This was a wonderful follow-up to the first. It continued the plot well and developed characters in a satisfying way. It always so nice to find a series that doesn’t fall into the pattern of really strong first book followed by a dud of a sequel.

Sometimes the only option is to rage against the machine. The machine being the societal, political, and historical fetters put on women and weavers in Alamaxa. In the conclusion of Hadeer Elsbai's duology "The Weavers of Alamaxa" we see it all hit the fan.

Nehal is in a foreign prison. Giorgina is on the run and the city is under seige. So it's only up from here right? The Zirani leaders have strong opinions on Weavers and are taking drastic steps to "deal with the problem." Despite the cannons, troops, and obvious strong arm tactics the parliament of Alamaxa seems to be falling in lock step. Seems like a good time to put down rhetoric and pick up the elements to rebuild society a bit to me.

Reasons to read:
-Finished story, always nice to have that
-Having all of the leverage ever and still being reasonable
-Comeuppance on some nutty folks
-Oh yea that would do that to a body

Cons:
-Politicians selling out for crumbs being relatable to reality

Overall, a solid ending to this duology.

This book was much faster paced than the first in the duology, Daughters of Izdihar. The beginning pacing was similar to the first book, and by the end quite a lot was happening. In some ways, I almost feel like there was too much happening all at once. While I don't necessarily think it would have needed a third book, it did feel like some of the ending action was crammed in a bit in order to tie up the loose ends.

It was nice to revisit some of these characters and see some character growth. Nehal is still impulsive and spoiled by her privilege, but we do start to see her recognize that a bit more, with some bit of introspection towards the end. It was also nice to see more from Giorgina, though I feel like her overall character arc was both a little out of nowhere and also predictable in trope-y kind of way. Having started this book a few months ago before picking it back up again, it is possible I just forgot/missed some of the religious/lore details that would support her storyline, but given the rushed feeling of the ending, I'm doubtful that's the case.

Finally, while this book still have lots to say about feminism and women's rights, the strong political goals of the first book felt lost. Instead the politics moved away from the Daughters movements on womens rights and voting and into the kind of boring (in my opinion) idea of oppression of magic users (while this is fine, it just feels overdone and this take was not particularly fresh. However, if you like that kind of storyline, then this is a great story for you!).

I think this book was a remarkable improvement from the first book. I remember the first book feeling like very much a debut, but I loved this one. The characters grew a lot, and the characters had a lot of internal challenges that I really appreciated seeing them navigate. This book is fairly action packed, and as someone who doesn't love a lot of action, it was done in a way that was well done and easy to follow. I think the author did a great job of creating this world and its politics in a way that didn't feel overly cumbersome but were also not spoon fed like some softer-fantasies can be. I really loved this one, and I'm glad I picked it up as I was a bit meh about the first one. I will definitely be picking up the author's next work!

Thank you to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book two to Daughters of Izdihar which I enjoyed immensely. In this second book, I loved the character development, and the pacing was on point as well. I enjoyed all the magic, which felt much more present than in book one. The dialog lacks a little bit and felt quite YA at times.

This was a satisfying end to the duology. I won't give any spoilers but I cried a couple times reading this book. Giorgina's arc was lovely. Nehal was my favorite storyline to follow, I love her.

Thanks to netgalley for this arc

Overall, a really strong conclusion to the duology - I enjoyed reading it and will continue to recommend to others. The writing was great and I loved the elemental magic system.

I feel like the series would have been stronger as trilogy: the latter half of the book was a bit rushed and I wish we had had more time to explore the repercussions of everything that happens in Alamaxa - the government changes, the societal shifts, life without some main characters, etc. I also spent a large portion of the book hoping for a little more character development from both Nehal and Giorgina - by the end of the book there was a bit of growth from each of them but, this could have been further developed in more pages.

