This is a powerhouse fantasy book with two unforgettable twins heading the cast of characters. The book reminded me of Aladdin, if Jasmine was given much more plot. There is tons of political intrigue, a tyrannical Raja who is conscripting children to fight in the coming war with an old enemy. But, there is also magic and a cutthroat advisor that maybe has more to do with all the goings on than anyone could have imagined. I found that the dark elements of the book, and it got quite dark throughout, really leant to the stories depth and had me interested in the magic and how each of the powers work. The romances were fun and did not detract from the overall story of these powerful young women. Two fish out of water girls meet their opposites and fall for them, sparks flying every which way. This was my favourite kind of romance, because it was not instant, it was a slow burn love moment for both Ria and Rani. They had to grow and develop as characters before they could fully appreciate the affections they had for these two men. Rani had a hard time adapting to the street urchin persona she had to wear, Amir was suspicious of her from the beginning and somehow could feel that his friend had changed. Meanwhile, Saeed found Ria's speaking up for herself and her people to be more appealing than he had ever felt for Rani before. He believe Rani to finally be coming in to her own voice, to be finding a worthy cause (but it is Ria). Both Rani and Ria shine in their new roles, while also keeping their personalities in tact and developing a strong understanding of who they are and what they are willing to fight for. I also enjoyed that the bad guy, the advisor to the court, was Saeed's mother. It really made for a compulsive read, especially when her motives begin to come in to focus, and the true depth of her devotion to her cause is revealed. Some of the darkest moments involved her cunning, her daring, her absolute disregard for anyone else, even her son. I loved loved loved the use of snakes. That Rani and Ria's magic is the ability to communicate with snakes and use them for guidance, strength, etc. It was different, and while in most books snakes are depicted as evil, in this novel the snake adapts to the person who they are linked to. The snake may turn out to be bad, but the snake can also be good (as seen with Ria and Rani's snake familiar Shima, who was such a sassy animal familiar, I loved her!). It was a nice change to have snakes be a little redeemed. The storyline had lots of magical elements. From Old Gods banished, to the users of certain magics having died out (but maybe not) and the only ones left are the line of Raja's, who are snake speakers. There was a magical agreement made that war would stop for 100 years, but that times is coming to an end and Rani and Ria's country is about to go to war with their enemies. Hence the Charts, the Raja's trained guard who appear to be soulless automatons who simply do the bidding of the Raja and his advisor (Ria was meant to be one, and they are now conscripting children). But, Rani wants to stop the war, wants to find a gem in which you are granted one wish, wants to figure out why magic left or why it seems that magic exists but is being hidden. Wants to know why her father is so cruel. Lots going on, but all of it added to to the story and made for an exciting adventure. I am thrilled to be able to jump into the second book in the duology, Daughters of the Dawn.
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