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belovedsnail's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
In this second duology chapter, the silly plotting weighed a bit more heavily on the fantastic worldbuilding. I absolutely enjoyed it. It wasn’t terrible. Just felt like a long imagined twenty book saga beaten down into a second half of a duology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Torture
maregred's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault
maidmarianlib's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A great ending to the series. I like the context and the magic and the characters are strong.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Animal death, War, Torture, Death, Slavery, Murder, and Confinement
loveleighreading's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Slavery
yvonne_cl's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, War, and Racism
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
bookwormbullet's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
I really liked this ending to the Wrath of Ambar duology! I read Hunted by the Sky earlier this year in January and it quickly became one of my favorite South Asian-inspired fantasies. I really love how Tanaz Bhathena draws inspiration from the colonialism that makes up so much of India’s history and portrays them in her novel. As she states in her Author’s Note, this entire series explores what India might have looked like without the British in its helm. One of these features of a newly reconstructed India is the fact that many people were much more outward and open about their sexual orientations. The queer rep in The Wrath of Ambar duology is great, and a reminder of how freely marginalized people would live before colonial rule. I also love how Tanaz Bhathena highlights how multicultural India is with her world-building and characters. You can easily see how the characters in the duology would come from different corners of our real-life India. I’d give this book 4.5 stars--it’s definitely much more fast paced than Book 1!
I also liked how Gul and Cavas’ relationship developed in this book. In Hunted by the Sky, the two were still very unfamiliar with one another and definitely didn’t trust each other throughout the book. In Rising Like a Storm, Gul and Cavas grow closer through their powers and training and ultimately learn how to trust each other--which was super sweet to see. I loved the action sequences and seeing Gul and Cavas become a whole, connected, unit with their powers was really cool. The epilogue was really sweet too!
I also liked reading the chapters with Shayla’s POV in this book. She was a really unique villain and seeing her grow from a cunning, confident ruler to someone falling more and more into their insecurities because of previous failures was interesting to see. Her relationship with Alizeh was also so intriguing, especially since it seemed to be the root cause of her insecurities.
I’d definitely recommend this duology if you’re looking for an ancient Indian-inspired fantasy duology! Although this book is marketed as YA, I would probably recommend it for readers ages 15/16+, as there are some mature themes and graphic violence throughout both books.
I also liked how Gul and Cavas’ relationship developed in this book. In Hunted by the Sky, the two were still very unfamiliar with one another and definitely didn’t trust each other throughout the book. In Rising Like a Storm, Gul and Cavas grow closer through their powers and training and ultimately learn how to trust each other--which was super sweet to see. I loved the action sequences and seeing Gul and Cavas become a whole, connected, unit with their powers was really cool. The epilogue was really sweet too!
I also liked reading the chapters with Shayla’s POV in this book. She was a really unique villain and seeing her grow from a cunning, confident ruler to someone falling more and more into their insecurities because of previous failures was interesting to see. Her relationship with Alizeh was also so intriguing, especially since it seemed to be the root cause of her insecurities.
I’d definitely recommend this duology if you’re looking for an ancient Indian-inspired fantasy duology! Although this book is marketed as YA, I would probably recommend it for readers ages 15/16+, as there are some mature themes and graphic violence throughout both books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Death
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