#Review - These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi #YA #Fantasy

Series: This Woven Kingdom # 2
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: February 7, 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Epic

The second book in an epic, romantic fantasy trilogy based on Persian folklore, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Cassandra Clare called “exquisitely crafted,” by bestselling and National Book Award–nominated author Tahereh Mafi.

Alizeh is the heir to the Jinn throne and fulfills a long-foretold prophecy of a Jinn sovereign destined to free her people from the half-lives they’ve been forced to live under the rule of humans.

Kamran is the heir to the human throne, and he’s being pressured to marry before he becomes king. When he falls in love with Alizeh and subsequently learns her true identity, he must question everything he’s been taught about Jinn and their future in his kingdom.

These Infinite Threads picks up at the explosive cliff-hanger ending of the New York Times bestselling novel This Woven Kingdom, and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir.

 

These Infinite Threads, by author Tahereh Mafi, is the second installment in the authors This Woven Kingdom series. This story alternate's between Kamran and Alizeh. It picks up right where This Woven Kingdom left off with a wild cliffhanger ending. The series was inspired in great part by the epic poem Shahnameh, one of the greatest literary masterpieces in Persian history and culture. Alizeh is a Jinn with extraordinary powers that she’s forced to conceal to survive in a world controlled by humans. 

She can fight off any threat that comes her way all on her own—even a team of six men sent to execute her. Though the Jinn no longer have an official leader, she’s the heir to the throne and is destined to lead her people out of hiding and back into power. Kamran has been hardened by war and by loss. Only Alizeh can bring out his softer, more tender side, and he’d do anything to protect her—even risking his life and defying his grandfather, the king.  

With the heat of a kiss, the walls between Alizeh, the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, and Kamran, the crown prince of the Ardunian empire, have crumbled. And so have both of their lives. Kamran’s grandfather, the king of Ardunia, lays dead, the terrible secret of his deal with the devil exposed to the world. Cyrus, the mysterious copper-haired royal, has stolen Alizeh away to Tulan, the neighboring kingdom where he rules. 

Cyrus has made his own deal with the devil (Iblees) one that would require Alizeh to betray her feelings for Kamran if she’s to reclaim the Jinn throne. Kamran, meanwhile, is picking up the pieces of his broken kingdom. Facing betrayal at every turn, all he knows for certain is that he must go to Tulan to avenge his grandfather. He can only hope that Alizeh will be waiting for him there—and that she’s not yet become queen of Tulan.

Meanwhile, Alizeh finds that Tulan is a entirely different world. A world where there are Jinn here eager to find their savior and a mother who really hates her own son because of what he did to take the crown from his father is willing to make a deal with she has no clue may very well be her enemy. While she has no desire to become Queen or marry Cyrus, both Alizeh and Cyrus know that in order to defeat the devil, sacrifices must be made. I am a bit confused in that the relationship between Cyrus and Alizeh seems to be overriding what was supposed to be between Alizeh and Kamran. 

Tahereh has created an incredibly rich and lush world, and the sumptuous details describing Alizeh’s seamstress work, the bustling marketplace, and the glittering castle bring it to vibrant life on the page. This story is a feast for the senses—readers will be able to taste the sweet pomegranates and smell the freshly baked baklava, and will never look at fireflies in the same way ever again. Mafi treats readers to sumptuous world-building. Like an intricate Islamic flower mural, Mafi’s story expands deliberately, each small revelation rising from the one before, delivering deeply satisfying epiphanies at the end of each chapter. 

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