What do you think?
Rate this book
A Million to One
Adiba Jaigirdar, author of one of Time's Best YA books of all time, gives Titanic an Ocean's 8 makeover in this nail-biting heist set onboard the infamous ship.
Josefa is an unapologetic and charismatic thief, who loves the thrill of the chase. She has her eye on her biggest mark yet--the RMS Titanic, the most luxurious ship in the world. But she isn't interested in stealing from wealthy first-class passengers onboard. No, she's out for the ultimate prize: the Rubiyat, a one of a kind book encrusted with gems that's worth millions.
Josefa can't score it alone, so she enlists a team of girls with unique talents: Hinnah, a daring acrobat and contortionist; Violet, an actress and expert dissembler; and Emilie, an artist who can replicate any drawing by hand.
They couldn't be more different and yet they have one very important thing in common: their lives depend on breaking into the vault and capturing the Rubiyat. But careless mistakes, old grudges, and new romance threaten to jeopardize everything they've worked for and put them in incredible danger when tragedy strikes.
While the odds of pulling off the heist are slim, the odds of survival are even slimmer...
Perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper and Girl in the Blue Coat, this high-seas heist from the author of The Henna Wars is an immersive story that makes readers forget one important detail--the ship sinks.
Josefa is an unapologetic and charismatic thief, who loves the thrill of the chase. She has her eye on her biggest mark yet--the RMS Titanic, the most luxurious ship in the world. But she isn't interested in stealing from wealthy first-class passengers onboard. No, she's out for the ultimate prize: the Rubiyat, a one of a kind book encrusted with gems that's worth millions.
Josefa can't score it alone, so she enlists a team of girls with unique talents: Hinnah, a daring acrobat and contortionist; Violet, an actress and expert dissembler; and Emilie, an artist who can replicate any drawing by hand.
They couldn't be more different and yet they have one very important thing in common: their lives depend on breaking into the vault and capturing the Rubiyat. But careless mistakes, old grudges, and new romance threaten to jeopardize everything they've worked for and put them in incredible danger when tragedy strikes.
While the odds of pulling off the heist are slim, the odds of survival are even slimmer...
Perfect for fans of Stalking Jack the Ripper and Girl in the Blue Coat, this high-seas heist from the author of The Henna Wars is an immersive story that makes readers forget one important detail--the ship sinks.
Audiobook
First published December 13, 2022
228 people are currently reading
22241 people want to read
About the author
Adiba Jaigirdar
19 books3,418 followersAdiba Jaigirdar was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and has been living in Dublin, Ireland from the age of ten. She has a BA in English and History, and an MA in Postcolonial Studies. She is a contributor for Bookriot. All of her writing is aided by tea, and a healthy dose of Janelle Monáe and Hayley Kiyoko. When not writing, she can be found ranting about the ills of colonialism, playing video games, and expanding her overflowing lipstick collection.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,209 reviews
Read
June 7, 2022
June 17th 2022
Now that ARCs of this book are making it out into the world, I just wanted to share that all the content warnings are up on my website. They should also be at the beginning of the ARCs themselves and the beginning of the final copies of the book. While this is a fun heist novel, it's obviously based around a historic tragedy. Some of the themes here are heavier than my other books, so proceed with care. And I hope you all enjoy reading this one!
-------
The rumours are true: this is a sapphic heist novel set on the Titanic! More information - including a beautiful cover - is coming very soon!
Keep an eye on my website/Twitter etc. for more info.
Now that ARCs of this book are making it out into the world, I just wanted to share that all the content warnings are up on my website. They should also be at the beginning of the ARCs themselves and the beginning of the final copies of the book. While this is a fun heist novel, it's obviously based around a historic tragedy. Some of the themes here are heavier than my other books, so proceed with care. And I hope you all enjoy reading this one!
-------
The rumours are true: this is a sapphic heist novel set on the Titanic! More information - including a beautiful cover - is coming very soon!
Keep an eye on my website/Twitter etc. for more info.
Want to read
June 8, 2022Mfw the sapphic heist book set on the Titanic includes a content warning for death via drowning:
January 20, 2023
oof, I feel bad about this one
I need you all to know that I wanted to love this book: a BIPOC, sapphic, heist novel based on the tragedy of the Titanic??? The concept is good, thrilling, and full of so much intrigue. You can't possibly make that boring and unmemorable. Right? Right??
Here are the cliff notes of how this book goes. Josefa, a gifted thief and runaway noble lady, wants revenge on an old crime partner, August Fraizer, who betrayed her when she didn't return his romantic feelings. She knows he's boarding the Titanic for a con so she assembles a team of three other seventeen-year-old girls under the guise of stealing a famous Persian poetry book called the Rubaiyat, which is encrusted in jewels they plan to pawn off to make a fortune in New York.
Here's the team:
1. Violet - a Croatian immigrant in Ireland who is trying to put together finances to reunite with her brother Marko.
2. Hinnah - a Karachi native who joined the circus after being kicked out of her family.
3. Emilie - a Haitian girl who grew up in France and desperately wants to meet the Haitian side of her family.
Now before you get too excited about this heist team, let me be the first to tell you that the execution was beyond disappointing. One of the hallmarks of a good heist story is the ASSEMBLING: the growing excitement of going to each character, presenting the heist opportunity, recruiting them, then following the group dynamics as each person learns to work together. Jaigirdar kills all that delicious tension by rushing the recruiting process and making each girl come to an agreement after like three seconds of indecision.
Every girl other than Emilie also already knew each other and those pre-existing connections lessened the emotional buy-in we had for their relationships, both platonic and romantic. I was baffled when Josefa referred to the girls as "friends" like 22% into the book because up until that point she'd only known Violet reasonably well since they were roommates at the boarding house, while Hinnah was treated as some obedient lackey. Emilie was the outlier within this quartet but Josefa trusted her for her art talent (and very obviously implied feelings). The group was definitely not to any level of friendship status at that point in the novel, and I would even comfortably say they never made it past good acquaintances by the end. Or maybe they did, I stopped caring by then lol.
Good time to share that Josefa was not a compelling heist leader. Her background and motivation just didn't give me the stakes to get invested in her revenge scheme. All the calculation and skill that you would expect from her description never really came to play. I honestly found her unsympathetic. She ran away from boarding school because she wanted freedom and whatever, but then turned around and started stealing from the very social class she originally hailed from. Idk I'm not in the business of feeling bad for rich people who think a comfortably wealthy life is boring.
THE DIVERSITY
I guess a positive of this book is that it reads fast, but in the process, everything blurs together and we just never really get to sit in each girl's head or learn their motivations beyond the money they hope to earn from this heist. I also have to be honest, Jaigirdar does not meaningfully engage with any of the diversity her characters are supposed to bring. It's a shame! Historical fiction doesn't have enough of a lens on the experiences of BIPOC people but the rep we found in this book was painfully lackluster.
The Hinnah Issue
This here is an example where Jaigirdar could have given us so much more detail and cultural context. South Asian food comes with so much nuanced variety across each individual country alone (Pakistani food is diff from Bengali food which is diff from Indian food, etc); for someone to come from a region with a very unique flavor profile and cuisine, Hinnah could have elaborated more about the stark difference between Irish food and what she's used to. Nihari, Chicken Tikka, Paya...I just did a quick Google search and learned more about Karachi in those 30 seconds than I did in 368 pages of this book. The author literally did not try!
And I'm not saying all this to harp on the lack of food descriptions, every character's background was so vague and rushed that you might as well substitute and swap out the races/ethnicities, it wouldn't have made a difference. There were three immigrant characters and none of them ever gave us a sense of what it was like to be nonwhite in a majority-white country, or even what it was like to be an immigrant in Ireland. In the age of colonialism and revolution I doubt it was all kumbaya.
I understand that there was a theme of parental neglect/death that each girl experienced but I gotta be honest, it was handled poorly. My biggest gripe was how Hinnah's family fed into the same old narrative of oppressive, neglectful, backward brown parents. Given Jaigirdar's background, I had hoped for more nuance in how she presented her South Asian characters but the whole reason Hinnah gets kicked out of her family was that she was too...curvy?? at age 12?? and they didn't like that she was so promiscuous and then she got caught with a boy???
