Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra -> Restarting December 5th, 2022

[Alaina]

To learn what she can become, she must first discover who she is.

Katyani’s role in the kingdom of Chandela has always been clear: becoming an advisor and protector of the crown prince, Ayan, when he ascends to the throne. Bound to the Queen of Chandela through a forbidden soul bond that saved her when she was a child, Katyani has grown up in the royal family and become the best guardswoman the Garuda has ever seen. But when a series of assassination attempts threatens the royals, Katyani is shipped off to the gurukul of the famous Acharya Mahavir as an escort to Ayan and his cousin, Bhairav, to protect them as they hone the skills needed to be the next leaders of the kingdom. Nothing could annoy Katyani more than being stuck in a monastic school in the middle of a forest, except her run-ins with Daksh, the Acharya’s son, who can’t stop going on about the rules and whose gaze makes her feel like he can see into her soul.

But when Katyani and the princes are hurriedly summoned back to Chandela before their training is complete, tragedy strikes and Katyani is torn from the only life she has ever known. Alone and betrayed in a land infested by monsters, Katyani must find answers from her past to save all she loves and forge her own destiny. Bonds can be broken, but debts must be repaid.

[Alaina]

Will definitely jump into this Thursday!

[Alaina]

Starting this now!

[Alaina]

Ch 1-7: (view spoiler)[So far, it's pretty interesting but a little slow. Hoping things pick up a bit more real soon. I also like the characters so far. The bantering is adorable. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 8-14: (view spoiler)[Okay, that figure was scary, but I love how she was like "yesss queen, I see your plot of revenge and I like." I also hope she wakes up and feels better because that pain? Yeah, no - not for me. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 15-21: (view spoiler)[I'm so happy he was there to help sort of save her. He's such a bad ass. I like them together. (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Ch 22-Finish: (view spoiler)[Okay, this was pretty good. I liked the tension filled moments but definitely wanted more. Especially more romance. Could just be me though. (hide spoiler)]

[Kelly]

Reading this! So sorry for being late, hoping to get it done in one setting :)

[Aly]

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RESTARTING OCTOBER 20TH, 2022

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[Dr. Andy]

I have this one too! Will try to join

[Aly]

Sweet!

[Aly]

Ch 1-4 (view spoiler)[ I like that Katyani is strong willed and doesn't let Daksh give her shit. I do wonder about the bond she has with the queen. What exactly does it mean or do? (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

I definitely forgot about this lmao

[Aly]

Haha. I'm only reading 2 chapters a day with a friend so I'll be slow on this one

[Aly]

Ch 5-10 (view spoiler)[ I was a little bored until they got called back to the kingdom and then everything is getting crazy! Poor Ayan, I don't want him to die. He's an innocent kid. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Ch 11-14 (view spoiler)[ Her grandpa rescued her, only to be killed within like 2 days and she goes back to the palace. Seemed a bit pointless but okay.

Then Bhairav completely turns on her and accuses her of murder. WTF guy?? I bet he was involved somehow so he could be the king and is just throwing her under the bus. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Ch 15-18 (view spoiler)[ I'm glad Katyani is with Daksh and his father and starting a bit of romance. It's pretty unfair of her cousin to say it's her fault their grandpa died, not like she had any say in what happened there. (hide spoiler)]

[Aly]

Ch 19-End (view spoiler)[ It's awful that the King had his brother and sister-in-law killed so he could take the throne and worse that Bhairav saw it happen as a child. You can see why he wanted the King and Queen dead, although killing Ayan went way too far.

I thought the ending was okay, but I'm not sure what a sequel would be about? (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

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RESTARTING DECEMBER 5TH, 2022

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[Kira]

I only listened as far as chapter 3 but here are my thoughts!

Chapter 3: (view spoiler)[Well, I am biased. Anything related to India automatically has my complete attention and I love reading about our history. This one is kinda a fantastical take on the history lessons of school involving kingdom politics of the past and I used to love learning about those. Katyani’s character is strong, intelligent and I am liking the way she is portrayed. The fight with the yatus though dragged a bit longer than I would have liked. I wonder who the mysterious stranger is(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

I actually could not follow with the audiobook so got a physical copy! This way is so much better :D

Chapter 9 : (view spoiler)[I loved Daksh and Katya's interactions but was surprised with the kiss....I haven't read an Indian mythology book with such brash actions. It was something new but I am on the fence about it. Definitely feeling like Hemalata is hiding something. Chapter 9 was the most shocking of all with Ayan's death and I did not see it coming. Tanoj seems suspicious to me as well. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 15: (view spoiler)[I feel my interest to be kind of fizzling out a bit. I find the writing style to be a bit ridiculous especially when Katyani imagines conversations in her head. It looks like they needed refining. Also, I don't understand the direction the story is supposed to be moving in. Bhairav's sudden change in character wasn't welcomed at all and it made little sense to me (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Chapter 21: (view spoiler)[I have mixed feelings. On one hand I like Katyani and Daksh's story while on the other I feel like there are too many elements to this book making it feel a bit cluttered especially with all the different types of demons. Katyani's cousin blaming her for Shamsher's death was so unfair as well. I just want to know why Bhairav is acting the way he is because I am not able to reconcile this image of him with the character we got to know at the beginning (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Finished: (view spoiler)[Well, the conclusion was good. I still felt annoyed at times but I felt like this was a good wrap up to the story. Bhairav's reasoning for betraying the royal family was sad, it did not make what he did any good but the royal family themselves were no saints so. Only Ayan's death has left me saddened. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

Kira wrote: "Finished: [spoilers removed]"

I definitely thought this was going to be a duology so I was surprised when it wrapped up so nicely!

[Kira]

Andy wrote: "Kira wrote: "Finished: [spoilers removed]"

I definitely thought this was going to be a duology so I was surprised when it wrapped up so nicely!"

I think there wasn't much more to be explored to warrant a whole full length book!