Scan barcode
readingelli's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death, War, Grief, and Murder
rexpostfacto's review
4.5
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Death of parent, and Blood
Minor: Child death
sahramahtab's review
- 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
5.0
While I cherished every second with the characters, I yearned for more happy endings for those we grew to love. The final book, although a gripping conclusion, left me wishing for additional Elias and Laia moments instead of Elias grappling with those trying to aid him.
Sabaa Tahir's skillful writing captivated me throughout the series, and even as this chapter closes, I eagerly anticipate discovering more of her work in the future. The Ember Quartet will undoubtedly hold a special place in my literary heart.
Graphic: Violence, Torture, War, Hate crime, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
good_names_dont_exist's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Grief
booknerderika's review against another edition
4.75
This started out a little slow for my taste, but every scene felt necessary. Everything after 80% of the book was an emotional rollercoaster. I cried when certain characters died and cried again when their souls crossed over. Any book that makes me cry gets a high rating from me. The end gave me all the closure I wanted and I loved it. What an adventure this series has been. I'm sad to say goodbye but it feels right.
Graphic: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Kidnapping, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, War, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Blood, War, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Stalking, Physical abuse, Slavery, Xenophobia, Body horror, Racism, Gore, Cursing, and Genocide
Minor: Hate crime, Confinement, Animal death, Abandonment, Misogyny, and Infidelity
isaxbella's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
In conclusion, all of the books were really good, but in the end it was just too much high fantasy for me and things just got crazier and crazier. Also I wasn't as touched by the characters pain as I should've been. I didn't really care about Elias and Laias realationship and I didn't love them as characters either. I did like Helen though, but her love story with Avatas wasn't as well written as it could've been. It had potential, but I feel like it was wasted. There is A LOT of plot, but pretty high fantasy and not that down to earth as the first book.
The first book is amazing and will always stay at 5 stars, but it really just went downhill after that, at least for my taste. The only character I actually cared about was Helen and maybe also Avatas, but sadly we didn't get to know that much about him.
Wouldn't call this series a time waste, but it wasn't the story I would've expected after the first book.
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Death
Minor: War, Homophobia, Violence, and Sexism
chronologically_charlie's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Slavery
Minor: Blood and Sexism
what_karla_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Child death
bzliz's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
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):
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Murder, Violence, War, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Classism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexism, Medical content, Classism, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Slavery