Mafi, Tahereh. These Infinite Threads. HarperCollins, 2023. 978-0-062-97247-7. $19.99. 416 p. Grades 9-12.

In the fantastic world of Ardunia, humans and Jinn are allowed to live among each other, according to the Fire Accords set in place by the current king, as long as they don’t use their powers and lie low. Despite the accords, Alizeh keeps her Jinn identity a secret from everyone around her. Although Alizeh is a powerful Jinn with ice in her veins, she lives a lonely life as a servant cleaning the home of a duchess and working as a seamstress on the side for extra money. When she accidentally crosses paths with Prince Kamran, both her world and his are turned upside down. After a disastrous ball honoring Prince Kamran, King Cyrus of Tulan whisks Alizeh away on a dragon after murdering the King of Ardunia. As Alizeh attempts to understand Cyrus’s actions in a strange, new place, Kamran, badly injured, must keep his hold on his crown in a time of chaos and turmoil within his kingdom. Both Alizeh and Kamran have to decide who they can trust and what their futures now hold. 

THOUGHTS: This book was not what I expected at all. The entire novel takes place in a 24 hour time frame, and although a lot of information is provided about the characters, it doesn’t advance the plot in a major way. It does, however, establish a group of characters that will be either working together or against each other and introduces a potential love triangle. As a reader, I was at times frustrated with the novel, but I also couldn’t stop reading! Mafi doesn’t always follow the rules when it comes to what a reader may expect from a sequel, and I think that’s what makes this series, as well as her others, so appealing and unique. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading fantasy with a touch of romance.

Fantasy