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lindsayreadingbooks's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.5
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada for this advanced copy.
If you liked Black Sun and Fevered Star, Mirrored Heavens wraps up the series with a solid landing, managing to increase the world building that we got in Fevered Star, but while having more consistent action and plot development like Black Sun, combining the best elements of both. This included a lot more backstory about Xiala and Balam than I expected, and added a lot to the overall plot to the series. I really liked the character growth of both Okoa and Serapio, and Iktan really grew on me each time xe appeared.
The last one hundred pages - especially the last 60 - are so fast paced that you have to physically try to slow down so that you don't miss how things play out, and it is bloody and violent and reality is harsh.
My only minor complaints are that two characters (Naranpa and Esa) needed more pagetime for a fuller effect, and there is one character death that I wish had more attention paid to it, but in war there isn't always time.
This was a really satisfying ending to the series, and I want to do a full reread sometime soon, and try and make the connections through the books. This is again one of those series that has so much going on that I'd recommend reading them close together, but there are some really good summaries available online as a refresher if you need one.
If you liked Black Sun and Fevered Star, Mirrored Heavens wraps up the series with a solid landing, managing to increase the world building that we got in Fevered Star, but while having more consistent action and plot development like Black Sun, combining the best elements of both. This included a lot more backstory about Xiala and Balam than I expected, and added a lot to the overall plot to the series. I really liked the character growth of both Okoa and Serapio, and Iktan really grew on me each time xe appeared.
The last one hundred pages - especially the last 60 - are so fast paced that you have to physically try to slow down so that you don't miss how things play out, and it is bloody and violent and reality is harsh.
My only minor complaints are that two characters (Naranpa and Esa) needed more pagetime for a fuller effect, and there is one character death that I wish had more attention paid to it, but in war there isn't always time.
This was a really satisfying ending to the series, and I want to do a full reread sometime soon, and try and make the connections through the books. This is again one of those series that has so much going on that I'd recommend reading them close together, but there are some really good summaries available online as a refresher if you need one.
kari_marie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Ah the end of the trilogy. Serapio is the ruler of Tova. Xiala is back on her home island of Teek. And Naranpa is on a journey to save her beloved Tova from the Carrion King. These three entwined lives are all fighting to do what they honestly believe is best. In the background one other is doing what he can to become a god himself.
I will be honest, this book took me like 20% in to remember all the details and characters. I am not one to reread books and know all the details and am more of jumping in and enjoying the ride. This series is hard to do that with as it came out, but if you are reading them all in a row, I think this will be fantastic.
The end of trilogy where not everybody survives, there is not a perfect picture happy ever after, and some realize they became the bad guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I liked how it was not a picture-perfect ending but I was not left with a ton of questions.
I am giving this book five stars because overall the trilogy was interesting and so good and I believe this book did good to wrap up the ending. This book on its own, is a four but that’s because it took so long to sort out in my own head. If I had read these closer together, I think I would have loved it. I absolutely recommend these books. Thank you to NetGalley, Saga Press, and Rebecca Roanhorse for this free ARC. This was an honest review.
I will be honest, this book took me like 20% in to remember all the details and characters. I am not one to reread books and know all the details and am more of jumping in and enjoying the ride. This series is hard to do that with as it came out, but if you are reading them all in a row, I think this will be fantastic.
The end of trilogy where not everybody survives, there is not a perfect picture happy ever after, and some realize they became the bad guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I liked how it was not a picture-perfect ending but I was not left with a ton of questions.
I am giving this book five stars because overall the trilogy was interesting and so good and I believe this book did good to wrap up the ending. This book on its own, is a four but that’s because it took so long to sort out in my own head. If I had read these closer together, I think I would have loved it. I absolutely recommend these books. Thank you to NetGalley, Saga Press, and Rebecca Roanhorse for this free ARC. This was an honest review.
isntitpretty's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
trengsin's review against another edition
4.5
okay so i really loved this and i thought it was a good conclusion to the series but there were a few things i really was not a fan of.
some of these povs were beyond unnecessary like it was ridiculous bc sure they played a role in the end but could've done that in like 2 chapters. balam was not needed as a pov character THIS much and it really cut into the pacing.
the second issue was the ending. i know high fantasy books typically have very rushed endings but we're talking about the lead up to the event happening @ 80% and even then it was more so 90% and even then it genuinely felt like background noise. several of the unnecessary povs could've been cut out so this could've been done better like i knew it was gonna be rushed but this was quite excessive and for the life of me i can't tell you what naranpas role in this book was supposed to be. i was not moved whatsoever.
moving onnn. i've loved serapio xiala and iktan all throughout the series and even more so here. all three are very entertaining povs especially with how different they are. the first 15% or so just being endless massacres was so 😭. serapio and xiala seeing it more as necessary vs iktan being like yea fun stuff can't wait for more.
it was genuinely such an entertaining book and iktan had really captured my attention in fs and far more here. xe is just a comedian all throughout, all of xir scenes were comedy gold and peoples reactions to what iktan does even better.
xiala kinda suffered for a big part of the book and here's iktan and serapio just giggling and killing people like it's any other day but i loooved seeing more of serapios thoughts esp when those plots started getting crazier and crazier. and esp when you see his reaction in the aftermath.
while she did suffer i liked seeing more of xiala's backstory which was kinda mia in the other books and how everyone really respected her despite the fact she'd been gone for so long. annnd people realising she's not someone to underestimate.
think one of yhe funniest parts were when people would tell serapio to look or that they can't see and he's like . im blind?? 😭😭😭
also loved getting xialaserapio back they're everything 😭🩷 and the way we see him super sweet and flustered with xiala meanwhile he scares the shit outta most people.
anyways. overall loved it very much but my issues were what made me drop it from 5 stars. especially the ending like it was far too rushed for me.
some of these povs were beyond unnecessary like it was ridiculous bc sure they played a role in the end but could've done that in like 2 chapters. balam was not needed as a pov character THIS much and it really cut into the pacing.
the second issue was the ending. i know high fantasy books typically have very rushed endings but we're talking about the lead up to the event happening @ 80% and even then it was more so 90% and even then it genuinely felt like background noise. several of the unnecessary povs could've been cut out so this could've been done better like i knew it was gonna be rushed but this was quite excessive and for the life of me i can't tell you what naranpas role in this book was supposed to be. i was not moved whatsoever.
moving onnn. i've loved serapio xiala and iktan all throughout the series and even more so here. all three are very entertaining povs especially with how different they are. the first 15% or so just being endless massacres was so 😭. serapio and xiala seeing it more as necessary vs iktan being like yea fun stuff can't wait for more.
it was genuinely such an entertaining book and iktan had really captured my attention in fs and far more here. xe is just a comedian all throughout, all of xir scenes were comedy gold and peoples reactions to what iktan does even better.
xiala kinda suffered for a big part of the book and here's iktan and serapio just giggling and killing people like it's any other day but i loooved seeing more of serapios thoughts esp when those plots started getting crazier and crazier. and esp when you see his reaction in the aftermath.
while she did suffer i liked seeing more of xiala's backstory which was kinda mia in the other books and how everyone really respected her despite the fact she'd been gone for so long. annnd people realising she's not someone to underestimate.
think one of yhe funniest parts were when people would tell serapio to look or that they can't see and he's like . im blind?? 😭😭😭
also loved getting xialaserapio back they're everything 😭🩷 and the way we see him super sweet and flustered with xiala meanwhile he scares the shit outta most people.
anyways. overall loved it very much but my issues were what made me drop it from 5 stars. especially the ending like it was far too rushed for me.
rachaelarsenault's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was an absolutely stunning conclusion to a brilliant series. The world and its history is rich, well-developed, and well-explored - I wish I could spend more time in Meridian. The characters were also complex and equal parts detestable and lovable, which made all their struggles and triumphs all the more gripping. I loved the way certain characters/storyline paralleled or foiled each other. The twists and reveals were well-foreshadowed and effectively executed.
Overall, this was an incredible read. Rebecca Roanhorse remains one of my favourite authors, and Between Earth and Sky one of my favourite series.
This was an absolutely stunning conclusion to a brilliant series. The world and its history is rich, well-developed, and well-explored - I wish I could spend more time in Meridian. The characters were also complex and equal parts detestable and lovable, which made all their struggles and triumphs all the more gripping. I loved the way certain characters/storyline paralleled or foiled each other. The twists and reveals were well-foreshadowed and effectively executed.
Overall, this was an incredible read. Rebecca Roanhorse remains one of my favourite authors, and Between Earth and Sky one of my favourite series.
kitstonglade's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
jeffat's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
kshammel's review against another edition
5.0
Black Sun started us off, Fevered Star opened the world and politics up more, but Mirrored Heavens explosively opens up the world, the characters, and their intertwining fates and is so much more than I expected in all the best ways. Roanhorse’s character work is phenomenal. The world and political scheming is extremely complex, violent, and engaging, but remains solid by hinging on our primary themes of love, vengeance, and agency. This book is packed with the same clever dialogue but with multiple emotional and thematic gut punches that I’ll be sitting with for awhile. I already really enjoyed this series, this final installment solidifies the series as a favorite.
emmalita's review
adventurous
dark
tense
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
5.0
The first two books in Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky series, Black Sun and Fevered Star, are two of my favorite books of the last five years. I’ve proselytized these books so many times, and now, at last, I can tell people the end is worth it. Mirrored Heavens is a tense read. There were many points where I had to put my tablet down and pace in circles because otherwise I would scream just to relieve the pressure. This is exactly the kind of book you want to do a live react to because So. Much. Happens!
The Treaty Cities of the Meridian are getting ready to go to war with Tova. Serapio, Carrion King, the Crow God Reborn, is working to defend his city, and to quell the clan matrons whose power over the city has been upended. The Cuecolan lords, Balam and Tuun, seek to build empires. Naranpa, once the Sun Priest, and Xiala are each shoring up their own powers to thwart the Cuecolans’ dreams of empire. The gods are at work in their own ways.
Between Earth and Sky is high fantasy for grownups. There are gods, kings, magic, and journeys. There is a war between good and evil, but the good is at best morally grey. In the high fantasy books I read growing up, Serapio, disfigured and blinded and dedicated as a tool of vengeance, would have been the monster that the poor innocent farm boy had to defeat to save the light and win the princess. Serapio is both the powerful being created to destroy the Sun God and it’s minions, and the innocent farm boy raised to do a job, unconcerned for the political maneuverings of the outside world.
I will note that the violence in the book can be hard to read while also reading and seeing images from the current violence happening in our own world. Empires are bad. Dreams of empire are evil dreams. Every person has inherent worth and deserved better than to be used as a means to an end.
I read this to fullfill the The Diverse Baseline Challenge March Prompt B: a book by an indigenous author.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Saga Press and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
emzconklin's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0