This Weavers of Alamaxa cemented this duology as one of my favorites of all time. I love Nehal and Georgina's fight for women and weavers in a society that views both as less than. Intersectional feminism is a staple thought this duology and really makes the books shine. There is also a beautiful sapphic relationship at the heart of this book that is just one more element I can root for. Toss in a magic system that parallels Avatar the Last Airbender and I could not love this book more. This was an action packed novel that deals with overthrowing corrupt power systems and risking it all to gain the freedoms deserved.

Wow, this was such an amazing follow up to the Daughters of Izdihar. While book one was a solid set up of the world and focused on the events directly surrounding Nehal and Giorgina that had larger political implications, book two takes the stakes to a much higher place and it made for an exciting and gripping read that I couldn't put down. There were twists and turns and I gasped aloud at several points too. I love how Nehal and Giorgina each have their distinct personalities and their strengths complement the greater civil rights movement that they're involved in. The themes of rebellion and protest against an oppressive regime feel extra timely, especially with discussions around the necessity of violence against a system that commits violence every day. Overall, this was stellar and the ending of the duology wrapped up in a satisfying way for the characters, but made me hungry for more stories within this universe. I definitely recommend this duology for folks who enjoy fast paced fantasy with elemental magic. A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for my thoughts!

Welcome to feminine rage pt 2, the sequel!

Plot: 4/5
Within two chapters, I was FUMING with rage... which is very much how I felt reading Daughters of Izdihar so props on the consistency! Elsbai really hit the nail on the head with the feminine rage and autonomy conversation. The plot moved at a rather fast pace which made it really bingeable but there were some moments that I think could have been slowed a bit.

Characters: 5/5
I love the focus on our two main characters, I really just love that Elsbai picked these two characters in particular. So many of the characters have compelling individual stories but those aren't the focus and I appreciate that actually. Both Nehal and Giorgina went through alot of trauma and character growth in this book. For real, Elsbai chewed them up and spit them back out.. these poor girls!
As for the side characters and what happens to them... I am mad but its fine whatever... Hadeer knows what she did...

Writing: 4.5/5
I love Elsbai's writing, its descriptive with a good balance of dialogue and internal thought process. I would have liked some slowing down at certain points as I mentioned before.

Overall: 4/5

A must read sequel! I hope everyone is as mad as I am about CHOICES even though there's nothing we can do about it lol

The Weavers of Alamaxa by Hadeer Elsbai is an action packed conclusion to a feminist fantasy duology that delivers an original and imaginative tale. The book moves between alternating point of views of Nehal and Giorgina. Both women are weavers, people who are capable of manipulating elements. However, they come from very different backgrounds, Nehal, a prominent family, and Giorgina, lower class. The women belong to the Daughters of Izdihar, which is a group advocating for women’s right to vote and equal rights. The women in this book are fierce and constantly fighting for women’s rights and their own lives. There are magical elements, the background of Eygpt, and mythology to add to the intrigue of the story.

I recommend this book for fans of fantasy that admire strong women who are willing to sacrifice everything for what they believe. The sisterhood and courage of the women is inspiring. You will need to read The Daughters of Izdihar, the first book, before reading this story.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

The Weavers of Alamaxa is a complicated book to review. In the end, when I finished the last chapter, I was left with an overwhelming feeling of… well, that sure was a duology. Not with a bang but a whimper, as they say. While I enjoyed the book overall, I feel that the shallowness with which some of the darker topics were covered hindered its ability to truly shine.

I’ll start with the good: there are many things to love here. Elsbai’s ‘fantasy Egypt’ is a complex and unique setting in the largely Europe-heavy fantasy genre. The growing political conflict created interesting tension, and I found the contrasts between state-sponsored and non-state-sponsored violence incredibly compelling. Some aspects of the world were neglected in order to further the conflict in the third act, but I’ll touch on that in a moment.

The characters in this book are a mixed bag. Malak, my favorite character in Daughters of Izdihar, has much more to do in the sequel, and continues to be a delight. I enjoyed that both of our POV characters experienced actual growth: without getting into spoiler territory, Nehal’s journey from spoiled noble to freedom fighter felt earned given her arc over the course of the novel. I found the general shape of Giorgina’s character arc compelling, even if I felt that the execution felt flat. Again, without spoiling the plot, her motivation seemed to change depending on the aims of the plot; at times, it seemed like she needed to be indecisive so that the plot couldn’t wrap up too quickly (is that overly cynical of me?) The new characters are, frankly speaking, nothing special. Due to the limited page time, our antagonists, Hali and Rasida, feel less like complex characters and more like mustache-twirling villains. Even our Zirani rebels feel frustratingly underutilized. If pressed, I doubt I could remember their names.

