In this thrilling, action-packed sequel and conclusion to the critically acclaimed Ivory Key duology, royal siblings Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya battle vengeful enemies, centuries-old mysteries, and their own personal demons in order to save their country from ruin.
The search for the Ivory Key has brought royal siblings Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya closer than they have been in years as they try to restore magic and stability to Ashoka. But despite finally getting their hands on the long-lost key, uncovering its cipher has proved more complicated and dangerous than they ever expected.
Their missions force them to split up and disperse them across Ashoka and beyond. When a rash decision by the council strips Vira of her power, her journey to reclaim her throne takes on new meaning. Kaleb travels to the neighboring country of Lyria to uncover its emperor’s motives and meets a prince seeking answers of his own. Ronak’s efforts to escape his arranged marriage and exonerate his brother lead to a series of risky deals that only bring him closer to what he’s running from. And Riya’s newfound power has turned unpredictable, but her search for answers only raises more questions.
When their attempts at decoding the key release an ancient power, the siblings must align to face the past and save their future once and for all. In a quest that culminates in a deadly labyrinth, there’s only one way they will succeed: together.
This must be the first time I’m ranking the first in a series the same as the second book. Kind of insane, I know. But hear me out. I think the first book might have had more impact on me, but overall, considering that the second book usually does struggle with having more impact, I think this one really managed to give me everything I wanted and more, without letting me down on my main expectations.
The Crimson Fortress is the second book in the duology, following the royal siblings in their quest to save their country. At the end of the last book, the Ivory Key was found, but only more questions were raised, and relationships more unclear. Will Vira and her siblings be able to restore Ashoka to its former glory? And what will they sacrifice along the way to reach their goals. Once again, even though they are working together, each sibling has their own agenda and goal, and we will find out just where loyalties lie by the end of the road.
The characters were still really good in this book. Each character had more personality and were more fleshed out (of course), but they still felt unique and I still felt invested into most of their individual plots and story arcs. Ronak felt a little bit overly-stubborn to me, but hey, maybe that’s just his character. But in general, it was really easy to feel for every character in the book, because their title and position really does impose a heavy burden on each and every one of them, except that it affects them each differently. I think this element was very well done, and it really made the characters feel deep and complicated.
The plot was also decent. There was a little bit less pure world-building, but the story still felt very much like an adventure where the siblings must pass difficult trials and tribulations to get to their goal. Luckily, the plot wasn’t overly complicated, so it was easy to follow the multiple POVs once more. There were a couple of twists and reveals, and I think that gave the book that suspense-feel that I always love to see.
There were a lot of cheesy and obvious endings that I feel the the author deliberately did not pursue, and I personally was honestly glad for it. That being said, I would totally understand if another reader wanted those “classic” relationship and plot developments. But I often find that if those things explicitly happen, it’s often less exciting and good as one’s hyped-up expectations for it. In that way, I think the author really did a good job giving me more of what I wanted, without overdoing it.
I also really enjoyed the various themes in this book. The theme of duty, family, and loyalty were so excellently explored in this second book. After building the base of these themes in the first book, I thought the author did a really good job continuing to explore the internal conflicts in all of these characters in facing what they held to be their true loyalties, against what their duties and expectations of them sometimes were. Once again, for me it was Vira with one of the heaviest burdens that I really felt for her and her struggles to stay true to herself and her title. However, Riya’s internal familial struggles, and their brothers struggling with their identities as well was something truly so well done. I really felt for each of these characters.
Finally, I wanted to mention that I really enjoyed getting such a close look at Indian-adjacent culture. At first I found it hard to follow along with some of the terms, but I found myself quickly getting used to it and picking it all up. I thought this was a good reminder that even things that are foreign are not necessarily difficult to pick up and understand if you put the effort in. It was also awesome to get a look into more types of cultures than just the regular ones we are used to!
Overall this was such a killer series. The author really found a balance between world-building, a suspenseful and interesting plot, exploration of important themes and values, and an ending that gives you just enough to be satisfied. I think some of these things are definitely going to be personal to me, but considering all my expectations going in, more than enough of the boxes were checked off for me to award a full five points. It really feels like these two books were a complete set, and I’m glad to put it down now and be happy with the whole journey. I hope all of you who enjoyed the first book will also enjoy the second one like I did!
Down the Rabbit Hole 
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