The Weavers of Alamaxa is the stunning sequel to The Daughters of Izdihar which I loved so much I simply had to do a reread to prepare for book two. If you have the time I highly recommend squeezing in that extra read as it makes the emotional arc of the duology so much more powerful.
To set the scene, I am a person who has been burned by a duology sequel many, many times before. So often they try to squeeze 2 books worth of content into one long novel and everybody loses. In this case the plotting of these books is so well handled that this sequel felt perfectly paced to me - it definitely has a lot of threads to follow but it manages them wonderfully to the point where the book feels complete without feeling too long.
Essentially, if you liked the first book I am certain you will like the second and I think if you were iffy on The Daughters of Izdihar there is a lot more to get your teeth into in this sequel in terms of challenging the more troubling aspects of the first book. Reading a patriarchal fantasy world is never easy as it can often feel very hopeless but Hadeer Elsbai manages to balance that hopelessness with the determination of her characters.
A wonderful sapphic time as well, I would be remiss not to mention.
Overall I will be recommending this duology to everyone who, like me, cannot resist a book that explores elemental powers. I will read 100 more of them thankyou.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This continued the tension that was raised in Daughters of Izdihar and the fight against oppression and prejudice continues. You discover the extent to which Zirana is willing to go to incapacitate weavers and the ease with which others are able to concede to Zirana’s plan, without a second thought.

I love how the weavers band together to take a stand for their rights as weavers and as females who deserve a say in the land that they live in. The pacing is quick and you are constantly at the edge of your seat, wondering if they are safe. Hadeer doesn’t shy away from the heartbreak scenes and these have you hurting with the characters for their pain. Nehal is still impetuous and Georgina is still afraid to embrace her powers which is a little frustrating however if you take into account that she has always had to hide this part of her, you can understand where her fear stems from.

This is an excellent duology that emphasizes the importance of female empowerment in a male dominated world, and the need to embrace all parts of one’s self, as difficult as it may be. This was a great conclusion to the story that started in Daughters of Izdihar, and this duology is a must read for fantasy lovers who love strong female characters and their quest for justice and equality, The Egyptian setting is intriguing and well-written, and therefore easily understood.

I loved the first book of this duology a lot, and this one I enjoyed just as much!
A world you can fully get absorbed into.
I loved the magic system, the world building, the characters, the romance.. all of it.
A very enjoyable read. I can't wait to see what Hadeer brings out next! :)

I found this one harder to get into than the first one, but it was still a really good read once I was immersed back into the stories of the weavers and Alamaxa.

This story took a few twists and turns that I most definitely wasn't expecting, and it was very bittersweet. I guess in the fight for rights for women (and all those that are oppressed) that is to be expected.

A very good read.

I found The Daughters of Izdihar a fantastically compelling story from the very first page, and The Weavers of Alamaxa was no different. It was a delight to lose myself once again in the incredible world that Hadeer Elsbai has created, and to read the stunning conclusion to the Alamaxa Duology.

This book was brilliantly written, with never a dull moment, and once I started reading, I found it difficult to stop. I loved all of the characters - in particular, I loved how incredibly human they felt. They didn't always make the sensible choices, but they did what made sense for who they were and what mattered to them, and that, to me, is most important. The interconnected politics surrounding womens' rights and weavers' freedoms were masterfully handled, and simply everything about this book made it a genuine joy to read, from start to finish.

4.5 Stars!

Synopsis: The bells have rung, a war is coming. This time Weavers are fighting for more than just to be.

CW/TW: Violence/Drugging/Assault/Kidnapping/Homophobia/Sexism/Death/Others May Be Present.

Rep: Sapphic MC/Queer Side Characters/Egyptian Inspired Setting and Cast.

My Review of Book 1: Book Review: The Daughters of Izdihar (The Alamaxa Duology #1), by Hadeer Elsbai

We are back in the world of Weaving and it is glorious! This book picks up straight up from where book 1 left off and we are thrown straight into a conflict larger than before. This will be a short review to avoid spoilers for either book in the duology – but I highly recommend this is you love fantasy set against a political and feminist backdrop.

Elsbai‘s writing is, again, both gorgeous and engaging, she builds a rich and intricate world of politics and weaving with complex characters at the core of it all. The prose flows beautifully and is incredibly easy to read and fall in to – the continued multiple pov works wonderfully to balance the pace and plot while letting you gain insight into the characters, their perspectives and the war around them.

The plot of course is continued from book 1, but this time we are thrown into a much larger fight. The battle for Weavers and women alike has become much more crucial and deadly than before. With the danger of Zirani and multiple rebel groups fighting for freedom, we get to to see the true importance behind the fight the Daughters of Izdihar begun, and the consequences of oppression. What most intrigued me about the story was the theme of rebellion. Particularly the complexity of the need for violence balanced with the need of political sensitivity. Against the context of the war, the need for violence to ultimately find peace grows – and the characters all have particular views about this that creates an intriguing and complex picture of rebellion and how far you need to go to be free.

