Harper Voyager, 2023. 384 pages. Fantasy
As a waterweaver, Nehal can move any water to her will. She desires nothing more than to attend the Weaving Academy, learn control of her powers, and join the first all-female military regiment. But her family cannot afford to let her go due to her father's crushing gambling debt, and Nehal is forcibly married into a wealthy merchant family. Her new spouse, indifferent to Nehal's dreams, pines for the bookseller Giorgina. However, Giorgina has her own secret: she is an earthweaver with dangerously uncontrollable powers. Her only solace comes from the Daughters of Izdihar, a radical group that fights for women to have a say in their own lives. As Nehal and Giorgina fight for their rights, the threat of war looms in the background, and the two women find themselves struggling to earn and keep a lasting freedom.
I absolutely loved the magic system: elemental magics are my jam! It was also lovely to have the cultural influences of Egypt and Western Asia reflected in this work. I'm usually not a fan of multiple POVs, but Elsbai made the work flow effectively and smoothly between the two tightly intertwined storylines. There were times when the gentle pacing seemed to drag, and the allusions to (and outright portrayal of) civil rights seemed a bit heavy-handed. I wish we had seen more of the protagonist's relationship with Malak, the leader of the Daughters of Izdihar. I also was disappointed that this book was quite long, and yet the ending was extremely unsatisfying. I understand that it's part of a duology, but it felt like the plot was arbitrarily interrupted by the end of the book.