Will I love The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi?

It’s a fine line, as the saying goes, between historical fiction and fantasy fiction, which both rely on skilful world building rooted in an imagined past or simply the imagined. In The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, the author set out to make the book “completely historically accurate except for the plot”, and she succeeds brilliantly. It’s set in the Indian Ocean during a meticulously researched and realised medieval period, which is the jumping off point for a thrilling fantasy adventure. With sea monsters, missing artefacts, sorcery, pirates, swashes being buckled left right and centre, and my new favourite heroine since… show more.

I instantly dug the vibe of this book. Pacific Ocean, pirates, kidnappings, mythical South Asian relics, historical fantasy. Give me it!

This book blew me away like a sea squall, so much so that a year after I finished reading it, I still use nautical metaphors to make my point. Not to mention how much I love older, middle-aged protagonists. Weary mothers and retired cartographers with families to feed and perilous old habits, setting sail on an adventure? Aye, aye, Captain!

How can I not wrap up this list with my latest discovery, namely a novel about a devout Muslim female pirate who successfully retires, raises a family…and gets pulled back into her former life for one last adventure?

It’s got a swashbuckling middle-aged heroine, adventure, a fantasy heist, a chosen family, and splendid worldbuilding so really, what more could I ask for from a book that I didn’t write? I should note that unlike the other books I’ve included, this one is the first book in a trilogy, so if you like it, there’s more ahead!