(Content warnings: moderate death, blood)

I enjoyed the first book a lot, but this one sadly fell victim to sequel syndrome :( The plot felt disjointed, the pacing was off - there were a couple times where important events just happened off-page, and especially everything towards the end just felt like we were RUSHING to get there. I had trouble not zoning out keeping track of all the new characters. I was also really hoping there'd be more focus on the sibling relationships, but they got somewhat sidelined in favour of the romances, which I did not find anywhere near compelling enough to make up for my disappointment.

I really REALLY loved The Ivory Key, so when I was accepted for an e-arc of The Crimson Fortress I was SO excited. I didn’t end up getting to it in time because there was only like a week between e-arcs going out and the publication date, so the version of the book I ended up reading was the paperback which I’d had pre-ordered for well over a year at that point.

I wish I could say that I loved this book as much as I did the first.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book by any means. Those four stars aren’t for nothing! If you enjoyed the first book I do think you should still pick up the second, and I’ll be sure to keep up with what Raman puts out in the future. But I can’t help but be disappointed that this sequel didn’t quite deliver for me.

I could make a big list of all my issues with this book, but I kinda don’t want to do that about a duology I still feel very fondly about? So I’m just gonna go into my main Thing.

This duology should’ve been a trilogy.

This book has what I like to call as ‘Jason Mendoza’ moment in the middle. To quote the great man himself: “Anytime I had a problem and I threw a Molotov cocktail, boom! Right away, I had a different problem.” This book has pretty much this exact thing happen. All of a sudden, the complicated political situation between the nations and Vira’s struggle to hold on to power and fix everything don’t actually matter anymore, because the cocktail has been thrown and now we have a different problem. I’m not necessarily opposed to this happening in a story! When executed well it can be an excellent plot twist! But I don’t think it was executed particularly well here, and I think that this series would’ve been So Much Stronger if this had happened at the end of book 2 instead of in the middle of it.

Also why was the queer romance the least developed one out of all of them? It’s entirely possible to read this book, miss it entirely, and conclude that they’re Just Very Good Friends. All of Kaleb’s siblings take it as a given that the relationship is a thing but when you actually read from Kaleb’s perspective there’s none of that. It’s not even that they don’t kiss, but there’s no acknowledgement. Everyone else with a romance sub-plot gets a confession of love. Why not Kaleb? Did a scene get cut? I’m confused. Again, if this had been a trilogy, there would’ve been the space to give everyone the room establish themselves and their relationships properly.

I like a good duology as much as the next person, but some stories need to be trilogies. This was unfortunately one of them. I’m beyond sure that the vast majority of my issues with this book would’ve been fixed if Raman had been given that extra space to work with

I loved the sequel so much and especially seeing how the sibling relationships grew and changed. I loved the build up and the plot twists and i liked how there is some romance but it isn’t a central theme. That we see more sibling love. I really liked how the ending was left a little open ended so we can imagine how they will continue to make changes to the issues they battled with in the book.

I really enjoyed The Ivory Key so was very much anticipating the sequel. Sometimes sequels can be a little disappointing but this was definitely not - I loved the characters, and the journeys they went on. A great little duology for new fantasy fans!

The follow-up to The Ivory Key, this is a satisfying conclusion to the duology. The four royal siblings are facing new challenges as they come to terms with betrayals and layers of deception. I think my only real complaint is that perhaps this wasn't ambitious enough in drawing the scope of its arc - the latter parts felt rushed, and although it led to a satisfying conclusion (with plenty of trailing threads for a follow up) there was definitely room to explore far more of the characters' motivations and emotions. Four MCs is a lot to wrap up in only two books, and honestly, I'd like to see more from Raman!

I absolutely loved the Ivory Key so I had really high expectations for the sequel, Crimson Fortress.

I don’t like to go into too much detail with reviews for sequels as it can include spoilers, however I absolutely loved this book, characters, writing style and setting.

Akshaya is quickly becoming a favourite author of mine!

I could write a long long review but I want to go straight to the point and tell you: read this duology, you will love the characters and the world building, the fast paced plot and the storytelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Ps: I'm a consultant, the 30 second elevator pitch is something we have to learn

I've given this book 3.5 stars rounded to 3. I knew when I finished the first book that this one was going to be a lot more action-packed, and it delivered on that. Spying, mazes, magical soldiers, and siblings finding themselves. Plus, another beautiful cover.

The siblings and their relationships with each other really made this book. They have their own journeys but also reconnect as a family along the way. I think the author did a great job of portraying family dynamics through difficult situations.

I really enjoyed the romances in the series. They're definitely not the main plot line, but I think they work well that way. There's just enough to connect the side characters to the main ones while not overshadowing the sibling relationships.

I do think that the ending was a little rushed. It was a lot to fit into the last 20%, and the characters seemed to get from point A to B very quickly. Which is a shame because it was quite interesting. I'm also still not entirely sure I fully understand the magic system, but it's definitely unlike any other I've read about before.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Akshaya Raman, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved The Ivory Key, so I was really excited to start The Crimson Fortress, and for the most part it didn't disappoint.

