Synopsis:
When I was young, I fell asleep to the song of artillery.
We were told we would win.
But the enemy never got the message.
They came from across the mist with the devil’s magic, stole our land, and enslaved our families.
And then you decided to send me, of all people, into the fire?
To bring back the secrets that would save our nation?
Are you bloody mad?
Review:
Kiana (the book) is one of those books that just surprises you in all the best ways, especially when you go in thinking you’d be reading a certain type of story and then you get something completely different. There is just so many layers unraveled in a story like Kiana, one that takes the delicate hand of a master storyteller.
Kiana (the character) is requisitioned by her nation’s military to uncover some truths about their enemy’s magic source, and after completing her task, she is telling her story to her commander. But we go all the way back with Kiana, to when she was a young girl and her world completely upended, and the journey her life took in the wake of her father’s death, who also happened to be a famed gun maker. From stubborn preteen to precocious teen runaway, to a nun-in-training, to law school, through young love and parenthood, to lawyer, to spy, we get it all.
The best place to start is with Kiana (the character), this story lives and dies with how you feel about her. She is one hell of a protagonist and she is a storyteller herself. And this is where Kiana (the book) hinges, if you don’t gel with her and her storytelling, you won’t enjoy this novel. Kiana (the character) is a whirlwind as we follow her throughout nearly two decades as she grows. And we spend a lot of page time with her doing every day things, especially after the inciting incident of her father’s death. She’s on her own with her sick mother, a fifteen-year-old girl trying to survive, and this is where her story shines. She is headstrong, determined, loyal, caring, just so many different adjectives to describe her, but above all, she is so compelling to follow.
And where Kiana (the book) shines is when Kiana (the character) interacts with those in her orbit. Nima, a priest who is her best friend and forever platonic love who helps raise her daughter, is just such a wonderful character. Ana, her daughter, is a hothead antithesis to Kiana in most ways, but oh so fun to watch mother/daughter in action. Tara, Nima’s street urchin friend with a devil-may-care attitude. Sophie and Ely, important characters in Kiana’s spy era. Cyrus, her first love. Each one of these characters shape Kiana and her story. All are just so great.
My favorite part of Kiana (the book) is the progressive nature of the story. Kiana (the character) being the storyteller she is, makes the book all that more engrossing. Her ability, by Ahmer’s hand, we get this all-encompassing tale that tackles intricate family dynamics, racism, classism, sexism, while also just detailing one girl’s life. And Ahmer’s prose is just so deep, so deft, so precise, we cannot help but feel we are a part of Kiana’s life alongside her. Then to make this even more great, this interview/memoir style story is interspersed with present timeline interlude scenes with Kiana’s commander, some are even troll-worthy because the commander says no one wants to hear that and Kiana just says it’s my story, sod off. I loved these little asides with banter, almost Ahmer trolling readers in the process. These are just great scenes.
But that slow build of Kiana’s life really makes this story pop. It is divided into three books and while books one and two are on the slower side, book three ratchets up the military spy story and book three can never work without books one and two. It just wouldn’t work as a story. Everything has a point. Hints and reveals are dropped in early in Kiana’s (the character) retelling, and only come out later in the story as important bits, so you need to sleuth along as you read. And in the climax, a major twist happens in terms of the magic system and you look back and realize it was all there earlier on and you might have missed it. Intricate stuff, that.
I haven’t even touched on the cool world this book inhabits. It is World War I era inspired, ie the guns, the tech, the early cars, etc. but there is also magic in the form of these items called solarite. This is a war-torn land as Kiana’s nation is at a never-ending war with the magic side. The war looms large in the background at all times and Kiana’s father’s work as a famed gunsmith is deeply woven throughout. then throw in the cool magic system where robots/speakers/telephones can be imbued with solarite, really cool stuff. I also really liked that this world is inherently Middle Eastern-inspired, down to the culture and food and name choices. And then there is a very African-coded group of people, so Ahmer institutes internalized racism/slavery biases, which while uncomfortable at times, really makes this world feel incredibly vast and lived-in. All of this is reflected in Kiana’s arc and I just loved everything about this world.
To be sure, this book is really long, it’s also a standalone, so it needs to be long. The pace is not quick either, we get a lot of slice of life moments in Kiana’s life, so be prepared for those, but again, it all comes together. There is enough action and war scenes to keep us present with the impending climax. There is just a nice steadiness to this story that a lot of authors are afraid to use. There is an interesting change that happens when the third book starts, I won’t spoil it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the twist and I’m glad Ahmer put it in there. The ending was really great and I liked how everything came together after such a journey.
Kiana is just an experience, one I think a lot of people will enjoy. So buckle up, friends, and listen to Kiana’s life, you won’t want to miss it!
Kiana releases on September 29th, 2026
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review
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