A ​Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4)

Ashlee » libraryinthecountry

Rating: really liked it
Well, this is it folks. I give the Ember Quartet recognition for being one of the first series to truly get me interested in fantasy as a genre. It is a sweeping epic, told through many eyes. It is no stranger to tragedy, but is also steeped with many joys.

This story is so dear to my heart, I put off starting this final chapter until I knew I could devote myself to the story. I had a sense that it would tear at my emotions, and boy did it. But I am not sad. No, I am fulfilled and complete.

Sabaa has given us a true gem of a tale. From An Ember in the Ashes, this story grew and evolved with it’s characters. As Laia, Elias and Helene became battle hardened, shed their innocence and felt the pain of loss, this series matured and became darker with them. It truly mirrored the path they walked. But in the darkness the characters and story found small slivers of light to bask in, until they were finally able to lift the shroud of darkness cast over The Empire and reveal the gleaming star that is A Sky Beyond the Storm.

My heart is sundered over the trials and loss throughout this series, but as Laia of Serra has shown me, it’s possible to experience heartbreak and understand there is still love and good to be experienced.

Most of all, I want you to know ... I’m still going to lay in bed at night thinking of how hard I ship Helene and Harper.

But also ... Musa? 🤷🏻‍♀️😉

_______________________________________________

Original from 2018, pre-release:
Just lying here in bed, thinking about HOW HARD I SHIP HELENE AND HARPER.

🤷🏻‍♀️ 😏

Sabaa Tahir

Rating: really liked it
You know, I don't usually rate my books b/c I always felt weird about it. But I am so damn proud of this book. I worked my tail off on it. And I think it's the best thing I've ever written. So this one time, I'm gonna rate a book of mine. Hopefully you guys won't mind. And hopefully you will love reading it as much as I loved writing it.

Sofia

Rating: really liked it
My most anticipated book of the year was a flop. The pain is greater than you can imagine.


This is the grand finale, the ultimate end, the culmination of the Ember series. Did it do its job? Yes. The series is now over. *crying* But what a terrible way to end it. Everything I liked was destroyed. And I was left with... this.


Like in Reaper, we follow three different first-person perspectives: Helene (Blood Shrike), Elias (Soul Catcher), and Laia (Laia). All I can say is... what happened to my babies??


Laia:

I used to love her. So much. And now I detest her. She turned into a complete Mary Sue character and it physically pains me. She gets new powers every page. The reason I liked her was because she was just a normal girl. But now she can turn invisible (only when it's convenient, though), she's suddenly amazing at every weapon she picks up, and she has a jinn living inside her who grants her supernatural powers whenever she needs them.

And she's also ridiculously reckless. Half the plot could be cut out if Laia just listened to the people around her. Don't remind me of that one time she stopped in the middle of a battle to cry over the corpse of some random kid and almost got killed.


Helene:

I can't think of her as the Blood Shrike, sorry. She's my cinnamon roll Helene Aquilla.

At the very beginning of the book, we see her interactions with Laia. And they are best friends all of a sudden. This came out of nowhere. Where's the development? They hated each other for three books. I highly doubt they're besties now.

And she kept blushing. Like, can you not? I get that Helene was infatuated with Avitas, but this is not in character for my stoic, cold as steel Blood Shrike.


Elias:

I hate Elias's character arc with everything I have. In case you haven't read the series, he makes a deal with the jinn to become the Soul Catcher and transport souls to the next world by talking them through their troubles. He's basically a god-tier therapist. And he just lost everything that made me ship him and Laia. He's so angsty all of a sudden, and not in a good way. "Do I love Laia? No, I'm the Soul Catcher and must stay emotionless. But I love Laia! But... no?" It got old really fast.

And his POV parts were so boring. They were all the same. Just Elias's emotional turmoil as he cut down trees or whatever in the forest. Spare me.



The main problem, though, is that the POVs were interchangeable and indistinguishable. Sometimes I would forget whose perspective I was reading. Helene, my poor little angry cinnamon roll, felt like Laia. Elias was as moody as Laia. Laia was good with weapons like Elias and Helene.



I noticed another recurring theme throughout the book--the overwhelming number of overused YA tropes that were sprinkled in. No, not sprinkled. More like dumped.

