Tahereh Mafi has written an enchanting new book for readers to escape into with her latest YA fantasy, This Woven Kingdom. With elegant, alluring prose reminiscent of old fairytales and legends, Mafi draws on Persian mythology to create a world brimming with monsters and magic, courtly intrigue and forbidden romance.

Alizeh, a servant girl with royal blood of the ancient Jinn in her veins, and Kamran, the prince of Ardunia, must work together to combat the enmity between the Jinn and the humans, and to heal the prejudice and wrongful hatred between their two races. Against their growing alliance lies the backdrop of an impending war, and a neighbouring kingdom that threatens to tear them all down.

In Alizeh and Kamran, Mafi conjures two characters who feel so unique despite the roles they play. Although she’s been mistreated her whole life, and is destined to rebuild the fallen Jinn empire, Alizeh treats those around her with incredible kindness and a quiet strength. Kamran, whose gilded lens of the world from his privileged upbringing begins to crumble upon meeting Alizeh, grows into a man of compassion and integrity, with a genuine desire to change for the good of his people. But there are spies as numerous as the desert sands and traitors as unforgiving as the hot sun.

Beneath the glittering mirage of shifting allegiances, Alizeh and Kamran will discover whether our destinies are chosen for us, or if we have the power to change our fate and forge our own paths – for better or for worse.

For ages 13+.

Aurelia Orr is from Readings Kids