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This book has such an fascinating plot. Dr. Nadia Amin, fleeing the country after a queer heartbreak, finds herself in Iraq working for the United Nations trying to spearhead a program to deradicalize ISIS brides and get them back to their home countries. Nadia’s in way over her head, not sure how to navigate all the different bureaucracies and systems of corruption. But she’s determined to figure it out, especially so she can help one young woman Sara get back to London.

Nadia was an engaging character to follow. It was interesting seeing her meet Sara and connect with her. The ruminations on how their lives went in such different directions were great to read about. And the complexities of their family situations added a lot to the book overall. I appreciated how Nadia and Sara were both fully formed characters who felt extremely real.

While I did enjoy getting to see the journey that the characters went on, I didn't fully love the book overall. It took me a long time to read the book, I kept setting it down and taking forever to think about coming back to it. I think that all of the side characters working for different agencies and the intricacies of the programs they were trying to run didn’t hold my attention. I understand why they were important for the overall plot, but I didn’t find them as engaging as what was going on with Nadia and Sara.

Even though I didn’t totally love this book, I’d still recommend that people check it out if it sounds interesting to them. You might get along better with the side characters than I did.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.