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Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini

A book review by Mina

Sea Prayer is a short, illustrated story book in response to the current events regarding
refugee crises. It is written from a father to his son in the form of a letter before the beginning of
their journey. The boy’s father reflects on the journal that befalls them and describes Homs,
Syria, before the war into a deadly war zone. This story book is inspired by Alan Kurdi, a
three-year-old Syrian boy, whose body washes up on the beach in September 2015.

Sea Prayer is absolutely beautiful. The message and the impact of the story book
narrative is completely powerful and reminiscent, especially with recent current events. I’ve read
all of Khaled Hosseini’s books, and they’ve all been beautifully written, but I love the narrative
and the format Hosseini chose for Sea Prayer. This book is a different route that Hosseini
typically takes: it’s much shorter than his other publications and it’s illustrated. While short, this
book impactfully shows readers the evil of war, especially for young children who are innocents
within wars. Using a story book narrative makes it almost nostalgic for adults, especially when it
is marketed to adult readers, who grow up with picture books and seeing war illustrated makes
readers understand that war is not escapable for young children. Additionally, the watercolor
illustrations fit well with the narrative; it gives the book a dreamlike quality which contradicts
the horror of the message. While short, I found this to be one of my favorite reads for 2024. It
was short and simple but left a beautiful, lasting impression. It allows readers to truly reflect and
become sensitive to recent events.

Put Sea Prayer on hold today

Books similar to Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini:

● As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
● All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
● A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hossein

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

A book review by Mina

Ruthless Vows follows the events of the first book, Divine Rivals, and is the last book in
the Letters of Enchantment Duology. Two weeks have passed since Iris has returned home from
the front. Roman is missing and Oath, the city, continues to support Dacre in the war between
gods. When Iris and Attie are given the opportunity to spy on Dacre’s whereabouts, they both
take the opportunity, knowing the risks. Roman, on the other hand, wakes in Dacre’s realm with
memory loss. All he is told to do is to write articles for Dacre, but a letter arrives by wardrobe
door. Initially suspicious, he strikes up a response. As Roman and the other writer continue to
correspond, Roman has to make a choice on whether Dacre is the right side of the war.
Having waited a year for the second book to come out, I found that Ross did a great job
of reminding her readers where her book left off. I quickly picked up the plot, even though her
world-building is a tad intricate. Initially starting out as an academic-rivals-to-lovers, I found
Iris’s and Roman’s romance to be well-developed. Ross left it off at a good point in the first book
to be able to further develop their relationship without their romance moving too fast. The
romance was gradual and well-paced. I found their love to be tender and unwavering. Besides
the romance, I found the book to be pretty well-paced until the very end. The pacing is very even
and moved very gradually with the books being pretty action-packed. The world building was
amazing and simple; it didn’t need to be overcomplicated to be magical. The magical and fantasy
aspects were focused more on the second and the first, and I enjoyed that angle, especially since
the first book was a build-up to the second one. Additionally, I loved that this series was only
two books; it was the perfect amount for the plot and the necessary character development. My
only qualms with this book were towards the end, the plot was a little messy with a lot of luck. I
found the ending to be a little anticlimactic with some wasted potential. Overall, I found this
series to be an easy read with very lovely characters. I fell in love with world-building and found
it enjoyable to pick up the second book. I would recommend this book for readers who want
fantasy read with light world-building with a romance-centered read. This book is magical and
beautiful. This book reaches a wide variety of audiences!

Put Ruthless Vows on hold today!

Books similar to Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

● Caraval by Stephanie Garber
● Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
● Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
● The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michell Hodkin