3.5 ⭐️s. The majority of the book follows 3 points of view and timelines, along with a prologue of a 4th, all tied together by water and an ancient Mesopotamian culture and language. I enjoyed how each story and perspective tied together, and how each character’s events led into the other’s chapter. It weaved together beautifully. 

I also liked that I learned a lot about Nineveh, Mesopotamia and their cultures, as well as the Yazidis and how they were consistently marginalized and persecuted. While I remember hearing about ISIS and the Kurdish people, I didn’t know enough context to understand what was going on and how horrific it was specifically, even knowing how incredibly evil ISIS is. 

However, the book itself was just really slow and often repetitive in the poetry and sort of proverb-like sections. While it allowed for the 3 timelines and characters to not be confusing or jolting, it also made the book drag. I really enjoyed Arthur’s and Narin’s stories but I just didn’t care for Zaleekah’s. I get that she was struggling with depression and the whole book had a melancholy feel, but hers really was just a very depressive, sort of wallowing compared to the other 2. I think I would have rated at 4 if not for her sections. 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.