Bradley P. Beaulieu - Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings -- cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule.
Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first.

Comment: In 2015 I've added this book to my TBR. It has been languishing there all this time and now that I have finally decided to give it a try, I find out I'm not in the mood nor did I feel interested after all...

In this fantasy world, the city of Sharakhai is being governed by twelve kings who are known for their cruelty and personal army of "maiden blades". The heroine Ceda, a young woman whose identity of a talented fighter is still a mystery, wants to get revenge on the kings for it's because of them that her mother is dead. Things don't seem to be likely for her to succeed in defeating the kings but one day, something happens that opens up the possibility, but will Ceda be ready to act? Or will the road be too difficult and the price to pay until then to high for her?

Looking back, I have no recollection of why I've added this to my list, but it probably had something to do with the idea of a heroine defeating powerful men and finding friends and love on the way. I mean, I don't read much fantasy nowadays for the sake of it, I know most my reads in the genre now have to include some kind of romantic sub plot, but if there was another reason, another element that caught my eye in 2015 which I can't remember now, who knows.

I confess I didn't start with much eagerness but sometimes this happens to me when it comes to books in other genres I like more, so I had hopes that as I went along, I might find reasons to keep my interest but that didn't happen. I'm also ashamed to say I have only lasted for 70 pages before telling myself that I didn't want to read more. The setting and the overall environment around Sharakhai seemed incredible and I would have read more for that alone, but the characters didn't convince me.

Ceda seemed to be a very competent heroine but in the short 70 pages I've read - I understand the unfairness of this poor average, if the book has, like, 500 or something - she did a few things i think were ridiculous, and a few which seemed pointless. I can only imagine that the point is for her to learn, to "grow up" or become more mature as life and her goals drive her, but I kept thinking I didn't want to wait to find out. This short amount of pages didn't grab me, so... dnf it is.

After making my decision, as I always do after finishing a book (or not, as happened here), I've glimpsed at other readers' comments and some reviews to have a better understanding of the book's content and plot. I think that reading these other ideas is enough to give me a sense of closure of this book and I feel happy enough to simply have that knowledge. Therefore, sadly, this is for me. As always, other readers had a completely different experience and loved it. It is what it is.

Grade: DNF