Book Review of The Ivory Tomb by Melissa Caruso

Name of Book: The Ivory Tomb

Author: Melissa Caruso

ISBN: 978-0-316-45439-1

Publisher: Orbit

Part of a Series: Rooks and Ruin (THE OBSIDIAN TOWER and THE QUICKSILVER COURT are prequels; SWORDS AND FIRE trilogy are prequel trilogy) 

Type of book: Friendship, ties, relationships, immortality, safeguards, heart guard, magic, demons, lore, secrets, diplomacy, determination, saving the world 

Year it was published: 2022 

Summary:

The Ivory Tomb concludes the wildly original epic fantasy series bursting with intrigue and ambition, questioned loyalties, and broken magic that began with The Obsidian Tower.

The Dark Days have returned. The Demon of Carnage mercilessly cuts through villagers and armies. The Demon of Corruption poisons/rots the land. The Serene Empire and the Witch Lords race towards war. And in the middle of it all stands Rxyander, the Warden of Gloamingard.

Burdened by conflicting loyalties and guilt, Ryx searches desperately for a way to defeat the demons before the world she loves is completely destroyed. To find answers, she’ll have to return to where it all started…the black tower at the heart of Gloamingard.

By blood the Door was opened and only by blood will the Dark Days end.

Characters:

Main character definitely has to be Ryxander "Ryx" of Morgraine, an atheling with a lot of secrets that were secret even from her. Ryx is best described as incredibly loyal to her friends and family, a natural born diplomat and extremely determined. She also does her best to own up to her mistakes from the past and will do what she can for humanity. Other characters include Severin, Ryx's love interest who has to battle his own shadows/monsters and who has to make some tough decisions as well.  Foxglove, the leader of the Rookery is loyal and will do what he can for others; Kessa is also a natural born diplomat and tries to fulfill that role a lot. Bastian is the scholar of the group while Ashe is an incredibly talented fighter. I have to be honest in saying that in THE IVORY TOMB, I didn't really sense much growth from any of the characters. 

Theme:

There is a place in the world for everyone

Plot:

The story is written in first person narrative from Rox's point of view. I definitely didn't feel as if the focus was on characters, but instead it was a lot on action with very high stakes. THE IVORY TOMB begins where the previous novel left off, and no, there is no summary of previous books. While the previous books did give focus to major and minor characters, helping them grow as well as revealing fascinating tidbits about ones we thought we knew, THE IVORY TOMB is more action oriented. I also really hoped for some easter eggs from previous trilogy, and while I got one, I didn't get others, unless I might have missed something? The author does wrap up the action nicely and there aren't loose ends left, or so it felt to me. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Melissa Caruso is the author of THE TETHERED MAGE, first in the Swords and Fire trilogy, out now from Orbit books.

Opinion:

I definitely have some confusing feelings when it comes to THE IVORY TOMB. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as her previous trilogy, but this one was also well written although in some ways a bit disappointing. I know that few hundred years have passed since the end of SWORDS AND FIRE trilogy, and I understand that very few previous characters will return, but couldn't we at least get some updates on them? Also, although the stakes are very high, for some odd reason it didn't feel that way to me as it felt in SWORDS AND FIRE trilogy, which I'm not sure why. Yes, its very necessary to read the previous books before reading this one because the author will not update the readers on what is going on and if they aren't read, then I can imagine that the reader will be spectacularly lost. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)