5 star, YA

Review: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Magic, a prized resource, is the only thing between peace and war. When magic runs out, four estranged royal siblings must find a new source before their country is swallowed by invading forces. The first in an Indian-inspired duology.

Vira is desperate to get out of her mother’s shadow and establish her legacy as a revered queen of Ashoka. But with the country’s only quarry running out of magic–a precious resource that has kept Ashoka safe from conflict–she can barely protect her citizens from the looming threat of war. And if her enemies discover this, they’ll stop at nothing to seize the last of the magic.

Vira’s only hope is to find a mysterious object of legend: the Ivory Key, rumored to unlock a new source of magic. But in order to infiltrate enemy territory and retrieve it, she must reunite with her siblings, torn apart by the different paths their lives have taken. Each of them has something to gain from finding the Ivory Key–and even more to lose if they fail. Ronak plans to sell it to the highest bidder in exchange for escape from his impending political marriage. Kaleb, falsely accused of assassinating the former maharani needs it to clear his name. And Riya, a runaway who cut all family ties, wants the Key to prove her loyalty to the rebels who want to strip the nobility of its power.

They must work together to survive the treacherous journey. But with each sibling harboring secrets and their own agendas, the very thing that brought them together could tear apart their family–and their world–for good.

This is book one of a duology, and the newest book, The Crimson Fortress, drops tomorrow, November 14! I saw this book, skimmed the synopsis, and I knew I had to get my hands on book one. Luckily, it was available in the library so I completely devoured it in one day. And wow was I impressed. The depth of characters, the thrilling journey, the heist! This book really had everything. I cannot wait for book two to drop tomorrow (I already have it on hold!).

The Ivory Key is a story that takes place in an India-inspired fantasy world, except that it has something called magic that can be mined and forged into objects. However, after her mother’s tragic death, Vira is thrust into her position of maharani (queen) of the land. The country’s biggest secret? Their quarry is almost out of magic. And without this magic, the land’s economy grows poor, people grow desperate, and the borders of their land grow week. Vira, just barely 18 years old, must navigate her new position and save her land. But that’s not all, the story also takes place through the POV of her siblings, who each have their own battles to face, very different from Vira.

The characters were truly so amazing in this book. Considering how many siblings there were, each one really felt unique and had their own struggles to triumph over. It really had that YA coming-of-age feel that really drove the story forward. While yes they had immature and petty moments as any young adult would, it felt very real, and the weight of each character’s burdens of being in their positions was really well executed, and I think it really brought me into the story. I was so invested in each character, and their development arc, which is a sign of great writing. For me, Vira’s position was especially enthralling, being thrust so young into a position of power where there is no way to please everyone, yet there is only so much you can do.

The plot was also marvelous. The multiple POVs were very well-coordinated, and the tying of the plotlines back together was absolutely excellent. Even though it had me looking this way and that way, I found it really easy to follow, and I was truly invested in all the different stories, which is not something I can usually say for this kind of book. The final heist that takes place is also extremely exciting and fast-paced, I simply couldn’t put it down like some sort of thriller. It had that Indiana Jones sort of feel and I was truly living for it. I can’t say enough good things about this exciting plot.

I really enjoyed the world building in this book too. While it wasn’t crazy amounts of world building and expansion, it felt like it had just enough to keep the mechanics and story clear, while providing a lot of mysterious just-beyond-your-reach aspects that keep things intriguing. The history that was built into the world too was also very thought out, and I thought there weren’t too many loopholes, and the way the country came to the point that we find the story was plausible, and I really felt for the rulers who had to make all the tough choices to get to the situation they found themselves in.

This book had a surprising amount of twists, turns, and reveals, it was actually very much written like a thriller, except that it was more of a fantasy/adventure type of story. It was a really interesting balance and it made for a (rare) quickly absorbable fantasy that I couldn’t help getting invested in. A search for a magical object for the future of the land, and siblings each with their own hidden agendas. How will they work together? Who will be the one to double-cross? Or triple-cross? One simply cannot know.

The ending was also incredibly exciting, and the epilogue was one of those rare ones where I found it really added a lot to the story, so that’s a nice bonus at the end of a book. I seriously can’t wait for the book to come out tomorrow and I really hope that I’ll be able to get my hands on it soon. I can’t recommend this one enough!

Overall Recommendations

The Ivory Key is an India-inspired fantasy in which magic is a fast-depleting resource. The new young ruler, Vira, must find a legendary ivory key in order to save her land. She forms an unlikely team with her siblings, who all have their own agendas, and each looking to prove and achieve something. This is an exciting fantasy adventure, with plenty of thrills, intrigue, and twists and turns to boot. This is one I definitely recommend!

2 star, YA

ARC Review: Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

When Chloe Chang gets dumped via USPS after moving across the county from NYC to LA, her first instinct is to throw her box of memories in the garbage. Instead, she starts buying other teenagers’ break-up boxes to create an art exhibit, Heartifacts. Opening night is going great, until she spots Daniel Kwak illicitly filming his best friend’s reaction to his ex’s box. When she tries to stop him, an intense discussion ends up launching a creative partnership and friendship… and a major crush for Chloe.

There’s just one problem: Daniel is dead set on not being another rebound.

