kyliereads341's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
The plot was a bit formulaic, but the characters and their relationship dynamics made me overlook this as their stories and how they intermingle play into my two favorite things: political intrigue and family drama/trauma. I look forward to the next one and enjoyed the world building/magic system that was easy to understand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Racism
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Murder, War, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
hanna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Indian rep and LGBT+ rep (which I didn't notice but apparently it's there??) and it STILL fumbled the bag.
The worldbuilding had so much potential (matriarchies <3) but the characters didn't deliver. At some point it wasn't "haha this author doesn't have siblings" anymore but "...has this author ever seen siblings interact?". It was SO inconsistent — they all dislike each other, you can run away from your family or imprison your brother without major emotional consequences but we're still supposed to believe they have this intrinsic sibling bond in the second part which didn't work for me at all.
This would've been great if it had been reworked into middle grade! Not everything needs sub-plot romance(s) but a more developed family relationship would've made this so much more fun!
The worldbuilding had so much potential (matriarchies <3) but the characters didn't deliver. At some point it wasn't "haha this author doesn't have siblings" anymore but "...has this author ever seen siblings interact?". It was SO inconsistent — they all dislike each other, you can run away from your family or imprison your brother without major emotional consequences but we're still supposed to believe they have this intrinsic sibling bond in the second part which didn't work for me at all.
This would've been great if it had been reworked into middle grade! Not everything needs sub-plot romance(s) but a more developed family relationship would've made this so much more fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
bloodbrooxv's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
(🇬🇧/🇮🇹)
🇬🇧 I was pleasantly surprised by this book, partially because i had seen it around only a few times before i decided to read it.
I loved the characters, and I think each one of the four povs has been handled very well: none of them are boring or less interesting, and they don't break the rhythm of the story.
The Ivory Key is a book that starts out quite slow, but moves fast after the middle half, totally drawing you into the action and making it hard to put it down. The reading experience was super immersive: the author is very good at transporting you into the world she has created and at evoking the sensations transmitted by the environment in which the events take place.
I can't wait to read the sequel!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
🇮🇹 Sono rimasta molto sorpresa da questa lettura, anche perché si tratta di un libro molto poco conosciuto.
Ho adorato i personaggi, e penso che i quattro punti di vista siano stati gestiti molto bene: nessuno risulta noioso o meno interessante, e non vanno a spezzare il ritmo del racconto.
The Ivory Key è un libro che all'inizio risulta abbastanza lento, ma che dopo la metà procede velocemente, coinvolgendoti totalmente nell'azione e rendendoti di difficile metterlo giù. L' esperienza si lettura è stata super immersiva: l'autrice è molto brava nel trasportarti nel mondo di che ha creato e nell'evocare le sensazioni trasmesse dall'ambiente in cui si svolgono gli eventi.
Non vedo l'ora di leggere il sequel!
🇬🇧 I was pleasantly surprised by this book, partially because i had seen it around only a few times before i decided to read it.
I loved the characters, and I think each one of the four povs has been handled very well: none of them are boring or less interesting, and they don't break the rhythm of the story.
The Ivory Key is a book that starts out quite slow, but moves fast after the middle half, totally drawing you into the action and making it hard to put it down. The reading experience was super immersive: the author is very good at transporting you into the world she has created and at evoking the sensations transmitted by the environment in which the events take place.
I can't wait to read the sequel!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
🇮🇹 Sono rimasta molto sorpresa da questa lettura, anche perché si tratta di un libro molto poco conosciuto.
Ho adorato i personaggi, e penso che i quattro punti di vista siano stati gestiti molto bene: nessuno risulta noioso o meno interessante, e non vanno a spezzare il ritmo del racconto.
The Ivory Key è un libro che all'inizio risulta abbastanza lento, ma che dopo la metà procede velocemente, coinvolgendoti totalmente nell'azione e rendendoti di difficile metterlo giù. L' esperienza si lettura è stata super immersiva: l'autrice è molto brava nel trasportarti nel mondo di che ha creato e nell'evocare le sensazioni trasmesse dall'ambiente in cui si svolgono gli eventi.
Non vedo l'ora di leggere il sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Alcohol and War
Representation: BIPOC main cast, gay main character, lesbian side characterreadingelli's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Murder
Minor: Child death
esme_t's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
beautifulpaxielreads's review
I feel like I need to be reading this at a time when I have more emotional energy to give it, especially after reading it for over a month now and it not being that long a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: War
shaipanda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I actually really liked this? The first quarter or third of it didn’t really pull me in too much and I thought it was gonna be a solid 4 star book - enjoyable but not something I’d be super invested in but I loved thisss
It was so well done and I’m so excited for the sequel cause that shit gets wildd the second half or so
It was so well done and I’m so excited for the sequel cause that shit gets wildd the second half or so
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Emotional abuse
kayladaila's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: War
bookishflower's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Xenophobia, Murder, War, and Panic attacks/disorders