as told by zaheerah

book tags, books, Lifestyle

My Favourite 2019 Blogging Moments [TAG]

December 27, 2019February 26, 2021by Zaheerah1 Comment

I was tagged by Rameela @ Star is All Booked Up. Thank you so much for tagging me!

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All the answers must be about your blog posts
Please link the original creator of the tag so they can see all your posts!
You don’t have to provide just one post for each question, you can provide as many as you want so long as they were written in 2019
If you haven’t written a post that matches one of the questions, choose one that relates to it as close as possible
Tag 5+ bloggers to they can share their accomplishments too! And make sure you read the posts they share!

Oh, this one is a no brainer. Definitely Jade War by Fonda Lee. I discovered The Greenbone Saga through Shealea @ Shut up, Shealea and I am forever grateful for her recommendation. She was actually hosting the blog tour for Jade War and I had applied for it before I had read the first book in the series. (Jade City) In my defence, I wasn’t actually expecting to be accepted into the tour but man, am I glad she let me join and I actually really loved Jade City/War. I’ve linked the review already, but you can also click the book covers to see any mentioned posts.

I’m not big on doing discussion posts. Mainly because I don’t think I have much to contribute and I feel like everything I say is just regurgitating things people before me have said more eloquently. But I did really loved this post I wrote back in April about My Favourite Things About Breath Of The Wild. If you don’t know BOTW (first of all, get to know), it’s the newest instalment of the Zelda franchise and it’s one of my favourite games ever. I spoke a lot about my experience with video games and how rarely I got the opportunity to play the big names growing up. And then I listen some of my favourite parts of the game. It’s a pretty chill post but I love it a lot.

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books, Other

Double Review: That Can Be Arranged and The Black Hawks

December 10, 2019by Zaheerah2 Comments

*I received a copy of both these books via the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

That Can Be Arranged

In her second comic, Huda Fahmy recounts the story of how she met her husband, Gehad. Marriage is always tricky, and especially for Huda as she faces gossiping aunties and overbearing parents who want the best for her. That Can Be Arranged is hilarious, quirky and quite refreshing. A simple story which also discusses misconceptions about the autonomy of Muslim women, and offers another way to understand what life is like for a Muslim woman in a modern age.

Fahmy’s sense of humour is strange, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. I see a lot of her art on Instagram so I knew I had to read this one. The story is practical, nothing too extreme, and I really enjoyed how open she was about her spirituality in her story. I also appreciated how she’s so unabashed when it comes to expressing all her struggles.

I’ll admit the art style isn’t my taste, but her wit and humour really makes up for it. Fahmy’s story is quick and simple, yet makes its mark about her longing to find someone, the struggles it entails and making sure she gets married for the right reason and with the right person.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

The Black Hawks

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

Bound to a dead-end job in the service of his uncle, life isn’t all that for Vedren Chel. That is until the kingdom is thrown into chaos, and Vedren finds an out: escorting the stranded prince who promises his oath would be dissolved. But dragging a prince while being hunted by enemies on all sides isn’t easy and when they find themselves in the company of the Black Hawks, Vedren’s dream to return home drifts further away from him.

It hurt a lot to not like this one. I was really excited to read The Black Hawks, but nothing was really impressive about this book at all. The pacing was all off, the fight scenes were exhilarating but they were immediately followed by extreme moments of utter nothingness.

Chel was both annoying and amusing at the same time. He doesn’t seem to do much apart from getting beat up violently and somehow surviving. The prince in question is quite immature, but we get no clarity in his age, or I either missed it. The Black Hawk Company had the makings to be so good. But their humour fell flat for me. I wasn’t sure if Chel was supposed to grow to enjoy their company or be terrified of them because, in the end, Chel comes to like them, but I don’t think that development really came through in the story.

The last quarter of the book did really interest me. But the overall story just didn’t entice me enough to care about continuing this series in the future. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Or maybe, it just wasn’t the right time and I’ll have to check out reviews of the next book in the future to decide if this one deserves a second chance.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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books, Children

Review: Other Words for Home

December 6, 2019by Zaheerah2 Comments

“Americans love labels. They help them know what to expect. Sometimes, though, I think labels stop them from thinking.”

Jude is only twelve-years-old when she leaves Syria to live to live with her uncle’s family in the US. Being the only student who looks like her, she begins to discover that she isn’t seen as a normal girl like her peers. Told in verse, Other Words for Home follows her journey to understanding her new label of “Middle Eastern” while also finding herself.

