I have mixed feelings about This Woven Kingdom because while I enjoyed it, objectively it’s a pretty standard YA fantasy. Although the story was engaging, it had a few major flaws and didn’t do anything new in the genre. I went into this knowing nothing about it, which is my favorite way to begin a book. I quickly expected it to be a loose Cinderella retelling, but while I maintain that it had Cinderella elements, it didn’t end up being a true retelling. This was both what I wanted and disappointing at the same time; I was happy that the plot surprised me, but I love fairy-tale retellings and this could have been a good one. I also enjoyed the more formal prose which was almost reminiscent of Jane Austen. It was occasionally overdone or clunky, but I was happy to read something with a unique voice. I also thought the worldbuilding was good for the genre. Inspired by Persian mythology, it managed to introduce enough elements of cultural magic that it was interesting without becoming overwhelming. I was definitely left with more questions than answers, but I hope the magic and worldbuilding will be more thoroughly explored in the rest of the series.

Objectively, however, there are a few problems with this book. First, it suffered from a massive dose of insta-love. When characters fall in love at first sight we don’t get to see the reasons they have for falling in love. The characters in this book barely got to know each other, which made it feel like there was no real way for them to build a lasting relationship. I had no reason to root for their relationship or fall in love with the characters myself. One character also had several major personality issues, and the only reason I was given for liking him was that he liked the other main character. However, as this is the first book in a planned trilogy, I’m hoping that we’ll get more character development and a stronger basis for a relationship in the following books.

This Woven Kingdom was an enjoyable read that will appeal to most YA fantasy fans.

Content Analysis

Profanity/Language: 3 religious exclamations; 1 religious profanity.

Note: “bastard” is used to refer to an illegitimate child 5 times.

Violence/Gore: Mention of a character getting burned and resulting scarring; a character is told a riddle involving gruesome imagery of murdered children; a character attempts to mug another and receives a minor injury; in a brief scene a character attempts to commit suicide in order to avoid going to prison, some detail; two instances where a character hits another; mention of a parent having been decapitated; report of an infant declared cursed and left to die of exposure; a character’s parents had previously been murdered, occasional mentions of their deaths/them being dead; report of many jinn being executed over the years; a character remembers her house being burned down with her and her mother trapped inside resulting in her mother’s death, some detail; report of men drowning in an accident, no detail; two characters have a relationship where they frequently threaten to injure the other or arrange for their death, not seriously or with intent to actually do harm; a character attacks and kills several other characters in self-defense, some detail; characters fight resulting in serious injuries, little detail; three instances where a character threatens to kill another; a character remembers seeing his father’s head on a plate when he was a child; a character remembers jumping into a river to attempt suicide as a child after learning of his father’s death; report of the murder of 35 people; report of missing children used to feed a monster, somewhat gruesome and disturbing; a character kills another.

Sex/Nudity: A character finds another attractive; a character is ordered to find a spouse; a male character sees a female character partially undressed and thinks she is beautiful; characters embrace; a character touches another’s face; approximately 3 page scene where characters touch and kiss passionately, and one character attempts to unfasten another’s clothing, no nudity and touching is restricted to neck, back, waist and male character’s chest; character has romantic thoughts about another; character remembers kissing another; character thinks another is a nobleman’s mistress; character touches another’s waist.

Mature Subject Matter:

Attempted suicide; assassination; murder; executions; death of parents; social inequality; racism; death of children; kidnapping of children; poverty; theft.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Mention of characters using opium.