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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
_rowantree_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed listening to this book. The relationships between the characters were interesting and engaging and the voice actors were good. Unfortunately, with all the puzzles, this did remind me a bit of an escape room or Indiana Jones film. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it felt at odds with the high stakes. I think I’d need the book to either fully embrace it and go campier or have a more believable quest, for me to be able to suspend my disbelief fully
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
kyliereads341'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
4.75
The plot was a bit formulaic, but the characters and their relationship dynamics made me overlook this as their stories and how they intermingle play into my two favorite things: political intrigue and family drama/trauma. I look forward to the next one and enjoyed the world building/magic system that was easy to understand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Racism
jachnax's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
One day I just went into my local bookstore and browsed the shelves. I didn't really plan on buying a book but then I saw the beautiful spine of 'The Ivory Key' and I pulled it out. I nearly gasped at how beautiful the cover was and when I checked the back and it was under 10€, all was decided and I bought it.
When I was packing for my trip to Amsterdam in August 2022, I searched for a book I could take with me. My gut picked 'The Ivory Key' because it was small, not too many pages and it was floppy. I didn't think much of it, I had zero clue what the book was about.
In Amsterdam I sometimes had time to read so I did and the story and the character dynamics hooked me more and more. I only got halfway through so I continued when I was home and what can I say. I devoured the rest, I was intrigued, shocked and purely in love. The moment you think you understand the world, new secrets come out.
This story is so unique and magical. After this book I immediatly followed the author on Instagram and followed the journey of her writing the sequel.
'The Crimson Fortess' was my first preorder. Akshaya Raman the first author I actively followed.
This story means so much to me nobody can imagine.
Now I just reread it for the sequel and what can I say? It is still my favorite book of all time and I cannot wait to read the sequel. Thank you Akshaya Raman for this book 🧡
When I was packing for my trip to Amsterdam in August 2022, I searched for a book I could take with me. My gut picked 'The Ivory Key' because it was small, not too many pages and it was floppy. I didn't think much of it, I had zero clue what the book was about.
In Amsterdam I sometimes had time to read so I did and the story and the character dynamics hooked me more and more. I only got halfway through so I continued when I was home and what can I say. I devoured the rest, I was intrigued, shocked and purely in love. The moment you think you understand the world, new secrets come out.
This story is so unique and magical. After this book I immediatly followed the author on Instagram and followed the journey of her writing the sequel.
'The Crimson Fortess' was my first preorder. Akshaya Raman the first author I actively followed.
This story means so much to me nobody can imagine.
Now I just reread it for the sequel and what can I say? It is still my favorite book of all time and I cannot wait to read the sequel. Thank you Akshaya Raman for this book 🧡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
bookishflower's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Xenophobia, Murder, War, and Panic attacks/disorders
abrich's review
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
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
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