On Sale: 9th September 2026
Publisher: PageTurnerPress LLC
ISBN: 9781958688113
I was sent an Advance Review Copy of this rather interesting novel from Israh Azizi, which is due out in early September. The story is set in an early modern, vaguely fantasy themed Middle Eastern setting, and alternates between the point of view of the female main character ‘The Bodyguard’ and the male main character ”The Prince’. I wasn’t wild about the flipping POV’s in the early chapters of the book, but given this is a solid ‘enemies to lovers’ story, it works better as the story progresses.
The story is fairly well constructed, but it isn’t terribly original. If you like enemies-to-lovers, and enjoy multiple perspective novels, you’ll enjoy this as a reasonable, if predictable story. The novel is divided into three sections, the pacing is very slow in the first third of the book, and picks up pace rapidly in the latter 2 sections. The main characters are relatively well dimensioned, although I wish the same could be said about the supporting cast, who are numerous, but can be broadly characterised as trope-driving avatars.
I have two main challenges with this book. The first is this- the setting is clearly constructed in a fantasy Middle Eastern/ Central Asian world, with a religion recognisable as Islam. However, despite the clear calling cards, all named detail of this world is stripped out. The setting of a harem is recognisable, there are plenty of words that are followed by a translation- and I am not knowledgeable enough to know if it is Arabic, Turkish, Urdu or similar- and I wish that Israh had given that detail. If I compare Until the Sand Claims Us with Shannon Chakraborty’s Tapestry of Fate which is similarly set, the world is that much richer for the specific cultural details that Chakraborty names in the work. As a reader I want to be immersed in rich depictions of cultures I don’t live in. While writing Own Voice fiction is scary – especially when you’re American- and I don’t pretend to understand for a second the specific risks that Israh faces with her work, I really would encourage authors, including Israh, to be bolder when sharing your worlds. I read diverse fiction because I care about a diverse world, and I see fiction as a way people can both see themselves reflected in stories, but also so they can experience worlds beyond their own.
My second criticism- which will seem as if it is contrary to the first, but I promise it isn’t- is that there is a huge amount of unexplained and unexplored world building evident in the book, which isn’t built upon in the story. Azizi provides little quotes from unknown (but named) characters at the top of every chapter, and I would have loved to know who those characters were, and to have the world explored more. She’s clearly done a lot of work to build this well rounded and dimensional universe, but it doesn’t quite land within the main story, which is a real shame.
This isn’t a bad book, despite my points of criticism. I enjoyed the story, I wanted to see more of the world, and I now have Israh Azizi firmly on my list of authors whose work I’d like to see more of. If you like fantasy-ish romances, enjoy an enemies to lovers storyline, and can enjoy a book that is a little predictable in it’s outcomes, then you’ll enjoy this book, and I would encourage you to read it. This isn’t ground breaking, highly immersive fiction, but it is plenty readable, and I look forward to seeing more from Israh Azizi in the future.
Rating (out of 5): 🛡️🛡️🛡️
Do Expect: Enemies to lovers, a war based story, and the FMC experiencing flashbacks to a sexual assault
Don’t Expect: Supporting characters with depth, surprising twists
