Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: Review and Giveaway (Plus, a Quick Review of Aru Shah and the Song of Death)

Posted April 28, 2020 by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 12 Comments

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: Review and Giveaway (Plus, a Quick Review of Aru Shah and the Song of Death)

Today I’m reviewing books two and three of the Pandava Quartet! Since this is technically a blog tour for the third book, I’m posting that review first, but you can scroll down to see my quick thoughts on Aru Shah and the Song of Death as well. Also, check out my review of book one, Aru Shah and the End of Time!


Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: Review and Giveaway (Plus, a Quick Review of Aru Shah and the Song of Death)Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
Series: Pandava Quartet #3
Also in this series: Aru Shah and the End of Time
Published by Rick Riordan Presents on April 7, 2020
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 400
Source: Blog Tour, The Publisher
Cover Artist: Abigail L. Dela Cruz
My content rating: MG (Some MG-level violence and subtle hints of romance)
My rating:
4.5 Stars

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the third book in the Hindu-based, best-selling Pandava series by Roshani Chokshi, in which Aru and her cohorts, Mini, Brynne, and Aiden—and now a pair of twins—each search the Otherworld for Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree.

War between the devas and the demons is imminent, and the Otherworld is on high alert. When intelligence from the human world reveals that the Sleeper is holding a powerful clairvoyant and her sister captive, 14-year-old Aru and her friends launch a search-and-rescue mission. The captives, a pair of twins, turn out to be the newest Pandava sisters, though, according to a prophecy, one sister is not true.

During the celebration of Holi, the heavenly attendants stage a massage PR rebranding campaign to convince everyone that the Pandavas are to be trusted. As much as Aru relishes the attention, she fears that she is destined to bring destruction to her sisters, as the Sleeper has predicted. Aru believes that the only way to prove her reputation is to find the Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree that came out of the Ocean of Milk when it was churned. If she can reach it before the Sleeper, perhaps she can turn everything around with one wish.

Careful what you wish for, Aru . . .

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You can purchase Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes at the following Retailers:

These books are such a fabulous foray into Hindu mythology! I adore how many tales Chokshi manages to weave seamlessly into her story—Aru and her sisters (and friends) meet so many characters from these stories on their journey, and each time the original story is reflected somehow in Aru’s tale. This makes Aru’s journeys through the Otherworld that much more exciting and interesting—a point that held true in this book as she went on a quest to find a missing wish tree. This book didn’t have the lag of middle book syndrome—I was eagerly turning the pages to learn of Aru’s next adventure!

In this book, Aru meets two new sisters and must unravel a prophecy before her father, the Sleeper, can. The book focuses on Aru’s conflicted feelings about her father. He is the villain of the story, but throughout this book she learns what brought him to that point and she sees for herself that her father actually did love her. I love the messages here about family and love and good and evil—it’s not always a simple formula. Like real life, the lines get very blurry sometimes. And Aru’s fears about feeling too much sympathy for the bad guys in the story seem very real.

Three new characters are introduced in this book: Sheela and Nikita, twin Pandava sisters, and Rudy a self-absorbed prince. Rudy is especially fun for some comic relief but, as has held true with all the characters in these books, we also get to see his softer side. By the end of the book, I came to love Rudy just as much as the other heroes. I wish we’d gotten to know Sheela and Nikita just a little bit more, but we still have one more book for that!

I’m eager to find out how Chokshi will end this series in book four!!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***


PRAISE FOR ARU SHAH AND THE TREE OF WISHES

“Touching, riotously funny, and absolutely stunning.”–Kirkus

Praise for Aru Shah and the End of Time:

“An imaginative novel that puts girl power and diverse protagonists front and center.”

Entertainment Weekly

“[An] engrossing adventure tale.”Teen Vogue

 “Roshani Chokshi spins a modern-day fairy tale that adults and children will love.”-Bustle

Grab the first 2 books in the series!

Aru Shah and the End of Time (A Pandava Novel Book 1)

Aru Shah and the Song of Death (A Pandava Novel Book 2)


 

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: Review and Giveaway (Plus, a Quick Review of Aru Shah and the Song of Death)Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi
Series: Pandava Quartet #2
Also in this series: Aru Shah and the End of Time
Published by Rick Riordan Presents on April 30, 2019
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 304
Source: Won It!
Cover Artist: Abigail L. Dela Cruz
My rating:
4 Stars

Aru is only just getting the hang of this whole Pandava thing when the Otherworld goes into full panic mode. The god of love's bow and arrow have gone missing, and the thief isn't playing Cupid. Instead, they're turning people into heartless fighting-machine zombies. If that weren't bad enough, somehow Aru gets framed as the thief. If she doesn't find the arrow by the next full moon, she'll be kicked out of the Otherworld. For good.

