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Book: “Aicha” by Soraya Bouazzaoui
Publishing Info: Orbit, March 2026
Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: 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.
Review: I’ve gone on rants about this before, but simplistic writing is by no means synonymous with “YA.” However, the reality is that, for whatever reason, books published as young adult are more prone to watered-down writing. Whether this is due to the publisher pushing an author in this direction or some combination of both the publisher and the author not trusting their audience, the stereotype here is based on at least something. All of this is to say, had this book not included a random-feeling spicy scene, it reads like an example of one of those YA books that is lacking in the writing department.
Not only was the writing fairly bland, but the book heavily relied on telling the readers everything: how the characters felt, how a scene should be interpreted, how the reader should feel about everything that is going on. This wasn’t helped by the slow pacing and the lack of any real tension. For a book about a rebellion and a siege on the horizon, I felt incredibly removed from what was going on on the page and struggled to retain even the barest hint of interest in what was going to happen next. Again, why would I need to invest much in all of this when the author would surely lay it all out for me explicitly shortly thereafter?
None of this was helped by the main character, a woman who, again, read as very immature, both in her actual decision-making and then later in her inability to take responsibility for the poor outcomes of her own choices. The magic system, such as it was, came into play with her powers. These only came into play late in the book and were more confusing than anything by the time they arrived.
I’m also convinced that somewhere in the process someone, be it publisher or agent, told the author that she had to have a smut scene to catch the romantasy gravy train. This scene felt so strange alongside the juvenile writing and shallow characterization, which otherwise would have made it solidly read like a teen book. Beyond that, the romance itself was lackluster, so this scene failed to deliver even there.
Overall, I was very disappointed by this book. This is a debut, so I hate having to write such a negative review for it right out of the gate. But honestly, the writing itself left a lot to be desired. While I think there were some good ideas here, a few solid editorial passes could have helped in a myriad of ways, from tightening up transitions from paragraph to paragraph to reducing the “telling” style of the prose itself. I can’t honestly recommend this book at this time.
Rating 5: A disappointing read. What should have been a tension-filled plot was instead mired in a “telling” style of prose and lackluster characterization.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Aicha” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Debut Poc Authors of 2026 and The Most Beautiful Covers of 2026.
The Library Ladies 