven't read many books with a middle eastern influence so I was excited to learn more but sadly the story as a whole fell flat.
I really enjoyed reading the elements of Morrocan culture that popped up whether it was the clothes, food or the language.
But sadly it was a slog to get through. The pacing was weird as we switched through the scenes quite quickly but it felt really slow to read. The dialogue felt very cringey and unrealistic and I just struggled to find the desire to pick up the book.
This book has a lot of potential and some great ideas I just feel that it needs refining.
September 17, 2020
The Crowning Soul is a young adult portal fantasy that features a main character who is moroccan and punjabi, and it’s essentially an adventure/quest kind of story where the main character must collect pieces of this “soul” of an angel so she can resurrect him. She’s got a big bad villain who isn’t a bad person as much as he is the consequence of his circumstances. As she goes on this adventure, she makes friends, finds love, yada yada yada. You know how these things usually go, now.
From what little research I did, this book started out as a Wattpad story, and if you’re familiar with how Wattpad works, usually stories are episodic in nature and there’s this slight disconnect between chapters that goes unnoticed because you consume it in a way that it doesn’t usually matter. Now, I’m not knocking on this story for starting out like that- AT ALL!! But, the disconnect is definitely evident in the proof that I ended up reading. It feels like the story has a lot of mini rising actions and climaxes, and not a complete cohesive narrative to tie it together well enough. And that’s just one thing that bothered me a little.
The episodic nature of this book aside, I feel like this book had a lot of potential! It is a solid quest-like story, and it’s even got a bunch of fun, if a bit formulaic, characters you follow around this magical world of Noorenia. Before I get into the meat of the things, let me just talk about the things I actually liked quite a bit.
The main character of this book is unapologetically Muslim and I LOVE how beautifully her religion and her relationship with it is portrayed here! I love how much her faith matters to her, and I also love that just because that’s the case with her, she doesn’t impose it on anyone else. I really liked how the main character was, in general. Even if she did some stupid things, she was an endearing presence in the book. As episodic as it did feel, I did quite enjoy the mini-climaxes in the book. There was a lot of action, and the pacing was pretty quick because of it and that kept me entertained, if nothing else. And lastly, this book had a lot of heart, and you could tell! It was just a genuine attempt at doing something fun and beautiful, and I will always commend the author for that!
All that being said, I still think this novel had a lot of flaws so I’m going to try and outline those now. Like I said, I saw a lot of potential in the story, BUT, the execution was definitely not what I would expect of a published novel. There were a lot of rough edges that needed smoothing and a lot of scenes and information that needed better structure. If I had to boil down the issues this book had, I’d say that it needed a couple of rounds of some really heavy edits. There were also some issues with the dialogue in the book. There was just this...disconnect in between one person’s line and the other person’s response. I truly believe it was fixable, though. Like I said, a few rounds of heavy edits could have done the trick, in my opinion.
The main character of this book, Nezha, like I said earlier, is very sweet and naive and all that, but, she also definitely acts like she’s much younger than her supposed age of seventeen. Just something about the way she was written read as if she was more of a preteen than someone in her late-teens. She’s too innocent, too naive, if that makes any sense. And the story being what it is, I think it would definitely have benefited from aging down of the main characters. This would have made a better middle-grade novel than it did a young adult one. Even the themes explored and the pacing and everything else, I felt, were more suited for an MG audience. This is also something that could’ve been caught in the editing process if some heavy editing was done, that’s all I’ll say.
I honestly don’t have anything too negative to say about the book, except that it was very crude in the form that I read it. I really hope the final finished copy has had more edits, and also that the books coming out from this author in the future will have better attention from the publishers in the editing department, at least. I’m excited to see how this story will move forward, for sure, but I will only be picking it up if I hear it’s better edited because, honestly, it was hard to get through because of how crude it was.
Anyway, check it out if interested! Sadly, this wasn’t the best reading experience for me. Thanks to Qamar Blog Tours for having me on and providing me with the ARC through netgalley. All opinions are my own!
From what little research I did, this book started out as a Wattpad story, and if you’re familiar with how Wattpad works, usually stories are episodic in nature and there’s this slight disconnect between chapters that goes unnoticed because you consume it in a way that it doesn’t usually matter. Now, I’m not knocking on this story for starting out like that- AT ALL!! But, the disconnect is definitely evident in the proof that I ended up reading. It feels like the story has a lot of mini rising actions and climaxes, and not a complete cohesive narrative to tie it together well enough. And that’s just one thing that bothered me a little.
The episodic nature of this book aside, I feel like this book had a lot of potential! It is a solid quest-like story, and it’s even got a bunch of fun, if a bit formulaic, characters you follow around this magical world of Noorenia. Before I get into the meat of the things, let me just talk about the things I actually liked quite a bit.
The main character of this book is unapologetically Muslim and I LOVE how beautifully her religion and her relationship with it is portrayed here! I love how much her faith matters to her, and I also love that just because that’s the case with her, she doesn’t impose it on anyone else. I really liked how the main character was, in general. Even if she did some stupid things, she was an endearing presence in the book. As episodic as it did feel, I did quite enjoy the mini-climaxes in the book. There was a lot of action, and the pacing was pretty quick because of it and that kept me entertained, if nothing else. And lastly, this book had a lot of heart, and you could tell! It was just a genuine attempt at doing something fun and beautiful, and I will always commend the author for that!
