I found the book to be slow going at first but it picked up and got my attention. I wish that the elsiblings had been given more time to explain why they were so set on their paths. It felt like the author told us instead of showing us why each sibling was the way they were. I understood Vira, the most with the other three being harder to understand their mindset and behavior. Ronak was just flat out frustrating. Overall, this was a good book and solid start to the duology.

It was an engaging story for the most part. I did not understand the rift between the siblings. It was apparent that magic has become a crutch to society, it was sad that the people were unable to continue without the magic they had become so reliant on. The underground city was the coolest!

This one started out very slow for me. It was definitely full of more political intrigue than I expected, and couldn’t really hold my attention, so I really struggled with it.

“This was a chance to change everything. To save Ashoka.”

Eight months ago, Vira’s mother, the queen of Ashoka, was killed. Vira inherited the throne, but being the maharani comes with many tough choices—and now Vira is stuck with one of the most difficult decisions of all: what to do now that Ashoka’s prized resource, magic, is running out. With war looming, Vira turns to what seems like a long shot: finding the the mysterious and legendary Ivory Key, rumored to unlock a new source of magic. The only problem? The Ivory Key is hidden deep within enemy territory, and Vira will have to reunite her estranged siblings if she wants to find it. But they all have their own secrets and reasons for finding the Key. Kaleb was falsely accused of murdering the previous maharani and needs the Key to buy his freedom. Ronak has made a deal with a shady criminal in the hopes of escaping a political marriage. Riya ran away two years ago, but she wants the Key to prove her loyalty to her new family, a group of rebels playing heroes to the people. The journey is rife with dangers and the siblings will have to work together, despite their many secrets, if they want to find the Key—but what they discover at the end of the road may be the most dangerous secret of all.

Author Akshaya Raman has created such a brilliant world in her Indian-inspired debut that the story sparkles long after one has closed the book. Ashoka is lush and vivid, and Raman’s writing is the real star of the story. Every detail is intriguing and vibrant, from the mouth-watering food to the beautiful outfits. The magic system has been masterfully designed, and the action entices you to keep turning page after page until you’ve reached the explosive ending. I loved how Raman explored the relationships between all four siblings, and I can’t wait to see how the characters grow even more in the sequel. With rich descriptions and a captivating plot, The Ivory Key is the 2022 fantasy debut you don’t want to miss.

Content Warnings: Kidnapping, death of a parent, murder, moderately strong language, some graphic descriptions of violence and dead bodies, war, fire, emotional manipulation, allusions to human experimentation

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

This fantasy adventure, set in an Eastern-style country, takes a while to really get going. That didn’t bother me overmuch, as the narrative swings between all four siblings and we gradually learn about them and their motivations. I think I would have struggled more if I hadn’t grown to like each of them and understand their actions – even when I could see them making horrible mistakes. On the face of it, they are all pampered princes and princesses. But when we get to see exactly what has happened to each of them, then it becomes clear they are all essentially trapped in lives they didn’t choose and they are all desperately trying to break free, or make things better. The conflict rises as each of them approaches their problem in very different ways…

It takes deft writing and very clear characterisation skills to give us four such rounded and sympathetic protagonists within a relatively short time, before they finally embark on a major adventure together. And as it all starts kicking off, I simply couldn’t put this one down. Be warned – it ends on something of a cliff-hanger, but I loved it and have found myself thinking a lot about this one after I finished, which is a sure sign that it’s something a bit special. Highly recommended for fantasy fans who like an Eastern setting, strong characters and lots of adventure.
9/10

The Ivory Key was just the bit of refreshing, unique fantasy I needed.

I love reading books set in other cultures, especially fantasies, and I thought this one was really well-done. Akshaya did a wonderful job transporting you and putting the reader in the shoes of Vira and her family! Their struggles felt real and true - the personal struggles within and the inter-familial conflicts, as well as the greater, external struggles.

I look forward to reading the sequel!

My favorite thing about this book was how twisty it was! I was never sure what was going to happen from one chapter to the next - who would betray whom, how the treasure hunt would pan out, whether the four siblings would even survive their quest. It was really well done.

I also loved some of the siblings, Riya and Kaleb being my favorites. Vira is hard to love but I came to appreciate her by the end, and Ronak is...also difficult to love. But I understand him. Unfortunately my favorite character was
Amrit.
.

The questionable part about this book was the plot and pacing. I felt like the beginning dragged on a bit, so by the time the siblings actually left on their quest, I wasn't able to enjoy it because we had to race through that portion too fast because too much time had been spent on the build-up.

That said, the ending absolutely astonished and delighted me, and I'm excited to read the second book in this series when it comes out!

A fractured family with differing agendas fights to save their kingdom.

