A review by luckykosmos
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The worldbuilding fascinates me, but I have some issues. For one, the main romance didn't feel particularly well developed, even though I'd been hoping for it throughout - I liked the characters individually, but together they bored me somewhat. Second, there were aspects of the writing style that felt clunky, especially the child's song that's repeated throughout. This can be hit or miss in any book, but because of how much of the social structure hinged on it, it didn't feel something that naturally came about. Third, for a world that intentionally disables an entire class of people to keep them subservient, it was disappointing to see a lack of other disabled characters in the other social classes. Of course you can argue that Anoor's lack of magic is a disability as a member of a class that prides itself on the ability, but her lack of magic is part of a larger piece of worldbuilding; Sylah's addiction can be a disability, but is an extension of her emotional journey. I thought Hassa was the most interesting character, but it would have been interesting to see other characters with limb differences or who signed because of deafness/being nonverbal instead of a violence put on them, and how they fit into their other worlds, especially when Sylah and Anoor crossing these classes is a major factor in the book.
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