There's the deus ex machina. What's up with this?? "All is lost--but wait, someone's there to save us!" I am tired. Very tired. And the final battle scene, which was absolute rubbish, was only resolved because Keris was killed. Killed because of... I don't want to say this. Her tRaGiC bAcKsToRy. Which was nonexistent and irrelevant in the previous three books, but suddenly appeared just because she needed to die. Don't treat my poor evil Keris like that. She was so awesome. How dare you kill her in this way?

And then there's the delay of confrontation. This is one of my least favorite tropes. Laia would stare at the Nightbringer in the middle of the carnage, and he would let her go. Just kill her or something, I dunno, I'm not an evil villain. I think.


I finished reading this a few days ago, but I'm still laughing over the sTUPID FINAL BATTLE SCENE--

Basically, a storm... eats them... *coughs* I don't know, either. I really don't know. There's some side plot with a "maelstrom" that's threatening to devour the souls? And Elias is upset because his job is dependent on the souls, and you know... I guess he wants to get his full retirement benefits? I DON'T KNOW, OKAY? And then this storm shows up in the middle of the battle, eats all of them, forces them through some speshul flashbacks, and then spits them back up. The end. Unicorns and rainbows and fluffy puppies.



There's only one major thing I liked about this book, and that's the Nightbringer and the jinn. They're forgettable as villains in general, but it was so creative how they were shown as three-dimensional people (well, not people, but you know what I mean), instead of just purely evil motivated-by-revenge type characters. The Nightbringer had a bad lot. His family was slaughtered, the jinn are suffering in captivity. But he has friends who love him, and he loves them back. *chef's kiss*


Overall, this was utterly forgettable and extremely underwhelming. I'm very angry because this terrible finale ruined my wonderful happy memories of the first three books. I'm suing.


2 stars, BUT THE COVER WAS SO PRETTY--


___

Rest in pieces my expectations.
Review to come...


___

I can't believe I'm holding this in my hands
*crying*
I'M NOT READY

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If the release date for this gets pushed back any longer, I will simply ✨pass away✨

Tharindu Dissanayake

Rating: really liked it
“Here to torment you, one last time.”

To think, this could've easily been a 5-star read, the first person present tense narrative notwithstanding. Just when I thought 'A Reaper at the Gates' made sure that everything was perfectly aligned for a solid ending... A Sky Beyond the Storm marked the nadir of the series, and I still cannot make sense of the direction the author took with this one. Had I been reading this series as the books were being released, this book would've been the disappointment of the year for me.

“Ten hells, Scholar,” the Blood Shrike says. “Can’t you swim?”

Until A Sky Beyond the Storm, despite several shortcomings, the plot kept me anchored to the series: It was interesting, fast-paced, eventful, full of twists, and often felt like an emotional roller coaster ride. There was never a dull moment. So, one would not expect it to change at the final book. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens with this one. The main twists introduced here are not at all in harmony with rest of the series, making everything too complicated, and the result was -at least for me- one of the most unsatisfying endings I've ever come across.

“Hmm. Humans are sadly unreliable.”
“Love and hate, Laia,” Rehmat says. “They are two sides of the same coin.

It did look like everything was going well during the first half of the book, and the next quarter wasn't that bad either (may be aside from the pace being a little two slow). But in the final quarter, it went from good to terrible very quickly, and I got that numbing feeling which A Reaper at the Gates gave me with killing off of characters all over the place. It's one thing to encounter some losses towards the ending of a series, (and does wonders when used moderately) but the 'kill' dials were cranked to a maximum here. The direction the final battle took was too detached from what it had been until now in my opinion.

"I am but a moment in time that will be over all too soon."
"Your mistakes only define the rest of your life if you let them."

Since we had heard most of Nightbringer's history already, I was hoping this would dive deeper into Keris's backstory, and may be help understand her better. But it came and went in a matter of sentences, and her part in the end battle didn't make much sense either. Considering how she was portrayed from the start (more or less as a psychopath), I was really looking forward for a dramatic ending for her character, but that wasn't the case. Even when it came to the ending of Nighbringer's plot line, everything felt too complicated. And in general, most of the changes characters go through here are more suited to a first book of a series. You would expect them to become consistent enough by now, considering everything they went through.

“A commander who has tasted the bitter fruit of war is the only one worthy of waging it. For he understands the cost."
“There’s always a reason that something isn’t our fault.”

But all the criticism aside, I really loved the three POVs. If I had to rank them, I guess I'll have to go with Cain's ranking, making Helene first, Elias second, and Laia third. As the series progressed, Helene underwent the most growth (or change) in my opinion, though the eleventh hour romance of her life felt somewhat out of character. Despite the frequent changes in identity, I liked Elias's character from the start, and this book did fix some of that annoying soul catcher - Elias fluctuations. As for Laia, I liked her during the first two books, but lately it felt like she was just getting in the way. But out of the three POVs, hers was the only one to add some humor to the story, which is always nice. And the supporting characters were fantastic as well, especially Musa and Harper. What disheartens me is, most of them not receiving the satisfying ending they deserve, after everything that has happened. Even though the author did tie-off the main characters' plot-lines at the end, I wasn't much interested in the story after the final battle. If it wasn't for the characters, I would not have gone over 2-stars...

"We are, all of us, just visitors in each other’s lives."

He awaits me. For years, I have longed to see him. Let me go, brother.

It is time to come home.

NickReads

Rating: really liked it
not gonna lie, the new covers are freaking awesome

jessica

Rating: really liked it
im so very torn with this.

the phenomenal writing, character narrative, and entire atmosphere of this book is easily worth 4+ stars. ST has grown remarkably as a writer, and, strictly from an objective storytelling point of view, this is probably the best book in the series. its very much a satisfying and appropriate conclusion to the story considering the events of the previous book.

however, ‘a reaper at the gates’ was an instant mood changer for me regarding this series. my mind still fails to grasp that the characters from books 3-4 are the same characters i fell in love with in books 1-2. and i think its mainly because the story took a direction i did not fully support/enjoy, and so my relationship with the characters changed.

so im feeling a little detached from this final installment, which is what i predicted would happen. again, this is a fantastic book and does the plot justice, but im still just personally not the biggest fan of said plot. i wanted more for my characters, but i get why everything works out the way it does. i have no doubt that lovers of the series will be very happy with this conclusion.

↠ 3.5 stars

Hayley ☾ (TheVillainousReader)

Rating: really liked it
I feel like I should update this because uh the rant down there no longer reflects my feels. I kind of can’t even with this series anymore. I LOVED the first book but now it’s just too much sorrow and horror. I hate Laia, I don’t like Helene, I hate where Elias is going. Everything sucks and there are no small moments of happiness or joking, or fun that convince me to push through for the light at the end. I set Reaper aside and I might not continue on. I just feel meh about it all.
———————————
2019 SERIOUSLY?!
By the time this comes out I'll be 26.. TWENTY SIX! And Elias will still be 20! Thanks, Sabaa Tahir for making me feel like a cradle robber..
It's okay Elias, baby, we don't have to conform to societies view on love.

Frank-Intergalactic Bookdragon

Rating: really liked it
Review December 2020
Though not a perfect book, this is a perfect ending to the series.

I've been with the series for a long time. I started it over the Summer of 2018 when Reaper came out and binged all the books as a way of coping with my Summer Teenaged Angst™.

Needless to say, I've changed a lot since then and am now an adult reading this finale (if any of you are confused by my timeline, I was sixteen when I first read Ember and I'm nineteen now). So on the one hand I see the flaws in this series more clearly and it doesn't all line up with my current taste, but on the other I feel nostalgic for it.

So was this worth the wait? Short answer: yes.

Though I have a few critiques. Like the magic system of this series makes little sense and I wish there were more rules to it, it feels like magic does whatever the plot wants. There were a few plotpoints that all though set up, felt out of the blue. I was pretty bored for a good 200 pages in the middle. And I still do not give a single frickle frackle about Laia and Elias's romance.

However, the plot is more than satisfactory. These feel like the right endings for every character arc. I can see some people will probably find the resolution anticlimactic, but I personally think it was perfect and fits the characters the best. I was especially happy with Helene's ending.

Outside of the end, this as usual has the same addictive prose as the previous books and a crapton of political intrigue. After Reaper, they're in a pretty bleak space. However, this story offers an ember of hope that builds with the tension.

And lastly, this one is the strongest in the series themewise. It mainly deals with family and loss and how do you move on from losing everything. It uses the villains especially well for these themes, adding a lot of needed depth to them, making them somewhat sympathetic even.

