Blog Tour: Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan

Hello friends!!

Today I am so excited to share with you my review of Nura and the Immortal Palace. This wonderful middle-grade fantasy just spoke to my heart and I was in love with it within the first couple of pages. Thank you so much to TBR & Beyond Tours for having me on the book tour!

*Disclaimer: This review is based on an advanced copy of the book. Some things may differ in the final version.

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SYNOPSIS

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Aru Shah and the End of Time meets Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away in this mesmerizing portal fantasy that takes readers into the little-known world of Jinn.

Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things—to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees in her pocket Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever.

Her plan backfires when the mines collapse and four kids, including her best friend, Faisal, are claimed dead. Nura refuses to believe it and shovels her way through the dirt hoping to find him. Instead, she finds herself at the entrance to a strange world of purple skies and pink seas—a portal to the opulent realm of jinn, inhabited by the trickster creatures from her mother’s cautionary tales. Yet they aren’t nearly as treacherous as her mother made them out to be, because Nura is invited to a luxury jinn hotel, where she’s given everything she could ever imagine and more.

But there’s a dark truth lurking beneath all that glitter and gold, and when Nura crosses the owner’s son and is banished to the working quarters, she realizes she isn’t the only human who’s ended up in the hotel’s clutches. Faisal and the other missing children are there, too, and if Nura can’t find a way to help them all escape, they’ll be bound to work for the hotel forever.

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DETAILS

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Title: Nura and the Immortal Palace
Author: M.T. Khan
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Release Date: July 5, 2022

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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M.T. Khan is a speculative fiction author with a penchant for all things myth, science, and philosophy. She focuses on stories that combine all three, dreaming of evocative worlds and dark possibilities.

When she’s not writing, M.T. Khan has her nose deep in physics textbooks or glued to her CADcomputer as she majors in Mechanical Engineering. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, she currently resides in Toronto, Canada, with a hyperactive cat and an ever-increasing selection of tea. Her forthcoming debut, NURA AND THE IMMORTAL PALACE hits shelves on July 5th 2022 from Little, Brown.

Author links
Website: https://www.mtkhan.com/
Goodreads: M.T. Khan
Instagram: maeedakhan
Twitter: maeedakhan
Tiktok: @maeedakhan

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REVIEW

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my rating: 5⭐

I am so glad that I got the chance to read Nura and the Immortal Palace. This book spoke to my desi heart with its gorgeous world building, beautiful prose and wonderful main characters. This is the type of book that I would have loved when I was in middle and high school; and I love it a lot as a 21 year old. I am so glad this book exists now. And I completed get the Spirited Away comparison; it did remind me a lot of the movie. Honestly, I would sell my soul to see an animated adaptation of Nura. It would be beautiful.

A major reason why I really enjoyed this book was M.T. Khan’s beautiful writing. I don’t know if I have enough words to describe it, but her prose is delightfully enchanting. She describes things so well that you are able to view them in front of your eyes like you are watching a movie. Khan’s writing makes you feel so much and that’s really the best part about reading Nura. 

Nura, our main character, is a young girl who works in mica mines to provide for her family. She is kind, determined and has a good heart through and through. You can’t help but root for her right from the start. As someone who is also an elder sister, her protectiveness and concern for her family felt so relatable. 

I love how Khan wove in serious topics of child labour and exploitation while taking us on a magical adventure. This book showcases extremely fell how young children are exploited and manipulated by adults and how the rich are constantly working against the poor. These topics are written about in such a way that it doesn’t get too heavy but it also just strikes at your heart.

Oh, and if you are a lover of Gulab Jamuns, you’re gonna want a whole box of them after you’re done reading this book. 

All in all, Nura and the Immortal Palace is a stunning middle grade fantasy that takes you on a fantastical adventure, while weaving in some important, real-world issues with the story.

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