This is a helluva novel to wake up to the new year with.  The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai is an absolutely gripping fantasy novel set in an alternate Egypt with a feminist agenda front and centre. Nehal and Giorgina are in different social classes but both feel the oppressive weight of a society where a woman does not have the vote, where she is the possession of her father and can be sold into marriage.  Add in the magic for this world where elements can be controlled by weavers. Water, earth, air and fire can all be controlled by adepts with talented weaver specialising further.  Prior to the…