And with that, we say goodbye to the Ember Quartet. I will miss it, but I'm glad it got the best possible ending

Update March 2020
Purple. The cover is PURPLE. Not yellow, PURPLE! *flips a table* bUt WhAt AbOuT hUfFlEpUfF?!?!?! THE OTHER COVER'S COLORS MATCH GRYFFINDER, RAVENCLAW, AND SLYTHERIN, BUT NO HUFFLEPUFF!!!!

Oh well, at least it looks epic and probably the best cover of the series. Also we get it this year! December first!

Update December 2018
SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME THAT 2020 RELEASE DATE IS A MISTAKE I CAN'T WAIT OVER A YEAR FOR THIS ESPECIALLY AFTER REAPER!!!!!! 😱😭😲😵😟😨😣

I mean I get it if Sabaa Tahir needs extra time to make it the best finale it can be, but I don't think I can survive a wait that long 😞

Prereview June 2018
Can the cover be yellow? Because then we'd have:
Gryffindor
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Hufflepuff

Beth

Rating: really liked it
Bleeding Skies… 5 Stars!

”It was never one. It was always three. The Blood Shrike is the first. Laia of Serra, the second And The Soul Catcher is the last. The Mother watches over them all, If one fails, they all fail. If one dies, they all die…”

I think the best way to start this is say about the previous books maybe and how I grew to love this series and how much it means to me. A few years ago my friend Fathima said to me, I think we should Buddy Read something called An Ember in the Ashes, I had no idea what it was about, I read the synopsis and was like sure, yeah okay I’ll give it a go, from there I have read the series five times, making it a new all time favourite.

Going into this, I was painfully nervous, it was my most anticipated read for the past two years. I’ve been saying what I thought was going to happen, I legit laid it all out, spoke to my friends and I was like this is how I think it’s going to end, I was wrong, in fact the whole book I was wrong because what I thought was going to happen like basic plot was just such a miss (but obviously I’m very glad).

This book keeps you on the edge the whole way throughout, it was jam-packed and not a dull moment. I have to say my heart rate was at a sky high for MULTIPLE reasons, and when I say nobody is safe, I mean nobody is safe. If you go into this thinking nothing bad is going to happen, I cannot stress this enough that it is a whirlwind of emotions. While I’m on the topic, I literally cried on and off for about 120+ pages, I cried for FOUR hours, once I started it was just none stop. The amount of times I screamed, and raged and shouted. (It was a lotttt)

Characters

“A gift from me to you…”

"I have defied him and survived him again and again. He has tried to hurt me. But I will not allow myself to be hurt. He has tried to break me but I will not be dictated to by a man so afraid to fight the jinn that he must criticise a woman to make himself feel bigger.”

Laia, I think when we look at Laia from Ember to now, it’s absolutely INSANE how much she has gone through, her journey and how her character has built up so much strength over time. When we first meet Laia she’s quite naive and she underestimates herself. I mean even now she still wavers a little bit, but she continues to defy the odds, she fights for what she wants and doesn’t give up even if it feels painfully hopeless. I loved the relationships she built up throughout the series and how people started to look up to her.

I reach for the scims gingerly, as if they will burn my palms when I touch them. Instead, they slip into my grasp like they have been waiting for me.

”I wish I could live a thousand lives so I could fall in love with you a thousand times"

Elias will always be Elias. He cannot be The Soul Catcher, he just can’t! So… Elias Veturius, I have to say, I don’t think I’ve loved a character like him since Will Herondale so that is truly saying something here. I feel for Elias, he wanted his freedom, and because of love he ended up where he is. I think his dynamic in this book was super interesting. I’ve gone into it more in my spoiler section.

”Emifal Firdaant,” I interrupt Harper, May death claim me first.

This absolutely blows my mind when I say this, but when I first read Ember I genuinely could not stand Helene, because I actually think that Helene is probably my favourite character of the series. Helene really did go through hell and back in this series. She puts all of her faith in the Augurs and trusts what they say, but out of all of the characters Helene has had it the worst (that is saying something), she saw her whole family be murdered other than Livia, she then has to see Livia marry her family’s murderer and for him to abuse her. She is constantly belittled for being a woman and they think she doesn’t know what she’s doing. What I can say about Sky is that we see so many different sides to her, We see her vulnerable side, we see her being Auntie Shrike which I LOVED! Then we have the warrior Helene, like if I was in a fight I’d need Helene on my side because she’s such a bad ass!

”Laia of Serra. It is good to see you, my love.”

