As for hints, I can’t say much because literally everything is a spoiler, but I will say I had as much fun writing the first ⅓ of the book as I had writing the last ⅓ of The Lady or the Lion, and there was a moment in the sequel where I felt even I was being too cruel to some of my characters. Durkhanai drinks her chai very strong and very sweet and very spiced. Zahra, on the other hand, drinks her chai very mild: sugared and milky and comforting. And Durkhanai drinks her while its scalding, while Zahra waits for it to get a little lukewarm. No,’ said the Sun, ‘I have not seen one; but I will give you a little casket. Open it when you are in dire need.’ what i loved the most: the writing. such beautiful prose and delicately handled phrasing that made me smile in pure appreciation. oh how i wish people talked like that in real life. the romantics of life through the pretty words the author managed to weave together to craft the storytelling of this book was just incredibly admirable. i enjoyed it a lot. I just dont know which one was real and which one was fake. why did it say the end and then a different ending doesn't the end mean thats the one that happened.

Oh, what a fun question! I cannot even think of my characters interacting haha because they’re so different! But actually, at their cores, they are both emotional girls, so maybe they aren’t so dissimilar… Well, I enjoyed this one. The Lady or the Lion by Aamna Qureshi is a Pakistani inspired young adult fantasy (though I believe that the magical element is nonexistent unless we are counting the beautiful mountains and luscious prose).Man cannot help me,’ she thought. So she climbed up to the Sun and said to it, ‘You shine upon all the valleys and mountain peaks, have you not seen a White Dove flying by?’ The Lady or the Lion was a fantastic and refreshing read. This is a debut people shouldn't miss out on. The writing in this book is immaculate. This book’s prose is lyricism at its finest. I will say that some metaphors felt a little too exaggerated or out of place, but for the most part they brought out so much emotion. Whether it was the descriptions of the gorgeous palace in the mountains, the inner struggles of our main characters, or just a conversation between cousins, Aamna Qureshi’s debut writing was so fun to read. The Lady or the Lion is one of the books I wanted to read this month, and since I already had the e-ARC for its sequel, I thought Why not try it? Little did I know I was going to be swooning and crying over the book. It all happened in three days; there was no internet for a good while so I binged the duology and have absolutely no regrets! ✌️ reading this book made me realize how proud i am of my culture, of my heritage, my ethnicity. the language our characters sometimes use just made me scream because urdu and hindi are so similar and i understood every single thing what our mc durkhaina spoke with her dhadi or someone else. the descriptions - from food items like samosas to the clothing used like kurtas and lehengas - perfect.

After reading this story, it is my opinion, based on the text quote below that the young man chose the door with the Lady behind it. Here is why. The Princess can't bear to see the young man die at her instruction.

Advance Praise

The eldest wanted pearls, the second diamonds, but the third said, ‘Dear father, I should like a singing, soaring lark.’

Once there was a princess forced to choose a fate for her lover – to a future in the arms of a beautiful lady, or to death in the mouth of a lion? But what came first was the fate she would choose for herself.

Discussion

When the second daughter married, and the youngest was again invited to the wedding, she said to the Lion, ‘This time I will not go alone, you must come too.’ There was great rejoicing on her coming, for they all thought that she had been torn to pieces and had long been dead. Speaking of a favourite part, what were your favourite elements you have incorporated intoThe Lady or the Lion?Do you have a list of tropes that you love to see in books? Finally, that ending - with the buildup that Qureshi was hinting at, to then have that be subverted for a detour that served little more than a fake out to then wrap up with two endings that the reader chooses. The two endings aren't the issue, but rather much like the earlier complaint of the pacing, the endings also came up as abrupt and shifted the overall impact on how the story for these characters could have played out.

This is a retelling of the short story “The Lady or the Tiger?” in a Pakistan-inspired historical setting. Durkhanai is the crown princess and will do anything for her people, even when an ambassador, Asfandyar, comes through and steals her heart. Soon, she has a lot on her plate, including the mysterious illness sweeping through her kingdom and her off-limits love.

Durkhanai’s character development was my fav to read of all. I love seeing her journey of turning into a responsible yet caring queen for her people from a little spoilt princess we saw in the first book, who did whatever was told for her to do. It was truly astonishin g. I am so proud of her. She deserves everything! Every happiness and love in the world! Also Asfandyar my poor baby he went through so many things *cries* he truly deserves everything he deserves the happy life with durkhanai and the newly found family he has with saifulla, zamina, rashid and gulaila apart from shirin. All of the characters were written in their own beautiful way. We see every character’s development throughout the duology and it was so touching! Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide.