Mahimata

Written by Rati Mehrotra

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

A young female assassin must confront the man who slaughtered her family, risk her heart, and come to terms with her identity as a warrior and as a woman in this thrilling fantasy from the author of Markswoman.



Kyra has returned to the caves of Kali, but her homecoming is bittersweet. She no longer knows what her place is. Her beloved teacher is dead and her best friend Nineth is missing. And gone, too, is Rustan, the Marksman who helped her train for the duel with Tamsyn—and became far more than a teacher and friend.



Shaken by his feelings for Kyra and the truth about his parentage, Rustan has set off on a quest for answers. His odyssey leads him to the descendants of an ancient sect tied to the alien Ones—and the realization that the answers he seeks come with a price.



Yet fate has plans to bring Kyra and Rustan together again. Kai Tau, the man who slaughtered Kyra's family, wages war on the Orders of Asiana. Hungering for justice, Kyra readies herself for battle, aided by her new companions: the wyr-wolves, who are so much more than what they seem. And determined to keep the woman he loves safe, Rustan joins the fight to ride by her side.



But will this final confrontation ultimately cost them their love . . . and their lives?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: May 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781684411313

Rati Mehrotra

Born and raised in India, Rati Mehrotra makes her home in Toronto, Canada, where she writes novels and short fiction and blogs at ratiwrites.com. Markswoman is her debut novel. Find her on Twitter @rati_mehrotra.

[mrmapcase · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fantasy, a tale of loyalty, of wandering, of magic, of action, all could be used to describe Mahimata. The reader is taken on a journey of great proportions.

Free review copy.

[ladycato · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Full disclosure: I provided a blurb for the first book of this duology and the publisher also supplied me with a gratis copy of Mahimata for review.

Rati Mehrotra's Asiana duology comes to a fantastic conclusion in Mahimata. In this Asian-inspired fantasy settings with unique sci-fi twists, Kyra is a highly-trained assassin telekinetically bound with her blade. Her world has erupted in war. Her sect has fought against local wyr-wolves for centuries, but now a greater--human--threat has emerged and threatens to take over Asiana. In the turbulence of the first book, Kyra met and fell for Rustan, of a rival sect--and also almost died. As Mahimata begins, she struggles to recover physically and reconcile herself with what she has learned about her sect, her power, and her world.

The action is intense and well-grounded in genuine emotions. I especially love how the wyr-wolves developed. This is a book all about maturity and growth for both Kyra and Rustan as they fight to save their people at great cost. I'm sorry to see the series end, but this conclusion truly hits all the right notes.