Where to begin with The Nightbringer, he’s not a villain that I absolutely despise, as The Nightbringer I found him so interesting. Learning bits and pieces about his back story was truly gripping, and I hate to say this, but you can kind of see where all of his rage has come from. I think seeing into his mind and just how loved he is makes you feel certain things for him.

”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.”

Once again, a character I didn’t initially like was Harper, this is technically valid because he literally tormented Helene to try and gain knowledge about Elias. HOWEVER he grows on you. I think after Reaper we were all desperate for some love for our beloved Blood Shrike, and Harper was the person we wanted for her! He’s always there, always ready to help no matter what.

“You are lucky enough to love someone who loves you back. He is alive and breathing and in the same vicinity as you. By the skies, do something about it. For however long you have. For whatever time you get. Because if you don’t I swear that you’ll regret it. You’ll regret it for all your years.”

Musa is such a lovable character, when things look super dire we have his cheeky little ways, always trying to lift peoples spirits! We see a very raw moment with Musa in this, and it just made me love him even more. I think it would of been super interesting to get more of a backstory, and seeing the things he can do I was super intrigued!

“Have you forgotten that the Shrike is a woman Mettias?… Do not bore us with old prejudices. You are a better man than that.”

Seeing Livia in this was just great, I think people tend to overestimate her, but she takes zero nonsense, there was a part I was like GURL. She shows so much love and support and there are some really good moments between Livia and Helene. To see her away from Marcus’s grip and actually thriving with people it made me super happy!

”You are the strongest person here. The strongest in the camp. Stronger than me. *, the Blood Shrike, the Soul Catcher, Afya. You are the daughter of the Lioness. The Granddaughter of Nan and Pop. You are Lis’s sister and mine.”

The last person I’m going to talk about here is Darin, I can’t even explain my thoughts about Darin because he’s just that brother figure! He’s been through it, captured, tortured, freed and then starts to rebuild his life. There’s just something so pure about Darin, the way he acts with Laia, and then his relationship with Elias. Darin takes no shit, people treat him differently because he’s a Scholar and he’s just like nope, and speaks up and defends himself.

Thoughts and Feelings

I’m going to start off with some things that I think could of been involved more maybe?

My first part is, I really really wish we’d of seen Keris a bit more, we only saw her in passing. Like she is the Bitch of Blackcliff she was the person in this series that I TRULY hated, like my hate for this character was driven into my bones, and I LOOOOOOVED how much I hated her. I get that we saw her because of Helene in other books, but I just missed her because I feel like she’s such a good character.

The other thing once again… I really really missed Dex. He took SUCH a back role in this book which was kind of disappointing to see. It has been strongly suggested that he is gay throughout the books, but I don’t know, nothing was really done? It was just said/hinted at and I wish this had been more developed, because Dex has been with Helene and/or Elias since Ember, so it was a shame that he wasn’t really in it as much.

Now the things I loved (there’s not going to be a lot here because I’m trying to keep it without spoilers)
- I cannot express to you just how MUCH happens in this book
- So many strong female characters, like it really does get me all in the feels with this because they are all SOOOO good!
- It gets the heart going let me tell you that!
- We FINALLY, FINALLY got answers, do you know how long I have waited to hear what Elias said to Laia, and we finally got it!
- Even though this was a *heavy* book there were so many really lovely and funny moments
- ALL of the sibling bonds, I think if you have a sibling you’ll be able to relate to them.
- It really does start with a *bang*
- Just how unexpected things were, like I genuinely had my mouth to the floor at some things that happened, I was just like WHAT IS HAPPENING
- I low key loved seeing the Jinn as well! Like it was so interesting!
- I loved certain characters fighting with each other, like I was screaminggggg
- The “coming together”
- Things/phrases are reiterated throughout from past books and what the Augurs have said, it’s kind of driven into you and like certain phrases that just make me feel happy but sad at the same time.
- People who died in previous books aren’t just forgotten about, they’re spoken about and you can see the impact they’ve left on other characters, I like that they’re still remembered because they were part of the journey. I think to add to that, Laia also explicitly says that she loved Keenan and I like that she doesn’t pretend that it never happened because once again that was what was needed for the story.
- Refusing to give up on people/situations
- On the other side Running Away and Armour I am just laughing so much at the thought
- Cain is my modern day hero hahahaha
- New found friendships, I really loved Laia and Helene and then Helene and Musa, because this book is set a few months AFTER Reaper we weren’t able to see how it developed.
- All of the little flashbacks from the last books, they were never actually told to us in the previous books (I think?) and it really helped to show some really good moments between the characters!
- Scims and Armlet
- Musa and his word vomit hahahaha
- The Cabin reflecting the Caravans
- Certain communicating
- I’m just going to say it… this book was full of so much Sexual Tension, it was painfully but I loved every single minute of it. I said what I said.
- Mangoes.
- HE BROUGHT HER TEA WHEN YOU KNOW YOU KNOW
- Mentioning of something/someone from the Graphic Novel, was like I know who that is!
- The hair pin momeny, my heart couldn’t take how tender and sweet it was

