I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Aicha Published by Orbit on 24 March 2026 Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads
TEMPTRESS. MONSTER. WARRIOR.
The ultimate female rage fantasy, Aicha is a fierce and devastatingly powerful romantic epic fantasy perfect for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and She Who Became the Sun.
The Portuguese flag has been planted across Morocco, its empire ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.
Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright, and speaks to Aicha's soul.
Only Aicha's secret lover Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco's freedom reaches it violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha's skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.
This novel was sold as a fantasy story inspired by the Conquest of Ceuta and the legend of Aicha Kandicha. As someone who is always open to learning about historical events and other cultures, I was very excited for this novel. Unfortunately, it disappointed me.
The biggest issue I have is that this is not a fantasy. The little snippets we get are repetitive and randomly scattered throughout the book. Only at the end do we see any real hint of fantasy – but again, it is not very well-established. Either the fantasy should have been removed completely from the book or it should have been incorporated from the start and given a proper setup.
But even the actual story was very surface-level. For a story about rebellion and an impending siege, there is a serious lack of tension. The same repetitive elements keep being shown and I see absolutely no character growth in Aicha. She’s just always angry and makes stupid decisions. Why is it that authors always mistake stupidity with bravery? Aicha is a character that got on my nerves constantly so even when I wanted to feel bad for her, I struggled.
The other characters were okay, I guess, but every interaction was the same repetitive script. The romance was also a miss for me.
The novel has a lot of potential and there are some moments that redeem it. But those are few and far in between.
At least the cover is gorgeous!
Overall, I was not a fan.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