It's such an implausible origin story that her Pakistani parents saw their 12-year-old daughter with a boy in her room and decided to throw her out. Moreover, say that this extreme story is something that happens, alright, why? Jaigirdar never does the work to explain the possible cultural/religious contexts for why any of this happened. Honestly, I'm glad she didn't delve into the religious background because I am sure she would've butchered the idea of gender separation that exists in Islamic spaces (to be clear: Islam does not advise you to kick out your child if you see them with someone of the opposite gender lmaooo. There's a thing in this religion called /compassion/ and /justice/ much as people constantly try to misconstrue its ideals). Even from the perspective of culture, South Asians place a huge value on community and family, idk, I'm gonna leave this one for the Pakistanis to speak on but I found the portrayal very uncomfortable.
I can see what Jaigirdar was trying to do here...maybe talking about how Hinnah felt like her body/style was always being policied, but that above sentence leads a lot up to interpretation. She doesn't add why her mother enforced a more modest style. Were there cultural ties? Religious reasons? I sympathize with Hinnah on never feeling like she was enough or could be accepted for who she was, but if we don't get any insight into WHY her parents acted the way they did, the readers are left with the same old "my brown parents are oppressive" shit that the Western world loves to eat up and use as justification on why no woman would ever want to voluntarily choose modesty.
Like I don't need Hinnah to be a champion of modest fashion, but I don't get what argument was supposed to be here. If Hinnah explained that she wanted to own her style, show skin, etc. because that was her choice of expression, that's all valid. But since Hinnah exists in Karachi, 1909, what would those ideals mean? Modest fashion was the global trend for all women during that time period. What does "conservative" mean when South Asians were actually deemed by Europeans as scandalous/promiscuous for wearing sarees that exposed their bellies? Now that I think about it, brown women were over-sexualized by white people in the most heinous ways so how does colonial slut-shaming differ from the slut-shaming Hinnah endured from her parents??
You have to center that experience according to the setting and it's no surprise that the execution was lackluster given that Jaigirdar didn't even spend three pages giving us any setting description to work with. It's even more frustrating because I never get a sense of Hinnah's relationship with her body; on the cover she doesn't even present as curvy/plus size so??? What was the ultimate point??? I really don't think this plotline was well thought out tbh.
In all, Hinnah was written the way I would expect an Orientalist white author to write a South Asian girl.
The Emilie Issue
In the year of 2022, I need authors to stop this weird narrative where a Rich Black Character is believed to be more privileged than a Poor White Character. (The second time I saw this was in The Ones We Burn when the white witch girl was convinced the Black princess was super privileged because she was royalty. There was a whole controversy about it on Twitter and I don't want to get into it. But I do think it's funny that Jaigirdar joined in on the discourse given the problematic content in her own book lmao).
At least in The Ones We Burn, we're dealing with a fantasy story.
In the year 1909, you expect me to believe that Violet isn't aware of blatant racism? I almost threw my book across the room after reading that passage because it's so unbelievably stupid that Violet would believe that a Black girl in that time period would be privileged because she had finances and a good family. The fact Emilie is Haitian and in 1915, the U.S. actually initiated an invasion and occupation of Haiti feels especially tone deaf.
I will be the first to acknowledge that socioeconomic privilege plays a big role in how you navigate the world - but in a time period where visibly being BIPOC got you horrific treatment and often dangerous backlash - I had no interest in holding Violet's hand and walking her through the epiphany on why her white privilege actually gave her an advantage over every one of her BIPOC heist members.
It's odd because Emilie gives us a few throwaway lines about the discrimination she faces:
And that was it. That's enough racial discourse for today, folks. For the whole book, actually.
This plot point left such a bad taste in my mouth, I genuinely don't know what Jaigirdar hoped to accomplish with this.
THE SETTING AND STORY
I've already alluded to this before but this book has no ambiance. I never got a sense we were in Ireland while the characters were on land, and I can not tell you a single description that transported me to the setting of the Titanic. In terms of scene building and setting, every chapter took place in a white box and focused mostly on the characters having a few bits of conversation (sometimes with awkward dialogue with no markers that would indicate the book took place in 1909):
Did not love that.
The main antagonists also failed to leave much of an impression. I never really care about August Fraizer, even when he pulled out a knife lmao. I read that part and thought "Ok." As you can imagine, the eventual iceberg crash did little to phase me. By the point the ship started sinking, I was so disinterested in the book that none of the emotional beats hit me, which is wild. I spent all this time following these four characters and I hardly batted an eye when two of them died.
CONCLUSION
I respect the effort Jaigirdar put into A Million to One, writing a book is never an easy process and there is a lot here that someone else might like. However, for me, the poor world-building, setting descriptions, and borderline racist character portrayals soured my investment in this story.
If you're in the market for a diverse heist novel, I would instead recommend The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi or Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li. Both have their own issues, but if you're interested in character-forward books, they were done with the level of storytelling I hoped to find in A Million to One
I need you all to know that I wanted to love this book: a BIPOC, sapphic, heist novel based on the tragedy of the Titanic??? The concept is good, thrilling, and full of so much intrigue. You can't possibly make that boring and unmemorable. Right? Right??
Here are the cliff notes of how this book goes. Josefa, a gifted thief and runaway noble lady, wants revenge on an old crime partner, August Fraizer, who betrayed her when she didn't return his romantic feelings. She knows he's boarding the Titanic for a con so she assembles a team of three other seventeen-year-old girls under the guise of stealing a famous Persian poetry book called the Rubaiyat, which is encrusted in jewels they plan to pawn off to make a fortune in New York.
Here's the team:
1. Violet - a Croatian immigrant in Ireland who is trying to put together finances to reunite with her brother Marko.
Talent: acting, lying, being the distraction
2. Hinnah - a Karachi native who joined the circus after being kicked out of her family.
Talent: contorting her body and tightrope walking
3. Emilie - a Haitian girl who grew up in France and desperately wants to meet the Haitian side of her family.
Talent: artistry that is used for forgeries
Now before you get too excited about this heist team, let me be the first to tell you that the execution was beyond disappointing. One of the hallmarks of a good heist story is the ASSEMBLING: the growing excitement of going to each character, presenting the heist opportunity, recruiting them, then following the group dynamics as each person learns to work together. Jaigirdar kills all that delicious tension by rushing the recruiting process and making each girl come to an agreement after like three seconds of indecision.
"Emilie could tell the others were on board when Josefa had pulled the three of them into her bedroom. Before she had even unveiled her plans. All the questions they asked seemed like a formality more than anything else."
Every girl other than Emilie also already knew each other and those pre-existing connections lessened the emotional buy-in we had for their relationships, both platonic and romantic. I was baffled when Josefa referred to the girls as "friends" like 22% into the book because up until that point she'd only known Violet reasonably well since they were roommates at the boarding house, while Hinnah was treated as some obedient lackey. Emilie was the outlier within this quartet but Josefa trusted her for her art talent (and very obviously implied feelings). The group was definitely not to any level of friendship status at that point in the novel, and I would even comfortably say they never made it past good acquaintances by the end. Or maybe they did, I stopped caring by then lol.
"It's why she'd made boarding the Titanic her top prioirity. Not because of the Rubaiyat. Not because of her friends. but because of him, and how he had wronged her all those years ago."
Good time to share that Josefa was not a compelling heist leader. Her background and motivation just didn't give me the stakes to get invested in her revenge scheme. All the calculation and skill that you would expect from her description never really came to play. I honestly found her unsympathetic. She ran away from boarding school because she wanted freedom and whatever, but then turned around and started stealing from the very social class she originally hailed from. Idk I'm not in the business of feeling bad for rich people who think a comfortably wealthy life is boring.
THE DIVERSITY
I guess a positive of this book is that it reads fast, but in the process, everything blurs together and we just never really get to sit in each girl's head or learn their motivations beyond the money they hope to earn from this heist. I also have to be honest, Jaigirdar does not meaningfully engage with any of the diversity her characters are supposed to bring. It's a shame! Historical fiction doesn't have enough of a lens on the experiences of BIPOC people but the rep we found in this book was painfully lackluster.
The Hinnah Issue
"India isn't so different, you know," Hinnah said finally. "But I guess I miss...my ammi's cooking. She made really good food, but...you can't really find the right ingredients in Ireland."
