Mirage Series by Somaiya Daud

Welcome Back, Booklovers!

I decided to make this one a double feature as I that cover for Court of Lions appealed to me so much I just had to request an arc. So I ended up buying a used copy to read the duology in it's entirety. A story set in space in a Morrocan inspired setting sure sounded appealing. I ended up mainly listening to the audiobook version because the narrator was so good. She really made the words flow with ease throughout this very poetic style of storytelling. 

Mirage starts with Amani celebrating her coming of age when she is kidnapped, attacked, forced to undergo facial reconstruction surgery, and forced to impersonate the half Vathek Princess Maram who is well hated by her conquered people. The cruel Princess Maram has Amani trained to take her place at certain events as she fears attacks. Maram and Amani are very much like mirror images of each other coming from opposite backgrounds and having different personalities.

Since Amani is nothing like the cruel Princess she is easily detected by Maram's fiance Idris. And soon the line starts to blur between the role Amani is being forced to play and her actual reality. She starts to sympathize with Maram who she realizes has been cut off from knowing one side of her culture and is just as much a casualty of the long going war as the rest of them. She also observes the controlling people around Maram like Nadine who are power hungry themselves. She also starts to fall for Idris who she describes as both tragic and beautiful. 

It wasn't heavy on the sci-fi elements but that didn't bother me. At times I did forget that it was set on different planets. The author does a great job incorporating Moroccan culture throughout painting vivid pictures of clothes, architect, and food.

I thought it was a very well written introduction to this series and made me excited to read the Court of Lions. And that cover certainly helped draw me in. So when the opportunity to receive an arc from Flatiron books presented itself I leaped.But thought Court of Lions picked up right where Mirage left off the two books were like day and night. And I do wonder if listening to the audiobook would make a difference though I found that Court of Lions didn't have as much poetic flow as Mirage.

A lot of time is spent building a counsel of loyal people around Maram as she prepares for the throne while on the honeymoon tour for her and Idris. Everyone is ready to overthrow the Vath and Amani truly belies Maram is the key  to a new type of kingdom. She has this blind faith in Maram that she'll make this amazing queen that I couldn't quite get behind. Maram disassociates herself from her people and hides in the tower letting Amani impersonate her every time she needs to show her face. And she came across as so much more insecure and weak here. Where was the fiery princess from the previous book? Amani to me is the true leader who is taking charge and handling business. She negotiates with the rebels and helps build a team of people loyal to Miram as opposed to her father Mathias. She just doesn't have the royal blood like Maram. 

There were a lot more characters in this story too however I can't say most of the new additions were particularly interesting enough for me to remember their names. At times it was hard to keep track of the every growing cast of characters alongside the names of new planets and cities.

If you're a fan of the romance between Idris and Amani you will be enjoy those parts as it continues in this story as they are forced into each other's proximity during the honeymoon tour.  And they don't always see eye to eye when it comes to politics which creates some tension. Maram's love interest Aghraas just didn't capture my attention as I just didn't see the intense chemistry between them and the woman was so vague it was hard to see her as anything more than a device to further humanize Maram. 

Overall I'm rating this series a 3.5 for a strong start and an interesting premise that could've just delved in a little further for a truly enchanting fantasy.