As I mentioned at the start of my review, this book is, in a word, flawed. Despite (or perhaps due to) the higher political stakes of the sequel, the emotional stakes suffered. The complex political web woven in the first installment is simplified for the sake of plot: major political actors and groups are strangely missing from the climax, or, even, the sequel at large. Moreover, while some reviewers have expressed praise for the sudden moments of brutal violence that punctuate the later half of the book, others (like me) might find them tonally jarring.

I’ve seen many reviewers mischaracterize this duology as young adult (according to the publisher’s website, it’s adult fantasy). That may be because, aside from a few stolen kisses, this is a very chaste series. If you operate under that assumption, you’ve been warned: the violence in this book, when it occurs, is brutal. Does it serve a purpose? Yes, very much so. However, I will advise any potential readers that death by fire, including self-immolation, is present, on-page, and described in brutal detail. Read the trigger warnings before picking this up.

My other minor gripe concerns the novel’s follow-through. Certain scenes and plot threads are picked up only to be dropped. Major conflicts from the first novel are abandoned, and some are resolved so quickly that it’s unclear why they were introduced to begin with. I’m being intentionally vague here, but ultimately,  I expected more from the lore. The resolution of the Tetrad mythology, as well as the story of Edua, introduced in the first book, felt unsatisfying. Frankly, they lacked the complexity I would expect of adult fantasy (another reason, I suspect, reviewers are mischaracterizing this series as young adult).

Ultimately, The Weavers of Alamaxa is a solid, if flawed, conclusion to an equally solid, if flawed, duology. According to Goodreads, this is the author’s first series, and, grading on the debut curve, this is a really solid start. I enjoyed the plot and her writing style, and found Weavers, like Daughters, was fast-paced, compelling, and an easy read. I feel confident that Elsbai’s writing will continue to mature with her subsequent work, and I look forward to seeing how her skill at character development and foreshadowing improves.

(Review will go live on March 12)

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

This was an amazing sequel and I am in awe of how wonderful this series is. I look forward to more and am speechless.

I had not read the first book in the Alamaxa Duology, but I did before this advance review copy. I preferred the political and social slant in the first book, over the mostly action in this one, but both are good and recommended. Similar to other stories of course, but The Last Airbender was not the first to feature the trope, and these books won't be the last to deal with those who can control the natural elements. I would welcome a follow up book to see how the characters and the nations deal with the new situations.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this ARC, I was so excited to get to read this sequel!

First let me say I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the pacing was good, I was so glad we got to see our main characters fleshed out more and see them grow and learn from their mistakes. I appreciated that Nehal learned the value of waiting for the right moment and not always flying off the handle at the first opportunity, and Giorgina came into her own and learned to stand up to those who would keep her under their thumbs.

I do wish we got to see more about the motivations behind the villains motivations, if only to make them seem less mustache twirly and more grounded as villains.

Overall a solid finish to a fabulous duology, and I can’t wait to read the finished book when it comes out!!

Giving this second book a 4 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

If you like Avatar the last Airbender, you will adore this series (which takes the feminism up to an 11!).

The mythos and worldbuilding in these books is astounding. I love how natural Elsbai weaves in Arabic/Egyptian language and culture into the story. However, you honestly NEED to read the first book to fully follow what is going on and why certain characters act the way they do.

This story picks up right where the first left off. Whereas the first book felt very character driven with lots of political machinations, this follow up reads more like an action fantasy. The second book definitely moves faster than the first.

You still follow Georgina and Nehal's POV, but Georgina becomes the reluctant hero. I feel like the second book revolves around her, but I wish she was less of a Mary Sue. She acts like she doesn't realize her decisions have consequences and spends so much time griping over those decisions and it isn't until the last 5 chapters where she finally breaks.

Overall a good followup, but I feel it was lacking in character development compared to the first.

History, myth, and fantasy, all combine to make an explosive conclusion to this duology. It likely could have been a trilogy, with the amount of material available, but perhaps a short story or two will one day be published.

The author delivers a powerful story through world building, vivid descriptions of characters, events, and the geopolitical background that led up to the current events. The action only. heightens the story and the stakes for the characters as they use their voices and positions to try to make the world better for not only themselves, but future generations.

I want to give it a 5 star ⭐️ rating…. However, there is one particular aspect of the story line that still enrages me, which I cannot explain without giving a massive spoiler. So I would say 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️… with that said I will definitely think about this book for a long time.

