The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty


Mini Cover Wars


Sadly, out of 45 editions, not one has a lady pirate on the cover! Arg! 
Imagined my own Amina
with the help of Gemini AI
Beautiful Bad @$$ Pirate
G👀dreads About Summary

...spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.

Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.

Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Pirates

The How/Why:
Reason 1 - Connie said she enjoyed it!
Reason 2 = Lady Pirate! Argh!
Reason 3 - = Genre Hopper here. After just finishing a very thrilling Mystery/Thriller, after a very good Historical Fiction, after a fun yet fluffy romance/chick lit... then two quick DNFs*... a Pirate Fantasy sounded intriguing. 
*One DNF was because I didn't realize it was Book 2 that is NOT a standalone. The other was just dragging and the narrator was monotone. 💤

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 

🎉 Overall Storytelling? 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes ➕if you like magical fantasy

🕮 Would I want a sequel? Maybe 🤷  This is Book 1 of a Trilogy. Book 2 is The Tapestry of Fate. I might someday but not anytime too soon. Book 3 is in the works with no title or publishing date at this time.

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author? Maybe 🤷 

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: Vi0lɇncɇ  & Gorɇ, B0dy H0rr0r, T0rturɇ, SlɐvɇrɎ, KidnaƤƤinᵷ
Update - Nothing cringe worthy

🌶 Spice? Google says: 2 out of 5 for steam. I'll let you know.
Update: Not sure where Librarian Google gets his info but it's not steamy. There is a Sɇx scene but its' not spicy (IMO)

🌪 Plot Twist? Yes, it's magical fantasy. There's always a twist.

👟 Pace? Good but too long

💻 Tidbits ~ Enchanting

I could easily fall under Amina’s spell and follow her on an adventure into the high seas! With a map in my hand and my throwing knife strapped to my thigh, sign me up for daily saltwater facials and mayhem. If you’re looking for me I’ll be off swashbuckling with my new BFF Dalila!

Imagine being in your mid-40s and just when you think you’ll enjoy early retirement from your bad-girl pirate ways, along comes an offer too hard to resist.

Amina is offered wealth beyond her imagination, enough for her daughter Marjana’s financial security and then some. 

You can take the pirate out of the sea, but you can’t take the treasure hunter out of the pirate.
Quote by me, you heard it here first!

She agrees to find Dunya, the kidnapped granddaughter of a very influential woman.
But… was Dunya kidnapped or did she runaway?
Either way she needs to be rescued from the evil that wants her magic.  Amina assembles her characters, I mean her old crew, and off they go.

Amina’s situation goes from dangerous to hellish. She must do whatever it takes to keep her own daughter safe as well as her crew.
“Are not all mothers capable of being monsters when it comes to their children?”

I enjoyed that we had a scribe, Jamal, guiding us into some of the chapters as Amina was dictating her story to him. 

Favorite Character: Dalila, ruthless poison master, fiercely loyal to Amina. 

I listened to the audiobook. Excellent.
Lameece Issaq (Amina) JUMPED right off the page from the get-go in Chapter 1. 
"What do you mean that's not how you start a story?"
Amin El Gamal (Jamal) our scribe. 

I deducted half star because it was freakishly long. One minute shy of 17 hours! As much as I was enjoying the adventures I was wanting it to be over already. That being said, I'm not sure what I would have cut out to make it a more reasonable 10-12-ish hours. 

Extra Tidbits:

The historical part of the historical fiction, cuz that's just me. Always wanting to know the facts vs fiction.

The real geography, trade routes, cultural diversity, and daily life of the 12th-century Indian Ocean world.
Ships, navigation techniques, and maritime vocabulary are historically grounded.
Trade commodities. The global economy is realistically represented.
Religious Pluralism and Piety. The social fabric showcasing co-exiting communities of Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Hindus. 

🎧 Narrator: Lameece Issaq (Amina), Amin El Gamal (Jamal)

🎧16.59 hours 😱 (Hoopla) 🕮 483 pages

17 hours?!?! EiYiYi

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