Vira, the heir, struggles to rule in her mother’s place, gaining the respect of her advisers and finding her own way. She’s made tough choices, including imprisoning her own sweet half-brother Kaleb to make her council happy. Bitter, angry Ronak wants only to free Kaleb and run, leaving everything else behind. And Riya did run, teaming up with vigilante robbers The Ravens to bring needed supplies to the people. But the murder of Vira’s fiancé and Rita’s return to the palace forces the siblings to plot and scheme, both together and against each other. Their magic quarry is running out, but the siblings are closing in on the ivory key, rumored to be able to unlock three other quarries.

This fantasy is Indian-inspired, with intriguing legends and a magic system. This is the first book in a duology and it sets up the second book nicely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book really didn't pick up until 75% in. I'm excited to read the 2nd book in the series, since the ending was really good and the last quarter pretty exciting.
I'll probably only recommend it to my most patient and avid readers.

This book was’t for me. There wasn’t a lot happening till the end of the book, witch is some thing I don’t like. The magic system was cool and was a part I enjoyed. It sounded great and i thing a lot of younger people would love it, but i havent read any YA fantasy recently so it did not appeal to me any more. I loves that it was set in India and that was also very interesting. I didn’t care for the characters witch didn’t help either.

This book is the first in a duology about 4 siblings and a quest to find the ivory key. This is more than just a quest though, relationships between the siblings are strained but as the story progresses we see them begin to understand each other more. The book describes the setting and the lost city in a way that allows the reader to picture it clearly. The descriptions of foods are mouth wateringly described. Each character development helps to create a complexity in which they become likeable, vulnerable and make you want each to succeed. The suprising twists in the book make for a gripping read.

THE IVORY KEY follows four different siblings, with four different paths and as a consequence, clashing motivations on the surface. The whole concept of the book hinges on the fact that Ashoka’s -the country- wellfare is intrisicately dependent on its magic. A magic that is running out. A magic that needs saving if Ashoka has any hope to not fall to its enemies. What intrigued me most about the book and kept me wanting to find out more, its the magic system and the way it was portrayed. It was mesmerizing start to finish. So much of it was cloked in mystery that I couldn’t help but want to unveil bit by bit. It’s a mystery to even its people. It’s dwindling and no one knows why. Their only hope is to find a mystical key to quarries that hold most of the country’s magic, sealed 500 years before to allegedly protect the country. The Ivory Key.

As the story progresses and the scene is set, the siblings as well as the readers discover that the key might not be so mystical after all. When flimzy clues start to form a map leading to it, each siblings sees in it an opportunity to get what they want. And this is when the story turns into a fun sort of treasure hunt.

We have Vira, the Maharani, who has become queen too soon, is drowning in her role and struggling to fit the too big shoes her mother left her and gain credibility. She wants to restore magic, save her country and prove herself, all in one swoop. Ronak resents everything about his royal life. His only wish is to run as far away as possible and make a life for himself far from politics and scheming. His plan is to sell the key and build a new life. Riya, having ran away from home and now part of a rebel group, want to steal the key to help people in a Robin Hood-esque way. Kaleb was accused of killing their mom was thrown to prison by his sister. The peaceful sibling, he also seems to be the only one without a motive of his own for embarking on this journey.

And while each sibling seems to be drastically different from the other ones, I sometime struggled to keep them straight in my head. Every single one of them but Kaleb. He seemed to be the only one to stand out to me. And coincidentally my favorite. He’s the queer (in a queernormative world), biracial half-brother who everyone around him seems to treat like the underdog, because he isn’t “fully Ashokan”. This made for some interesting discussions and challenged some of the prejudice biracial folks tend to face, although barely grazing the surface.

While reading, I kept wondering why I sometimes confused the three other siblings. I came to the conclusion that it was because all three of their point of views were threaded with so much anger and resentment. I do understand making them somewhat similar because a lot of their emotions mirror each other. But at some points, Vira, Riya and Ronak became completely undiscerable to me unless they were talking about a topic or struggle that was unique to them. And that is a problem. It kept pulling me out of the story while I tried to figure ou twho was talking. And I think that this also factored into my next issue with THE IVORY KEY.

The sibling relationship, which was the selling point for me, lacked in its exploration. I was promised complex and messy and while that was true on paper, the four of them barely interacted for it to show. A lot of their feelings and resentment towards each other were internal and introspective. So while it was noticeable in the narration, there wasn’t much to show for it. And as a result, it felt like the siblings ended the book having barely moved from where they started it, where it comes to their one on one as well as overall dynamics.

This could be due to the plot being fast moving and leaving little room for conversation. Or an underwhelming and underdevelopped romance for Vira I personally did not care for. Or it could be due to the general human condition where we tend to let negative feelings fester. Either way, I would have liked the sibling relationships to have been given more focus, and to have changed in one way or another, by the end of the book.