All that being said, I still think this novel had a lot of flaws so I’m going to try and outline those now. Like I said, I saw a lot of potential in the story, BUT, the execution was definitely not what I would expect of a published novel. There were a lot of rough edges that needed smoothing and a lot of scenes and information that needed better structure. If I had to boil down the issues this book had, I’d say that it needed a couple of rounds of some really heavy edits. There were also some issues with the dialogue in the book. There was just this...disconnect in between one person’s line and the other person’s response. I truly believe it was fixable, though. Like I said, a few rounds of heavy edits could have done the trick, in my opinion.
The main character of this book, Nezha, like I said earlier, is very sweet and naive and all that, but, she also definitely acts like she’s much younger than her supposed age of seventeen. Just something about the way she was written read as if she was more of a preteen than someone in her late-teens. She’s too innocent, too naive, if that makes any sense. And the story being what it is, I think it would definitely have benefited from aging down of the main characters. This would have made a better middle-grade novel than it did a young adult one. Even the themes explored and the pacing and everything else, I felt, were more suited for an MG audience. This is also something that could’ve been caught in the editing process if some heavy editing was done, that’s all I’ll say.
I honestly don’t have anything too negative to say about the book, except that it was very crude in the form that I read it. I really hope the final finished copy has had more edits, and also that the books coming out from this author in the future will have better attention from the publishers in the editing department, at least. I’m excited to see how this story will move forward, for sure, but I will only be picking it up if I hear it’s better edited because, honestly, it was hard to get through because of how crude it was.
Anyway, check it out if interested! Sadly, this wasn’t the best reading experience for me. Thanks to Qamar Blog Tours for having me on and providing me with the ARC through netgalley. All opinions are my own!
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September 30, 2020Check out the full review on my website. CLICK HERE
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DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Crowning Soul is the debut fantasy book from the author Sahira Javaid. It is the first book in the series by the name Heart of Noorenia. When I saw the blurb mentioning the book being perfect for fans of InuYasha, I got really pumped to read this. The story follows young Nezha Zaman, a fire mage whose life gets upended after her encounters with a vindictive Jinn. She realizes dangers are lurking around her, and it seems to be following her and her family. She gets pulled into a different realm called Noorenia, which she, later on, realizes to be her family's roots as well. On arrival at Noorenia, she meets two unicorns who tells her the story of the fantastical Kingdom and its history. The light orb inside her is given to her by her relative. It will guide her in collecting the soul's shards from an angel who got attacked by the Iron Prince. The soul's pieces are the angel's soul that got disintegrated into several fragments. Nezha is the chosen one who needs to find all of the missing shards of the angel's soul to protect the Kingdom from ruin. The unicorns accompany Nezha in her journey, and the story is them going on different adventures, while Nezha is fulfilling her destiny.
As I mentioned earlier, the blurb sounded fascinating, and I was excited to try this book. The cover looked gorgeous as well. Unfortunately, I realized that the book didn't work for me. But I continued hoping things would change as the story progressed. I was wrong, and sadly, I couldn't enjoy it. Sadly, I had to DNF it at 50%, and it is with a heavy heart, I am saying this as I hate to DNF books. It had a lot of potential with all the elements introduced, and the concept was unique as well. Sahira Javaid is a Muslim author, and I am happy for her debut fantasy and the Muslim representation.
Overall I wasn't happy that I had to DNF it halfway through the book. I wish things were different. Also, I will not be rating the novel, as it will be unfair for me to give it a rating without completing the book. But, If I was to rate the half I completed, I would be giving it 1 star.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY CHANNEL : YOUTUBE
FOLLOW ME ON : TWITTER INSTAGRAM
FR REVIEW :
DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Netgalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Crowning Soul is the debut fantasy book from the author Sahira Javaid. It is the first book in the series by the name Heart of Noorenia. When I saw the blurb mentioning the book being perfect for fans of InuYasha, I got really pumped to read this. The story follows young Nezha Zaman, a fire mage whose life gets upended after her encounters with a vindictive Jinn. She realizes dangers are lurking around her, and it seems to be following her and her family. She gets pulled into a different realm called Noorenia, which she, later on, realizes to be her family's roots as well. On arrival at Noorenia, she meets two unicorns who tells her the story of the fantastical Kingdom and its history. The light orb inside her is given to her by her relative. It will guide her in collecting the soul's shards from an angel who got attacked by the Iron Prince. The soul's pieces are the angel's soul that got disintegrated into several fragments. Nezha is the chosen one who needs to find all of the missing shards of the angel's soul to protect the Kingdom from ruin. The unicorns accompany Nezha in her journey, and the story is them going on different adventures, while Nezha is fulfilling her destiny.
As I mentioned earlier, the blurb sounded fascinating, and I was excited to try this book. The cover looked gorgeous as well. Unfortunately, I realized that the book didn't work for me. But I continued hoping things would change as the story progressed. I was wrong, and sadly, I couldn't enjoy it. Sadly, I had to DNF it at 50%, and it is with a heavy heart, I am saying this as I hate to DNF books. It had a lot of potential with all the elements introduced, and the concept was unique as well. Sahira Javaid is a Muslim author, and I am happy for her debut fantasy and the Muslim representation.
Overall I wasn't happy that I had to DNF it halfway through the book. I wish things were different. Also, I will not be rating the novel, as it will be unfair for me to give it a rating without completing the book. But, If I was to rate the half I completed, I would be giving it 1 star.
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