Five times he’s been the guy who makes the girls he’s dating realize they want to get back with their ex. And he refuses for there to be a sixth. She insists she’s over her ex, but when he shows up unexpectedly with his new girlfriend, it turns out Daniel was right. She isn’t ready for a new relationship.

She throws herself into making Heartifacts successful, but flashy influencers threaten her original vision of the exhibit. To create the exhibit she’s always wanted, Chloe needs to go back to basics, learn to work with artists in a more collaborative way, and discover what love can be. Only then will she convince Daniel she’s truly ready for everything they could be to one another.

In the tradition of Jenny Han and Emma Lord, Jennifer Chen’s Artifacts of an Ex is a story of love, art, and finding your way when everything you know has changed completely.

Overall Recommendation:

Artifacts of an Ex touches on key themes of loving yourself and learning to let go before falling in love again. While I agree with these things, the execution was not as strong as I had hoped and it was hard to believe in Chloe’s newfound love for Daniel while her breakup was still so fresh. I had also wished for more about her family as they felt like filler rather than important side themes to explore in the book. Overall it was an okay read but it did take me a while to finish it.

**Artifacts of an Ex comes out November 14, 2023**

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review

There were plenty of things I wanted to love about this book: themes of heartbreak, new love, and the feelings they invoke in us universally. Perhaps some of it was too much to explore altogether in this one novel, or my expectations were too high, but it felt like it bit off more than it could chew.

Chloe quickly gets dumped early on in the book. Her idea to form an art exhibit from people’s shared experiences of heartbreak from an ex was unique and refreshing.

But too much focus was perhaps on the actual planning and replanning of the exhibit. She is apparently a big enough YouTuber who is known for, well, planning. As PlanItGirl, she utilizes a number of, what I guess to be, sponsored items from stationery brands for her planning journals and writing utensils. I never understood all of it as it’s not explicitly explained, so either this is a popular real brand I have absolutely no idea of or it wasn’t meant to be analyzed beyond its mention in the book.

Then we have her Asian family. There are a few side plots with them, namely the fact they moved to LA to be with her ill grandmother. Their search for the recipe ingredients in her grandma’s famous pineapple cakes was fun and I loved the dynamic with her Ahma when she could remember who Chloe was. However, nothing more substantial really takes place beyond this and it leaves me wondering if they were just plot filler to pad out the story. They all feel a little too two-dimensional for characters that did take up a certain amount of space in the book.

My biggest problem, though, was how hard it was to believe Chloe could just fall in love with Daniel so fast after such a breakup with her ex. She barely had time to process her feelings, and when her ex, Jake, popped back in her life post-breakup, she clearly had hoped to still give it another try with him if he also wanted that. This was after she had met Daniel and thought he could be someone of interest to date. With Daniel’s history and his concern as the “rebound” guy, her reassurances to him that she wouldn’t do that seems super hypocritical.

For a book about love, whether new love or loving yourself with your flaws and all, I didn’t really feel either of these things from Chloe’s journey. That, perhaps, is why it was so hard to love this as much as I had hoped from the synopsis. With more focus on this main theme, I may have learned to love it more but it just wasn’t for me.

discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Book Titles

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Aria @ Book Nook Bits is the new host for Let’s Talk Bookish! If you aren’t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

November 10: Book Titles (Davida Chazan @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog)

Prompts: Do you ever get a book with a title that sounds great but the book isn’t? Maybe you’ve read a book that was great, but the title didn’t really fit the book. Sometimes US and UK titles are different – does that bother you? Which ones do you mostly prefer?

Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH, everyone! Today’s topic is about book titles, and I think it’s an underrated topic of discussion, so I’m excited that it’s here for us to discuss. I’m sure everyone has experience with mismatched titles, or good titles, though not that many people seem to talk about it. Cover art tends to get the limelight more often. Let’s bring it back to titles for one day, shall we?

I think there are plenty of books with titles that sound great but the book isn’t. Speaking frankly, I do tend to gravitate towards books with good titles and/or good cover art—judging by its cover, yes. Although it has to be coupled with an interesting synopsis, of course, before I actually pick it up if it’s a random book. There aren’t too many terrible titles, but I have definitely been burned by some good titles. But I’ve also found some great books by their great titles! So it’s really quite the toss up.

On the other hand, if the synopsis is great, I don’t really care about what the title is. After all it’s just (maybe) one word out of the whole book. I think a great title can really add a lot to a book, and I always admire a well-chosen title. However, I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker at all, if the story is good, it’s good no matter what the title is. A good title is just the cherry on top. It does help to have a catchy title when it’s time to recall what the excellent book was called though!

I don’t know that many differing titles between the US and UK. I believe the first Harry Potter book is the only one I know? That one does bother me slightly, and I definitely prefer the US title. However, that might be because I saw the US one first and that’s forming my opinion. I don’t notice a difference between the titles too often though, so it doesn’t bother me all too much.

I really love a well-titled book, and I think a descriptive title is really the bare minimum. Titles can give a real sense of the book, and you can usually tell its genre just by the way the title is written. And beyond that, I think it can also really set the tone and give an extra sense of meaning when the title fits perfectly with the book.

What do you all think about titles? Any good ones recently that you’ve seen? Or what are your favourite titles like? Let me know in the comments below!