By Lucky Felder
In the summer of 2023, I picked up my first Tahereh Mafi book, titled A Very Large Expanse of Sea, which was a recommendation of my oldest brother. Little did I know, this would not only spark my love of reading, but also introduce me to my favorite author. I then moved on to her immensely popular Shatter Me series, whizzing through the total of six novels and five novellas in a month. I truly believed that nothing would ever top this series for me. Then I discovered her newest series, This Woven Kingdom.
This Woven Kingdom is set to be a five book series, with four books currently out on shelves: This Woven Kingdom, These Infinite Threads, All This Twisted Glory, and Every Spiral of Fate, the last of which was recently released on September 30th, 2025. The story follows Alizeh, a Jinn (magical being), who lives in hiding as a servant, in a world where humans dominate, and Jinn are oppressed. Set in the kingdom of Ardunia, Alizeh must be careful to survive and get by. The action of the book is set off when Alizeh first encounters the human prince, Kamran, who is intrigued upon meeting her, and romance begins to bud. However, the ill-fated pair is an impossible match due to the sore history between Jinn and humans. While Kamran questions his morals and responsibilities to the throne, Alizeh struggles with the sorrow of her oppressed peoples, along with her personal conflict: she is bound to a deal she made with the devil. The intense plot and forbidden romance sets the stage for the most stunning fantasy series I’ve ever adventured into, and somehow, Tahereh Mafi outdoes herself with each new book.
When I picked up the debut novel to this series, I was physically unable to put it down. There is something so captivating about Tahereh Mafi’s prose that transported me straight into the story. Her worldbuilding and imagery is incredibly vivid and, particularly in this series, her vocabulary is flowery and sophisticated, which I really enjoy. Mafi manages to create a protagonist I was truly able to connect with in Alizeh. She’s intelligent, powerful, and extremely empathetic, while harboring a secret past that finds a way of bubbling to the surface. Then there’s Kamran, the charming prince, confined by his demanding grandfather and position to the royal court. Though Tahereh Mafi excels in every area of her writing, what I really love most about it is the way she writes the inner monologue of her characters. Each novel has multiple perspectives, allowing you to deeply understand each character and their complexities.
With This Woven Kingdom, Mafi creates a unique world completely unlike anything I’ve read. If you’re like me and love to immerse yourself in an enchanting “romantasy” book, I urge you to pick this series up.