This here is an example where Jaigirdar could have given us so much more detail and cultural context. South Asian food comes with so much nuanced variety across each individual country alone (Pakistani food is diff from Bengali food which is diff from Indian food, etc); for someone to come from a region with a very unique flavor profile and cuisine, Hinnah could have elaborated more about the stark difference between Irish food and what she's used to. Nihari, Chicken Tikka, Paya...I just did a quick Google search and learned more about Karachi in those 30 seconds than I did in 368 pages of this book. The author literally did not try!
And I'm not saying all this to harp on the lack of food descriptions, every character's background was so vague and rushed that you might as well substitute and swap out the races/ethnicities, it wouldn't have made a difference. There were three immigrant characters and none of them ever gave us a sense of what it was like to be nonwhite in a majority-white country, or even what it was like to be an immigrant in Ireland. In the age of colonialism and revolution I doubt it was all kumbaya.
I understand that there was a theme of parental neglect/death that each girl experienced but I gotta be honest, it was handled poorly. My biggest gripe was how Hinnah's family fed into the same old narrative of oppressive, neglectful, backward brown parents. Given Jaigirdar's background, I had hoped for more nuance in how she presented her South Asian characters but the whole reason Hinnah gets kicked out of her family was that she was too...curvy?? at age 12?? and they didn't like that she was so promiscuous and then she got caught with a boy???
A boy named Reza she'd played with since she was a little kid. When they were children, it was okay for them to be friends. But the older Hinnah grew, the more her body developed, the less "proper" it was for Hinnah to spend time with Reza."
[...]
"My parents always wanted me to be someone else. They didn't like that I had grown up so fast, that I looked sixteen when I was still only twelve. I couldn't have ever changed any of that."
It's such an implausible origin story that her Pakistani parents saw their 12-year-old daughter with a boy in her room and decided to throw her out. Moreover, say that this extreme story is something that happens, alright, why? Jaigirdar never does the work to explain the possible cultural/religious contexts for why any of this happened. Honestly, I'm glad she didn't delve into the religious background because I am sure she would've butchered the idea of gender separation that exists in Islamic spaces (to be clear: Islam does not advise you to kick out your child if you see them with someone of the opposite gender lmaooo. There's a thing in this religion called /compassion/ and /justice/ much as people constantly try to misconstrue its ideals). Even from the perspective of culture, South Asians place a huge value on community and family, idk, I'm gonna leave this one for the Pakistanis to speak on but I found the portrayal very uncomfortable.
"My mother liked these kinds of things too, but...she never helped me pick out nice dresses. She only ever wanted to cover me up; that was the most important thing a piece of clothing could do for me. I would have loved to go shopping with a mother like yours, Josefa."
I can see what Jaigirdar was trying to do here...maybe talking about how Hinnah felt like her body/style was always being policied, but that above sentence leads a lot up to interpretation. She doesn't add why her mother enforced a more modest style. Were there cultural ties? Religious reasons? I sympathize with Hinnah on never feeling like she was enough or could be accepted for who she was, but if we don't get any insight into WHY her parents acted the way they did, the readers are left with the same old "my brown parents are oppressive" shit that the Western world loves to eat up and use as justification on why no woman would ever want to voluntarily choose modesty.
Like I don't need Hinnah to be a champion of modest fashion, but I don't get what argument was supposed to be here. If Hinnah explained that she wanted to own her style, show skin, etc. because that was her choice of expression, that's all valid. But since Hinnah exists in Karachi, 1909, what would those ideals mean? Modest fashion was the global trend for all women during that time period. What does "conservative" mean when South Asians were actually deemed by Europeans as scandalous/promiscuous for wearing sarees that exposed their bellies? Now that I think about it, brown women were over-sexualized by white people in the most heinous ways so how does colonial slut-shaming differ from the slut-shaming Hinnah endured from her parents??
You have to center that experience according to the setting and it's no surprise that the execution was lackluster given that Jaigirdar didn't even spend three pages giving us any setting description to work with. It's even more frustrating because I never get a sense of Hinnah's relationship with her body; on the cover she doesn't even present as curvy/plus size so??? What was the ultimate point??? I really don't think this plotline was well thought out tbh.
In all, Hinnah was written the way I would expect an Orientalist white author to write a South Asian girl.
The Emilie Issue
In the year of 2022, I need authors to stop this weird narrative where a Rich Black Character is believed to be more privileged than a Poor White Character. (The second time I saw this was in The Ones We Burn when the white witch girl was convinced the Black princess was super privileged because she was royalty. There was a whole controversy about it on Twitter and I don't want to get into it. But I do think it's funny that Jaigirdar joined in on the discourse given the problematic content in her own book lmao).
"Unlike the rest of them, Emilie had all the privilege in the world, and that privilege was more than just wealth. She had grown up in a family that cared for and provided for her. She had never been left to fend for herself, unlike the rest of them. [...] But to Emilie, it simply meant traveling the world and indulging in her own whims."
At least in The Ones We Burn, we're dealing with a fantasy story.
In the year 1909, you expect me to believe that Violet isn't aware of blatant racism? I almost threw my book across the room after reading that passage because it's so unbelievably stupid that Violet would believe that a Black girl in that time period would be privileged because she had finances and a good family. The fact Emilie is Haitian and in 1915, the U.S. actually initiated an invasion and occupation of Haiti feels especially tone deaf.
I will be the first to acknowledge that socioeconomic privilege plays a big role in how you navigate the world - but in a time period where visibly being BIPOC got you horrific treatment and often dangerous backlash - I had no interest in holding Violet's hand and walking her through the epiphany on why her white privilege actually gave her an advantage over every one of her BIPOC heist members.
It's odd because Emilie gives us a few throwaway lines about the discrimination she faces:
"She had gotten a taste of the world. One where no boardinghouse wanted a Black girl like her."
[...]
"Jack interrupted Emilie by turning his sharp gaze on her, a frown plastered to his face."
And that was it. That's enough racial discourse for today, folks. For the whole book, actually.
This plot point left such a bad taste in my mouth, I genuinely don't know what Jaigirdar hoped to accomplish with this.
THE SETTING AND STORY
I've already alluded to this before but this book has no ambiance. I never got a sense we were in Ireland while the characters were on land, and I can not tell you a single description that transported me to the setting of the Titanic. In terms of scene building and setting, every chapter took place in a white box and focused mostly on the characters having a few bits of conversation (sometimes with awkward dialogue with no markers that would indicate the book took place in 1909):
Violet heaved a bored sigh. "Matron Wallis," she said. "Do you know who I am?"
"I have a feeling you're about to tell me."
Did not love that.
The main antagonists also failed to leave much of an impression. I never really care about August Fraizer, even when he pulled out a knife lmao. I read that part and thought "Ok." As you can imagine, the eventual iceberg crash did little to phase me. By the point the ship started sinking, I was so disinterested in the book that none of the emotional beats hit me, which is wild. I spent all this time following these four characters and I hardly batted an eye when two of them died.
CONCLUSION
I respect the effort Jaigirdar put into A Million to One, writing a book is never an easy process and there is a lot here that someone else might like. However, for me, the poor world-building, setting descriptions, and borderline racist character portrayals soured my investment in this story.
If you're in the market for a diverse heist novel, I would instead recommend The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi or Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li. Both have their own issues, but if you're interested in character-forward books, they were done with the level of storytelling I hoped to find in A Million to One
November 23, 2022
"Make the most of what we yet may spend, before we too into the Dust descend."
-A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread-and Thou
Content Warnings (per the title page of the ARC): This book contains mentions of parental neglect, parental abandonment, parental death, and abuse. It also contains instances of death (specifically death by drowning).
A Million to One was flying completely under my radar until a few weeks ago, when I stumbled across a post on Instagram including upcoming YA publications, and I'm so glad I saw it when I did. As a card carrying member of the Mood Readers Bookclub of America™, I'm always looking for ways to shed my current TBR and pick up an entirely new book that I have no business reading at the time, and this one did the trick. After immediately heading to NetGalley to request the book, I found myself devouring the first pages about an hour later, and was hooked from the very beginning.
One thing to point out is that, while this is billed as YA and the characters certainly fit that demographic, the book as a whole does feel a bit more MG when compared to what's being published today. This isn't a criticism, just a statement that some who are used to upper aged YA books might feel a little disjointed picking this one up. As a fan of MG novels myself, this was no issue, just a bit of a surprise that I adjusted to quickly and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story.
