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5 Stars!

You do not kneel or bend, I told myself. To anyone. You continue.

You know when you need a book in your life, but you didn't realise what that was until you read it? Well for me, this was Mirage. I got an ARC from Netgalley and then two copies in subscription boxes, so I'm going to say it was a sign that I had to read it.

I'm quite surprised at myself, now I can be honest here and say Sci-Fi isn't usually for me, I'm normally very skeptical and it takes me a while to get into it. For some reason or another I was so engrossed with this. The setting, a sense of moons, stars and planets and then learning about different cultures throughout I was just here for it.

What I loved so much about this book is that there were a lot of underlying features in this that address some very real topics. We look at a lot here; culture, belief, religion, how others are treated in response to certain politics/ruling.

The basis of this is that Amani is kidnapped on an important night in her life and is taken to Princess Maram, she doesn't know why she is there, but all becomes apparent when she see's her for the first time, they are identical and because of that she will be her body double.

Characters

Amani is such a wonderful character, we see her go through some very troubling times but she holds on to her beliefs and is so strong. I loved her letting others know things they wouldn't know (In relation mainly to Idris and Maram to do with family), her love of poetry relating back to her family and just how quick she picks up things.

Maram is cold and cruel when we first meet her, it's difficult to go into things so I don't give anything away, but when we see her more vulnerable side it was EVERYTHING. I loved seeing the walls come down, and I also kind of felt sorry for her because there's a lot more to her than what I initially thought.

What I liked?
- The marking ceremony and how much it meant to Amani, it was so compelling to read and you could fully feel how proud it made her feel.
- As previously mentioned, not much a fan of Sci-Fi... but I kind of low key loved the use of Droids
- The descriptions and the writing it was just so beautiful. Everything was just so detailed and picturesque. One thing that I love when I read is that you can clearly imagine things in a certain way, and with this it felt as if you were there looking down on everything.
- Two different relationships, I loved the closeness of both of these, you could sense a bond coming and I'm very very scared for what's to come.
- Shatranji and the subtle uses of strategy while playing
- POETRY

What I didn't like?
- Lets leave this blank, because I liked itttt

"you are not defined by the men in your life, no matter how powerful. You lived before them and you shall live after them. You can’t let them determine your path.�

Overall, a very unexpected read that I enjoyed so much, I'd reccommend this to anyone and everyone, I can't wait for the next one... in need