Pop-Culturalist.com

The Lady or the Lion by Aamna Qureshi is a Pakistani-inspired YA fantasy novel. This is the perfect read for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn or These Violent Delights.

The Lady or the Lion is a retelling of The Lady or the Tiger. It features South Asian Muslim protagonists and the classic love at first sight trope. A princess has to decide her lover’s fate: a future with a beautiful woman or death by the mouth of a lion. Durkhani Miangul is the crown princess of Marghazar and is fiercely protective of her people. But, when her grandfather is blamed for a murder, her people demand his head, and then there’s Ambassador Asfandyar Afridi who comes in just to state he’s a spy in such a nonchalant way it throws Durkhani off her game. When a strange plague spreads through her village, does the princess have what it takes to be their queen and save them all?

Highlights

• The food! There are so many descriptions of food, drinking chai, and other Pakistani dishes that are incredibly mouth-watering.
• It’s a Pakistani-inspired fantasy novel! I’ve never read anything like this. It was so refreshing to see!
• I love reading about royal families. The plot twists in this story were mind-blowing!
• The protagonists: princess Dukhani and Ambassador Asfandyar’s banter is everything! I love reading about characters that have witty banter.

Lowlights

• Slow beginning. It took me a while to get into the book.

Final Thoughts: Overall, once the action began, I was hooked! This fantasy book is fascinating and the descriptions of Marghazar and the palace will draw you into the world. The protagonists are loveable, and Ambassador Asfandyar is a personal favorite! I also loved reading about princess Durkhani since her character development was incredible! She reminded me a little bit of the title character from Yona of the Dawn!

You can get your copy of The Lady or The Lion here!

Make sure to follow Aamna Qureshi on Twitter.

Thank you to Aamna Qureshi and Edelweiss + Above the Treeline for this complimentary copy to review!