This Woven Kingdon by Tahereh Mafi was published in February of 2022. There are now three books out in the series: This Woven Kingdom, These Infinite Threads, and All This Twisted Glory. Tahereh Mafi is also the author of the very popular Shatter Me series, and as someone who has read both series, I can say This Woven Kingdom is even better, but in different ways.
This Woven Kingdom was Mafi’s first full fantasy book. Shatter Me is a dystopian novel with bits and pieces of fantastical traits involved. And for her first time writing a YA fantasy series, it was very well done.
Alizeh is our main character. She is a maid/seamstress/servant; in this world, the servants, like Alizeh, are forced to wear a snoda, which is a thin piece of silk that wraps around the head and covers all but the eyes. Both of Alizeh’s parents were murdered, leaving Alizeh all alone on the streets. The book describes Alizeh as having ice in her veins, and a power that no one understands. Alizeh is carrying around a secret that could shake the stars.
Kamran is the crown prince of Ardunia, and is destined to succeed his grandfather as king. Kmaran has a reputation for being a rude snob who could care less about those, like Alizeh, who are suffering in the street. But as fate may have it, Alizeh and Kamran are thrown together. Alizeh is injured and Kamran is not who he says he is.
Alongside the dragons, royalty, and politics, this book includes many enchanted objects. Alizeh is gifted a stone that glows hot when someone is telling the truth and cold when someone is lying. Alizeh is also in possession of a book filled with prophecies for herself and the kingdoms around her.
There is also a plot line with the devil, Iblees. Multiple times Iblees speaks with Alizeh and instructs her to follow his orders. The added part of the devil is very creepy but interesting. In this first book, the main point of the plot with Iblees isn’t revealed, but there is a sense of the unknown.
This Woven Kingdom is a very loose Cinderella retelling and a spin on Persian mythology but with added fantasy aspects like dragons and Jinn. Jinn are a species of sorts, they are people but with magic and hail from a lost kingdom. There are also Diviners, who are also people with extreme control of magic. Their jobs as diviners are like being a magical priest or president.
While there are kingdoms in this world, the kings still hold the governmental power, but the diviners are the ones that hold the real power.
The book overall was very slow-paced because all of the events take place in the span of around 3 days, and the book is 528 pages long. But even with the slower plot and the heavy descriptions, it was a fast read. The chapters are all around 10 pages, so you can fly through the book. Also, with nearly each chapter the point of view changes, and with each change the reader is left wondering and wanting more.
This book was very well done, and very compelling, but in true Tahereh Mafi fashion, the best part of the plot and the best characters aren’t introduced until the very end, leaving the reader on a giant cliffhanger and needing more of Alizeh’s story.
