Hello everyone!
I'm so very, very excited to share this one with you, because, one, I've loved this author from the minute I picked up her very first book release, and two, it's just such a good story!
I mean, does it have a few kinks that maybe could do with some ironing out? Yes, of course.
But what book doesn't?
I think the only one I ever read where I DIDN'T feel that another edit might be appropriate was The Lord of the Rings, and THAT should tell you something LOL.
In any event; I was super lucky to join the early ARC team for this one, so I got to read it before it even released. How's that for some charm, eh??
And now it's been officially released into the wider world on June 16th, so my review is basically right on time!
Without further ado, we're jumping straight into The Grand Shahala.
Links to previous related posts can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual! And since Hypatia Rae has a full series out and I've read them all, you can definitely check out that Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist.
But as for tonight ...
The Grand Shahala is the first in a planned duology which introduces us to Ianthe, heir to her father's empire, and Sabine/Nyx, a slave and rider in deadly desert races. These two women both have their own goals and ambitions, but are constantly suppressed by the patriarchy they live in, and it's to be hoped the second book sees the dawn of a new era for them all.
Until then, however, this is their story.
Ianthe, the eldest daughter and woman who will marry the next Qafik, that is, her husband will become the next ruler of her family's empire, is in a bit of a bind. Hated by her father (though no deep explanation is given) and (seemingly) loved only by her younger sister, on whom their father dotes, her single greatest crime appears to be that she's an empath.
That's right, you've read correctly, she can sense other's emotions and also sometimes project her own when they're incredibly strong. I'm convinced she has MORE powers she has yet to dig deeper into, because she's been told that her magic is wrong and evil and hasn't dared touch more than surface level.
She's recognized as an empath because her eyes are two-coloured rather than just a uniform brown, and so she always wears a headpiece that covers them, for the most part.
Sabine, the slave who runs in the desert races as Nyx, has been building up the secret Nyx persona for three years and saving every piece of money she wins from the races so she can buy her own and her mother's freedom, so her coveted goal is The Grand Shahala, the greatest race of them all. She might never have qualified if not for the fact that the two princesses had plans to undermine what their dad was doing, though.
See, the Qafik tells Ianthe she'll be marrying the Shahala winner, so the sisters not only commission a new monster to be created through magic (THAT branch is apparently totally approved, while empaths are super hated), but they're looking for a rider to sponsor, and they find Nyx after a loss that should have stopped any forward progress because you need to pay steeper and steeper entry fees for each subsequent Shahala level.
They agree to the sponsorship, and Nyx reveals herself to be Sabine, which only convinces the girls they're doing the right thing, fuelled also by a search for their mother, who disappeared years ago and who Ianthe knows was forced to leave them behind.
So the girls get a betting boy to be the face of their little ruse, and said betting boy is in love with the youngest princess anyway, so that works, and their joint adventure begins, which not only highlights just how desperate they all are for the win, but also that Nyx and Ianthe are very much attracted to each other.
Now, it's to be argued that Nyx may be looking for a little bit of something after the dramatic reveal of her personal life (as in, she's the daughter of the slave owner where she and her mother live, the said owner loves her mother and wants to run away with them both, but also she's been free for three years and everybody kept lying to her that she's still a slave), but equally I think these two are quite cute, so it works out.
The racing goes on, and another player enters the ring at this latter point, a foreigner named Matthias who's ALSO a very good racer (in fact, I believe he finishes third overall when the actual race day arrives, and I feel like he'll be important in book two), and who's kind to Ianthe, not understanding why her one brown and one blue eye should warrant so much mistrust and hatred.
Side note: formal mention of one rider who tried to cheat to get into the Shahala and is disqualified so Nyx can advance further in the races.
But Ianthe only has eyes for Nyx, and once they introduce their horse-and-phoenix mix into the race, well, the rest is history (Ianthe somehow manages to tie Nyx and the firesol together through their souls which is to be explored more in the second book, AND I AM HERE FOR IT).
