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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really liked the book, eventhough it was a tad too long, up until the end when Harper gets killed off... It's such an unnecessary death in my opinion. I get why Darian was killed, because Laia needed a reason to kill the nightbringer. But Harper?? Can't Helene get anything for herself? Yeah, she gets to be empress but she lost everyone in te process. Idk, it really rubs me the wrong way. Especially since Laia and Elias get such a happy ending together. :/ Suffice to say I cried a lot reading the last chapters of this book. Justice for Harper and Helene... That's also the reason I'm only giving this book 4 stars. It was good, but it left me feeling sad and unsatisfied at the end. I also did not enjoy Keris ending. She was absolutely vile and having childhood trauma doesn't explain away the awful things she did. Those are the thoughts I have right now. Great series, but the ending was not satisfying for me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m actually sad it took me so long to invest myself in this world because Sabaa Tahir is masterful at picking up plotlines laid throughout the rest of the series and giving them real stakes with incredibly complex characters who are very comfortable in their murky gray morality. There’s great payoff without making readers feel like they were purposely led astray with red herrings.
Tahir’s female characters in particular show incredible growth and weave together strength with emotion. Laia’s story embodies the value of empathy and the final scene with Keris is utterly heartbreaking and shows that we as people can suffer greatly and it is our response to that suffering that shapes our future. Helene’s journey is my favorite. She began the series as the token girl having to fight twice as hard as the guys to command respect while nursing feelings for the main male character and being taught those feelings make her weak. She makes mistakes and does horrible things (and has horrible things happen to her) but she learns and grows as she unlearns the awful values passed on by previous generations of the Empire.
There are some heartbreaking character deaths that make sense because of the brutal nature of this world and the Nightbringer’s plan, though that doesn’t make them hurt less. Without them, the story would have felt unbalanced and our main characters need that grief to become the people they’re meant to be.
I cannot recommend this series highly enough! But mind the content warnings if you are sensitive to specific topics.
Content warnings:
Blood, body horror, death, gore, injury, murder, violence, war (on page): this is a story of war between human factions plus humans against magical beings. I don’t recommend this if you cannot stomach violence because it is graphic and prevalent.
Death of parent (on page, flashback):Laia learns her mother is still alive and sees how her father and sister really died.
Domestic abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse (on page):Marcus abuses his wife including while she is pregnant in order to emotionally manipulate Helene who is forced to endure her sister’s torment.
Fire/fire injury (on page):The Jinn burn down a library containing information Laia needs and she is nearly trapped inside.
Classism (on page):The aristocrats of the Empire actively look down on and rebel against Marcus because he is of a lower class than them.
Medical content, pregnancy (on page):Medical content in the form of healing from battlefield injuries & pregnancy content. Livia is pregnant with Marcus’ heir and she experiences some complications including attempts at forcing a miscarriage. Laia delivers her baby during a battle.
Slavery (on page):Scholars have long been enslaved by the Martials. Keris keeps slaves as she attempts her coup. Livia as Empress Regent frees the Scholars.
Sexism (on page):Enemies actively look down on Helene for being a woman. Martial aristocrats do the same before being put in their places.
Sexual content (on page):Consensual encounters between Helene & Avitas and between Laia & Elias. Generally non-graphic and centered on the emotional connection rather than the act itself.
Tahir’s female characters in particular show incredible growth and weave together strength with emotion. Laia’s story embodies the value of empathy and the final scene with Keris is utterly heartbreaking and shows that we as people can suffer greatly and it is our response to that suffering that shapes our future. Helene’s journey is my favorite. She began the series as the token girl having to fight twice as hard as the guys to command respect while nursing feelings for the main male character and being taught those feelings make her weak. She makes mistakes and does horrible things (and has horrible things happen to her) but she learns and grows as she unlearns the awful values passed on by previous generations of the Empire.
There are some heartbreaking character deaths that make sense because of the brutal nature of this world and the Nightbringer’s plan, though that doesn’t make them hurt less. Without them, the story would have felt unbalanced and our main characters need that grief to become the people they’re meant to be.
I cannot recommend this series highly enough! But mind the content warnings if you are sensitive to specific topics.
Content warnings:
Blood, body horror, death, gore, injury, murder, violence, war (on page):
Death of parent (on page, flashback):
Domestic abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse (on page):
Fire/fire injury (on page):
Classism (on page):
Medical content, pregnancy (on page):
Slavery (on page):
Sexism (on page):
Sexual content (on page):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Medical content, Pregnancy, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
aw, I cried during the ending! i really liked the ending of the series and this was definitely my favourite one in the whole series (I did have to Google all of the world history because I had forgotten them from the previous books).
i liked the writing and atmosphere, k enjoyed the character banter and dynamics, so much KILLING OF CHARACTERS (she did not hold back, all the consequences), andII loved how it resolved too
i liked the writing and atmosphere, k enjoyed the character banter and dynamics, so much KILLING OF CHARACTERS (she did not hold back, all the consequences), andII loved how it resolved too
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was everything I wanted and more. I laughed, I cried, I celebrated, I cried some more… (seriously, I was in tears from around page 450 to the end). The absolute perfect way to cap off an amazing series.
I love that we finally get to see Laia and Helene (Blood Shrike) team up. Their dynamic is so fun and so deep. I didn't realize how similar their experiences are throughout the series, especially related to their families and Elias. We stan two women kicking ass and agreeing that men are trash while they do it. Also, Tahir delivers on all the slow-burn romances she set up throughout the series. I spent 3.75 books waiting for Laia and Elias to finally ~express~ their love and let me tell you: it was worth the damn wait.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tahir ends this multicultural fantasy series on an even note. I'd rate it somewhere a little above A Reaper at the Gates, but with writing that elicits moderate to deep emotion. The Commandant Keris Veturia will remain one of the top villains of current literature, in my opinion. Her character is multi-faceted: extremely evil but with deep pain that led me to sympathize with her a little. Kudos to Sabaa Tahir for writing such a well-written villain 👏🏼.
I'd sub-categorize this series as dark academia, since two of the protagonists are former students of the villain. It's rarely spoken of but I do wish Tahir let the alumni of Keris' school muse more over her as their former teacher than as a politician. However, I'm not a fan of the student-teacher relationship involved between two major characters, which became more scandalous when its revealed the teacher was in an open-marriage and impregnated his student. Also, Tahir writes in support of LGBT+ relationships, which is controversial within the Muslim community. I'm not Muslim but I'm just putting that out there for them and other readers who observe any religion that's against the LGBT+.
Overall Tahir's writing never bored me, plus she provides some mini-recaps, which is perfect for those (like me) who couldn't reread the first three books of this series.
I'd sub-categorize this series as dark academia, since two of the protagonists are former students of the villain. It's rarely spoken of but I do wish Tahir let the alumni of Keris' school muse more over her as their former teacher than as a politician. However, I'm not a fan of the student-teacher relationship involved between two major characters, which became more scandalous when its revealed the teacher was in an open-marriage and impregnated his student. Also, Tahir writes in support of LGBT+ relationships, which is controversial within the Muslim community. I'm not Muslim but I'm just putting that out there for them and other readers who observe any religion that's against the LGBT+.
Overall Tahir's writing never bored me, plus she provides some mini-recaps, which is perfect for those (like me) who couldn't reread the first three books of this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity
LGBT+ relationships