Speaking of fast moving plot. The treasure hunt aspect of it was such a fun ride to embark on. Seeing the sibling piece together the clues, every single one of the bringing an element to the table that helps form the full picture. It made for an adventure-like story that, if nothing else, will keep you entertained for the length of the book. I personally found it very predictible and formulaic. The author didn’t let enough time build between the danger and the resolution of me as a reader to truly come to care about the stakes. And once you pick up on that pattern in the writing, you can map out the rest of the events.

But I didn’t mind that much, because what was truly interesting to me is that throughout it all the siblings come to find out that their motivations might not be so different after all. They might or might not be four sides of the same four sided coin (?) (bare with me, please). I really liked how that was done. That all the ways they have manipulated each other to reach their goals might not be necessary, or ideal, when said goals are the same.

All of this was threaded with beautiful and descriptive writing that makes you feel like you’re with them. Vivid imagery upon vivid imagery, stunning scenery descriptions, intricate temples and monuments, beautiful garments, and so and so forth. The reader will feel immersed in the world Raman build as THE IVORY KEY develops.

"That's the thing about battling ghosts... The living always lose."
Incredible. This adventure with a little slow burn romance has major Indiana Jones vibes. Clues, puzzles, an ancient city, a booby-trapped temple, and 4 siblings on the hunt for the same thing for their own reasons .. The beginning felt slow to me with lots of set up and 4 different perspectives to keep track of, but once I passed the 40% mark, I couldn't put it down! And the epilogue is like the cherry on top with this story. I am REALLY looking forward to the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley for my e-arc of this book. All opinions here are my own.

It took a little while to get into, but by the end I was totally involved in the story and these characters. I loved the different family dynamics, the descriptions of the landscapes they were traveling, the many uses of their magic. It was all very exciting and entertaining. I can't wait for the second book and look forward to reading it as soon as possible. Definitely recommend!

The Ivory Key was such a fun book. I loved the magic system and the world building. I like how Raman created a unique story that I really enjoyed.

I'm not usually a multi-pov lover but the author did a fantastic job with creating a seamless transition and I was able to read it without having to remember what was going on with the other sibling at times.

How dare this book end there?!

This was a stunning book. The main point of this story is that there is a magic Ivory Key and a group of royal siblings all want it for different reasons.

I love the multiple perspectives being family members. I usually dig multi-narrated novels anyway but this gave the relationship between the siblings depth. There was a bit of a falling out between most of them before the start of the novel so watching each of them take steps towards healing that divide was nice. I also felt each sibling was powerful in their own right and worked well together. No one could've made it solo to seek the Ivory Key, they truly needed each other.

I did slightly guess one of the twists towards the end but I'm not mad about it, I'm more interested to see where that goes in the second book now. This novel definitely set you up in a rich, lovingly illustrated world with well described textures, foods, and people so I look forward to see how Raman continues that in the sequel.

I’d requested this back in February 2021 and only got my request accepted in December so you can imagine how glad I am that this was my last fantasy book of 2021! I haven't read a good fantasy book for so long and I’m so ready to be back in my Fantasy Era after this.

The thing that really intrigued me about The Ivory Key is that it focuses on siblings on a quest rather than potential love interests or a found family on a quest. All of the siblings have different intentions and reasons for going on the quest and the anticipation of the story builds because you read because you don't know who you’re rooting to get their way or even who will get their way. And while the relationship among the four siblings is incredibly complicated and tense, it’s what really makes, rather than breaks, the book. Each sibling gets their own POVs so you can see how actions from one sibling might have been made in good faith but are interpreted as ill-willed by another sibling. The way that each of the siblings remembers their parents is also something that divides the siblings as each of them have their own complicated relationship with their now deceased parents.

The worldbuilding in this book is just how I like it, complex but not so convoluted it makes your head spin. It’s easy to read and I love hearing the history of Ashoka. The familiarity of the names of significant people in Ashokan history warmed my heart.

Raman also did almost zero foreshadowing (or I’m just dense?) so most of the plot twists actually do take you by surprise. I actually gasped at the ending. Figured out the one about the box though.

All in all, I think The Ivory Key was a running debut and I am very very excited to see what Akshaya Raman has in store for Book 2!