Over the course of the book, we get POVs from our four main characters: Josefa, a pickpocket from Spain, Emilie, a Haitian-French painter, Violet, an actress from Croatia, and Hinnah, an acrobat from 1912 India (currently Pakistan). I used the descriptions for each character off of the author's Instagram page, as I wanted to ensure I portrayed their heritages correctly. This portion of the review is not my original wording, and credit goes to her!) Together, these four create the perfect team for a Titanic heist, become an emotionally satisfying found family, and two of the characters find the sweetest love story along the way.
The plot is two-fold, with the heist taking front and center for the first 75% of the book, and as you may have expected, the final 25% covers the Titanic's demise. I'm assuming the heavy and sad feel of the ending is what earned this a spot in the YA genre vs. MG, which is understandable, but the subject matter is handled so well, and I found myself researching many of the people and artifacts mentioned in the book, so I was able to learn a few new things along the way! If you're looking for a historical heist full of heart and courage, while also including timely discussions involving race, colonization, gender, etc, please give this one a try. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time, and cannot wait to check out the author's previous work as well.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
-A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread-and Thou
Content Warnings (per the title page of the ARC): This book contains mentions of parental neglect, parental abandonment, parental death, and abuse. It also contains instances of death (specifically death by drowning).
A Million to One was flying completely under my radar until a few weeks ago, when I stumbled across a post on Instagram including upcoming YA publications, and I'm so glad I saw it when I did. As a card carrying member of the Mood Readers Bookclub of America™, I'm always looking for ways to shed my current TBR and pick up an entirely new book that I have no business reading at the time, and this one did the trick. After immediately heading to NetGalley to request the book, I found myself devouring the first pages about an hour later, and was hooked from the very beginning.
One thing to point out is that, while this is billed as YA and the characters certainly fit that demographic, the book as a whole does feel a bit more MG when compared to what's being published today. This isn't a criticism, just a statement that some who are used to upper aged YA books might feel a little disjointed picking this one up. As a fan of MG novels myself, this was no issue, just a bit of a surprise that I adjusted to quickly and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story.
Over the course of the book, we get POVs from our four main characters: Josefa, a pickpocket from Spain, Emilie, a Haitian-French painter, Violet, an actress from Croatia, and Hinnah, an acrobat from 1912 India (currently Pakistan). I used the descriptions for each character off of the author's Instagram page, as I wanted to ensure I portrayed their heritages correctly. This portion of the review is not my original wording, and credit goes to her!) Together, these four create the perfect team for a Titanic heist, become an emotionally satisfying found family, and two of the characters find the sweetest love story along the way.
The plot is two-fold, with the heist taking front and center for the first 75% of the book, and as you may have expected, the final 25% covers the Titanic's demise. I'm assuming the heavy and sad feel of the ending is what earned this a spot in the YA genre vs. MG, which is understandable, but the subject matter is handled so well, and I found myself researching many of the people and artifacts mentioned in the book, so I was able to learn a few new things along the way! If you're looking for a historical heist full of heart and courage, while also including timely discussions involving race, colonization, gender, etc, please give this one a try. I'll be thinking about this book for a long time, and cannot wait to check out the author's previous work as well.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
December 28, 2022
‘A Million To One’ was one of my most anticipated releases of the year; and while I’m definitely not disappointed, there are certain aspects that inhibited me from truly loving it.
Probably my main gripe I have with this book is how poor the pacing was, mostly when it came to the relationships between characters. Whenever the girls had issues amongst themselves, everything seemed to resolve itself far too quickly and without any real explanation as to why a change of heart occurred, which is always annoying.
The bond the characters formed with each other (namely Violet and Hinnah’s) seemed sooooo rushed as well, yeah they knew each other a little bit beforehand, but it still felt really forced to me. I know that developed friendships are hard to achieve in a story that plays out in less than a week, but it still felt pretty unrealistic how quickly the group dynamics progressed. The only duo exempt from this to me was Josefa and Violet; they were such a powerful pairing, and I loved all the scenes they shared!
Yes, this means I had an issue with the romance too, I know I’m insufferable. It’s not that I didn’t LIKE Josefa and Emilie together (I thought they were cute), but I almost wish they would have been an established couple when the book started since it would leave more room to develop the friendships within the group. What with the heist, each character’s back story and motivations, the connections between them, the fact that they’re on the Titanic which will sink, AND a romance, all in just barely 300 pages… it was a little too much in my opinion!
With all that in mind, a huge part of me really did enjoy this! I thought the characters were lovely, the ending was perfectly bittersweet, and it brought back some of my childhood obsession with the Titanic (nostalgia is always a bonus, we know this), so I really can’t give it anything less than a 3 star. Excited to read more books from Jaigirdar and I think branching out of her typical YA romance was a risk done well!
Probably my main gripe I have with this book is how poor the pacing was, mostly when it came to the relationships between characters. Whenever the girls had issues amongst themselves, everything seemed to resolve itself far too quickly and without any real explanation as to why a change of heart occurred, which is always annoying.
The bond the characters formed with each other (namely Violet and Hinnah’s) seemed sooooo rushed as well, yeah they knew each other a little bit beforehand, but it still felt really forced to me. I know that developed friendships are hard to achieve in a story that plays out in less than a week, but it still felt pretty unrealistic how quickly the group dynamics progressed. The only duo exempt from this to me was Josefa and Violet; they were such a powerful pairing, and I loved all the scenes they shared!
Yes, this means I had an issue with the romance too, I know I’m insufferable. It’s not that I didn’t LIKE Josefa and Emilie together (I thought they were cute), but I almost wish they would have been an established couple when the book started since it would leave more room to develop the friendships within the group. What with the heist, each character’s back story and motivations, the connections between them, the fact that they’re on the Titanic which will sink, AND a romance, all in just barely 300 pages… it was a little too much in my opinion!
With all that in mind, a huge part of me really did enjoy this! I thought the characters were lovely, the ending was perfectly bittersweet, and it brought back some of my childhood obsession with the Titanic (nostalgia is always a bonus, we know this), so I really can’t give it anything less than a 3 star. Excited to read more books from Jaigirdar and I think branching out of her typical YA romance was a risk done well!
Want to read
January 10, 2022hello hello HELLO?? SAPPHIC .. HEIST .. ON THE TITANIC?? hand it over pls n thank you (i will get my hands on this by all means necessary)
January 23, 2023
Welp. Let's just say this story sunk for me long before the Titanic hit the iceberg.
There were just so many letdowns. Heist adventures are one of my favorite kinds of stories - for the fast pace, varied gangs of characters with special skills, and the sense of stakes. This...meandered around.
The crew was small, the leader not charismatic or interesting. There were no exciting, action-filled recruitment scenes, and characters needed little convincing to join up. The character Hinnah was like a lukewarm imitation of Inej from Six of Crows, with none of the charisma or mystique.
I never "felt" the Titanic setting, which was incredibly disappointing, besides the obvious disaster at the end. Descriptions and immersion were very lacking, as was the romantic chemistry. So disappointing.
Even the cover was poorly designed - what is that? The font is jarring against detailed character art, and then there's empty space. Why aren't they shown on the Titanic's deck or something? People love a big boat.
As others have noted, the two climactic arcs - the heist and ship going under - happen in quick succession. It's a slow plod until that point; it would have added a lot more intrigue and tension for them to have stolen the item early on and been trying to conceal the act.
Argh, what a letdown. On to my next listen.
There were just so many letdowns. Heist adventures are one of my favorite kinds of stories - for the fast pace, varied gangs of characters with special skills, and the sense of stakes. This...meandered around.
The crew was small, the leader not charismatic or interesting. There were no exciting, action-filled recruitment scenes, and characters needed little convincing to join up. The character Hinnah was like a lukewarm imitation of Inej from Six of Crows, with none of the charisma or mystique.
I never "felt" the Titanic setting, which was incredibly disappointing, besides the obvious disaster at the end. Descriptions and immersion were very lacking, as was the romantic chemistry. So disappointing.
Even the cover was poorly designed - what is that? The font is jarring against detailed character art, and then there's empty space. Why aren't they shown on the Titanic's deck or something? People love a big boat.