But, for better or worse, she won't be going it alone.

Along with her soul-sister, Mini, Aru will team up with Brynne, an ultra-strong girl who knows more than she lets on, and Aiden, the boy who lives across the street and is also hiding plenty of secrets. Together they'll battle demons, travel through a glittering and dangerous serpent realm, and discover that their enemy isn't at all who they expected.

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A fun continuation of the series! In this book, Aru and Mini are joined by two new friends when they have to clear their name and save a whole bunch of men from becoming heartless zombies (literally!).

I especially enjoyed the addition of Brynn and Aiden. Brynn and Aru aren’t so sure what they think of each other at first, and I appreciated seeing the process of Aru learning more about Brynn and realizing that there might be a lot more to her than meets the eye. Actually, that’s a major theme of the whole book—how we can’t really make judgments about people until we know the complete story. As Aru learns more about Brynn, she realizes that the girl has struggles that inform her choices, and the same goes for the villains in this story. Real life isn’t made up of people who fit perfectly into the mold of hero or villain—sometimes heroes make bad choices and villains make good ones. Sometimes people make bad choices because they’re driven to them, and sometimes people make bad choices for the right reasons. This book explores many of those different dynamics!


About the Author

Roshani Chokshi (www.roshanichokshi.com) is the author of the instant New York Times best-selling books in the Pandava series, Aru Shah and the End of Time, and its sequel, Aru Shah and the Song of Death. She also wrote the New York Times best-selling YA books The Star-Touched Queen and The Gilded Wolves. She studied fairy tales in college, and she has a pet luck dragon that looks suspiciously like a Great Pyrenees dog. The Pandava novels were inspired by the stories her grandmother told her as well as Roshani’s all-consuming love for Sailor Moon. She lives in the south and says “y’all,” but she doesn’t really have a Southern accent. Her Twitter handle is @roshani_chokshi.

Author Links:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of ARU SHAH AND THE TREE OF WISHES, US Only.

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Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/6/2020 Kait Plus Books Excerpt
4/7/2020 Open Pages Excerpt
4/8/2020 BookHounds YA Excerpt
4/9/2020 Log Cabin Library Excerpt
4/10/2020 Pandora’s Books Excerpt

Week Two:

4/13/2020 Hauntedbybooks Review
4/14/2020 Loie Dunn Excerpt
4/15/2020 Hurn Publications Review
4/16/2020 Daily Waffle Excerpt
4/17/2020 YA Books Central Excerpt

Week Three:

4/20/2020 Locks, Hooks and Hooks Excerpt
4/21/2020 Nay’s Pink Bookshelf Review
4/22/2020 Confessions of a YA Reader Review
4/23/2020 Sifa Elizabeth Reads Review
4/24/2020 For the Love of KidLit Interview

Week Four:

4/27/2020 The Book Dutchesses Review
4/28/2020 Feed Your Fiction Addiction Review
4/28/2020 Here’s to Happy Endings Review
4/29/2020 Sometimes Leelynn Reads Review
4/30/2020 Fazila Reads Excerpt
5/1/2020 Popthebutterfly.wordpress.com Review

Week Five:

5/4/2020 Fanna For Readers & Writers Review
5/5/2020 Lilly’s Book World Review
5/6/2020 Careful of Books Review
5/7/2020 DJREADSBOOKS Review
5/8/2020 What A Nerd Girl Says Interview

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12 responses to “Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: Review and Giveaway (Plus, a Quick Review of Aru Shah and the Song of Death)

  1. “lines get very blurry sometimes” So true! I like the sounds of this and how it seems to handle the family aspects so well, especially that the father is the bad guy but that it’s nuanced. And making judgments as well. Sounds like a great story!

  2. I am glad you could adore this installment in this series just as much as the first one. It sounds like the mythology was very well included and portrayed in the story. And I love when there are new characters who come in and make the story all the more exciting! Great review x

    Olivia Roach recently posted: 3 Mini Reviews: Sherlock Holmes Edition

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