Mirage

Meh. Yet another YA fantasy with an amazing premise and the bones of a wonderful story—that ends up not as great as it could be because of instalove, wonky pacing, and a lack of depth to several elements. I wish Amani and Maram had had more interactions together, to really build up their tentative friendship; it would've made the ending much more impactful. I wish some of the side characters had been more developed (especially Tala, there was so much potential there!!!) I wish the romance had developed more slowly, although I did enjoy the couple together.

What I did love was the message of rebellion against colonization. I think Duad did a wonderful job conveying how colonizers invade more than just the land—they create a haze of fear around every aspect of life for native people.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this, I just wish it had prioritized the rebellion and Amani's relationship with Maram a little more.