Fans of The Legend of Korea and Paris Paloma songs will definitely enjoy parts of this duology. It’s a refreshing fantasy story that’s focused on politics, magic and how women are viewed in society and features multiple, diverse FMCs (no romantasy here).

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC of this in exchange for my honest feedback.

I really enjoyed Daughters of Izdihar, but was surprised to find myself enjoying The Weavers of Alamaxa even more. One thing I loved about the first book was the world, and Elsbai lets us explore even more, including spending time with the Ziranis and learning even more details about the political landscape and competing factions. Nehal and Giorgina continue to be complex protagonists, and it was a joy to watch the ways they grow and gain deeper understanding of themselves throughout the novel.

Did I make the dramatic mistake of not rereading the previous book? Yes, that's on me. Although I believe that all fantasy series should have a recap at the beginning. I do remember that I was lenient lenient on my rating of book 1 but I decided to get into book 2 without too many a priori. Book 2 has a bit more lore with Giorgina becoming the Avatar, Nehal is annoying and even the most dramatic scene holds zero weight. I'm going to be honest I found the Giorgina thing very silly.

I felt like all the grounded women's rights politics took a back step to magic and war, even the setting itself was less proeminent than in the first one. To be honest, I found myself bored, hoping something would reignite my interest for this book. I don't have a lot to say because I couldn't find myself engaging with the story on any level.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an excellent follow up to The Daughters of Izdihar. Book one was a nice set up, great world building, had me attached to the characters. It ended in such a cliff hanger that I couldn't wait to read book two, so I'm glad I got to dive back into the story sooner.
I noted a lot of similarities in wars back then and wars now. It's true that people people who have wealth have a lesser struggle and worry than the poor. It is so true that women have influence and are able to change outcomes in war. I do feel like the story could have expanded a bit more during the ending but all in all, I was pleasantly surprised.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the e-arc!
So excited for this conclusion! The first book, Daughters of Izdihar, was such a highlight of last year, and I am ecstatic that the second book is finally here. I have to say Elsbai does such a fantastic job in this series; the characters in the world are so captivating. I remember flying for the first book, and I was so happy that the second one captivated my attention the same way.
This series is definitely worth checking out!

The sequel was better ? I loved book one and book two blew my mind ! i love this world and Hadeer is such an incredible writer.

Thank you for the eArc .

Unfortunately, this book was not for me, and I declared a DNF at ~ 50%.
I enjoyed the first book in the duology and had hoped for some character growth, but ultimately was not invested in the storylines.

For those in the target audience - YA/New Adult fantasy, I think this duology is an excellent opportunity to add diversity to the repertoire. Hadeer Elsbai has a compelling magic system, fascinating politics, and magic war. This should have been a recipe for success for me, but the younger naive characters just didn't work for me. Look, the youth can start a revolution, sure, but I need measured middle-aged rage for real change these days.

An action-packed conclusion to a fantastic duology! I'll admit, I was a little lost at first because I didn't reread book one and there are a lot of POVs, but the fast pace soon drew me in and then I didn't want to stop until I'd finished! We follow several women weavers as they use their nature magic to revolt against their rulers who would see their magic quashed. Would've loved even more from this world and these characters, but it is a satisfying conclusion, even if it feels a bit rushed at the end.

The Weavers of Alamaxa was a highly-anticipated follow-up to The Daughters of Izdihar for me. Having left the first book on quite a cliffhanger, I tore through my copy of this follow-up as quickly as I could! Elsbai set the scene for this tale of female rage and revenge beautifully in book one and readers get to see the results (and the extent) of it all in book two. She does an excellent job deepening our understanding of the socio-politcal unrest in Alamaxa and beyond its borders, as well as our affection for the main characters, Giorgina and Nehal.

I don’t want to get too spoilery in this review, but there are a few aspects of this book I’d love to highlight as my favorites: the WEAVING! This book goes hard and shows readers more weaving than we saw in book one, which was so much fun! I also really loved watching the relationship dynamic blossom between Giorgina/Nehal, Giorgina/Nico, and Nehal/Malek. And our big bad character was SO GOOD (bad)! I LOVE to hate evil characters.