”A Scholar rebel and a Martial Blood Shrike are friends and the sky didn’t fall in. Whatever shall we do?”

BEWARE these next comments are going to include spoilers I will say Spoiler over when it’s over, it will just be talking about certain characters, I will not be stating any big surprise *jaw to the floor oh my god moments* or any character deaths, it’s more about character interactions and things I expected to happen.

SPOILERS START HERE

Can I just say, that I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy for characters to finally get together! FOUR BOOKS I have waited, and the fact that it was just so ahhhhh! I can’t get over it, and I don’t think I ever will it literally killed me off when reading them. I was like FINALLLLLLLY!

My other spoiler mention is about Elias because I didn’t want to say anything earlier. So what I want to say is this: I really liked the process of him going from “Soul Catcher” back to Elias and the fact it wasn’t JUST Laia who helped him achieve this. It was the love of everyone who cared about him and when you could see the little glimpses and him being cheeky and carefree it made me so happy, like whenever I saw it I’d be like THERE HE IS! I find it so sad that people went off of Elias during Reaper because the whole point of it was that he kind of switched off his humanity so he could do his job as Soul Catcher, like don’t get me wrong I hateeeeed it with a passion, but it was pivotal to the story.

”Thank you, Soul Catcher.”
“Elias,” he says after a moment, the slightest bit of warmth entering those cold gray eyes. “From you I prefer Elias.”

Special shout out to Elias and Helene fighting together as well, not necessarily a spoiler, but it just reminded me of Ember when they fought with each other side by side, thought it was a moment where I was like HANG ON!

Some characters showing up… I was like BIIIIIIIIIIICTH! I mean I 100000% knew that one of them low key had to arrive just because but the other I was SO SO SO surprised!

End of Spoilers

How do I even conclude this review, these books are literally ingrained in to me, like in every which way, I am so so so thankful to Sabaa for writing this series, because it genuinely means so much to me. I’ve made so many friends because of this book and got closer to other friends as well. For the final book in a series it exceeded all of my expectations, it’s absolutely heartbreaking and devastating, but I still loved every single moment of it.

Loyal to the end.

An Ember in the Ashes - 5 Stars
A Torch Against the Night - 5 Stars
A Reaper at the Gates - 5 Stars
A Sky Beyond The Storm - 5 Stars

A Thief Among The Trees - 5 Stars

17.07.2021

Once again I cried so much… this book to me is just so much pain, absolutely loved it!

07.07.2022

So. Much. PAIN.

12.12.2020

Shocking that I have my most anticipated read for the past two years 5 stars. Who’s of guessed?
I am emotionally drained, I have cried for like 120 pages plus other parts. What a wave of emotions. I can say for now is that it was not what I expected and I loved it. I feel so sad saying goodbye to this series because it means so much to me.
———
04.12.2020
6 more days to go for me:
1. Yes I’m still crying I’m not reading my most anticipated book for the last 2 years.
2. Avoiding Spoilers like the plague (thank you everyone, like I could weep that I haven’t been spoilt)
3. Ali is sending me photo updates of her reading it and I am crying with laughter (and envy obvs)
4. I fell physically ill waiting for this, like it’s to the point I can’t read other things because I feel all consumed about this book and it’s not even here yet.
5. I just want my characters to be happy and my Anxiety is reaching its peak.
6. Can you imagine what it’s like when I actually read this?!
————
02.03.2020
We have a title AND a cover and I feel so emotional. My favourite series will be coming to an end, I feel worried for all of the characters that I love.
————-
08.04.2020
Here I am still hoping for the best, but expecting the worst (I am attached to these characters okay) and after seeing all of Sabaas updates I am so worried!