I adored this book. Jude is the sweetest protagonist and her story was so inspiring and relatable. Growing up, Jude was obsessed with movies and becoming a star, so she is obviously surprised when she must move away from her coastal home when it descends into a civil war. Along with her pregnant mother, she must leave her family, father and brother, behind, and comes face-to-face with the life she had thought she knew from the movies.

Her life in the states is new but straining. Her cousin Sarah makes no effort to help, her aunt tries her best, and her new peers see her as something different. She reminds herself of her brother’s goodbye message. “Be brave.” Slowly, she grows to enjoy her new classes and even makes new friends in her ESL classes where they all bond over their experiences of coming to the states. Much to her cousins’ dismay, she even auditions for the school musical. Jude is such an insightful narrator; her confidence, her insecurities and her confusion all come through in the pages.

Other Words tackles tough to talk about topics like Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim rhetoric. The way it manifests in Jude’s life is so subtle and real, like Jude realising how people actions towards her suddenly shift when she begins to wear the hijab. The book takes on the idea that not all Muslims shares the same experience, and this is just Jude’s story. There was something comforting reading about a young Muslim girl experiencing her spirituality on her terms. You don’t get that often. Her fear and confusion were portrayed so well, something that I experienced a lot as a Muslim kid growing up which makes this book a lot more special.

Overall, Other Words for Home is a story of becoming and belonging and what it means to be yourself in a society that would rather see otherwise. A middle-grade read that tackles topics like war, refugees and prejudice, a definite recommendation for younger children and older teens.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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books, LGBTQIA, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult/ Teen

Review: Crier’s War

December 3, 2019by ZaheerahLeave a Comment

Years ago, the Kingdom of Rabu came under the control of the Automae after the war almost decimated the land. Now, humanity lives under their controlling and violent thumb. Ayla, a human servant, finds herself unexpectedly rising in her rank where she plots to kill the sovereign king’s daughter, Lady Crier. Crier is Made to be perfect, without a single flaw, ready to carry her father’s legacy. However, her recent betrothal sees her spot slipping right from under her, and meeting Ayla creates tension that can start a war, but can they rise above it and stop before it goes too far?

A couple of months ago, I saw the prettiest book cover reveal I had ever seen and, with no shame, decided that I had to read this book. When I took a look at the description and saw it was an F/F sci-fi/fantasy novel about automation? A double whammy. I had brought myself up to hype Crier’s War and counted down the says to its release. There’s a lot to love about Ayla and Crier’s story, much of it I loved, but I did find it a quite directionless a lot of time, which was disappointing, to say the least.

This isn’t an original set up but what made this story stand out was how Varela utilises the concept of automation ruling over humanity. Set in an alternate future where alchemy has crafted the Automae who now rule the land. Humanity created them when their Queen was unable to have children, but they quickly rose up against their creators. The core of this book is mainly about what it means to be human, is it free will or the fact we have blood running through us that makes us so? I found it interested how the author uses this story to discuss oppression, privilege and appropriation. Was I expecting it? No. Did I like it? Very much so.

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books, Lifestyle, Monthly Rewind

Monthly Rewind: November 2019

November 30, 2019February 26, 2021by Zaheerah4 Comments

B O O K S

During the month of November, I read 5 books.

The Wolf of Oren- Yaro by K.S. Villoso – Queen Talyien finds herself stranded in a different land after her attempts to reunite her own kingdom leaves her fleeing a botched assassination attempt. Alone and actively being hunted, Talyien must embrace her namesake and show her enemies that a wolf of Oren-Yaro cannot be tamed. I’m a part of the 2020 international blog tour for this book! (Thanks to Caffeine Book Tours!) A longer review will be published in the new year!

Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan – Failing to kill the King has Lei and Wren travelling all corners of the kingdom to rally support. I really liked this sequel, falls victim to middle book syndrome, but nonetheless, the secondary characters saved it from being too terrible. My full review can be found here!

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Namjoo – Taken from my review: ” This book is so simple in its concept, and the fact that it angered so many men does not surprise me. It holds a mirror to their privilege without actually calling them out, uncomfortable enough to make them uncomfortable. It lays down the facts and backs itself up, sending the message that hey this is what women are facing in Korea and it’s not okay. The story of Kim Jiyoung is full of silence but every bit powerful. “

The Can Be Arranged by Huda Fahmy – Author of Yes, I’m Hot in This publishes her second book following the story of how she met and married her husband. Navigating gossiping auntys and societal expectations, Fahmy tells a hilarious story based on her experiences. Full review to come!

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