You should read it!!!!!

What I loved about this book —

1. Publishers & authors take note of the character list at the beginning of the book — maps are normal and even expected — character list, unheard of, it made the reading experience great. I cannot say enough about how helpful this is for me. I always make my own, so the fact one is immediately accessible gives this story an entire bump up in the rating!!!! Please do this in every book, especially in books with large cast. Loved it!
2. Hadeer Elsbai seamlessly reminds the reader of major events that took place in book one, which if you make the mistake like I did of not realizing there IS A BOOK ONE (The Daughters of Izdihar) you will not be lost. Don’t worry, I realized on chapter 13 and stopped and read the correct book before finishing the second!

3. Although Elsbai introduces us to Arabic/Egyptian terminology as well as big words, she does it in a way that is natural and easy to understand. The book(s) flow effortlessly as though someone is speaking. I often have to reread sentences or even paragraphs to catch what an author is conveying, which I did not have to do with this duology.

Need to Know / Triggers
Heavy themes of women’s rights or lack thereof (throughout the entire book) and the abuse they sustain from family, friends and strangers —
* There were definitely a couple of moments that got to me, but it also validated my own experience and feelings.
* Giorgina and Nehal’s stories show how commonplace and outrageous society is and continues to be no matter how rights have changed.

Synopsis:
Both book 1&2 jump back and forth between Giorgina & Nehal’s pov following the same storyline in which a group of women fight their government for rights. In the current political climate, there is prejudice against women and “weavers” alike. Weavers are people who are born with the ability to connect and manipulate one of the four elements (earth, wind, water and fire). This is an extraordinary tale of how people who are criminalizing and exploited use their gifts to fight the corruption in their own country and the warring countries around them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

I'm so glad that I was able to read this early. Especially, the way that the first one ended. The second and last book in this duo-logy was so good. It was as good as I was hoping it would be. There is so much happening in this book. I love that we get to see Nehal and Giorgina still fighting together. They must fight against the people trying to control them.

I highly recommend it!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is brilliant in every way possible. 😍😍😍I'll go back to reading this duology a million times. It's the ultimate feminist perfection, and girl, it does not step a foot wrong.

It's told by Nehal's and Georgina's perspectives. I loved how these two characters are so different from each other but united by a bond that can't be described. I loved how they never antagonized each other. Sure, they envied something that the other woman had and they didn't, but it was never ill-intended, and it was never about taking it from her. They respected and loved each other; they rooted for each other in every way possible. And that pure bond was so beautiful to read.

Nehal is our stubborn waterweaver who doesn't know what caution is but slowly gets to appreciate its value. I love Nehal with a passion. She got a beautiful yet agonizing character development in this book. It was brutal, and I got soooo angry, but I pushed through my emotions because I wanted to see these women succeed. She became more sympathetic and more thoughtful of others. Though, her complete disregard for incompetent and evil people only grew stronger, and we love her for it. She called the Crown Prince stupid to his face, and truth be told, I applauded from my bed. Nehal is practical and ferocious truly. She doesn't hesitate to make the tough choices, and she doesn't hesitate to do what's necessary to protect her loved ones and the innocent. She does what's needed, and she speaks what needs to be heard.

Georgina is our soft weaver who thinks of the greater good but also thinks about the consequences and the lives lost. She appreciates life in a pure way, and she abhors violence, even when it's the only thing that can save them. While it frustrated me at times, I realized that we needed Georgina. We needed her pure goodness to contradict the evilness. We needed the soft and tender because everything and everyone else was hard--either in a brutal way or in a surviving way. She also suffered a lot in this book, but she grew as a person and she learned to love and believe in herself.

Malak is our political mastermind, the calm and cautious windweaver who we all need in our lives. There might be chaos everywhere, incompetent and stubborn people who only believe in their terrible ideas, but as long as we have Malak in the room, everything is going to be fine! She developed the "touch her and you die" mentality, and oh how I loved every second of it!!!!

I have to say, from all the men in this book, only few are redeemable. Hesham was a good character. He's open-minded and realizes the right from wrong. I found his resigned frustration toward Malak cute, even though he wasn't supposed to be frustrated since Malak only spoke the truth. But it reminded me of a brother-sister relationship where the sister bugged the brother. At the end, he did what he could at every turn, whereas Nico needed some push....

The plot was fast-paced, twisting and turning. Some turns weren't unpredictable, but again, not many authors would push the book's, the reader's, and their own limits. The world-building had some wonderful surprises for us in this book, which I appreciated a lot!

I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS DUOLOGY!!!!