Klaus

Rating: really liked it
13/25 (52%); 2 stars.

First things first: I'm very disappointed because this book included a lot of tropes and things I hate within books - HOWEVER, if you're okay with these things, you'll love this one. But I didn't. I've had a lot of negative thoughts about its two last prequels (I still love Ember, but I felt that it got weaker and weaker afterwards) and all of the things I hated, especially in A Reaper at the Gates, are here once again. And there's even more. It still gets two stars, but just barely because there are still moments of impressive writing and beauty within this one, especially the last two chapters, but it definitely couldn't live up to the high hopes I had.



Things and tropes I hate in books that were excessively used in this one: delay of confrontation, people not telling each other about their feelings because "Oh, the world is going down, I don't have time for love", deus ex machina, invincible characters and enemies, Mary Sues, people sneaking up to their enemies and then loudly announcing their presence, allies and powerful weapons appearing out of nowhere. And, structurally speaking: the chapters were too short for my taste. I want to immerse into a character's perspective, and that works better when you don't have to change perspective every five pages.


Point One, delay of confrontation. There's a couple of villains within this series, and though our heros face off against them in combat multiple times, no one dies. Instead, for some reason either the heros or the villains manage to get away unscathed until almost the very end, so every time the Commandant or the Nightbringer turned up, I wasn't afraid for anyone at all: I knew nothing was gonna happen. This connects with Point Four, invincible characters and enemies: I didn't feel the stakes because nobody dies. Or, if they die, they get resurrected, so their death was pointless. There's a sort-of-resurrection included in this one again, and it's SO MUCH deus ex machina that it almost made me DNF this out of frustration.


Point Two, people not telling each other about their feelings because "Oh, the world is going down, I don't have time for love". It's stupid and has the same effect: if it drags on and on, you just know as a reader that nothing is gonna happen at all in terms of love life until the very end of the book or the series.


Point Three: Mary Sues. Laia has turned into an increasingly frustrating Mary Sue. She discovers new superpowers all the time - the funny thing is, she uses them and five pages later she doesn't use them anymore because it'd go against the plotline, so she just doesn't use them.

"The Nightbringer weakened your powers early on," Rehmat says. "That was before you woke me. You are stronger now. You can disappear. You can even hide those with you."
Literally eight pages later:
"Watch your left!" Musa snaps as more longboats appear to the south. And the north.
"Ideas?" I ask the Beekeeper as the boats close in.

Oh, I dunno, Laia, but, er, if you don't mind me suggesting something...JUST DISAPPEAR!


Coming to Point Five, people sneaking up to their enemies and then loudly announcing their presence. I mean, then what's the point of sneaking up to them? Either you go Assassin's Creed mode or the honest way, but this is just so dumb that I can't even...whatever.

I vault upward and tear off my hood.
"Grímarr!" I bellow his name, flinging three throwing knives at him. But he moves with unnatural swiftness to evade them.

That's right Helene, it was completely unnatural of him to avoid them after you shouted his name and announced your presence. My god. *sighs* Anyway, Point Six: allies and powerful weapons appearing out of nowhere. That has been going on my nerves for a while now already in the last books, and here it's worse. There's always some new, unknown ally turning up just when the hero is lying on the ground weaponless and about to die. Always.


Apart from these tropes&ticks, another thing that disturbed me was that Laia and Helene were suddenly besties at the start of the book. They're the new dynamic duo, BFFs 4eva, whatever you wanna call it, after hating each other for three books -WHY?! If something like that happens, I want to see! I want character and relationship development ON SCREEN, not what happened here. Apparently, months have passed between the end of part three and the start of this one, and not only have Helene and Laia bonded over and over, no: while they became the best of friends, their enemies did...NOTHING. Apparently, after making that big win at the end of Reaper, they've just stopped attacking and decided to sit on their arses. I was expecting an apocalypse, what I got was all the stuff I hated about the last book warmed up once again.


