If you’re wanting to read a book about fiercely stubborn young women who’ll do anything to save a kingdom from destruction from a usurper, then look no further. Despite being a sequel, I launched myself headfirst into this story, longing to find out what was going to happen to Kammani, who wants to do what’s right, and that’s by putting the rightful heir of Alu on the throne. The story is gritty and filled with this fierce intensity of rebellion and war, and is strengthened by its strong exploration of sisterhood and female empowerment. If you enjoyed Gravemaidens, then you’re definitely going to want to pick up Warmaidens.
Now, before you go off adding this to your TBR, this is a sequel to a duology, so make sure to read Gravemaidens first! Also, you may want to stop reading this review here, so you don’t get any spoilers!
Okay, so when we last saw Kammani, she was escaping Alu with the other maidens chosen to die with the king. They’ve fled to Manzazu, where she’s become a respected healer. As the horrors of Alu begin to fade, Kammani starts to consider Dagan’s offer of marriage. Unfortunately, before they can get very far, an assassin attempts to murder who they think is Kammani and the displaced ruler of Alu. This time however, the kingdom of Manzazu is ready to help them with revenge at the cost of war, a war that Kammani knows will bring more suffering than healing. Kammani will have to return to Alu and dethrone the usurper herself before war can destroy their home entirely.
This story begins with a bit of relief before it starts in on some of the harder things. Now, while I loved Kammani’s fierce protectiveness of those that have become family, I had a hard time with her stubbornness in Warmaidens. It made her a little harder to connect with, but not completely. I loved her relationship with her sister Nanaea and her friend Iltani. They’re all so different but accepting of each other. Then there’s Dagan. I absolutely adored how much of a cinnamon roll this man is, but there were moments were I had a hard time with the way Kammani treated her. A lot of this boils down to the rampant sexism that exists in Alu, but there were moments that could have been more tender had it not been for Kammani.
Everything felt like it progressed quickly, but not at a breakneck pace. I love how carefully Kelly was able to plan every piece of this story and looking at how each choice might affect the characters. Now, while I’m all for happily ever afters in stories (with no character deaths), I have to say that there’s something more powerful about stories where actions have consequences, and boy are they going to make our characters suffer before all of this is over. Kammani has to deal with quite a bit of her choices, and I loved the accountability of it all.
Something that I was delighted by was the fact that the Boatman and the mythology of Alu and Manzazu was featured more heavily in this book. The significance of his presence becomes more prominent as the story progresses, and I have to say that I loved what winds up happening with this storyline. Since the story is taking place in another kingdom, I loved exploring different customs (in this case a queendom) and the warrior women, the Koru. They’re warrior women who’ve taken a vow not to marry and to put the queen above everything.
While the whole story leads up to an epic climax with the antagonists, there’s also several smaller storylines happening that are worth paying attention to. They’re the ones that help build the story up to what it is, and while Kammani is involved in them in some way, Kelly also takes the time to make the reader care about the other characters that are being featured. The most prominent characters in this are Iltani and Assata, who have starkly different personalities and life paths in mind than Kammani.
Overall, this was quite an enjoyable sequel and end to the duology!
Warmaidens is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up Warmaidens? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Warmaidens is the dark, action-packed conclusion to the heartwrenching Gravemaidens fantasy duology. Kammani and the maidens are now going to war against the ruler who tried to entomb them.
Just a few moons after escaping the tomb in Alu, Kammani and the other runaway maidens have found refuge in the city-state of Manzazu. There, Kammani has become a respected healer, especially among the warriors she’s brought back from the brink of death. Now that the nightmares of Alu are fading, she can finally decide whether or not to take Dagan’s hand in marriage.
But when an assassin murders a healer he believes is Kammani and attempts to kill the displaced queen of Alu, the maidens realize they’ve been found.
Hungry for revenge, Manzazu’s queen wants to strike back at Alu with her fiercest weapons—her scorpion warrior maidens—but Kammani knows that war harms more than it heals. To save the innocents and any chance of a future with Dagan, Kammani must take down Alu’s ruler before their lives burn up in the flames of war.
