A review by in_love_with_bookish
A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

challenging dark emotional sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


 #1 : An Ember in the Ashes : 4 Stars
#2 : A Torch Against the Night : 5 Stars
#3 : A Reaper at the Gates : 5 Stars

I’m strongly overwhelmed over the ending of a series I loved for years. I’m beyond emotional That it came to an end and we won’t have more of this journey and the characters. I’m also feeling guilty for not loving this book as much as I loved the others. And honestly, I don’t know what to do with all these feelings.

You are broken. But it is broken things that are the sharpest. The deadliest. It is broken things that are the most unexpected, and the most underestimated


I think this book is a perfect conclusion for this epic journey, It honored the characters and their arcs, honored the story and the message behind it and it honored the books before it. But at the same time, there were some moments where I felt frustrated and betrayed by the events in this book.

Your mistakes only define the rest of your life if you let them. Don’t let them


I guess it’s a great thing that I felt so many feelings reading this conclusion from love to hate, from despair to hope, from rage to empathy, I felt the characters pain, I felt their loss and grief, I rooted for their battles and I cherished every moment they gave us. Even though I didn’t feel as connected to them as I was before, I was still deeply moved by their losses and triumphs and I felt so alive watching them grow and soar and challenge everyone and everything for what they believed in.

How much pain exists in the world because we cannot get past what has been done to us, because we insist on inflicting pain right back?


Although I didn’t like the pattern of sacrificing the minor characters just to motivate the main ones into acting in a certain way to move the plot forward. I felt betrayed on behalf of those characters because I felt like they didn’t matter as much as the main three even though they lost and they suffered and they fought as much as them.

When it comes to the plot, I’m going to be honest and say that I was confused a lot of times. I read the last book three years ago so I forgot a lot about the story and the world-building and the lore which made navigating the story really challenging for me this time.

Would that we all knew the cracked terrain of each other’s broken hearts. Perhaps then, we would not be so cruel to those who walk this lonely world with us.


In the beginning, I was completely lost story-wise but with time, I started to engage more and more. Sabaa Tahir has a way of telling a story and makes it so addictive, so wild and so engrossing it’s impossible to put it down. I love her way of navigating the conflicts of the story and bringing together both heroes and villains and create complex fascinating dynamics between them filled with emotions and angst. Even though I wasn’t fully at ease with the story and what’s going on, I was pulled into it and I felt my heart in my throat with how intense the story was.

Even though it broke my heart in million different ways, the ending was beautiful and true to what the story was about all along. This has been such a stunning journey for me and I’m grateful to Sabaa Tahir for giving us this tale.

I wish I could live a thousand lives so I could fall in love with you a thousand times. But if all we get is this one, and I share it with you, then I will never want for anything


 
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