As others have noted, the two climactic arcs - the heist and ship going under - happen in quick succession. It's a slow plod until that point; it would have added a lot more intrigue and tension for them to have stolen the item early on and been trying to conceal the act.
Argh, what a letdown. On to my next listen.
December 2, 2022
3.5
This book has pros and cons depending on the kind of reader you are. If you're a character based reader, you're going to love this one! The characters are so three dimensional and have so much depth. They're all very different, unique and lyou really end up loving all of them by the end.
If youre a plot based reader, this one might bore you a bit. The first 3/4 of the book is mostly learning about the characters and seeing them steal small things from other people. Things don't pick up and get really exciting until the last fourth of the book when they finally go through with the heist and the ship inevitably (obviously sinks). I think it would have been more interesting for the characters to pull off the heist sooner in the book and have them trying to keep from getting caught. I think it would have kept the plot moving a little more before the big finale when the boat sinks.
I saw a lot of similarities between A million To One and the movie Titanic. Just tiny things but it was fun to see! I also appreciated that the author added some much needed diversity to the setting!
Also, I did listen to the ARC audiobook of this. The narrator never changed her voice for any of the characters so I got confused sometimes on who was speaking. That said though, it was and ARC so hopefully it won't be like that in the finished product.
Over all I think this was a good book and would highly recommend it if (like me) you're obsessed with the titanic and it's story/history. And or especially if you like character based books. If that's the case, this one is definitely the book for you!
Big thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!
This book has pros and cons depending on the kind of reader you are. If you're a character based reader, you're going to love this one! The characters are so three dimensional and have so much depth. They're all very different, unique and lyou really end up loving all of them by the end.
If youre a plot based reader, this one might bore you a bit. The first 3/4 of the book is mostly learning about the characters and seeing them steal small things from other people. Things don't pick up and get really exciting until the last fourth of the book when they finally go through with the heist and the ship inevitably (obviously sinks). I think it would have been more interesting for the characters to pull off the heist sooner in the book and have them trying to keep from getting caught. I think it would have kept the plot moving a little more before the big finale when the boat sinks.
I saw a lot of similarities between A million To One and the movie Titanic. Just tiny things but it was fun to see! I also appreciated that the author added some much needed diversity to the setting!
Also, I did listen to the ARC audiobook of this. The narrator never changed her voice for any of the characters so I got confused sometimes on who was speaking. That said though, it was and ARC so hopefully it won't be like that in the finished product.
Over all I think this was a good book and would highly recommend it if (like me) you're obsessed with the titanic and it's story/history. And or especially if you like character based books. If that's the case, this one is definitely the book for you!
Big thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!
March 25, 2023
a sapphic heist on the titanic was all i never knew i needed. unfortunately this fell a little too flat for me from the characters up to the writing style.
→ 2.5 stars
→ 2.5 stars
July 19, 2022
This book was so interesting. Everyone has heard of Rose and Jack on the Titanic. But these 4 women trying to pull off a heist on the Titanic made such a great story! Loved these women and how the storyline built up along the way! So gripping near the ending.
I received this book from the publishers and NetGalley to read and review. All statements above are my own opinions after fully reading this book.
I received this book from the publishers and NetGalley to read and review. All statements above are my own opinions after fully reading this book.
March 6, 2023
ocean’s 8 meets the titanic in this adventure that takes place on the titanic as four unlikely women unite in stealing the rubaiyat, a jewel-encrusted book, which is the golden ticket to solving their problems.
whilst a million to one is fun, the story cannot be saved from its pacing or rushed development. within 300 pages we are introduced to four women each with different backstories, reasoning for partaking in the heist and goals. exploring them is never fully committed to, much like the sapphic relationship between two of them that suffers from a lack of build-up. the friendships between the four women who would not have previously come together do not feel believable with where the story takes us - a sacrifice made due to the little room had to delve into them and how they each tick.
- 2.5 stars.
overall, the potential was there on each page but unfortunately was not delivered. if i had one word to describe this it would be fine, which is not what i anticipated.
whilst a million to one is fun, the story cannot be saved from its pacing or rushed development. within 300 pages we are introduced to four women each with different backstories, reasoning for partaking in the heist and goals. exploring them is never fully committed to, much like the sapphic relationship between two of them that suffers from a lack of build-up. the friendships between the four women who would not have previously come together do not feel believable with where the story takes us - a sacrifice made due to the little room had to delve into them and how they each tick.
- 2.5 stars.
overall, the potential was there on each page but unfortunately was not delivered. if i had one word to describe this it would be fine, which is not what i anticipated.
January 11, 2023
sapphics heist on the titanic? yk I was so excited and really looking forward to read this, but unfortunately it was quite disappointing...
okay first of all I gotta give credit where credit is due. the diverse representation in this added a star to this rating. the whole main cast consisted of four females, a white Irish lesbian, a white Croatian immigrant, an Indian immigrant and a French-Haitian Black biracial sapphic (alongside white side characters).
The book itself was very fast-paced with short chapters. Usually I would count this as a good thing, HOWEVER I feel like it was too fast-paced, to the point I couldn't connect to the story nor the characters. The book could've been more enjoyable if it was written out more detailed.
Speaking of detailed, the heist wasn't even exciting to read... it was a bunch of "then this happened" moments, which made it boring instead of thrilling.
It was poorly executed and conflict were resolved too quickly for me to even process them.
Frankly, I wasn't invested at all, since there was no suspense whatsoever.
The characters were easy to distinguish between, because of their different traits, talents and strengths. Yet, I found it really hard to connect to them, because of how quick the book evolved.
Their individual developments also felt really rushed. It was more of a light switch then a build up.
Tbh at the end i didn’t even care what fate bestowed them<3
Also something I felt like was missing in this, were some happy group moments. Most books (especially found family trope ones) have some cute-ish and "calm before the storm" scenes, for example just having dinner or playing a game of charades. I get, that the heist was top priority but it is also important to build the characters and their dynamics with each other and a scene like that could've worked really well, especially because the developing of the relationships felt rather rushed, since those type of scenes were not mentioned in the book.
Violet and Josefa are the only friendship that I consider likeable (?), since they had been (best) friends before the actions in this book took place and therefore didn't need any particular bonding scenes.
The rest of the friendships were super rushed to the point I questioned when they even became friends at all.
Lastly lets talk about Josefa and Emilie, the wlw ship in this.
I love sapphics, but these two just weren't hitting. There was no exciting build-up to their relationship... they were also very instant, there was no pining, just lots of fluffy moments.
Especially considering how much more difficult that time period was for lesbians, I wouldve wanted some of these fears and problems discussed in the book.
Overall, I feel like Adiba should stick to high school sapphic stories...
okay first of all I gotta give credit where credit is due. the diverse representation in this added a star to this rating. the whole main cast consisted of four females, a white Irish lesbian, a white Croatian immigrant, an Indian immigrant and a French-Haitian Black biracial sapphic (alongside white side characters).
The book itself was very fast-paced with short chapters. Usually I would count this as a good thing, HOWEVER I feel like it was too fast-paced, to the point I couldn't connect to the story nor the characters. The book could've been more enjoyable if it was written out more detailed.
Speaking of detailed, the heist wasn't even exciting to read... it was a bunch of "then this happened" moments, which made it boring instead of thrilling.
It was poorly executed and conflict were resolved too quickly for me to even process them.
Frankly, I wasn't invested at all, since there was no suspense whatsoever.
The characters were easy to distinguish between, because of their different traits, talents and strengths. Yet, I found it really hard to connect to them, because of how quick the book evolved.
Their individual developments also felt really rushed. It was more of a light switch then a build up.
Tbh at the end i didn’t even care what fate bestowed them<3
Also something I felt like was missing in this, were some happy group moments. Most books (especially found family trope ones) have some cute-ish and "calm before the storm" scenes, for example just having dinner or playing a game of charades. I get, that the heist was top priority but it is also important to build the characters and their dynamics with each other and a scene like that could've worked really well, especially because the developing of the relationships felt rather rushed, since those type of scenes were not mentioned in the book.
Violet and Josefa are the only friendship that I consider likeable (?), since they had been (best) friends before the actions in this book took place and therefore didn't need any particular bonding scenes.