ANYWAY I really loved this book and the only thing I wish we had seen more of in book two was downtime for our characters. That being said, since it’s only a duology, I understand a faster pacing choice and it was still an extremely enjoyable and satisfying conclusion to Giorgina and Nehal’s stories.

I loved reading the follow up to "The Daughters of Izdihar" and seeing what Nehal and Giorgina continued to go through! Seeing their relationship develop was so interesting, I loved every moment of it. The world was just as incredible as it was in the first book, and I was captivated the entire time. The plot development had me engaged, I couldn't wait to see what happened next between the Weavers and the Zirani.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Weavers of Alamaxa" and will most definitely be revisiting the duology in the future to fully experience the two books back to back!

We rejoin the Daughters of Izdihar after our first book, determined, captured, and out for change.

I enjoyed this book a different spots, but there was so much death and heart break to reach our final conclusion that it really slowed my reading. What really frustrated me was that we still had men in this book explaning that women were inferior and I know that's part of the story but holy moly I was ready to beat some fictional characters to get them on board.

A slow adventure, leading to as much of an okay ending as one can get.

I'm glad, I read this book right after the first one: the daughters of Izdihar. The book ended in such a weird spot in the story that I would be extremely upset having to wait for book 2. And as much as the first book was amazing and an easy 4-star read; the second book got a bit too chaotic for me. I understand how we needed the backdoor players in this political intrigue, but they were mixed up with some supporting characters that eventually, I have no clue who is who. It distracted me from the main story big time. Another thing that got me is the twist in the dynamics of narration. The first book was focused on Nehal, whereas the second was on Giorgina. This shift also made me stumble because Nehal's presence was so strong and developed contrary to Giorgina. I do admit that I realize it could've been done purposefully but due to my personal preference, I think it was uneven. Other than that, I just simply love the worldbuilding and the overall messaging and its queer elements. Of course, I noticed how the book hates men altogether, but I also noticed that the author tries to be as fair as she can. I liked the pacing and language, but also the parallel between some elements from our world which are easy to draw. As duology goes this will be in my favorites, but on its book doesn't hold a special place in my heart.

The Weavers of Alamaxa picks up a few days after book one ends and is a solid conclusion to the duology. The book was filed with many heart racing moments. However, I did not enjoy this as much as the first book and that is mainly due to pacing issues.
Elsbai has a way with words that constantly keeps you in her grasp. I often enjoy books that invoke strong emotions, and this book is adept at doing so. Many times, I caught myself holding my breath until the characters reach safety.
While the book begins with a bang, it slowly fizzles out. It seems like the beginning to middle of the book is just the characters trying to gather information and regrouping, which became quickly repetitive. The first half was too slow, and the second half moved entirely two quickly. Without getting into spoilers, many major things occurred in very few pages. It made the resolution of the novel seemed rushed and unsatisfactory.
While I did not enjoy the sequel as much as the first book, I still highly recommend picking this up. The characters are realistic and the world, and magic system are well built. This duology is definitely underrated, and I will for sure be picking up further books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Weavers of Alamaxa picks up where The Daughters of Idzihar left off, and I really loved seeing the characters from the first book grow and change. Elsbai puts Georgina and Nehal through a really compelling journey, and does a fantastic job at growing her world within the span of a single book in a way that is still very satisfying at the end.

There were definitely some things I hadn’t been anticipating, and I thought everything was well-handled and while I remember being annoyed with the characters at times in the first book, by the end of this I felt very proud of who they became. I do think at times the dialogue and prose could’ve been improved, but I didn’t mind so much because everything that was happening was interesting. I loved the way this ended and while part of me wishes I could get like… a little epilogue, Elsbai really stuck the landing. I had a great time reading this and this is a solid duology that I definitely recommend.