Reviews

The Crimson Fortress by Akshaya Raman

nu_reads's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Mirroring what most people have said already, the world building and characters are great, and it was a nice sequel to the first one. The pacing was much better throughout compared to the Ivory Key and the stakes felt much higher this time.

I also would’ve loved to see this story over more pages and possible more books. The plot line and characters didn’t get enough time to shine as much as I think they could’ve in say a 600 pg book. The ending felt a little too fast paced for all the strings needed tying up but it’s such a huge feat. Would love to read more stories from this author either way!

wrapmeupinplastic's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

lilykjohnson's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I wanted nothing more than to be done with this book. I didn't care what happened to any of them. The story was well thought out and everything connected and came together in the end, but that didn't make up for the characters. I get that every character has flaws and that makes them human, but there really should be some redeemable qualities in there too, and there just wasn't.

otherwordly_owl's review against another edition

adventurous

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I liked this one better than the first. 

The characters had a little more shape given to their personalities.

There were some loose ends that went unanswered by the end of the book, and certain plot points felt rushed. 

booksandteawithmel_'s review

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

jules_farkas's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-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

4.0

sannesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This was badly written, and there were too many characters. The characters weren't distinct enough to tell them apart from one another. And the switching between POVs were making it difficult to read. This made this book overall very confusing to listen to. 

I didn't enjoy that the siblings were apart from eachother for most of the book. Also didn't like the romance. It felt really forced and I didn't feel chemistry between the characters. The plot was too unrealistic for it to be believed.

It was overall boring and confusing. Should have DNFd this book but loved the first book so wanted to see if it would have become better, unforturnately not...

acicca's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed this book, especially since I haven't read many books set in Indian culture. The food descriptions were great! However.. this would have benefited from some harsh editing.. the author clearly had a lot in mind for the fortress itself, puzzle rooms and descriptions of each encounter.. but the majority of it really didn’t help the story move along & I felt like it was distracting. The end of the book felt rushed & the wrap up really didn’t feel that satisfying since it was so slammed together. Altogether though, very enjoyable read & I’ll be keeping this author on my radar. 

rainbow_reader's review against another edition

5.0

Great sequel and I loved this just as much as the first book in this series.

lolacola's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5