I am forever in search of a good YA fantasy and when that comes with South-West Asian world building, I am all for it. Zohra Nabi has been one of my favourite YA fantasy writer recently and when I came across Kingdom Over the Sea after reading Deep Dark, I knew I had to put this on my TBR.

This book did not disappoint. This was a sort of portal fantasy where Yara, the protagonist, travels from modern day London to this world of magic where she is actually from. Here, she is dropped into this completely different world where she can speak her mother tongue.

Now, she is all alone in this world following the accidental death of her Mama. But her Mama also left her a cryptic message about finding someone who will help her in Zehaira. But the world she had left behind as a baby is not the one she finds when she is back. She has no memory of the place, of fleeing, but she senses the danger in this new place.

The plot harks back to the trope of magic vs science. The world of sorcerers is being taken over by the alchemists. There was an inquisition that rooted out the sorcerers 12 years ago and the Grand High Sorceress was allegedly killed off when the Chief Alchemist took power. But there are secrets in every little bit of her history that is revealed.

I found it to be deep that the author delved into the nuances of power in a YA book and did not just subscribe to a black-and-white dichotomy of magic good, science bad which is something a lot of fantasy books reduce it to. The complicated relationships between Yara and her guardian is explored in all its nitty-gritty detail and not painted over like a happy reunion.

The story strikes a balance between Yara’s discovery of her true identity and saving the world from dangerous powers and people. The side characters are given more dimension than just good or bad and betrayals are crafted in a way that the readers would not see them coming.

All in all, this book read like a fresh breath of air after reading a couple of books in the genre that felt like the same plot reworked with different characters. This had a thorough Eastern world-building with sorcerers and jinns and a magic system rooted in natural elements.

I definitely recommend Zohra Nabi’s works for YA readers and this met the criteria. This book is part of a duology and I am looking forward to getting to the sequel.

You can grab your copy of Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi here.

(I earn a small commission from every qualified purchase from the link to continue reading and reviewing)

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Have you read any of the books by Zohra Nabi or this book specifically? What are your thoughts on them?

Feel free to drop a comment or reach out to me across social media at @thecalcuttanbibliophile. I would love to hear from you.