The rest of the friendships were super rushed to the point I questioned when they even became friends at all.
Lastly lets talk about Josefa and Emilie, the wlw ship in this.
I love sapphics, but these two just weren't hitting. There was no exciting build-up to their relationship... they were also very instant, there was no pining, just lots of fluffy moments.
Especially considering how much more difficult that time period was for lesbians, I wouldve wanted some of these fears and problems discussed in the book.
Overall, I feel like Adiba should stick to high school sapphic stories...
October 27, 2025
Revisiting this review in October of 2025 to make some slight edits and adjustments for readability. I tried to keep the heart of it intact.
ALL RIGHT I'm finally getting around to writing this review, so I'll try to keep it as concise as I can. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. I try not to write negative reviews, but this had to be an exception I'm so sorry.
So this book broke my Titanic historian heart and stomped on the pieces. I've been studying Titanic for a year and several months now, and this book, while it had a FANTASTIC premise, had a very disappointing execution that made me cry (and not in a good way) At one point I actually had to put the book down and go lay down on the floor for a second because I was practically in physical pain from the inaccuracies.
If I didn't go into this book with a strong background in studying Titanic there is no way I would've been able to picture what was going on half the time. The setting was barely described, except in very vague terms, which was a huge missed opportunity. Getting around the ship via the VENTS??? This is not Among Us, there were no vents on Titanic that were even close to the size that a human being could fit in, and definitely not going conveniently everywhere in the ship (that they also managed to memorize the entire layout of from looking at the blueprint Once somehow. Which was laughable considering there were crew members and officers that worked on both Titanic and its sister ship Olympic which had an almost identical layout, who still got lost)
Now, I understand that some suspension of disbelief is important and certain things I was willing to overlook, but it seemed as if there was no attempt to make anything realistic or historically accurate whatsoever. I was not able to suspend my disbelief throughout much of the book, and these are a few of the most egregious examples in my opinion of inaccuracies that stood out as being direct evidence of a lack of research:
First, the Rubaiyat was not stored in someone's cabin. It was kept in the cargo hold with the rest of the valuable items that were being shipped, inside of a crate, locked in the cargo, where it still is today.
And then there's the misconception about the bulkheads!! I could talk about this for a long time, but in short, it is a myth that the ship sank because they did not build the bulkheads high enough. It was actually because the damage to the hull was greater than what the watertight door system could handle. The ship could stay afloat with four compartments damaged, but there were five compartments damaged in the collision.
And I should've known it wasn't going to be accurate the moment I read the excerpt on instagram that mentioned moonlight. There was no moon that night on April 14, 1912. If there was, the ship probably wouldn't have sunk, as the new moon contributed to the limited visibility that caused the collision. This is pretty basic Titanic fact, so it's the biggest evidence to me that there were no actual experts consulted by the author.
Personally, I was beyond disappointed to see these inaccuracies, common misconceptions, and straight up fabrications perpetuated in this book, all for the convenience of a story that wasn't even good enough to be worth it.
These, plus the lack of description to me demonstrates that the author did no real historical research. Being from Ireland and going to a Titanic museum once does not make you an expert. Titanic has a LOT of misinformation out there; I am debunking conspiracy theories and bad documentaries every day at my job. Just because you hear something in a podcast, post, or article, does not mean that it is true, and it is the responsibility of an author writing a historical novel to put in the work to conduct thorough research and find accurate sources. This was clearly not done.
Now, historical research aside, the story itself was extremely lackluster. None of the characters were well developed or made me feel really anything about them to make the stakes worth it or make me root for them or make the stakes worth it. One character was extremely racist for no reason. There were no real themes, nothing of substance or character.
Genuinely, I tried so hard to like it, and I really wanted to! I was so excited about it when I heard about it, as a fan of Jaigirdar's other books and someone very passionate about Titanic. One of the only things I did appreciate about this book was the representation, but it was not enough to save it, which was quite disappointing, as there absolutely were actual people of color and queer people on Titanic! So much of the Titanic research community is filled with conservative old white racists, so I was looking forward to the representation.
That brings me to my final complaint. There were a few cameos of actual passengers on board, some of which I did appreciate! But for an ENTIRE SCENE with Francis Millet, who was real passenger on board, not once, even in the author's note was there any mention or even hint of the fact that there is a LOT of evidence that he was (what we now consider to be) gay. Obviously, it cannot be proven, as much of queer history can't, due to the necessity of discretion, and maybe that's why it wasn't included, but it was beyond disappointing for me to see one of the (many!) REAL passengers on Titanic that were what we now consider to be LGBTQ+ portrayed in this book without mentioning it.
This book is really just another example of the way the story of Titanic is routinely romanticized and fabricated to fit myths and legends that have no actual basis in fact. Most egregiously, there was little to no actual respecting or honoring the real lives of the real people on this ship. Cameron's movie, for its own faults, was well-researched, vibrant, and full of love and passion for Titanic and its legacy.
This book had a lot of potential, but ultimately, it was the biggest letdown of 2022.
ALL RIGHT I'm finally getting around to writing this review, so I'll try to keep it as concise as I can. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. I try not to write negative reviews, but this had to be an exception I'm so sorry.
So this book broke my Titanic historian heart and stomped on the pieces. I've been studying Titanic for a year and several months now, and this book, while it had a FANTASTIC premise, had a very disappointing execution that made me cry (and not in a good way) At one point I actually had to put the book down and go lay down on the floor for a second because I was practically in physical pain from the inaccuracies.
If I didn't go into this book with a strong background in studying Titanic there is no way I would've been able to picture what was going on half the time. The setting was barely described, except in very vague terms, which was a huge missed opportunity. Getting around the ship via the VENTS??? This is not Among Us, there were no vents on Titanic that were even close to the size that a human being could fit in, and definitely not going conveniently everywhere in the ship (that they also managed to memorize the entire layout of from looking at the blueprint Once somehow. Which was laughable considering there were crew members and officers that worked on both Titanic and its sister ship Olympic which had an almost identical layout, who still got lost)
Now, I understand that some suspension of disbelief is important and certain things I was willing to overlook, but it seemed as if there was no attempt to make anything realistic or historically accurate whatsoever. I was not able to suspend my disbelief throughout much of the book, and these are a few of the most egregious examples in my opinion of inaccuracies that stood out as being direct evidence of a lack of research:
First, the Rubaiyat was not stored in someone's cabin. It was kept in the cargo hold with the rest of the valuable items that were being shipped, inside of a crate, locked in the cargo, where it still is today.
And then there's the misconception about the bulkheads!! I could talk about this for a long time, but in short, it is a myth that the ship sank because they did not build the bulkheads high enough. It was actually because the damage to the hull was greater than what the watertight door system could handle. The ship could stay afloat with four compartments damaged, but there were five compartments damaged in the collision.
And I should've known it wasn't going to be accurate the moment I read the excerpt on instagram that mentioned moonlight. There was no moon that night on April 14, 1912. If there was, the ship probably wouldn't have sunk, as the new moon contributed to the limited visibility that caused the collision. This is pretty basic Titanic fact, so it's the biggest evidence to me that there were no actual experts consulted by the author.
Personally, I was beyond disappointed to see these inaccuracies, common misconceptions, and straight up fabrications perpetuated in this book, all for the convenience of a story that wasn't even good enough to be worth it.
These, plus the lack of description to me demonstrates that the author did no real historical research. Being from Ireland and going to a Titanic museum once does not make you an expert. Titanic has a LOT of misinformation out there; I am debunking conspiracy theories and bad documentaries every day at my job. Just because you hear something in a podcast, post, or article, does not mean that it is true, and it is the responsibility of an author writing a historical novel to put in the work to conduct thorough research and find accurate sources. This was clearly not done.
Now, historical research aside, the story itself was extremely lackluster. None of the characters were well developed or made me feel really anything about them to make the stakes worth it or make me root for them or make the stakes worth it. One character was extremely racist for no reason. There were no real themes, nothing of substance or character.
Genuinely, I tried so hard to like it, and I really wanted to! I was so excited about it when I heard about it, as a fan of Jaigirdar's other books and someone very passionate about Titanic. One of the only things I did appreciate about this book was the representation, but it was not enough to save it, which was quite disappointing, as there absolutely were actual people of color and queer people on Titanic! So much of the Titanic research community is filled with conservative old white racists, so I was looking forward to the representation.
