Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I am part of the blog tour for The Archer at Dawn and today I will be sharing some of my favourite quotes and my review!
I really enjoyed The Tiger at Midnight so I was really excited to read the sequel and it did not disappoint! You can read my review of The Tiger at Midnight here
Rating:
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Sun Mela is many things: a call for peace, a cause for celebration, and, above all, a deadly competition. For Kunal and Esha, finally working together as rebel spies, it provides the perfect guise to infiltrate King Vardaan’s vicious court.
Kunal will return to his role as dedicated Senap soldier, at the Sun Mela to provide extra security for the palace during the peace summit for the divided nations of Jansa and Dharka. Meanwhile, Esha will use her new role as adviser to Prince Harun to keep a pulse on shifting political parties and seek out allies for their rebel cause. A radical plan is underfoot to rescue Jansa’s long-lost Princess Reha—the key to the stolen throne.But amid the Mela games and glittering festivities, much more dangerous forces lie in wait.
With the rebel Blades’ entry into Vardaan’s court, a match has been lit, and long-held secrets will force Kunal and Esha to reconsider their loyalties—to their country and to each other. Getting into the palace was the easy task; coming out together will be a battle for their lives.
This book starts where The Tiger at Midnight ended and Kunal and Esha both infiltrate the Sun Mela in different ways which allows them to plan a way to find the long lost princess and save their land and people.
It was really interesting to see how this book was in some ways quite different to the first, in The Tiger at Midnight we mainly see Kunal and Esha with others making appearances as they are both travelling across the country in a cat and mouse chase. This book however keeps them in one place throughout the book, in the palace and at court. This gave us so much more insight into not only Kunal and Esha but all the other characters we met or heard about in the first book and fleshed out the world even more. I loved seeing that.
“What’s not to like? Subterfuge and schemes. You’ve dealt with vicious vipers and snapping turtles. It’ll be fun.”
We see a lot more political intrigue in this book too as we spend a vast portion amongst the royals and nobles with them trying to form allies and find out how to save their lost princess. Both Kunal and Esha had to decide who they could trust and everyone had secrets which made the story really intriguing.
We learn a lot more of the history of the world and how they ended up in the situation that they are now in and it was so interesting to learn about and how each character was affected differently by it. There are some hints about some characters that I am especially interested to learn more about which I think will be revealed in the next book and I can already imagine the tension!
“Kunal had decided long ago that Esha would be the death of him, but he had never feared death.”
I loved seeing how their relationship developed in this book too as they had their own loyalties and pasts to think about but also how their relationship was developing and if they could truly trust each other as they both had secrets of their own. In some ways they were so different from each other, and have been on opposite sides for so long and yet they are both driven by changing things for the better for their people. They often bring out the best in each other but their relationship gets really complicated with so much at stake and so many people warring for their loyalty.
I am especially looking forward to seeing how their relationship will develop in the next book after that ending! The book slowly built up to the climax and yet there were plot twists that I should have seen coming but didn’t and I was left reeling. It made me rethink everything I read and I just loved all the revelations!
The way the book ending left me needing the next book asap because I need to know what will happen next! I am very afraid for the lives of all my favourite characters because I don’t know how everyone will come out of this alive.
I highly recommend everyone read these books! They are so underappreciated and they are so good! The Indian culture and mythology that has been woven into the story from the world to the clothes and food, I loved seeing it so much! I love the banter and development of the main characters and I just need you all to read these books!
“A new beginning. A chance to do something, for once. It was all he could really ask for.”
About the Author
Swati Teerdhala is the author of The Tiger at Midnight series, which has appeared on both Barnes and Noble and Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Novelslists.After graduating from the University of Virginia with a BS in finance and BA in history, she tumbled into the marketing side of the technology industry. She’s passionate about many things, including how the right ratio of curd-to-crust in a lemon tart. She currently lives in New York City
Find the author here:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17649349.Swati_Teerdhala
Twitter: https://twitter.com/swatiteerdhala
Website: http://swatiteerdhala.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swatiteerdhala/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swatiteerdhalabooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.es/swatiteerdhala/
Tumblr: https://swatiteerdhala.tumblr.com/
You can find the tour schedule here
The Tsundoku Chronicles 