💜🏳️‍🌈We have a f/f romance, a m/f romance, and a side m/m romance!
♀️ We have strong women fighting for women's rights!
💦💨We have cool elemental magic!
AND WE HAVE A BOOK INSPIRED BY EGYPTIAN HISTORY & MYTH WRITTEN BY AN ACTUAL EGYPTIAN AUTHOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE PUBLISH MORE AUTHENTIC BOOKS LIKE THIS ONE!

This duology is PERFECTION! I'll read anything this author ever writes!

I liked this book much more than the first one! I think it ties up the duology nicely and readers will be satisfied with the conclusion of Nehal and Giorgina!

⭐⭐4.75⭐⭐

What an absolutely perfect way to wrap up this duology. The characters I grew to love in the first book only made their places deeper into my soul during this book. Despite having my heart basically ripped out of my chest twice while reading this, Hadeer still managed to put me almost entirely back together again, despite still having to dry my eyes every now and then, not totally able to fill the empty spot in my soul 😭

I cannot wait for The Weavers of Almaxa to be released so I can convince all my other friends to sob right along with me.

Thank you to Harper Voyager, Hadeer Elsbai, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this arc of The Weavers of Alamaxa.

I was very lucky to have been chosen and approved to read the conclusion of the Alamaxa Duology shortly after receiving the Kindle version of Book 1 - The Daughters of Izdihar. So, I of course I had to read both back to back, and as quickly as possible.

Let’s address Daughters first. I am not going to lie, I really did love book 1. It seemed like a fresh concept and idea. The writing did seem a bit young/immature (not saying this because it could be categorized as YA). But it created the world of women and women with magic, fighting for their civil rights and place in society that was not in the shadow of men.

Weavers of Alamaxa was definitely full of greater dangers, adventure and really expanded on the magical landscape and its characters. Book 2 built upon book 1 without really going off without crazy sub plots or issues that were not already presented previously.

I personally was biased wanting a certain character to be blessed in a certain way versus the other main character, but alas, I am not the writer.

This book hits a lot of topics and includes: politics, women’s rights, queer romances/relationships, feminism, and dual POV. It was a nice break from the “heavier” books that I typically read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for allowing me to read this advanced version for a review. An overall 4 out of 5 stars, and a book I will recommend. Looking forward to see what Hadeer Elsbai writes.

I really enjoyed this followup to the Daughters of Izdihar and it lived up to the hype I had for this sequel. It was exciting to see where our characters ended up after the ending and to continue to develop further as adults and the expansion on weaving we learned. There was a main character death in the book that had me stunned but the emotional impact on at least one of our characters was great, I would have expected more grief to be displayed from the other POV character.

The politics of the book were more apparent and I wish there was a bit more of them and more dimension. I found the villainous leaders of the opposing country were a bit flat - just cruel and evil for the sake of being cruel and evil to our main characters. I would have enjoyed more about how the regimes were changing and the roles that women would play in these societies given how heavy that was featured in the first book.

I will happily read what this author writes next, the character work and action scenes are great,

I really wanted to love this book but every time I thought I was about to get into it I was let down. The last book ended on a cliffhanger and I was hoping that meant this book would pick up the pacing. It did not. The obstacles that were created in the first book were quickly overcome offering no form of suspense. To be honest a good portion of it was predictable. The characters did not get any better and stayed one dimensional. Nehal in my opinion was one of the characters that lacked the most depth. All her character amounted to was "rich girl who does what she wants". She was supposed to be a strong female character fighting for women's rights but all she did was fight for her selfish desires. She honestly makes feminists seem unhinged and narcissistic. A lot of the scenes in this book in my opinion were over the top and cringe. The characters always reacted in extremes never in a way that was believable. The character deaths that happened really served no purpose to the plot other than to kill a character off. The ending is what really bothered me. It was beyond anticlimactic and seemed more like an epilogue that should've taken place 5 years in the future. The only thing I truly enjoyed was the lgbtq+ representation. In my opinion I was definitely not the target audience for this book and I'm saddened I couldn't enjoy it more.

Flew through this! A very satisfying conclusion to the duology, highly recommend if you enjoyed the first book!

The thing I enjoyed most with the first book was the relationships between all the women, and while book two has a lot more action in it (and thus less quiet moments with The Gals), their connections to each other were even deeper, so I was having a great time. Big fan of angry women, especially when the angry women have elemental powers and are all friends with each other.

There were some plot beats that happened due to just, colossally dumb decisions by non-POV characters, and I didn’t love having to sit through those consequences, but the ending was exactly what I wanted.