Reviews

The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna

xanthecoote's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

om_sammy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.25

This was beautifully written, and really made me reflect on how we think about religion. Deka grows so much throughout the trilogy, and delves further into what it means to be a god and what it means to be unabashedly herself in this final book. I found the book to be a little slower than its predecessors, which had me putting it down more often than I care to admit, but the climax had me flipping all the way to the end with tears streaming down my cheeks. I really enjoy how Forna makes an effort to put an emphasis on how important both platonic and romantic relationships are, and doesn't shy away from showing physical affection between platonic characters. The writing was beautiful, especially when

we're taken into Deka's perspective after she becomes a god.

It helped me really differentiate the difference between how humans/alaki spoke and thought in all of our mortal glory versus the poetic way the gods spoke. Overall, really well done in my eyes; it's sure to pull at your heartstrings and ties up loose ends beautifully!

eilidh_read's review

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

5.0

bookswithbailee9's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

ay_reads2's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

It's not five stars because sometimes it was a little to slow. But damn how bad this one made me cry. This one hit me hard but it was so good. Wish I could read it for the first time again 

ellekhupe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

clotalksbooks's review

adventurous inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

A good end to the trilogy. Initially I feared it would be a bit like the second book, with too many threads and not enough room to breathe. And I do think some of it could either have been cut or given more pages to explain. Maybe that's a problem of it being YA, as it would have benefitted from being longer, and also I think character reactions/decisions may have been a bit more believable with age. 

However, there is a beauty to the story and its message (even in the midst of such violence and brutality). I loved how the threads came together, and you truly care for the characters. Let's all dream big!

caro_z's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

annniina98's review against another edition

3.0

I mean, I guess this was the best of the series, but it's like building a house. If the bottom floors aren't good, the top floor doesn't really matter. I'll surely read anything else Forna writes, just nothing more to this series please.

lindzann's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.5