The only evidence that there ever was a garden of wonders, the only testimony to the great city lost beneath the sand, is a single pale coin that lies on the surface, winking at the moon. 
 And, of course, there is me. 
 This book is damn near flawless. 
 I am in love with it. This book was literally so much fun and so much wonderful and so much delightful that I just want to 
 This is a retelling of Aladdin, with a few twists- including the fact that the jinni of the lamp is a girl named Zahra who has been alive for thousands of years. She is one of the most powerful jinni in existence, with magical powers that see no bounds, except for her lifetime imprisonment to the constantly changing masters of her lamp. 
 Zahra herself is a wise and beautiful woman who has made the ultimate sin of the jinni once before: loving a human. So when she is freed from her lamp after a long and painful exile (think 500 years) by a young thief named Aladdin, she faces the human world with a newfound caution. Aladdin has followed the whisperings of a magic ring to find her, and seemingly is the only one who can hear its power. They set out together to fight unrest in Aladdin's kingdom, Zahra granting two wishes in their early time together. The story develops beautifully from there, and ceases to exist just in their own two realities. Their reach is expansive and explosive. 
 From the first page of this story, I was absolutely hooked. I knew what was happening and was easily taken along this wonderful ride. There were no extended lags in the action or confusion on my part. The story was crisp, clear, and lovely. 
 Aladdin, our male mc, is a jovial thief from the underworld of this monarchical society. He steals and forages for his next meal and for the possessions he desires. His parents were killed by a devious member of the monarchy for being rebels, so he is fighting with his own inner demons regarding that. His personality though is just glorious. He is smart, quick, charming, and altogether a charismatic person. 
 Another incredible part of the story is how much is blows the Bechdel Test out of the water. There's a whole band of powerful warrior women called the Watchmaidens that is comprised of various princesses, including/ led by the future queen of the land. Like wow. I was worried at first, thinking the author may pit the women against Zahra and against each other eventually. But how pointless my worries were. This story contains an interminable amount of girl power and women working together to literally defeat the patriarchy. All the girls in this group also have their own unique weapons, which just made everything even more tremendous. 
 Caspida, the leader of the group is just an absolutely spectacular character. She is truly the embodiment of a queen. And instead of being a huge douche, Aladdin is a powerful ally to their cause! Just when the world hasn't shook under me enough, he goes and crumbles it. (The mean guy is speaking to Aladdin in the beginning of this quote, Aladdin responds.) 
 "If Parthenia is going to become the power it once was, we need a strong leader. Someone the people look up to. Someone they've inspired and respected for years. Not some weak prince from some far-off kingdom nobody has even heard of. These people will never follow you." 
 "I don't need anyone to follow me. They will follow her." 
 Women writers nowadays are absolutely killing this book-writing game. Goodness gracious. 
 An additional thought: my family and I went to Disney World a fair few times when I was growing up. (Bear with me here, I'll get to the point in a second.) In one of the parks, Epcot, they have a "world showcase" where they create sections of the park devoted and designed to look like various countries. One of which was Morocco. Since I was very little, I was positively entranced by it. The sights, the colors, the sounds, the earthiness of it all. Every time we would come back, it was always the county I looked forward to most. Growing older, my love of that created world still hypnotized me. When I reached college and began studying Women's Studies and Anthropology, my interests now more informed about the world and cultures, I hoped to one day go there. I found a volunteer program that works with Women's Empowerment in Rabat, Morocco and I sought and still seek to go with that group. I've been saving, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm saying all this because this story's setting reminds me of Morocco. So, in a few less words, I also loved the setting. And listened to the Aladdin soundtrack while I was getting ready this morning. :D 
 To say the least, I loved this. READ IT!