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A review by abigail_lo
Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra
5.0
thanks netgalley and wednesday books for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
4.75 stars, rounded up to 5
summary -- i am absolutely shaking, screaming, crying, and throwing up. here's the list of my only qualms with the book:
1) i think mehrotra mentioned (or meant to mention) depression, and it was a bit funny how quickly that got wrapped up within a few pages.
2) women should be allowed to make out for real, especially when the bond between the queen and katyani was so homoerotic.
3) the ending felt a bit sudden? i wanted some sort of epilogue or closure, even if it was a few more sentences just rounding out the book.
other than that? astounding. perfection. incredible. absolutely obsessed. (i'll use more words and phrases that are actually descriptive now.) again: i deeply admire when authors can put their characters through unimaginable shit, and let's just say that happens a lot here. the exact phrase from my notes around the 50% mark is "absolutely shitting screaming pissing myself that was fucking bold to do y'all just fucked [them] over," if that says anything about my real-time thoughts. i did start literally screaming before i realized it was 9am, and i do mean the actual definition of literally in this case. i'm obsessed with slow burn romances (and i also don't like much romance in my fantasy anyway), so the pacing of the romance was perfect for me. the world-building hit just the right balance between not enough and too much. and i loved how much indian culture & values played into katya's moral system, only because i feel like fantasy can be all about individualism and glory and all those western ideas. slight spoiler: so yes: everyone should read this book, i am slightly obsessed with it, and i will be absolutely on my hands and knees until i get a sequel.
4.75 stars, rounded up to 5
summary -- i am absolutely shaking, screaming, crying, and throwing up. here's the list of my only qualms with the book:
1) i think mehrotra mentioned (or meant to mention) depression, and it was a bit funny how quickly that got wrapped up within a few pages.
2) women should be allowed to make out for real, especially when the bond between the queen and katyani was so homoerotic.
3) the ending felt a bit sudden? i wanted some sort of epilogue or closure, even if it was a few more sentences just rounding out the book.
other than that? astounding. perfection. incredible. absolutely obsessed. (i'll use more words and phrases that are actually descriptive now.) again: i deeply admire when authors can put their characters through unimaginable shit, and let's just say that happens a lot here. the exact phrase from my notes around the 50% mark is "absolutely shitting screaming pissing myself that was fucking bold to do y'all just fucked [them] over," if that says anything about my real-time thoughts. i did start literally screaming before i realized it was 9am, and i do mean the actual definition of literally in this case. i'm obsessed with slow burn romances (and i also don't like much romance in my fantasy anyway), so the pacing of the romance was perfect for me. the world-building hit just the right balance between not enough and too much. and i loved how much indian culture & values played into katya's moral system, only because i feel like fantasy can be all about individualism and glory and all those western ideas. slight spoiler: