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A review by cbleyer
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
3.0
“The world will burn, but it will be reborn from the
ashes.”
”Meherya. Beloved.”
The Nightbringer is broken and is haunted by the promise he made- and has broken countless times to his wife- his Queen.
“I think of my queen with every betrayal. Going back a thousand years, to each human found, manipulated, and loved until they freely gave me their piece of the Star with love in their hearts. Again and again and again.”
Helene is determined to kill Laia and Elias. If she does not, Livia will die.
“You are all that holds back the darkness. I say the words in my mind. I remind myself why I am here. And whatever little feeling was left in me, I set to flame.”
Marcus uses Livia to keep Helene loyal to him.
“if I’m not satisfied with your progress, I’ll keep breaking your little sister’s bones until she’s
nothing but jagged edges.”
Then, a prophesy.
“One piece remains, and beware the Reaper at the Gates!
The sparrows will drown, and none will know it.
The past shall burn, and none will slow it.
The Dead will rise, and none can survive.
The Child will be bathed in blood but alive.
The Pearl will crack, the cold will enter.
The Butcher will break, and none will hold her.
The Ghost will fall, her flesh will wither.
By the Grain Moon, the King will have his answer.
By the Grain Moon, the forgotten will find their master.”
Quotes
“The Scholars around us scatter, running every which way, driven by a fear that’s been hammered into our bones. Always us! Our dignity shredded, our families
annihilated, our children torn from their parents. Our blood soaking the dirt. What sin was so great that Scholars must pay, with every generation, with the only thing
we have left: our lives?”
“You are Elias
Veturius no more. You are the Soul Catcher. You are mine. I know what your heart desires. It can never be.”
“I do not wish to kill. I do not wish to belong to this world of blood and violence and vengeance. I do not wish to be a Mask.”
“But I can’t do it. I can’t pretend that I don’t love her.”
“I shrug off the invisibility, welcoming the visions because they cannot be worse than holding the hand of a woman who bore me but who is disgusted by my touch.”
“I see the truth: that without the jinn in this world, there is no balance. They were the destined gatekeepers between the worlds of the living and the dead. And no one, no matter how skilled, can replace an entire civilization. They must return—even if that means war. Even if it means destruction. For without them, the ghosts will continue to build up, and whether in five years or fifty or
five hundred, they will escape again. And when that happens, they will destroy the world.”
“I know I will never forget how her white hair snaps like a victory banner, and how her blue eyes shine with fury and determination. She is finally the Lioness, the woman I knew as a child—and, somehow, more.”
“And his champions, those three flames in which he placed all his hopes—Laia of Serra, Helene Aquilla, and Elias Veturius—I smother those flames. For I have taken the Blood Shrike’s soul. The Waiting Place has taken the Soul Catcher’s humanity. And I will crush Laia of Serra’s heart.”
SPOILERS
WHAT THE LIONESS DID MAKES ME SO MAD OH MY GOSH GIRL WHAT THE HECK SHE KILKED HER OWN FAMILY
OKAY BUT I PREDICTED THAT COOK WAS LIONESS
Deep down inside Helene is good, she offered up her mask for the sake of her people
She loves her people
ashes.”
”Meherya. Beloved.”
The Nightbringer is broken and is haunted by the promise he made- and has broken countless times to his wife- his Queen.
“I think of my queen with every betrayal. Going back a thousand years, to each human found, manipulated, and loved until they freely gave me their piece of the Star with love in their hearts. Again and again and again.”
Helene is determined to kill Laia and Elias. If she does not, Livia will die.
“You are all that holds back the darkness. I say the words in my mind. I remind myself why I am here. And whatever little feeling was left in me, I set to flame.”
Marcus uses Livia to keep Helene loyal to him.
“if I’m not satisfied with your progress, I’ll keep breaking your little sister’s bones until she’s
nothing but jagged edges.”
Then, a prophesy.
“One piece remains, and beware the Reaper at the Gates!
The sparrows will drown, and none will know it.
The past shall burn, and none will slow it.
The Dead will rise, and none can survive.
The Child will be bathed in blood but alive.
The Pearl will crack, the cold will enter.
The Butcher will break, and none will hold her.
The Ghost will fall, her flesh will wither.
By the Grain Moon, the King will have his answer.
By the Grain Moon, the forgotten will find their master.”
Quotes
“The Scholars around us scatter, running every which way, driven by a fear that’s been hammered into our bones. Always us! Our dignity shredded, our families
annihilated, our children torn from their parents. Our blood soaking the dirt. What sin was so great that Scholars must pay, with every generation, with the only thing
we have left: our lives?”
“You are Elias
Veturius no more. You are the Soul Catcher. You are mine. I know what your heart desires. It can never be.”
“I do not wish to kill. I do not wish to belong to this world of blood and violence and vengeance. I do not wish to be a Mask.”
“But I can’t do it. I can’t pretend that I don’t love her.”
“I shrug off the invisibility, welcoming the visions because they cannot be worse than holding the hand of a woman who bore me but who is disgusted by my touch.”
“I see the truth: that without the jinn in this world, there is no balance. They were the destined gatekeepers between the worlds of the living and the dead. And no one, no matter how skilled, can replace an entire civilization. They must return—even if that means war. Even if it means destruction. For without them, the ghosts will continue to build up, and whether in five years or fifty or
five hundred, they will escape again. And when that happens, they will destroy the world.”
“I know I will never forget how her white hair snaps like a victory banner, and how her blue eyes shine with fury and determination. She is finally the Lioness, the woman I knew as a child—and, somehow, more.”
“And his champions, those three flames in which he placed all his hopes—Laia of Serra, Helene Aquilla, and Elias Veturius—I smother those flames. For I have taken the Blood Shrike’s soul. The Waiting Place has taken the Soul Catcher’s humanity. And I will crush Laia of Serra’s heart.”
SPOILERS
WHAT THE LIONESS DID MAKES ME SO MAD OH MY GOSH GIRL WHAT THE HECK SHE KILKED HER OWN FAMILY
OKAY BUT I PREDICTED THAT COOK WAS LIONESS
Deep down inside Helene is good, she offered up her mask for the sake of her people
She loves her people