Spice Road

First of all, I would like to say thank you for the review copy, which was provided to me by the publisher. This fact does not in any way affect my personal opinion of this book. This post contains advertising and the rights for the book belong to the publisher. Of course, is this only my personal opinion of the book and just because I give this rating to the book doesn’t mean, that everyone will have that opinion. Before we begin this review, please keep in mind that I received an ARC in October 2022 for this book. Since then, edits could have been made so not all my critics could fit the published version. I was so excited about this book. The main idea, the magic system and the plot sounded awesome. I love books like these and can't get enough of them. I think this fact pushed my expectations a lot. I was thrown into the story at first, and it took me a while to get a grip on the magic system and the lore, but I understood it more once the story progresses. The writing style was okay. Sometimes, I found it a bit bland, and I wished for more details at some points. "Spice Road" is Maiya Ibrahim's first book, and I see potential in her because I liked the story more towards the end. The biggest problem I had with the book was sadly the characters. The main character was just annoying and I rolled my eyes a lot. She is privileged and ignorant in her behaviour, and when someone tries to tell her please not to do something, she will be a bit bitchy and do it anyways. I hoped it would be a possible character ARC for her, but I will probably see more of it in book 2. The other character felt flat to me. I had no connection to them and didn't care at all. The plot was good and as I said, I see a lot of potential for this story and will possibly read book 2, but to be honest: If I didn't have an ARC for it or a special edition coming, I wouldn't have pushed through it and that makes me very sad. I think my expectations were just too high, but I am curious to see how the story progresses in book 2. Conclusion  I had high expectations which sadly weren't met but I will read book 2. My rating: is 2,5 out of 5 stars.

Schon als ich dieses Buch das erste Mal in den Händen hielt, wusste ich, dass das etwas ganz besonderes wird. Es ist nicht nur außen eines der schönsten Bücher in meinem Regal, sondern auch innen ist es einfach wunderschön. Diese Geschichte war durch das orientalische Setting einfach einzigartig und besonders. Ich habe diese ganze Welt bildlich vor mir gesehen…ich habe den Sand unter meinen Füßen gespürt und den Duft der Gewürze inhaliert. Die Story war eine nicht enden wollende Reise, denn immer wieder standen Imani und ihre Begleiter vor neuen Herausforderungen, die sie meistern mussten. Besonders einer ihrer Begleiter hat es mir angetan. Qayn war für mich der interessanteste Charakter von allen und ich hoffe so, so sehr, in Band 2 noch viel mehr von ihm zu erfahren. Romance ist in diesem Buch etwas zurückhaltender, aber dennoch genau an den richtigen Stellen vorhanden. Ich bin mir sicher, dass diese Slow Burn Romance in Band 2 aber noch einiges bereithalten wird. Vor allem, da noch völlig offen ist, wer Imanis Herz erobert. Obwohl ich natürlich einen Favoriten habe… Und deswegen freue ich mich sehr sehr sehr auf die Fortsetzung. Der Schreibstil war wunderschön…einfach, aber gleichzeitig poetisch an den richtigen Stellen. Einfach ein rundum gelungenes Debüt.