As expected, the level of research and detail that Chakraborty packed into this book is truly incredible. Setting a rich backdrop, these characters are complex and honest, making some very unrealistic situations feel totally plausible. It makes it easy to take marriages to demons and mind control krakens in stride when everything else is set so solidly in a familiar world. Sometimes this makes for a dense read, but the rewards are worth it.

I absolutely loved Amina. I found her life and her struggles timeless and relatable. I appreciated how Chakraborty didn’t just place this strong female character in a stereotypical and historically male position. She took every opportunity to make it clear that Amina was not the only woman at this time who felt restricted by the expectations placed on her gender due to her culture, religion, and this time in history. Instead of looking down on other women who didn’t, or weren’t able to, take the radical steps she did to be (somewhat) free, she went out of her way, often putting herself in danger, to help and support where she could. As Amina tells her story, her commentary on suppression and the inequality of the time is a very intentional and not-so-subtle part of setting the scene. It helps to explain everything from how she chooses her crew, to the jobs she takes and the routes she sails, to how she finds herself married to a demon.