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
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-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
I didn't expect there to be four perspectives, and I'll admit I was a little tired when I started the book so it took me until about an hour in to the audiobook to get my bearings. However, once I figured out what was happening and got the characters straight I loved this book. It started a little slow for me, but I prefer faster paced books. Regardless, I really look forward to finding out what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
There are a few minor to moderate injuries described in moderate detail throughout the book. Some of the character's also spend time confined to a cell. There's some violence and death as their adventure progresses, and there's also death towards the beginning of the book that sets the stage for the adventure.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 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
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 against another edition
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
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
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Misogyny, and Death
abrich's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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? No
3.75
3.75 ⭐ CW: imprisonment, violence, descriptions of blood, panic attacks/anxiety
The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman is the first book one of the Ivory Key series about four siblings in an India inspired setting, and perfect for fans of Indiana Jones, National Treasure, and Six of Crows.
We follow four royal siblings: Vira, the Maharani who suffers panic attacks and probably PTSD from a past battle failure; Ronak, her twin who is a big grumpy history nerd baby that just needs a hug; Riya, the runaway sibling who is a strong believer in justice and helping people, she's also kind of the jock of the family (my personal favourite); and Kaleb, the half Lyrian half Ashokan half brother (yeesh that was a lot of halves) who has been wrongly imprisoned, but just wants to follow in his father's footsteps as a mayaka (magic forger).
They all end up looking for the same thing, the Ivory Key, a magical object that is supposed to lead them to other mines full of magic, because Ashoka is running out and Lyria is close to invading. We get a lot of scavenger hunt type stuff with logic puzzles and math. The magic system is interesting. We also get some great character moments between the siblings. I love a complicated sibling relationship. Although I favor Riya, Raman has written the characters so you can find a piece of yourself in each of them.
I had a hard time with this book at first. It felt a little slow, but that could also just have been my low mood at the time. It picked up closer to the middle when we are finally on an adventure. There is plenty of casual queer rep in this book. Lots of same gender attraction. We also have a very egalitarian society, which is refreshing in a fantasy book. I get so tired of reading books where the woman in the military or in a warrior position is the exception instead of the rule. We can magic, but not equality lol.
Now I have to wait for book two! 😭
The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman is the first book one of the Ivory Key series about four siblings in an India inspired setting, and perfect for fans of Indiana Jones, National Treasure, and Six of Crows.
We follow four royal siblings: Vira, the Maharani who suffers panic attacks and probably PTSD from a past battle failure; Ronak, her twin who is a big grumpy history nerd baby that just needs a hug; Riya, the runaway sibling who is a strong believer in justice and helping people, she's also kind of the jock of the family (my personal favourite); and Kaleb, the half Lyrian half Ashokan half brother (yeesh that was a lot of halves) who has been wrongly imprisoned, but just wants to follow in his father's footsteps as a mayaka (magic forger).
They all end up looking for the same thing, the Ivory Key, a magical object that is supposed to lead them to other mines full of magic, because Ashoka is running out and Lyria is close to invading. We get a lot of scavenger hunt type stuff with logic puzzles and math. The magic system is interesting. We also get some great character moments between the siblings. I love a complicated sibling relationship. Although I favor Riya, Raman has written the characters so you can find a piece of yourself in each of them.
I had a hard time with this book at first. It felt a little slow, but that could also just have been my low mood at the time. It picked up closer to the middle when we are finally on an adventure. There is plenty of casual queer rep in this book. Lots of same gender attraction. We also have a very egalitarian society, which is refreshing in a fantasy book. I get so tired of reading books where the woman in the military or in a warrior position is the exception instead of the rule. We can magic, but not equality lol.
Now I have to wait for book two! 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence and Blood