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A review by keysmashhh
The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Relationships: 4.5/5
World-Building: 5/5
Genre: 5/5
OMG OMG OMG OMG THIS BOOK!!!!!!!
it really zigged every time I thought it was going to zag - like every plot twist was genuinely a shock to me
the pacing... surprisingly perfect for a fantasy/quest-type book - usually i find the pacing in these types of books to be too slow or too fast but this was perfect - it didn't drag on during action scenes and I could actually get a solid understanding of what was going on
THE PLOT TWIST AHHHHHHH i usually pride myself on seeing when something's coming, especially an (in hindsight) obvious betrayal but this one threw me - ugh I honestly loved it so much (but also noooo they were just starting to fall in love - but then again the epilogue???)
The characters were all amazingly believable - ofc Kaleb was my fav. - i love a good morally driven character - but Ronak was a super close 2nd fav (and Jay a 3rd)
i really hope there's a sequel!!!!
if so, can we get Kaleb a bf and can Vira and Amrit sort themselves out?? oh and i'm still clinging onto the Jay/Ronak pairing, i mean come on
I usually hate cliffhanger books but tbh this one ACTUALLY makes me want to read the sequel rather than putting me off
the magic system - not too complicated for me to understand
the way the focus of the magic was more political than anything else kind of reminded me a bit of Priory of the Orange Tree and I appreciated it
oh and the aesthetic of this book - perfect!
oh and the relationships between the siblings are perfectly written - after reading other people's reviews one of the main criticism's I've seen is that they change from hating each other to supporting each other too quickly but to me that was the most realistic bit - like sure they were all working together begrudgingly, and they all had ulterior motives but i think it was a genuine representation of how sibling dynamics work
also casual queer characters that are just accepted without any drama - finally!
Characters: 5/5
Relationships: 4.5/5
World-Building: 5/5
Genre: 5/5
OMG OMG OMG OMG THIS BOOK!!!!!!!
it really zigged every time I thought it was going to zag - like every plot twist was genuinely a shock to me
the pacing... surprisingly perfect for a fantasy/quest-type book - usually i find the pacing in these types of books to be too slow or too fast but this was perfect - it didn't drag on during action scenes and I could actually get a solid understanding of what was going on
THE PLOT TWIST AHHHHHHH i usually pride myself on seeing when something's coming, especially an (in hindsight) obvious betrayal but this one threw me - ugh I honestly loved it so much (but also noooo they were just starting to fall in love - but then again the epilogue???)
The characters were all amazingly believable - ofc Kaleb was my fav. - i love a good morally driven character - but Ronak was a super close 2nd fav (and Jay a 3rd)
i really hope there's a sequel!!!!
if so, can we get Kaleb a bf and can Vira and Amrit sort themselves out?? oh and i'm still clinging onto the Jay/Ronak pairing, i mean come on
I usually hate cliffhanger books but tbh this one ACTUALLY makes me want to read the sequel rather than putting me off
the magic system - not too complicated for me to understand
the way the focus of the magic was more political than anything else kind of reminded me a bit of Priory of the Orange Tree and I appreciated it
oh and the aesthetic of this book - perfect!
oh and the relationships between the siblings are perfectly written - after reading other people's reviews one of the main criticism's I've seen is that they change from hating each other to supporting each other too quickly but to me that was the most realistic bit - like sure they were all working together begrudgingly, and they all had ulterior motives but i think it was a genuine representation of how sibling dynamics work
also casual queer characters that are just accepted without any drama - finally!