Mirage Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

TITLE: Mirage

AUTHOR: Somaiya Daud

PUBLISH DATE: August 28th 2018

PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books

SYNOPSIS:

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32768520-mirage

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mirage-Novel-Somaiya-Daud/dp/1250126428

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mirage-Somaiya-Daud/9781250126429

REVIEW:

I’m going to do my best to review this and NOT give anything away. What does that mean? Probably a lot of me proclaiming my undying love for the first book in this series and a short review because… well… I’ll be limited on what I can say. You’ve been warned.

The creativity held within the pages of this story captured my attention and my heart. I could not get enough of Amani, the battle she was fighting, the situation she found herself in, the universe in which this took place, and the richness of it all. The writing was breath-taking. It was so fluid that I could have sworn Daud had magic in her blood and was casting a spell on me. I was so sad when the story was over but completely pumped up for book 2. (Can I have this now? Please and thank you)

I did warn you that this could be a short review…. I really would like to go into more detail about how even the side characters are so well developed and so believable that I wanted to know more about them. Or I could tell you how I tore through this book like there was no end in sight, only to (sadly) discovered I was done before I knew it. I did not want the story to end but that’s just the beauty of Daud’s ability to weave a grand tale. And she certainly did! This was masterfully done and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

Somaiya Daud was born in a Midwestern city, and spent a large part of her childhood and adolescence moving around. Like most writers, she started when she was young and never really stopped. Her love of all things books propelled her to get a degree in English literature (specializing in the medieval and early modern), and while she worked on her Master’s degree she doubled as a bookseller at Politics and Prose in their children’s department. Determined to remain in school for as long as possible, she packed her bags in 2014 and moved the west coast to pursue a doctoral degree in English literature. Now she’s preparing to write a dissertation on Victorians, rocks, race, and the environment.