Article contributed by Coline Pechberty-Pautal
I read This Woven Kingdom a few months ago and excitedly picked up the second one as soon as it was released. These Infinite Threads picks up right where the previous book ended: at the ball, in the middle of a fight. The king of Ardunia has been killed and his evil deeds have been exposed for all to know. Kamran knows who Alizeh really is and they shared a kiss. Cyrus has caused chaos.
Our three main characters are in very different places now than when their evening started.
Alizeh is taken away to a distant empire on dragon-back by Cyrus, a man she barely knows but despises, and who talks about marrying her because of a deal he made with the devil, Iblees. She now has to try to understand how she fits in the devil’s plans, in which she, as heir to the Jinn empire, appears to have a very important role to play. But Cyrus is tight-lipped, strong-headed, and infuriating.
If Alizeh chooses to see the bigger picture and accepts to take part in whichever Machiavellian scheme Cyrus got himself tangled into, she could finally have a chance at fulfilling her destiny. The longer she spends with the copper-haired king, the more she understands him and hurt for him and the decisions he made. The hate-filled banter between these two characters is absolutely great, and probably my favourite part of the story. While battling a growing mutual physical attraction and coming begrudgingly to a sort of very fragile agreement, the “villain” becomes more multi-dimensional, especially as we get to see a sweeter side of him.
In the aftermath of discovering what his grandfather has done to stay alive and his death at the hand of a foreign king, after everything that happened with Alizeh, Kamran has to face an empire in turmoil and an upcoming coronation. However, the line of magic that designated him has the heir to the throne has had a strange reaction to the events, hinting at more mysteries and problems to solve, and all of this heralding an impending war and more disasters.
However, Kamran has no time to come to term with everything that’s been going on in the last few hours. He has to figure out who are his allies and who are his enemies—and fast…except that might also not be as obvious as he would have thought.
I liked the variety of secondary characters that appeared—they are exasperating, fun and boastful. Kamran’s point of view is also the occasion to learn more about his grandfather and some of the magical elements of Ardunia.
The book only spans over a couple of days, and could have felt maybe a bit empty of grand events if not for the short chapters alternating point of views between Alizeh and Kamran, giving a dynamic movement to the story, a feeling of urgency. Something big is about to happen, and they better hurry to think out who and where they want to be.
The future of Alizeh, Cyrus and Kamran appears to be full of more conflicts and heartbreak. Is going along with the devil’s plan Alizeh’s only chance at becoming the person she’s meant to be? Will Cyrus be able to forge a different fate than the one he envisions for himself? Kamran is playing his life and his kingdom in a bold move, will it pay off? They might need to put their differences aside, when so much treason has already happened, to avoid a war that would tear them apart for good, and together face a probably bigger threat, the devil himself.
These Infinite Threads is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
With the heat of a kiss, the walls between Alizeh, the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, and Kamran, the crown prince of the Ardunian empire, have crumbled. And so have both of their lives.
Alizeh, the heir to the Jinn throne, is destined to free her people from the half-lives they’ve been forced to live under human rule. When Kamran, the heir to the human throne, falls in love with her, he’s forced to question everything he’s been taught about Jinn.
Kamran’s grandfather lays dead at the hand of Cyrus, ruler of the neighboring kingdom of Tulan. Cyrus has stolen Alizeh away to his homeland and plans to marry her there, giving her everything she needs to become the Jinn queen—and when she assumes the throne he will have fulfilled his own bargain with the devil.
Alizeh wants nothing to do with Cyrus’s deal or the devil. But without a way to escape Tulan, and with the fulfillment of her own destiny tantalizingly close, she’ll have to decide whether she can set aside her emotions to become the queen her people need.
Kamran, meanwhile, is picking up the pieces in Ardunia. Facing betrayal at every turn, all he knows is that he must go to Tulan to avenge his grandfather. He can only hope that Alizeh will be waiting for him there—and that she hasn’t yet become the queen of Tulan.
Full of explosive magic, searing romance, and heartbreaking betrayal, this breathtaking sequel to This Woven Kingdom is from the award-winning and bestselling author of the Shatter Me series and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir, and Tomi Adeyemi.