Again, of course, the characters are another wonderful spotlight throughout the book! I love love love our three main weavers, the dynamics between them and other characters, their motivations, thoughts and desires – I loved watching the characters grow and finding out more about Weaving.

Overall, this was a stunning conclusion to a wonderful duology that I highly recommend!

*Thank you to #Netgalley and Orbir Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!!*

A satisfying conclusion to the duo logy.
This book had a sound storyline and well formed characters that had much more depth than the first book. The plot picks up from where it left off in the first book and continues with a pace drawing the reader into the drama.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for providing me an eARC to review!

A really solid - but brutal - duology about revolution, colonialism, and civil rights.

While I wasn't quite as engrossed by this as I was with the first book, it still had a lot of the elements I really enjoyed. There was lots of post-colonial theory about the use/necessity of violence, and I think Elsbai did a really good job of showing Giorgina's conflict with this in particular. The characters all had interesting journeys to follow throughout the duology, and there is a hopeful ending for most of them.

It was a bit of a difficult read as it does feel very rooted in reality despite it being a fantasy novel, so the descriptions of brutal violence are unpleasant. Lots of content warnings for violence/gore, self-immolation, and threats of sexual assault. I would still recommend to fans of RF Kuang's fantasy works, or anyone more generally who is looking for historically-informed fantasy that delves a bit deeper into the mechanics of revolution.

This second volume of the Alamaxa duology continues the story exactly where we left it with The Daughters of Izdihar. I will not go into the plot as it is almost impossible to avoid spoilers. This second volume was in my opinion a little more rounded up than the first - the characters did finally find themselves and their place in the world. One of the main issues I had with the first volume was the feeling that everyone seemed to have only very stark black or white views and opinions (maybe aside from Nico, but he has not been the strongest character to start with…), every character felt “loud” and “erratic”.
In this second installment we find a little more balance, and a good conclusion to a good story that has been filled with a lot of (for me) hard to relate to characters. If you liked, or were on the fence with the first volume, I’d definitely recommend you to continue - The Weavers of Alamaxa is definitely a significant step up.

The Weavers of Alaxama is the final book of The Alaxama duology. I pretty much binge read this series. This young adult fantasy series has a solid storyline, great worldbuilding, and impressive character growth. The story is full of action, making it an exciting read from start to finish. Also, this series is inspired by Egyptian history so that was an interesting touch to the plot. Overall, I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I can't wait to read more from the author in the future. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy.

This was an action packed ending to the Atamaza duology that began with Daughters of Izdihar. The Weavers of Atamaxa picks up almost straight after the ending of the previous book with Georgina and Malak having just escaped from prison. Nehal has disappeared and we discover that she has been kidnapped and taken to the enemy kingdom of Zirani. The Zirani hate all weavers and have discovered a way to rid the world of them forever. They plan to use Nehal to show the world just what they are capable of.
I love the way that Hadeer Elsbai focuses on the characters of Georgina and Nehal in this book. The two women are complete contrasts in temperament but they both are determined not to let their own government and the Zirani dictate to them any longer. Both women show huge growth during the course of the story. Georgina has to come to terms with her power and work out how she can use it in a way that she can deal with. Nehal on the other hand comes to realise that her impetuousness might not always be the best course of action. Nico and Malak still have huge roles to play and Nico in particular remains one of my favourite characters. I love his steadiness which contrasts so well with those around him.
The world building is extended in this book as we move into the kingdom of Zirani and I enjoyed the depiction of both cities. The political aspect is really well done and Georgina and Nehal find themselves fighting their own politicians as well as the Zirani. The action is fast paced and builds up to a devastating but satisfying conclusion. No spoilers but I hate it when it authors take decisions that hurt characters however I would far rather read a book with that pain than a something where everyone lives happily after.
My only slight negative is that the royal families on both sides and the bad guys generally seemed a bit two dimensional in particular Queen Rasida. I would have liked a little more insight into their decisions but realise that this wouldn’t have really worked with the two person POV employed by the author.
This was a great conclusion to the duology and I’m really grareful to Net Galley and Little Brown Book Group

I raced through this very quickly. This was a good follow up to the first book and was a page turner, full of action. and never boring. The best part of this series is the female characters who are so fierce and interesting

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc

This was a really satisfying and compelling conclusion to what has been an excellent duology. The stakes were higher in this novel and the world was expanded, which was great to see. I also really enjoyed Giorgina and Nehal's story arcs, with both women facing bigger obstacles and challenges and having some really poignant character moments. Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this series and will definitely pick up future releases by Hadeer Elsbai.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.