Book Review: The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman

I was fortunate enough to get an early copy of this book last year, and it just came out on January 4th, 2022. The Ivory Key is a book about four estranged siblings who have to work together to save their country. It’s an Indian-inspired YA fantasy novel with magic and is the perfect book for fans of The Lady or The Lion by Aamna Qureshi and The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi.

You can buy your copy of The Ivory Key here!

Highlights

• The premise is about four estranged siblings, and one is blamed for their mother’s death.
• Each sibling has something to lose and something to gain by finding the ivory key.
• Finding the ivory key is what brought them together, but it could just as easily tear them apart if they each find out why the others want the ivory key.
• They have to solve riddles and puzzles that their father taught them how to solve when they were younger.
• Their father was completely obsessed with uncovering the ivory key, but he died before he could find it.
• Political intrigue, secret societies, and incredible plot twists!

Lowlights

• Slow beginning.

Final Thoughts: The complicated family dynamics make this Indian-inspired YA fantasy a delight to read! This book has a beautiful slow-burn romance and is a character-driven fantasy with phenomenal world-building and BIPOC characters written by a BIPOC author. The magic system is woven into the book seamlessly and adds to the story.

Trigger Warning: Graphic descriptions of dead bodies (specifically on page 1 and in Chapter 6), in-depth descriptions of grief and loss, death of family members (they happen off-page but are mentioned throughout the book), recovering from trauma, blood, violence, emotional manipulation, alcohol, discussion of identity policing/microaggressions towards a biracial character, allusions to human experimentation, and discussions of war/invading country.

Thank you to Epic Reads and Blue Slip Media for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!