That brings me to my final complaint. There were a few cameos of actual passengers on board, some of which I did appreciate! But for an ENTIRE SCENE with Francis Millet, who was real passenger on board, not once, even in the author's note was there any mention or even hint of the fact that there is a LOT of evidence that he was (what we now consider to be) gay. Obviously, it cannot be proven, as much of queer history can't, due to the necessity of discretion, and maybe that's why it wasn't included, but it was beyond disappointing for me to see one of the (many!) REAL passengers on Titanic that were what we now consider to be LGBTQ+ portrayed in this book without mentioning it.
This book is really just another example of the way the story of Titanic is routinely romanticized and fabricated to fit myths and legends that have no actual basis in fact. Most egregiously, there was little to no actual respecting or honoring the real lives of the real people on this ship. Cameron's movie, for its own faults, was well-researched, vibrant, and full of love and passion for Titanic and its legacy.
This book had a lot of potential, but ultimately, it was the biggest letdown of 2022.
Want to read
March 19, 2021Sapphic! A high-stakes heist! The Titanic!!!?? Adiba understands what we need
December 15, 2022
this book just released a couple of days ago and i really enjoyed it! i highly recommend it :) it’s a fast-paced and diverse story featuring the titanic, a heist, close friendships, and romance. and the cover is gorgeous as well! 🫶🏻
Want to read
February 3, 202220.08.2021 see, it's already known that i'll love everything adiba jaigirdar writes, but when you tell me this is a sapphic heist on titanic—i know i'm going to love it.
August 8, 2022
Thank you to Epic Reads for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Okay, wow. I will be crying forever over this stunning and emotional story. This is Adiba at her best. What a book. *insert many tears*
Rep: white Irish lesbian coded cis female MC, white Croatian immigrant cis female MC, Indian immigirant cis female MC, French-Haitian Black biracial sapphic cis female MC, various white side characters.
Okay, wow. I will be crying forever over this stunning and emotional story. This is Adiba at her best. What a book. *insert many tears*
Rep: white Irish lesbian coded cis female MC, white Croatian immigrant cis female MC, Indian immigirant cis female MC, French-Haitian Black biracial sapphic cis female MC, various white side characters.
September 18, 2024
Review coming soon.
June 24, 2022
Mechanical on the heist front but interesting build up of the characters! rtc
February 27, 2023
I'm conflicted on what to rate this, my feeling at the moment are more of a 3.5 stars. The book as a lot of great things going for it, diverse cast, sapphic, group of women doing an heist, the suspense of Titanic. My main issue is more of a me thing as I starting to think that Heists, isn't one of the things I like to read about very much. But overall a good story.
February 13, 2023
live laugh lesbians ‼️ loved that there was only one man with any kind of importance to the plot and he was hated so much. I read the book thinking over and over again about how the whole heist is doomed to fail but I was pleasantly surprised by the end. I do think the heist itself could have been a bit more complicated and exciting though, but still, a big slay
December 18, 2022
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
When someone mentioned the words "heist" and "the Titanic" in the same sentence, I just knew I had to read A Million to One.
I was immediately drawn to the premise. Having read this author's debut, The Henna Wars and having enjoying that, I was sure this book would be a delight. You should've seen me when I got the e-galley copy, I was over the moon and excited to start reading.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be a case where the concept didn't match up with the execution.
The book follows four girls, con artist and leader of the group, Josefa, circus performer, Hinnah, actress, Violet and aspiring artist, Emilie who board the Titanic to steal a rare and priceless book, The Rubaiyat from one of the First Class passengers. I was expecting a fast paced novel, high stakes and a slow romantic build up (since I knew there would be a sapphic pairing months before reading). But unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations.
For starters, I had a few issues connecting with the characters. With Josefa, from the very start she annoyed me for some reason, and the way she was trying to get the girls to join her on her heist for the Rubaiyat just irked me. If you're trying to get someone to join you on a dangerous mission, especially when two of the said people joining you, you've never really talked to before, please sell their part in the mission as more than just "we need you, I've seen the work you do, there is nobody else in the world who can do [blank] as well as you can!" I don't know... if I were those girls I think I would've refused straight away. It takes a lot of trust and loyalty to a person to literally put your life on the line for them and for them to do so, and so willingly for someone they could classify as a stranger didn't really make sense to me. Even though the backstories were revealed as to why they were willing to go on this heist, to me, it didn't seem justifiable enough, especially for some of the other characters.
I didn't mind Hinnah and Emilie's characters but I still didn't feel connected to them despite the elaborate backstories about their personal lives. Violet was probably the character I connected to the most and even that is a far stretch. She had a brother she left in Croatia who she was trying to help and support as much as she could and I could see that desperate love in every chapter in which she mentioned Marko. But that being said, there were a few parts to her character that I didn't understand. She seemed to be very prickly towards Emilie for no real reason and it seemed like a petty sort of hatred, kind of like the two girls were pitted against each other for no other reason than dramatic purpose. At one point I thought how cool it would be if Violet and Emilie ended up in a relationship together as an enemies-to-lovers/grumpy-sunshine couple, having to work together against all odds to steal the Rubaiyat. The drama would've made more sense then, but unfortunately no reasoning apart from an annoyance at having an amateur con artist to help execute the heist, was used to justify Violet's unfair treatment towards Emilie.
Being a high stakes book featuring a heist, I would've expected the book to have been quite fast paced and action packed. The book however, followed a rhythm which looked something like 200 pages being on developing the characters and letting the reader in to their backstories and the last 74 pages being fast paced as the plot (and Titanic's unfortunate fate) played out which arguably was the most adrenaline filled part. I wished the high stakes and suspense of whether their plan would succeed or fail was continued throughout the entire book because by the time the book picked up the pacing, I just wasn't interested anymore. Because the start of the book fell so flat, I found I wasn't as emotionally invested in August's pursuit of the girls and the ultimate fate of their heist and their lives. When the ending occurred, while it was sad, I was so disinterested that the emotional aspects of the books didn't pack an emotional punch as much as I would've liked.
Now onto the romance. I felt like it was rushed. The two girls wanted to get to know each other and they already had some feelings developed before the events of the book, but the romance felt incredibly surface level without a desired build up of chemistry or romantic tension which I hungered for. I must admit though, the epilogue was very cute and it actually was the best part by far of the entire book.
The other aspect of note was that I never felt truly transported to the world of 1912 Ireland and the Titanic. The setting was never really prominent not when the girls were still living in their Irish boarding house nor when they were on the Titanic among more wealth than they have ever seen in their lives. Considering these girls came from poverty and from the poorer areas of Ireland, I would've expected more emphasis on the decadence of the Titanic to create this sort of fantasy-like dream of a ship, but that historical allure was barely there at all and I felt the remnants of a missed opportunity here.
All in all, I really wanted to love this book, it was a hotly anticipated novel for me but it unfortunately fell flat a bit with the pacing, romance, characters and setting. I do see a lot of things other readers may like, after all, a book sometimes isn't for everyone. Sadly, that is the case with me and A Million to One.
ACTUAL RATING: 2 STARS
When someone mentioned the words "heist" and "the Titanic" in the same sentence, I just knew I had to read A Million to One.
I was immediately drawn to the premise. Having read this author's debut, The Henna Wars and having enjoying that, I was sure this book would be a delight. You should've seen me when I got the e-galley copy, I was over the moon and excited to start reading.
Unfortunately, this seemed to be a case where the concept didn't match up with the execution.
The book follows four girls, con artist and leader of the group, Josefa, circus performer, Hinnah, actress, Violet and aspiring artist, Emilie who board the Titanic to steal a rare and priceless book, The Rubaiyat from one of the First Class passengers. I was expecting a fast paced novel, high stakes and a slow romantic build up (since I knew there would be a sapphic pairing months before reading). But unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations.
