Suffering from middle book syndrome is a real thing, guys.

Synopsis:

The story begins when Aru and the rest of the group encounter two new Pandava sisters, ten year old twins Sheela and Nikita, whose former holds a prophecy capable of changing the course of the war. But she is abducted and the Pandavas & Co. have to juggle two different missions: search for the wishing tree, Kapalvriksha, and rescue their new sister.

All that before the Sleeper does and is granted the one wish he has been searching for more than a decade.

Review:

I must always start these reviews with a high praise for the wonderful worldbuilding and usage of Hindu mythology and explained in a form that it is neither too juvenile nor too pretentious. It was one of the main things that attracted and enchanted me regarding this series is exactly that; the ability the author has shown countless times of how visually immersive her writing is.

I’m on the team that found Aru absolutely irritating in the first two books but it is clear the development in which she going through. I think that, out of all the characters (and without invalidating their own personal past and current struggles), Aru must be the one with more burden and going through a rough moment. Not only is she the daughter of the villain, she is “forced” to fight against him as a Pandava and she then forced to see how the gods and a prophecy have completely robbed her of a decent future with a loving father.

Aru is definitely handling emotionally and in terms of responsibility much more than all of the other elements of the group and I applaud her for her fierceness.

I absolutely loved the complexity of which the villain’s story was nuanced, not black-and-white, good-or-bad. A lot of the times, these stories are the one worth telling and reading.

However, here comes the problems.

The previous last books were four stars for me, truly a wonderful discovery when I risked diving into something similar to Percy Jackson without actually being Percy Jackson.

One of the complaints I’ve seen some reviewer mention was how “formulaic” the story seems to be in this book. Well, in that case, I must come into defense because Percy Jackson and every book in the Read Riordan Presents are there for a damn reason. They all follow the same “formula” because that is what makes these books have a sense of feel of Percy Jackson whilst exploring other cultures, religions and even languages. They’re their own thing but, surely, there is a limited amount of story structure an author can follow when they’re following the whole “demigods or children with the spirit of X god or deity” type of story.

Truly, it is almost as if every single damn book has to be the most original piece one has ever read. In this day and age, with the amount of accessibility to different books, genres and the accessibility in publishing a book (far easier than in previous centuries), it is expected to see the same “tropes”, story structure, storytelling and even same story “but in a different font”. There is only so much you can do and I guarantee you, none of it is 100% original.

Anyway, that was my usual rant about people and their complaints of “I’ve seen this book before”.
So have I and that doesn’t that away the beautifully crafted world and story the author has constructed.

Now, here comes the things I actually had an issue with:

• Twin Pandava: The new addiction to the Pandava & Co. were, in its core, annoying and, at the same time, underutilised. Sheela, who bores the gift of prophecy and which we, as a reader, are led to believe will play a big role in the book is merely an afterthought. From the moment the Pandavas have to leave them in the Otherworld, she is barely there. Nikita – which is a Russian name, though I don’t know if it is used in India – is an annoyance of a ten year old that really makes me wonder if children are truly a wonder as everyone seems to say.

I understand how much traumatic events they’ve been through in such a tender age but it is not excuse to be rude. One can be protective and defensive without being rude. The Pandavas are around fourteen years old and then the introduction of not one but TWO ten year olds added a layer of unbalance to an otherwise pretty balanced group.

Also, why the fuck does a ten year old has a better control and strength of her powers than four fourteen year olds who have been training for three books now?

• Aiden: He was one of my favourite characters in the other books (he only appeared in the last scene or so of [b:Aru Shah and the End of Time|36222611|Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava, #1)|Roshani Chokshi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506615949l/36222611._SX50_.jpg|56242795] and the entire of [b:Aru Shah and the Song of Death|36323794|Aru Shah and the Song of Death (Pandava, #2)|Roshani Chokshi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536069777l/36323794._SY75_.jpg|57999539] ) and he was completely gone in this one. In this book, he is a shell of who he used to be, appearing rather bland and forgettable. More often than not, I forgot he was actually in perfect form and not injured or absent.

Which leads to another point: his clear crush on Aru. Aru is not exactly the most discreet of people when she fancies a guy but Aiden is far more contained than her, which makes the moments where the reader can totally tell he has a crush on her much more adorably sweet and innocent. However, they barely interacted one-on-one in this book, only a few short moments (equivalent of seconds) here and there but nothing actually substantial.

How are we supposed to believe he is developing a crush on her if they barely interact as two individuals outside of the group?

• The Potatoes: As an adult reading a middle grade book I know there are going to be jokes that I will like and jokes that I won’t. Middle grade books are within an age range where, if I was younger, I might have found it funny or funnier. Not this, though. I’m pretty confident I’d hate this joke, regardless of the age I had. It was completely unnecessary, lack of imagination and, frankly, fucking annoying because it kept being repeated throughout the damn book.

It was not fucking funny the first time and it isn’t in the twentieth.

• PR image reputation: I won’t dwell much on this; just came to say how stupid of a plotline it was to include that.

• The cliff-hanger: So many reviewers loved the plot twist at the end and how it led to an immediate cliff-hanger. I hated it.

Spoiler

Am I seriously supposed to believe the Sleeper, Aru’s father, has slept with another woman and bore another child which is probably approximately Aru’s age? Fuck that.

It felt like a cliff-hanger for the sake of it.

It was a damn miracle this book didn’t have a two stars rating after that one.

I will still continue the series but I was expecting to do it throughout the summer but I’m not that excited to read the next one right after this.


Reviews for other Pandava Quartet's books:
✨ Aru Shah and The End of Time
✨ no review for the second book

Parts of this were stronger than the last in the series, but the end got a lot convoluted (and left on a cliff-hanger).

3.5 stars!

Time for another Aru Shah and Pandavas adventure whilst they try to manoeuvre their way through the war with the Sleeper.

For some reason, I wasn’t as engaged in this one and it feel as fast paced or as entertaining as the others. I still love the characters immensely and think this is leading somewhere amazing so I cannot wait for the final one to come out.

Love the new characters. Love Aru Shah. Explosive ending. Immediately starting book 4!

4.5*

I have been enjoying this series just as I have Chokshi's young adult series! It's a great readalike for Percy Jackson and helps me keep my love of mythology alive! Quests, adventure, danger, and inner doubt combatted by the love of friends and family, it's a great journey and I am eager to see what the next book will bring as things are coming to a head between Aru and the other Pandavas and her own father, the Sleeper.

Helt klart min yndlings Aru Shah bog indtil videre :D

Another great installment in the series!

Continuing to really enjoy these books. I’m starting to see the threads of how some things are going to resolve and i’m excited to watch it all come together. A few times I wanted to squeal and kick my feet, these kids are so cute.