Bad history, I'm afraid, because once Nyx reveals herself things go to hell in a hand basket, as the Qafik won't give the win to a woman (actually, he's over there asking where the REAL Nyx is, and I'm over here rolling my eyes, because, men), he sentences her and Matteo (the betting boy) to death (the boy because his second daughter loves him and he has plans for said second daughter), and announces Ianthe will marry the runner-up, who happens to be HIS man.
Ianthe has plans of her own, though, and starts forging papers in the evening light, which means you need to come back for book two to see just how the girls, Matteo and Matthias manage to escape the noose and flee into the great desert, in search of the former empress and the sand people from whom empaths originate!
Ms Rae writes beautifully, and this has been true for both her Beyond the Veil books as well as The Grand Shahala, except that a little something feels missing in this one. I'll try and explain.
The characters are interesting, but we don't learn a lot about them beyond one or two things, which is a bit of a shame since we spend so much time with them. Ianthe, Nyx, Zahra, and the other side-characters only really seem to operate from one motivator rather than several the way you generally do when you think about it.
The world is gorgeous and I love the desert setting. I've loved it for eons, since reading Broken Sky and then watching podracing in Phantom Menace.
Come to think of it, I kept thinking pod racing while reading about these monsters racing haha
But I wish we understood more about why the Qafik hates Ianthe so much. I can infer that her mother will play a large role in the second book, and it has a lot to do with her, but we also aren't given a lot to go on as to WHY empaths are so hated. What caused this? Who started it? Obviously someone somewhere did something, similar to what Ianthe did at the end with Nyx and the firesol, and word spread. People fear results of actions before they fear words. It would have made sense that someone somewhere said more - the perfect scene would be when Nyx is being served breakfast and asks the chaka girl why everyone fears the Amani so much. YES she's supposedly a desert witch, but WHY do they think that? Is there a legend? A history?
It would go a long way to explaining why her father positively loathes Ianthe, outside of her being a carbon copy of her mother who apparently betrayed him or planned betrayal. Or what he believes it is, which probably amounts to the fact he was being mean to a little girl, her mom was having none of it, and he threw a hissy fit that she didn't agree with his brainfarts.
My vote is on this last.
I actually thought the book would end with the Grand Shahala win, so I'm pleasantly surprised it went a little further. I'm interested to see how this develops, what Mathias' role will be (he sounds Russian by his descriptions), and where we go from here.
Also for some reason Nyx DID actually read as a man to me, which IDK if that was the point but thought I should mention it LOL
The characters are interesting, but we don't learn a lot about them beyond one or two things, which is a bit of a shame since we spend so much time with them. Ianthe, Nyx, Zahra, and the other side-characters only really seem to operate from one motivator rather than several the way you generally do when you think about it.
The world is gorgeous and I love the desert setting. I've loved it for eons, since reading Broken Sky and then watching podracing in Phantom Menace.
Come to think of it, I kept thinking pod racing while reading about these monsters racing haha
But I wish we understood more about why the Qafik hates Ianthe so much. I can infer that her mother will play a large role in the second book, and it has a lot to do with her, but we also aren't given a lot to go on as to WHY empaths are so hated. What caused this? Who started it? Obviously someone somewhere did something, similar to what Ianthe did at the end with Nyx and the firesol, and word spread. People fear results of actions before they fear words. It would have made sense that someone somewhere said more - the perfect scene would be when Nyx is being served breakfast and asks the chaka girl why everyone fears the Amani so much. YES she's supposedly a desert witch, but WHY do they think that? Is there a legend? A history?
It would go a long way to explaining why her father positively loathes Ianthe, outside of her being a carbon copy of her mother who apparently betrayed him or planned betrayal. Or what he believes it is, which probably amounts to the fact he was being mean to a little girl, her mom was having none of it, and he threw a hissy fit that she didn't agree with his brainfarts.
My vote is on this last.
I actually thought the book would end with the Grand Shahala win, so I'm pleasantly surprised it went a little further. I'm interested to see how this develops, what Mathias' role will be (he sounds Russian by his descriptions), and where we go from here.
Also for some reason Nyx DID actually read as a man to me, which IDK if that was the point but thought I should mention it LOL
Grab your copy of the book today, and see for yourself just what you think of this new desert romance! I highly recommend it, no matter what.
xx
*image not mine
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