A review by om_sammy
The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

This was beautifully written, and really made me reflect on how we think about religion. Deka grows so much throughout the trilogy, and delves further into what it means to be a god and what it means to be unabashedly herself in this final book. I found the book to be a little slower than its predecessors, which had me putting it down more often than I care to admit, but the climax had me flipping all the way to the end with tears streaming down my cheeks. I really enjoy how Forna makes an effort to put an emphasis on how important both platonic and romantic relationships are, and doesn't shy away from showing physical affection between platonic characters. The writing was beautiful, especially when

we're taken into Deka's perspective after she becomes a god.

It helped me really differentiate the difference between how humans/alaki spoke and thought in all of our mortal glory versus the poetic way the gods spoke. Overall, really well done in my eyes; it's sure to pull at your heartstrings and ties up loose ends beautifully!