Vira, Ronak, Kaleb, and Riya are siblings that followed different paths, and magic is nearly depleted in their country. The siblings plan to search for the Ivory Key, a legendary item able to lead to a new source of magic. Each sibling has a reason to find the key, and something to lose if they fail. Vira wants to live up to her mother's legacy, Ronak plans to sell the key to get out of a political marriage, Kaleb wants to clear his name, and Riya must prove her loyalty to the rebels. The siblings must work together or they may not survive

The Ivory Key is the first book of a duology, Indian inspired, and a brilliant debut novel. Chapters vary between the four siblings, and we're thrown into the deep end of the drama right away; Vira is in disguise with her guards and they find her fiance dead in the forest, and the rebel group known as the Ravens are in the forest as well. Magic in this world is a tangible thing, mined out of the earth and molded into physical objects by special crafters. The only known mine in the kingdom is petered out, and there is the myth of a map and an Ivory Key to find the other mines that had been locked away. I was immediately drawn into the sibling conflicts, and the drive to find the key.

While each of the four siblings has their own reasons to get the key, they all realize that it's for the best of Ashoka that magic is brought back to the nation. To find it means following clues left behind by the Kamala Society generations before, which their father had collected as a hobby before his death. They must collect pieces of a map, look for its current day location, then travel by foot through dangerous territory to get there. Each of the siblings had absorbed different lessons from their parents, so it's only by working together that they can get past the traps, the mercenaries in the jungle, or survive the jungle itself to find that actual key. Once they do, however, their problems aren't magically solved. It opens up more questions for them, which will be solved in the second book of the duology.

What really gives the book a sense of weight and history is the sense of time throughout the text. Each of the siblings mentions what they know about history, the founding of the kingdom, the history that their father had loved so much, and the importance of heritage. Even though there are few kingdoms mentioned, the two that are at odds have a long history with magic and the disputed territories they fought over. Food, clothing, culture, and language are all mentioned with differences in culture and time mentioned. It's beautifully done, and will no doubt close in an equally fascinating way in the second book.

This was a very interesting tale of four squabbling royal siblings who must come together to save their country, marred by some weird instances of under-writing. It's certainly a page turner in the back half, and who doesn't love a non-generic fantasy setting? Inspired by Indian mythology, with a distinct matrilineal bent, this is an inclusive fantasy that also features queer characters and, even more unusually in the YA genre, strict but not in-your-face vegetarianism.

Vira is the young maharani of Ashoka, thrust onto the throne after her mother's death in battle less than two years earlier. As the eldest daughter, she always knew that the weight of responsibility lay on her head. Even so, she's unprepared for how her council of twelve advisors, representatives of her various states and ministries, strive to bully her into following their edicts. The first of these, unfortunately, was for the immediate arrest and imprisonment of her older brother Kaleb, for conspiracy to assassinate the former maharani.

Kaleb willingly accepts imprisonment despite protesting his innocence. While his father was the former maharani's consort, his mother was a noblewoman of Lyria (think Ancient Greece,) who died when he was a toddler. With Lyria aggressing on Ashoka's borders, it's easy to paint him as the scapegoat, despite the fact that his entire worldly ambitions have been to become as accomplished a scholar and mayaka (essentially a magic smith) as his late father.

Ronak, Vira's twin brother, is deeply unhappy with her treatment of Kaleb. A devoted historian, he ventures way out of his comfort zone in an effort to free his brother, getting in touch with a criminal element in order to secure enough funds to both break Kaleb out of prison and start a new life for them somewhere far away from his sister's realm. But will the price he's expected to pay in return break not only him but Ashoka itself?

Riya, the youngest sibling, fled long ago from the castle after a final argument with her mother over wealth distribution and justice. Now she lives in the forest with the gang of thieves and rabble rousers known as the Ravens, until a chance encounter in the woods has her returning to her sister's court, in search of a way to help her found family bring more relief to a suffering citizenry burdened by ever-rising taxes.

The way these four very different but incontrovertibly connected souls comes together once more is elegantly plotted, if entirely unsurprising. After a series of double crosses has them all grumpily on the same page to track down the titular Ivory Key, there's an intriguing adventure plot that had me up till the wee hours, telling myself, "Just one more chapter!" I'm definitely very interested in reading the conclusion to this duology, even as I'm rather lukewarm about the characters, who are all various (understandable, if irritating) shades of angsty and dumb. Kaleb is probably the least annoying of them all, followed by Vira. Ronak is the absolute worst. But they all have their hearts in the right places, and seeing them all band together as a family unit once more is positively heartwarming.

This definitely reads like a debut novel, but Akshaya Raman shows loads of promise. Hopefully, she'll just keep getting better and better as her writing career progresses.

The Ivory Key (The Ivory Key Duology #1) by Akshaya Raman was published January 4 2022 by Clarion Books and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9780358468332">Bookshop!</a>

Fun treasure-hunting adventure with a strong focus on sibling relationships. More character-driven than plot-driven, with a slow start and perhaps too fast pace once the action actually kicks in. The worldbuilding was excellent, with an interesting magic system and socio-political conflict. The characters were relatable with clear motivations and arcs. The twist at the end was telegraphed a bit too strongly to come as a surprise, but was still enough to encourage reading the next book.