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bec_ourcolourfulpages's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bibliobrandie's review
4.0
This fantasy follows four siblings: Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya. They are very different, don't really like each other much, and are each harboring secrets and conflicting agendas. The siblings find themselves needing each other when magic, a prized resource, runs out and is the only thing between peace and war. Thus begins their quest for the Ivory Key, which will save Ashoka, and the siblings.
I don't know if I have ever read a book from four siblings points of view, I really liked it. Each of the siblings were well developed with distinct personalities. The pacing of the story was a bit off, the questing chapters were too much for me, but I really enjoyed the story and the characters and love the cliffhanger at the end. The epilogue is told from a fifth perspective, a tease for the duology’s next installment, which I will definitely be reading.
I don't know if I have ever read a book from four siblings points of view, I really liked it. Each of the siblings were well developed with distinct personalities. The pacing of the story was a bit off, the questing chapters were too much for me, but I really enjoyed the story and the characters and love the cliffhanger at the end. The epilogue is told from a fifth perspective, a tease for the duology’s next installment, which I will definitely be reading.
entamewitchlulu's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kingdino's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really wanted to like this book, but it’s just a bit of a mess. It takes about 1/3 for the characters to actually do something and then another 100 pages until they finally go looking for what this entire book is about. And I just really didn’t care.
I like 1 character. I didn’t dislike the other characters, but i just simply did not care enough about them.
The magic system was very vague to me. All we know about it is that it comes from the mines and that it can do *stuff*. I think that’s also the reason I didn’t care when the twist happened.
I would also like to mention that I did not know this was a duology when I bought this book and now i’m kind of upset about the ending because I don’t want to read the second book but I also don’t want to leave this story unfinished. Maybe I will read the second book sometime in the future, but not right now.
And lastly, I don’t think this story should be tagged as lgbtqia+. Yes there is a queer character, but it’s not a main part of the story (i think it actually only gets mentioned once that he likes men). Just because there is a queer character does not make a queer story.
I like 1 character. I didn’t dislike the other characters, but i just simply did not care enough about them.
The magic system was very vague to me. All we know about it is that it comes from the mines and that it can do *stuff*. I think that’s also the reason I didn’t care when the twist happened.
I would also like to mention that I did not know this was a duology when I bought this book and now i’m kind of upset about the ending because I don’t want to read the second book but I also don’t want to leave this story unfinished. Maybe I will read the second book sometime in the future, but not right now.
And lastly, I don’t think this story should be tagged as lgbtqia+. Yes there is a queer character, but it’s not a main part of the story (i think it actually only gets mentioned once that he likes men). Just because there is a queer character does not make a queer story.
harleyrae's review
2.0
2.5/5 stars
I was so excited for this book, but unfortunately it feel flat for me. It very quickly became a book that I could not for the life of me remember. I just finished it 5mins ago, and could tell you nothing about it. The book wasn’t bad, I just didn’t connect with it. Will not be continuing on.
I was so excited for this book, but unfortunately it feel flat for me. It very quickly became a book that I could not for the life of me remember. I just finished it 5mins ago, and could tell you nothing about it. The book wasn’t bad, I just didn’t connect with it. Will not be continuing on.
3arth2kaye's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
keyboardsmash123's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very good, but I would have preferred more in depth world building and character development
soartfullydone's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
2.5
I don't have too much to say about this one.
The Ivory Key started out with a lot of promise. The four siblings—Vira, Riya, Ronak, and Kaleb—each had their own goals and ambitions along with a lot of complicated familial feelings and beef towards each other.
Unfortunately, the plot itself wasn't dynamic or interesting enough to really allow the characters to shine. So much of the rotating POV chapters is just having a sibling meander from room to room to talk to another sibling, probably hurt some feelings or get their feelings hurt, then leave. The beef they all have towards each other doesn't amount to much and mostly dries up because it turns out, a lot of it was just a false perception, you know? No need to get too upset about the running away and the lies and the jail time. No need for any anger beyond quick flashes or any backstabs born of a need for revenge. Which, good for them being mostly functional, I guess, but not exactly an engaging thing to read about.
When I got halfway only to find that the characters still hadn't done much of anything, I got quite impatient and bored of it all. Royalty, it seems, simply dawdles too much, even the desperate ones. This is definitely a setup book for its sequel, which is fine. I don't mind a good setup book, but things should still happen for more than the last 20-30 percent of the book.
I did generally enjoy the writing style, though. It held a blend of being both direct and descriptive, though it tended to linger a little too long on food descriptions and not enough on propelling the plot forward. There was a good balance between character introspection, dialogue, and general description otherwise. The writing tended to suffer most as it harped on repetitive points and leaned on some very convenient solutions, so the siblings didn't struggle too much. It also had the YA tendency to focus on romantic tension at the silliest of times, like when you're caught in a net trap or just learned that your dreams have died along with maybe two of your siblings you haven't reconciled with yet.
My favorite thing about the world-building was how magic could be forged but only used as items. Very artificer of it. So imagine how much I groaned at reading a certain plot twist that made it like every other YA fantasy out there. Anyway, good luck on the sequel to all who care. This wasn't terrible by any means; it just wasn't for me.
The Ivory Key started out with a lot of promise. The four siblings—Vira, Riya, Ronak, and Kaleb—each had their own goals and ambitions along with a lot of complicated familial feelings and beef towards each other.
Unfortunately, the plot itself wasn't dynamic or interesting enough to really allow the characters to shine. So much of the rotating POV chapters is just having a sibling meander from room to room to talk to another sibling, probably hurt some feelings or get their feelings hurt, then leave. The beef they all have towards each other doesn't amount to much and mostly dries up because it turns out, a lot of it was just a false perception, you know? No need to get too upset about the running away and the lies and the jail time. No need for any anger beyond quick flashes or any backstabs born of a need for revenge. Which, good for them being mostly functional, I guess, but not exactly an engaging thing to read about.
When I got halfway only to find that the characters still hadn't done much of anything, I got quite impatient and bored of it all. Royalty, it seems, simply dawdles too much, even the desperate ones. This is definitely a setup book for its sequel, which is fine. I don't mind a good setup book, but things should still happen for more than the last 20-30 percent of the book.
I did generally enjoy the writing style, though. It held a blend of being both direct and descriptive, though it tended to linger a little too long on food descriptions and not enough on propelling the plot forward. There was a good balance between character introspection, dialogue, and general description otherwise. The writing tended to suffer most as it harped on repetitive points and leaned on some very convenient solutions, so the siblings didn't struggle too much. It also had the YA tendency to focus on romantic tension at the silliest of times, like when you're caught in a net trap or just learned that your dreams have died along with maybe two of your siblings you haven't reconciled with yet.
My favorite thing about the world-building was how magic could be forged but only used as items. Very artificer of it. So imagine how much I groaned at reading a certain plot twist that made it like every other YA fantasy out there. Anyway, good luck on the sequel to all who care. This wasn't terrible by any means; it just wasn't for me.