“A dark, delectable, and utterly unique series that readers will want to drown in.” —Laura Sebastian, New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Princess seriesThe start of a fierce fantasy duology about three maidens who are chosen for their land’s greatest honor…and one girl determined to save her sister from the grave. In the walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to … walled city-state of Alu, Kammani wants nothing more than to become the accomplished healer her father used to be before her family was cast out of their privileged life in shame.
When Alu’s ruler falls deathly ill, Kammani’s beautiful little sister, Nanaea, is chosen as one of three sacred maidens to join him in the afterlife. It’s an honor. A tradition. And Nanaea believes it is her chance to live an even grander life than the one that was stolen from her.
But Kammani sees the selection for what it really is—a death sentence.
Desperate to save her sister, Kammani schemes her way into the palace to heal the ruler. There she discovers more danger lurking in the sand-stone corridors than she could have ever imagined and that her own life—and heart—are at stake. But Kammani will stop at nothing to dig up the palace’s buried secrets even if it means sacrificing everything…including herself.
“A dark and utterly enthralling journey to an ancient land, Gravemaidens grabs you by your beating heart and refuses to let go until the bitter, breathtaking end.”—Sarah Glenn Marsh, author of the Reign of the Fallen series
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I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley and chose to leave a voluntary review. Thank you!*
3.5-4
This was a good first book in a series (duology). To be honest, this book I cover-shopped. I saw the beautiful cover and had to read the book. Luckily I enjoyed the book.
I really enjoyed the world and work building and the story just as much.
As some have stated before it is quite brutal and has some graphic scene in there, so if you have a weak stomach skip it or just skim these parts.
The only thing for me that I didn’t like was, that parts of the book were slow, even in the beginning and it made it hard for me to connect to some characters.
I wasn’t sure if I would like Kammani or not in the beginning and she just comes over as annoying and jealous brat, but I ended up liking her for the most part.
Overall I enjoyed the book and I’m looking forward to the second book to see what is to come.
3.5-4
Kammani is a healer, a skill she learned from her father who was banished into a life of poverty after failing to save the son of a ruler. Now the ruler is dying and, according to tradition, the three most beautiful girls have been chosen for the ultimate honor of accompanying him in the tomb—and the afterlife. One of the girls is Kammani’s sister.
Now Kammani will be challenged at every turn as she desperately tries to challenge tradition and her own skills to save her sister.
Gravemaidens is a dark, intense, pulse-pounding story. The supporting characters are well-developed, the setting is vibrant and rich. There were a few plot developments that I found to be a bit convenient, but it didn’t really distract me from the pace and enjoyment of the story. I’m looking forward to the next book!
*I received a copy of Gravemaidens from NetGalley and Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review
Gravemaidens is a story steep in tradition. Rich in world building and languishes the reader in words of beauty and clever wordplay.
Gravemaidens are chosen with great honor to their families to join the Alu’s great leader to his afterlife. As the three maidens are chosen to be the Queens for the Lugal in the Netherworld, one girl from the village is not pleased. Her beautifully young sister was chosen and it would not do for her… or her family. They have lost much and she would not lose her sister to the barbaric tradition as well.
As a lover of fantasy, proper worldbuilding and character development, I was enthralled by the beauty of Kelly Coon’s writing. She follows in the same path as one of my favorite duologies, The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Andieh. The descriptive storyline left my imagination hungry for more when the story ended. The next book must come faster.
FANTASTIC fantastic debut! Five stars and a tip of my Nerd Girl hat!
*This review was done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official book blog. To request a review please email @gmail.com">NerdGirlGeneral@gmail.com
Cast out of nobility for failing to save the ruler’s dying son, Kammani’s father spends his nights befuddled by alcohol. Having trained under her father, Kammani continues to heal when her father cannot. As the ruler of Alu falls ill, sacred maidens are called to accompany him into death. When Kammani’s sister is selected as a maiden, Kammani will do everything in her power to heal the dying ruler. But Kammani’s sister, Nanaea wants nothing more than to repair her family’s honor by being a maiden. An unknown illness plagues the ruler and Kammani must battle both the unknown and the spite from her sister. But as she begins to unearth hidden truths within the palace, she will realize there is much more at stake.