I found the beginning a bit slow to get through, if I'm honest. The alternating chapters between our four different characters works well for keeping up the pace later in the book, but it meant it took a long time for everyone's individual stories to get going. I did have to go back and reread the end of The Ivory Key as a refresher, as the story picks up right where it left off with little refresher (that's a me problem - if you have a better memory than me you're probably good to go).

Overall, great characters and a thoroughly enjoyable conclusion to the duology, even if it doesn't quite live up to the delights of its predecessor.

The second instalment of the Ivory Key. This series is extra special to me as it is written my a Tamil author, so I may be biased but I just loved the politics and the relationships.

Vira and her siblings have discovered the Ivory Key that leads them to the magic they need but they must solve the cipher. Her power is taken away by the council making things more complicated. Decoding the cipher is actually more dangerous than they thought, so all four of them must learn to work together in order to save the throne and their country.

Jumping right into the story, it's like we never left this world, the building of it continuously immersive. I really like the details with which the author embellishes their descriptions. Colorful, vibrant, alive. The narrative has an air of epicness, of destiny, of foreboding.

Each POV is distinctive of its character, portraying their emotions with intensity so that you 'feel' them and feel for them. The siblings seem to have different paths, different agendas, and it is engaging to see their antagonistic relationship evolve. Enjoyable characters presenting admirable depth accompany them on their endeavors.

The story does seem disjointed in parts, like things have been forgotten in the following POV, to be picked up later. This, in an aggravating way, not in a causing good old-fashioned anticipation way. Or the POVs seem a little bit out of order. Luckily it is only in the beginning and as the story finds itself on sturdier tracks you can get lost in it.

Themes that are presented here: the tricky nature of power, trust and what it means to be family. It is also about personal growth and having the courage to be yourself.

Colored by scheming, secrets, spies, unlikely alliances and a more dangerous threat than even war, this is a beyond compelling read, the build-up exciting and leading to an absolutely worthy conclusion to the duology.

4/5

Thank you Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great ending to this duology. It's the perfect fun, adventure fantasy and makes for a very quick read. I loved the world-building, I particularly loved magic as a mineable, tangible asset and how that affects the world and its politics. But the best parts of this series were the relationships.

I adore sibling relationships in stories, primarily because they have the ability to be so much more complicated and heartfelt. This series has four siblings with very distinct personalities and voices, with their own unique and conflicting motivations. I loved how fraught all their interactions were, how many layers there were to them. They were each forced to reconcile their duty for their country, Ashoka, with their love and care for each other. It was a love that was upheld even through treacheries and betrayals because of the simple fact that they were family. These dynamics were so interesting to me.

As I found with the first book, however, this story was incredibly fast-paced. There was therefore lots that I thought might have benefitted from being fleshed out more or approached with more detail. This series does leave me wanting a little because of how quickly we seem to rush through its events. But I think these factors might be easier to overlook for the YA audience that it's meant for.

If you want fun, adventure fantasy books that are easy reads and feature complex sibling dynamics, I'm sure you'll have a brilliant time reading this series!

I loved diving back into the story in both Ashoka and Lyria, and following the four siblings on the next step of their journeys - which definitely aren’t smooth sailing for any of them! These four certainly have the knack for keeping big secrets from each other and wanting to go their own way but it takes all four of them to save Ashoka from the threats against it. There were plot twists I didn’t see coming and a nice hint of romance here and there that I definitely did. As with The Ivory Key, this sequel is full of action, adventure and more betrayals that will keep you on your toes throughout. It can be a little hard to follow all four narratives with the siblings’ paths crossing and diverging and there possibly wasn’t enough time given to each of them which made it more difficult to follow the plots, to connect to them and for them and their relationships to be developed so I would have liked to have seen a slightly longer book with more depth but there was loads going on to keep me hooked.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Crimson Fortress' by Akshaya Raman.

After almost 2 years, the Ivory Key duology comes to an end. And what a great conclusion it was. Akshaya Raman's writing style flows more naturally than it did in the first novel and it had me hooked from start to finish. I will miss these beloved characters but I am excited to see what Raman does next.

Thank you so much Bonnier Books and NetGalley for the e-arc of The Crimson Fortress by Akshaya Raman in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

The Crimson Fortress picks up pretty immediately after the closing chapter of The Ivory Key and there’s no question that the adventures and sun plots we saw in the first book of this duology just keep happening! All 4 of the plucky siblings continue to do their best to save their realm and maybe even work on their dysfunctional family challenges!

The Crimson Fortress continues to focus on the infighting and politics that plagued Vira’s life, with events turning for the worse…even when she thought they couldn’t after the events and loss in The Ivory Key. Meanwhile, Riya is struggling to cope with her newfound skills, Kaleb has become a spy and poor Ronak has become ever more entangled in the spider’s web!

Rahman expands the world building beyond the realm of Ashok, providing greater insight into the less magical Lyria and the factions that make up the politics and threats that are key to the story, plus there are a couple of interesting new characters and tangles along the way.

The Crimson Fortress delivers an action packed closing chapter to an adventure, puzzle, mystery filled treasure hunt that feels like an Eastern / Indian Indiana Jones family adventure that is a great escape from reality and will have you turning the pages from start to end!

The Ivory Key was a really popular book with my students in release and I have no doubt they will love the sequel just as much. Action packed thrilling and captivating throughout.