For starters, I had a few issues connecting with the characters. With Josefa, from the very start she annoyed me for some reason, and the way she was trying to get the girls to join her on her heist for the Rubaiyat just irked me. If you're trying to get someone to join you on a dangerous mission, especially when two of the said people joining you, you've never really talked to before, please sell their part in the mission as more than just "we need you, I've seen the work you do, there is nobody else in the world who can do [blank] as well as you can!" I don't know... if I were those girls I think I would've refused straight away. It takes a lot of trust and loyalty to a person to literally put your life on the line for them and for them to do so, and so willingly for someone they could classify as a stranger didn't really make sense to me. Even though the backstories were revealed as to why they were willing to go on this heist, to me, it didn't seem justifiable enough, especially for some of the other characters.
I didn't mind Hinnah and Emilie's characters but I still didn't feel connected to them despite the elaborate backstories about their personal lives. Violet was probably the character I connected to the most and even that is a far stretch. She had a brother she left in Croatia who she was trying to help and support as much as she could and I could see that desperate love in every chapter in which she mentioned Marko. But that being said, there were a few parts to her character that I didn't understand. She seemed to be very prickly towards Emilie for no real reason and it seemed like a petty sort of hatred, kind of like the two girls were pitted against each other for no other reason than dramatic purpose. At one point I thought how cool it would be if Violet and Emilie ended up in a relationship together as an enemies-to-lovers/grumpy-sunshine couple, having to work together against all odds to steal the Rubaiyat. The drama would've made more sense then, but unfortunately no reasoning apart from an annoyance at having an amateur con artist to help execute the heist, was used to justify Violet's unfair treatment towards Emilie.
Being a high stakes book featuring a heist, I would've expected the book to have been quite fast paced and action packed. The book however, followed a rhythm which looked something like 200 pages being on developing the characters and letting the reader in to their backstories and the last 74 pages being fast paced as the plot (and Titanic's unfortunate fate) played out which arguably was the most adrenaline filled part. I wished the high stakes and suspense of whether their plan would succeed or fail was continued throughout the entire book because by the time the book picked up the pacing, I just wasn't interested anymore. Because the start of the book fell so flat, I found I wasn't as emotionally invested in August's pursuit of the girls and the ultimate fate of their heist and their lives. When the ending occurred, while it was sad, I was so disinterested that the emotional aspects of the books didn't pack an emotional punch as much as I would've liked.
Now onto the romance. I felt like it was rushed. The two girls wanted to get to know each other and they already had some feelings developed before the events of the book, but the romance felt incredibly surface level without a desired build up of chemistry or romantic tension which I hungered for. I must admit though, the epilogue was very cute and it actually was the best part by far of the entire book.
The other aspect of note was that I never felt truly transported to the world of 1912 Ireland and the Titanic. The setting was never really prominent not when the girls were still living in their Irish boarding house nor when they were on the Titanic among more wealth than they have ever seen in their lives. Considering these girls came from poverty and from the poorer areas of Ireland, I would've expected more emphasis on the decadence of the Titanic to create this sort of fantasy-like dream of a ship, but that historical allure was barely there at all and I felt the remnants of a missed opportunity here.
All in all, I really wanted to love this book, it was a hotly anticipated novel for me but it unfortunately fell flat a bit with the pacing, romance, characters and setting. I do see a lot of things other readers may like, after all, a book sometimes isn't for everyone. Sadly, that is the case with me and A Million to One.
ACTUAL RATING: 2 STARS
January 11, 2023
Content warnings: child neglect, parental abandonment, violence, death of a parent (recounted), death by drowning.
Rep: white Irish lesbian coded cis female MC, white Croatian immigrant cis female MC, Indian immigirant cis female MC, French-Haitian Black biracial sapphic cis female MC, various white side characters.
When I first heard about this book, I was beyond excited. Then I had to wait, because that’s how publishing, etc, works, and then I read it and now what do I do with my life? This was so many levels of incredible.
Sometimes historical fiction can be a bit of a miss for me, but this is one historical piece of fiction that absolutely hit the mark!
All 4 of the main characters are so well developed and fleshed out that I had no trouble distinguishing between them as I read along. Even when it was from the perspective of one of the other girls, their personalities still shone through.
I know that I am not very good at writing reviews, but this book is just incredible from start to finish.
It’s more than just a heist on the Titanic – though that is the big plot point, it’s got heart, soul, and my favourite: found family.
This book was everything I hoped it would be and more.
5/5 stars
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
Rep: white Irish lesbian coded cis female MC, white Croatian immigrant cis female MC, Indian immigirant cis female MC, French-Haitian Black biracial sapphic cis female MC, various white side characters.
When I first heard about this book, I was beyond excited. Then I had to wait, because that’s how publishing, etc, works, and then I read it and now what do I do with my life? This was so many levels of incredible.
Sometimes historical fiction can be a bit of a miss for me, but this is one historical piece of fiction that absolutely hit the mark!
All 4 of the main characters are so well developed and fleshed out that I had no trouble distinguishing between them as I read along. Even when it was from the perspective of one of the other girls, their personalities still shone through.
I know that I am not very good at writing reviews, but this book is just incredible from start to finish.
It’s more than just a heist on the Titanic – though that is the big plot point, it’s got heart, soul, and my favourite: found family.
This book was everything I hoped it would be and more.
5/5 stars
I talk about books at these places: Instagram / Twitter / TikTok / Blog
August 30, 2022
A high stakes game of theft on the seas! This one was so fun! It starts off fast - you get to know the group as Josefa does - for their talents. A thief. An artist. A acrobat. An actress. It's hard, at first, to see how their talents will go together but you quickly learn their strengths and weaknesses. And as the pieces fit together, I could't help but be completely swept away.
But you are always reminded that this is THE Titanic, as each chapter counts down the time they have to work woth. The countdown to when the Titanic will do what we all know it will do, hit an iceberg and go down. It was hard to know how all the pieces would play out and I wasn't prepared for all the twists and turns! It was a race, heart-pounding and gut-wrenching, to know how it all concluded. And it was so good! I'm so glad I gave this one a try! The mystery, the secrets, the love story - all were so well done.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
But you are always reminded that this is THE Titanic, as each chapter counts down the time they have to work woth. The countdown to when the Titanic will do what we all know it will do, hit an iceberg and go down. It was hard to know how all the pieces would play out and I wasn't prepared for all the twists and turns! It was a race, heart-pounding and gut-wrenching, to know how it all concluded. And it was so good! I'm so glad I gave this one a try! The mystery, the secrets, the love story - all were so well done.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Want to read
January 6, 2024a sapphic heist on the titanic? i'm sold
December 17, 2022
my favorite character didn't make it (have fun guessing who) and i'm sorta mad about it but! it's still a good and enjoyable book.
Want to read
May 15, 2021the author just mentioned this book in her live q+a, it's about chaotic lgbtqia+ people on the titanic with a dash of high stakes romantic heist. actually, i dont remember more than that sksksksks but it sounded awesome even though my brain forgot nearly all of it.
Want to read
February 7, 2022SAPPHIC HEIST ON THE TITANIC BY THE AUTHOR OF HANI AND ISHU (and i’m expecting to love the henna wars too🙏) EVERYONE SCREAMED
edit 2/6/22- OMFG WE GAVE A COVER WHATTTTT ITS SO PRETTY IM SO EXCITED
edit 2/6/22- OMFG WE GAVE A COVER WHATTTTT ITS SO PRETTY IM SO EXCITED
January 13, 2023
With its brilliant concept and a of intriguing characters, A Million to One is the kind of devastating book that has a huge amount of potential that’s sadly let down by the execution and writing.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and having loved Adiba’s previous two novels, I was heartbroken to find that I just didn’t click with the writing in this book, nor did I find any excitement or attachment to the plot, relationships or characters.
That being said, this wasn’t a bad book by any means and it’s one I’m sure many will find enjoyment from. This may sadly simply be a case of disappointment due to my super high expectations not being met.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and having loved Adiba’s previous two novels, I was heartbroken to find that I just didn’t click with the writing in this book, nor did I find any excitement or attachment to the plot, relationships or characters.
That being said, this wasn’t a bad book by any means and it’s one I’m sure many will find enjoyment from. This may sadly simply be a case of disappointment due to my super high expectations not being met.
December 23, 2022
Beautiful cover and I loved the printed edition feel with its hard cover and soft pages. The story had all you would imagine from the Titanic and I found similarities to the movie. It was fast paced and I enjoyed the heist, the love story, and how I was transported the ship with the details. My main issue is that it was just too MG for me. 3⭐️
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,209 reviews