I loved book one in this duology and this is a solid but not extraordinary follow-up. While I love the world of Alamaxa and the political intrigue, parts of this one moved rather slowly. However, I still loved the Egyptian-inspired fantasy world and the suffragettes as the main characters. Definitely a good end to the story.

When I reviewed Hadeer Elsbai's Daughters of Izdihar, I called it "fantastical, feminist rage." The second book in her Alamaxa Duology is all those things elevated. Which is to say: I absolutely loved it. And, frankly, I can't think of a more timely read. My main worry when I started reading Daughters of Izdihar was that it was going to turn into a love triangle pitting Nehal and Giorgina against each other. I could not have been more wrong. They have one of the most fascinating companionships between two women I've ever read in any novel. In Weavers of Alamaxa, their relationships to their Weaving grows and evolves, as do their relationships with their lovers, and with each other. They grow to care about each other, deeply, as they see each other in new ways. They save each other, over and over!

In Daughters, they were fighting for the right to vote. In Weavers, they're fighting for their lives and the promise of democracy for their entire country. They're fighting for their collective freedom and their personal agency. They're fighting for oppressed people everywhere, in every way, because all our liberation is tied together. Weavers finds a remarkable balance between action, relationships, and character interiority that moves the entire story along at such a clip I couldn't put it down on. My only complaint about this entire series is that I wish it had been a trilogy. I wish the first third of Weavers had been a second book, and the last two-thirds had been the third book, just a little expanded. My only complaint is I wanted even more of Giorgina and Nehal's story!

The Weavers of Alamaxa is empowering and devastating, and I'll be thinking about it for a very, very long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book and provide and honest review.

oh. my. fuck.

i hope to come back to this when i'm more rested and can edit in a better review, but i am just. SCREAMING. and athar!!!!! athar!!!!!!! athar i am in LOVE with you do you have any time available where i can just listen to you talk and agree with anything and everything you say.

nehal, you were incredible and strong and brave, and i love her still like. using her connections and they still *work* which is just so? objectively hilarious but fits so well for her. hurting and hurting and forcing her way through as she learns and grows. and giorgina!!!! giorgina!!! *damn*. malak you were there and ibcredible and worshipful too.

holy fuck. thank you. hopefully will edit in a better review below.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was excited to receive this ARC, as it is a sequel to a book I also read an early copy of and loved. I really enjoy mythology inspired works from other cultures and this duology is quite masterful. Also, the sequel stands up to the first book rather than being a sophomore slump! The author has gotten even better in writing in this story and I enjoyed the action-packed pace.

Following up on one of the most exciting fantasy debuts, The Daughters of Izdihar, Hadeer Elsbai concludes her Alamaxa Duology, inspired by Egyptian history and myth, with a tale of magic, war, betrayal, sisterhood, and love.

Just as good as the first book if not better. Well done!

This was such a great conclusion to the Daughters of Izdihar series, and I really noticed how Elsbai's writing has grown and developed since writing the first book. This book has a lot more action than the first one, so while it was quite a different tone than TDoI, I loved it. Nehal and Giorgina both grew so much over the course of this book and really came into themselves. I also really liked seeing the world develop a little more as we learn about other countries and politics.

NEHAL MY FERAL LITTLE BADDIE. I LOVE HER. I LOVE HER SO MUCH. I want to be her. I want to make men tremble when I open my mouth the way she does. But I also want to hug her and kiss her forehead and tell her she did amazing and she is powerful, strong, kind, and deserving of all things good and pure. My sweet angel Nehal. My sweet, sweet angel.

CLEARLY, I have a favorite. I mean, let’s be honest. Nehal is a badass weaver who doesn’t take no for an answer. Yes, Malak is also a badass weaver who also doesn’t take no for an answer but I just can’t get over how Nehal truly just lives by her own rules. I mean, don’t we all just wish we could curse out (threaten) misogynistic (evil) politicians?

And listen, I liked Giorgina well enough. She went through a lot and I give her that. But I just don’t think she did AS MUCH as she could have leading up until the end of the book. Nehal was literally destroying BUILDINGS, causing mayhem, and being called a terrorist by the very country she was trying to protect LMFAO.

Ugh. And don’t get me started on one of the most gut wrenching deaths ever in the history of fictional deaths. I had a DREAM that a certain someone was going to die but my jaw DROPPED when I realized that my dream was in fact prophetic. My big brain never fails to amaze me. But also OUCH?!?! Elsbai is a goddess of a writer but I demand HAPPINESS and PEACE, please and thank you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this opportunity to read rage and review this arc which will be available March 26,2024!

Oof this sequel was again a masterful read with influences of Egyptian mythology and folklore. It is also a penultimate stick to the man kinda magical story where women take back their power from their oppressors in a spectacular fashion. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and like the first will be buying it. It will evoke such depths of emotion and pride in being a woman.

I have been eagerly anticipating the sequel and final installment in the Daughters of Izdihar Duology and am honored that I was chosen to review an arc copy. Thank you so much the netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Weavers of Alamaxa picks up where Daughters of Izdihar left off; Nehal has been kidnapped by the neighboring kingdom, and Malak and Giorginna have just escaped from jail. From there, we dive straight in to a plot to take away weaver's power and the attempt of a neighboring kingdom to bring war to Alamaxa. Nehal, Malak, and Giorginna will have to rally the weavers to make a stand.

I was suprised where the plot went in this book; it was not focused at all on the daughters of izdihar and more on a war with the neighboring kingdom. Rest assured, all plot points come together by the end for a satisfying conclusion. There was only one thing I disliked, and without any spoilers, my fav couple does not get the ending I had hoped for in book 1. (I'm a bit mad at the author for tearing my heart apart, but it was necessary for the plot to progress the way it did).

I am happy to say that "The Weaver's of Alamaxa" was everything I hoped it would be. The writing was just as engaging as the 1st book, and I was completely absorbed in the plot. So many dramatic things happen that I was up half the night thinking about what would happen next! I loved this conclusion and can't wait to see what Hadeer Elsbai writes next.

I think this is the book for you if you are a fan of Avatar The Last Airbender, because it focuses on weavers who can control the elements. While this is adult fiction, I think this could also be enjoyed by teens and is definitely appropriate for the older teen age range. This is also a book that features the LGBTQ community(yay for representation!).

5/5 stars
Highly recommend

At the end of The Daughters of Izdihar, both Nehal (waterweaver from an aristocratic family) and Giorgina (earthweaver from a poor family) find themselves in a very tight spot. In this second book of the duology, both of them must grapple with challenges to using their powers as well as with the grief of losing people from their movement. And where book 1 emphasized their struggle as women to find recognition as equal members of society and to press for the right to vote, book 2 explores some of the class dynamics of their society as well as a growing authoritarian bent to those in power.

I really enjoyed the character growth in this book, even as I grew frustrated at Nehal's ongoing hotheadedness, and the plot delivers plenty of intrigue, tension, and heartbreak before winding down to a satisfying conclusion. A solid series, and I look forward to revisiting it with my book club next year. 4 stars.

Thank you, Harper Voyager and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

It starts out extremely exposition heavy and didn't catch my interest. I stopped at the end of chapter 1 (4%). That said, it should be a solid three stars from the target. Four for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.