Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
This was so good! I’ve missed being in the world of ember and it was so refreshing to come back to it. It made me want to reread the ember quartet but I also don’t want to cry for 10 years again.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
I dnf’ed at 61%
This reads like epic fantasy on the scale of Game of Thrones, The Name of the Wind, or Wheel of Time. Except where those books held my attention, this one did not. Mostly because it felt like nothing was going on.
The characters were semi fleshed out. But they didn’t feel whole to me.
I’m not sure about the timeline of the povs. At first I thought they were linear. Then the 1st formal pic (I forget her name) seemed to be doing stuff that we knew was part of Quill’s past.
This reads like epic fantasy on the scale of Game of Thrones, The Name of the Wind, or Wheel of Time. Except where those books held my attention, this one did not. Mostly because it felt like nothing was going on.
The characters were semi fleshed out. But they didn’t feel whole to me.
I’m not sure about the timeline of the povs. At first I thought they were linear. Then the 1st formal pic (I forget her name) seemed to be doing stuff that we knew was part of Quill’s past.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's books like these that eff up my attempts to use an objective rating scale. How do you rate a book that you really enjoyed and yet had some significant flaws? This is likeDark Ageall over again.
Heiris the first book in a new duology that takes place 20 years after the events in theAn Ember in the Ashesseries. Ember is still my favorite young adult series I've ever read and sits in my top 3 series of all time. I loveSabaa Tahir's storytelling. It's truly magical.
Let's start with what I enjoyed about this book. The writing is beautiful, as was to be expected. In trueSabaa Tahirfashion, there are many parallels to our own world. She dives into topics such as war, desperation, grief, religious fanaticism, false prophets, and so much more. It's thick with messages to the reader. She packs it all in and manages to do it (usually) without coming across as preachy.
Overall, I was pleased with the new plotlines. They kept my interest from start to finish. Some of its twists and turns were very unexpected; some I saw coming a mile away. I wish I could expand...but SPOILERS.
I also (mostly) loved our new characters. Each of the three primary protagonists felt distinct. I thought she managed the balance of new characters and old pretty well. I'm sure there is a temptation to bring our old ones back into every scene (the ones who are still breathing at least...), but Aiz, Sirsha, and Quil are given their space to shine on the own. Even so, I do think readers should start with the Ember series before reading this. Though the returning characters are not the primary focus, I think it's critical to understand what they went through years ago in order to influence their choices now.
This book is certainly considered "fast paced". On the one hand, it was refreshing. So many new series take SO LONG to get to the damn point. Every single chapter of this book pushed the story forward. I devoured the book in two days. My issue, however, is that I think it ended up moving too fast. Things just kept happening, so we didn't have the time to process and feel the impact of each moment. Brutality was lost, and we were just a bit numb to it all. I still remember the emotional impact of many moments inAn Ember in the Ashes. That third trial? BRUTAL.A Sky Beyond the Stormhad some of the most punishing losses I've ever read. BRUTAL. And we felt every inch of those because they were earned. Each death was earned. Each victory was earned. Even each kiss was earned. Here, we are just handing out romance like Oprah handing out new cars.
My last complaint is that one particular character's story doesn't feel right to me. Again, this may go back to the fact that we just moved too quickly. I can't really say more than that without spoilers, but if you were one of the many disgruntled by some choices in the last season of Game of Thrones, you will likely feel annoyed reading this as well.
I hate that my review focuses more on the bad than the good. It's still a great story that I would recommend to all fans of fantasy. I think it currently sits as one of my favorites so far this year, and I can't wait consume part 2 (which looks to be slated for 2026 at this point, bummer). If I were being truly objective, this would probably land around a 3.5. But my love for this world and Sabaa Tahir bumps it to a 4. What can I say? I'mloyal to the end.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes