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A review by sai_g
A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
An epic ending to an epic story.
It has been so long since I felt this much for a story. This fanned the few scattered embers of love I had left for reading series. Reading a well written series makes us travel along with the characters for so long and through so much that the end will always feel bittersweet. I am happy I picked this series.
Now, let's talk about this book. It was a really good ending to a series. Though I am pretty sure my heart audibly cracked, I am thankful for all it made me feel. I loved the characters. My favorite is (obviously) Helene. Laia and Elias were good characters, but their romantic arc fell flat(in my opinion) when compared to Helene and Avitas. Avitas is probably my next favorite character. I also loved the Nightbringer, for his name is just that, Beloved. I could not bring myself to hate him inspite of everything he did. Everytime he was called Meherya, I felt so immensely sad and I mourned along with him. I love his name and this is the first time in ever that I felt true sorrow for the villain.
I also loved how the words seem to be taken from Hindi(one of the many languages of my country). Kehanni(kahani meaning story), Mauth(meaning death) and Jadu(meaning magic) to name a few.
I loved everyone's character arcs and plot arcs. Also, a special mention to the Mothers(women in general) in this book. Depiction of motherhood in this series was beautiful and ugly, kind and cruel and so many things at once. Truly soul capturing.
BUT, there are still some aspects that irked me.
Keris's backstory was not sufficient in my opinion. She is very evil and her past does not even remotely justify it. Maybe she is just evil and there is nothing to it. But I expected more. I also found Laia to be infuriating sometimes. I understand that every life matters and that she cannot just leave helpless people to fend for themselves. But she was putting everyone along with her at risk and sabotaging carefully planned strategies at every turn. Funny how the two main character arcs were not to my liking. I also think the series could've easily been made into a trilogy. There were also many commonly seen YA elements/tropes sprinkled generously. Well executed though. The series overall was too bleak for my taste. Tragedy upon tragedy upon tragedy. But I guess that's the truth about war.
SPOILER
I think it is very convenient that our three main characters are alive at the end or maybe I'm just bitter about Avitas's death.
END OF SPOILER
Overall, a heartwrenching read. I loved the series. A story about war, oppression and love.
It has been so long since I felt this much for a story. This fanned the few scattered embers of love I had left for reading series. Reading a well written series makes us travel along with the characters for so long and through so much that the end will always feel bittersweet. I am happy I picked this series.
Now, let's talk about this book. It was a really good ending to a series. Though I am pretty sure my heart audibly cracked, I am thankful for all it made me feel. I loved the characters. My favorite is (obviously) Helene. Laia and Elias were good characters, but their romantic arc fell flat(in my opinion) when compared to Helene and Avitas. Avitas is probably my next favorite character. I also loved the Nightbringer, for his name is just that, Beloved. I could not bring myself to hate him inspite of everything he did. Everytime he was called Meherya, I felt so immensely sad and I mourned along with him. I love his name and this is the first time in ever that I felt true sorrow for the villain.
I also loved how the words seem to be taken from Hindi(one of the many languages of my country). Kehanni(kahani meaning story), Mauth(meaning death) and Jadu(meaning magic) to name a few.
I loved everyone's character arcs and plot arcs. Also, a special mention to the Mothers(women in general) in this book. Depiction of motherhood in this series was beautiful and ugly, kind and cruel and so many things at once. Truly soul capturing.
BUT, there are still some aspects that irked me.
Keris's backstory was not sufficient in my opinion. She is very evil and her past does not even remotely justify it. Maybe she is just evil and there is nothing to it. But I expected more. I also found Laia to be infuriating sometimes. I understand that every life matters and that she cannot just leave helpless people to fend for themselves. But she was putting everyone along with her at risk and sabotaging carefully planned strategies at every turn. Funny how the two main character arcs were not to my liking. I also think the series could've easily been made into a trilogy. There were also many commonly seen YA elements/tropes sprinkled generously. Well executed though. The series overall was too bleak for my taste. Tragedy upon tragedy upon tragedy. But I guess that's the truth about war.
SPOILER
I think it is very convenient that our three main characters are alive at the end or maybe I'm just bitter about Avitas's death.
END OF SPOILER
Overall, a heartwrenching read. I loved the series. A story about war, oppression and love.