Gravemaidens read at an even pace, not holding too many twists or turns. I guessed a few of the plot reveals before they occurred, but it was still an entertaining read. Kammani’s character kept me reading. She was dedicated to the healing arts and was extremely different from the usual YA protagonist who chases after love. While Kammani acknowledged that she did feel attracted to Dagan, she was responsible enough to know that she had an important job to do.
This book does touch on cruelty towards women, as the world of Alu contains men who see women as beneath them. There are moments of abuse, but once the structure is established it dances on the edge of this theme. Men leer at the woman and make lewd suggestions throughout the novel to remind the reader of the dangers Kammani could be in if caught alone.
But despite everything she has to face, Kammani is determined to save her sister. Even if Nanaea fights against it every step of the way. The age difference between the two was so clear when Nanaea bickered with Kammani over being a maiden. And yet through it all, Kammani’s love for her sister was so clear to the reader.
I’m intrigued to see where the next book leads. Given where the characters end up, I am puzzled as to how the series can continue. But Kelly Coon must have something planned, and I can’t wait to see what it is!
Gravemaidens is the first in a historical fantasy duology set in ancient Sumer. It is a world in which tradition is deeply embedded into the very fabric of society, amd with it, the corruption of power.
When the ruler dies in this world, three maidens are chosen to voyage with him into the Netherworld, to become queens in the next life. This is considered to be of the highest honor, although it too is fraught with corruption. For those on the fringes of society, it can be a boon for the honor of a family. But sometimes maidens are chosen based on the wealth of their families, who frequently offer riches for the honor of their daughter’s choosing. But Kammami, whose sister has been chosen, soon discovers that not everything is as it seems, or should be. And this knowledge puts her in great danger.
Gravemaidens is definitely a page-turner, with good pacing that keeps a reader engrossed in the story. The world building was so well done that I felt as if I were present. And I definitely enjoyed the characters, the good and the bad.
However, I didn’t love parts of Kammami’s story. There were moments when I felt like she jumped to conclusions without much evidence. As an intelligent woman, that seemed out of character for her. She made great leaps of assumption sometimes that seemed weak at best sometimes. On top of that, while I appreciated the mystery aspects to it, it was very obvious from early on “whodunit.” I wish there had been a little more surprise to that.
But all of that being said, I did enjoy the book and am looking forward to Warmaidens, coming December 2020.
My recommendation: If you like a high-stakes, historical fantasy with a richly built world, give Gravemaidens a try!
Loved this book! Excited for the sequel!
There was a lot of potential, but it just didn’t wow me. I’m looking forward to seeing if the next book brings it.
This is the kind of book that would have been amazing, if not for a few reasons.
1. The female lead was veeeery frustrating.
Kammani is one stressed character. She’s the kind that will try to lift the world on her shoulders… ALONE. Sometimes, that’s a good thing but in this case, it was not. All it did was lead her into stupid decisions. It’s one thing to be brave but it’s another thing to be brave and stupid.
2. The plot was predictable.
A story based on the real history of human sacrifice is very promising. I went into this thinking of an elaborate plot full of twists and turns. Unfortunately, it was far from what I expected. The bad guys were obvious from the start and only Kammani was stupid enough to believe otherwise. Honestly, it frustrates me how easily she was led into believing something that wasn’t true. It is like watching an impending crash from miles away: wanting but powerless to stop it.
3. This could have been a stand-alone instead of a duology.
There are duologies that made sense because a lot of things can still happen (read Strange the Dreamer). And there are duologies like this which got split into two for the sake of it, thereby dragging the conclusion in the process.
4. Some parts of the plot didn’t make sense to me.
It’s hard to describe this without spoiling too much so I’ll be vague. Supposed you were to pretend to be someone. Would people really believe it just because you were at the right place and covered by a veil, even if you had crutches while the person you were pretending to be clearly did not? Also, when someone accuses you of murder, do you immediately be a bit nice to them, even comforting them in their grief? Even a good person needs time after something like that.
Inaction can be just as bad as the wrong action.
Although there were things I didn’t like in this book, I also have to give credit where it is due. This book also had its good points.
1. It was easy to read and quite entertaining.
I cannot deny that I did sit through several hours reading this. It is proof that I did like reading it, although I was stressed and frustrated most of the time.
2. The male lead was adorable.
I really liked Dagan because he is loyal and reliable. Honestly, he is too good for Kammani. He doesn’t deserve the way she treated him!
So, the most important question is, will I read the second book? Probably. I just hope it will be better than this.
**I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **