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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
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Grief, War
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Sexual content
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
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
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
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’ve finally finished this series, and I have more emotions than I know what to do with. This is undoubtedly my favorite book in the series, even though (because?) it broke my heart the most. Sabaa Tahir is not afraid to rip my heart out, stomp on it, and then glue it back together. I respect that but also hate it. (Nothing against Sabaa. She’s great. But also, how dare she??)
I read Reaper back in 2018, and looked up a recap of that book before starting this one. It’s a sign of Tahir’s skill that as soon as I started reading, I fell back into the world as if it hadn’t been three years since I did so last. I was sucked into the story immediately, and terrified for all of the characters.
Unexpected things I loved: Helene, Helene and Harper’s relationship, Laia and Helene’s friendship. The theme here is that, despite sometimes wishing her chapters didn’t interrupt me reading about Laia and Elias, the girl really grew on me. I have so much respect for her, even if, at times, I was internally shrieking because she was being so dense regarding her love life. Also, her and Laia bonding over how much men suck was the quality content I didn’t know I needed in my life. Such a small thing, but a great one.
I knew I loved Laia and Elias, but in between Reaper and Sky, I forgot just how much. They caused me SO MUCH PAIN as I was reading this freaking book, I don’t know how to express it all. The romantic tension between these two and Elias’ tendency to nope out of literally every conversation because he couldn’t handle his own feelings… oh my god. I mean, that specific part of Elias did make me giggle occasionally, but for the most part, I was just internally screeching. When she brought him a mango. When he helped her with her hair. SO MUCH SCREECHING. So help my hopeless romantic heart.
Characters aside, the plot was also brilliant. No one ever caught a break. I never knew what was about to happen. Nothing ever felt repetitive, and there were certainly no easy victories. I think Tahir took the story with the jinn in a very clever direction, one I personally didn’t expect. The war certainly didn’t go the way I expected. I was getting closer and closer to the end, and more and more stressed because of how few pages were left and how much was still wrong. I love books that scare me that way. I’m only being a little bit sarcastic. :)
As for the ending…I can’t believe both Harper and Darin are dead! That’s so cruel. That’s evil. My poor girls. Helene lost her boyfriend, Laia lost her brother… I’m honestly not sure who broke my heart more. Thank every deity out there that, miraculously, Laia’s mom was alive and took over the role of Soul Catcher so that Laia at least had Elias. If she lost her brother AND they weren’t endgame, it was extremely likely that I would’ve thrown the book across the room. So much heartbreak. So much pain. But a surprise came in and sort of saved the day, a little bit, so not everything was awful. The last couple of chapters actually had quite a few happy moments, including for Laia and Elias, and if not for the fact that it was after 2 in the morning and I share a small apartment with my family and didn’t want to wake anyone up, who knows how loudly I would’ve squealed. Internally, I was squealing very loudly. The last couple of pages fixed my broken heart with their Elaia content. I’m choosing to focus on that more than… other things. I’m happy for Helene too, and I think something might eventually happen with her and Musa?? But I was 90% focused on my ship, and wow, did Sabaa deliver. My heart was about to explode when Elias gave Laia the engraved armlet, especially since he got all flustered at the end. It was ADORABLE.
This review is a mess because I finished the book at nearly 3 in the morning and now it’s 4 a.m. and I’m also a mess. But it’s definitely honest, and even though I seriously did ramble, it got my point across. I loved this book so much, despite the emotional turmoil I experienced while reading. Like I said, it’s my favorite in the series, followed by Torch, then Reaper, then Ember. I think. It’s been a hot minute since I read the first three, but anyway. The whole series is spectacular, and I can’t wait to read more from Sabaa Tahir. 🖤
Representation
I read Reaper back in 2018, and looked up a recap of that book before starting this one. It’s a sign of Tahir’s skill that as soon as I started reading, I fell back into the world as if it hadn’t been three years since I did so last. I was sucked into the story immediately, and terrified for all of the characters.
Unexpected things I loved: Helene, Helene and Harper’s relationship, Laia and Helene’s friendship. The theme here is that, despite sometimes wishing her chapters didn’t interrupt me reading about Laia and Elias, the girl really grew on me. I have so much respect for her, even if, at times, I was internally shrieking because she was being so dense regarding her love life. Also, her and Laia bonding over how much men suck was the quality content I didn’t know I needed in my life. Such a small thing, but a great one.
I knew I loved Laia and Elias, but in between Reaper and Sky, I forgot just how much. They caused me SO MUCH PAIN as I was reading this freaking book, I don’t know how to express it all. The romantic tension between these two and Elias’ tendency to nope out of literally every conversation because he couldn’t handle his own feelings… oh my god. I mean, that specific part of Elias did make me giggle occasionally, but for the most part, I was just internally screeching. When she brought him a mango. When he helped her with her hair. SO MUCH SCREECHING. So help my hopeless romantic heart.
Characters aside, the plot was also brilliant. No one ever caught a break. I never knew what was about to happen. Nothing ever felt repetitive, and there were certainly no easy victories. I think Tahir took the story with the jinn in a very clever direction, one I personally didn’t expect. The war certainly didn’t go the way I expected. I was getting closer and closer to the end, and more and more stressed because of how few pages were left and how much was still wrong. I love books that scare me that way. I’m only being a little bit sarcastic. :)
As for the ending…
This review is a mess because I finished the book at nearly 3 in the morning and now it’s 4 a.m. and I’m also a mess. But it’s definitely honest, and even though I seriously did ramble, it got my point across. I loved this book so much, despite the emotional turmoil I experienced while reading. Like I said, it’s my favorite in the series, followed by Torch, then Reaper, then Ember. I think. It’s been a hot minute since I read the first three, but anyway. The whole series is spectacular, and I can’t wait to read more from Sabaa Tahir. 🖤
Representation
- protagonist, love interest, and side characters of color
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, Death of parent
Laia’s parents are already dead, but they/their deaths are referenced semi-frequently, as is slavery. As far as I noticed, it was only discussed as something that happened to a race of people prior to this book and that shouldn’t happen again, not actually anything that happened on-page.