There are still chapters and scenes that pulled me in and touched me, there are still pages filled with beautiful writing, but that's it for me. It was a huge disappointment. Though as I said, if you're okay with those tropes I mentioned, you'll like this one. If you loved Reaper, then you'll definitely love this one, too - but I didn't. In my opinion, this series got weaker and weaker with every book. So I was seriously considering to give this one only two stars, seriously. But then, as I said, it has its moments. You know what? I'm giving it these two stars, not three. I've given books like Blade Itself three stars, and this one isn't in the same league at all.

booktube review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLEzl...
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Dialogue 3/5
Setting 3/5
Characters 2/5
Writing Style 4/5
Plot 1/5

Ariel

Rating: really liked it
"We are A̶q̶u̶i̶l̶l̶a̶ ̶ Fangirls. Loyal to the end"
"The library is my temple. The author is my priest. The fandom theories are my prayer. The release date is my release."
I'M SO PUMPED FOR THIS!!!!! BUT I PROBABLY WONT SURVIVE THE HEARTBREAK!!!!!!!!!!

Bhavya

Rating: really liked it

“Emifal firdaant. May death claim me first.”

~ Rating- 2 stars ~

(Content/ Trigger Warnings)

-Mention of some of these in the review-

*Spoiler alert for An Ember in the Ashes, A Torch Against the Night and A Reaper at the Gates*

My original review for this was me just rambling about my feelings, and, let me tell you, four months later and I am STILL mad at this book . So this review is also going to be a huge rant, I will just try to frame it in more coherent sentences. Hopefully it makes sense. (I am not following my review format, and unlike my usual reviews this has some very mild spoilers. All major spoilers are in tags.)

This book was supposed to have this final battle. It was supposed to be the end to a wonderful series. It was supposed to be heartbreaking. It was supposed to make me feel.

Did it?

Yes.

This book made me feel a lot of things: anger, fury, rage, disappointment and an impending urge to pretend this book never existed. I mean it.

I am sad this series is over, *cries* but my God it was a horrible ending. What happened to this series? Why did it leave me so disappointed?

Let us break this down.

We have our main characters Laia, Elais (The Soul Catcher) and Helene (The Blood Shrike) and we get all of their POV's.

The first issue I had with this was how the characters were portrayed.

Lia of Serra, the one who faced the Martials and watched her family die right in front of her eyes. The one who went to the rebels for support, and became a slave for The Commandment, tolerating each and every insult and every scar. The one who ran away, faking her death and freed her brother from prison. The one who became an inspiration for everyone, as she was brave, kind, and she had no one, but she was still strong.

What happened to this Laia? She’s not there in this book.

Laia became such a Mary Sue, special snowflake character. Every other page she gets some new powers, and she acted so reckless and stupid. Now, I was not a huge fan of Laia, but I never completely dreaded her POV. That was what happened here.

Each time we were in her head I felt like knocking some sense into her. At one point, she leaves the fight they are in and cries over some random corpse. She has responsibilities in this book, but we do not see her actually fulfilling everything. Everyone acts like Laia is the best person in the whole world, and yes, she's been through a lot, but are you trying to tell me no one else has gone through a hard time?

Laia is suddenly good at every single thing; she can fight like Helene and Elais (who have been training since they were kids), she can turn invisible (only when it is convenient, though), and she has an actual jinn living inside her who keeps giving her advice (which she doesn't follow).

She is now besties with Helene, and they hated each other in the first three books. All I can say is, why? What happened to her character? The main reason I liked her character a bit was because she was a plain, ordinary girl who was still strong. This just ruined everything.

Now, Elais The Soul Catcher . I loved Elais in books 1 and 2, in book 3 - not so much. But I thought this book would rekindle my love for him. Did that happen? NO. I hated every single page we were in his POV. I wanted to skip his chapters all together. Why? Because his POV as The Soul Catcher is painfully boring.

It comprises of- “I love Laia. But I am The Soul Catcher, I should have no feelings. But I love Laia! NO, I am The Soul Catcher, I should not have feelings. BuT I lOvE Laia. No, I am the Soul Catcher, I should have no feelings. But I lOVE LAIA. No- I am the Soul Catcher- ”

And yes, a few chapters of this- I can tolerate. More than that? I CANNOT.

I was so upset by his Pov, that I had to put the book on hold for a few days. (whereas I read the rest of the series in a day or two) It made me very sad that his character got ruined.

Helene The Blood Shrike. I always adored Helene. She was my favorite of this franchise, and she is one of my favorite female characters of all time. Her POV's in this book were a blessing, and fortunately I actually enjoyed her parts.

I know that in this book she is 'blushing' and acting a bit different from her cool, calculated manner, BUT I loved it. Because I love Helene. And I loved seeing the more emotional side to her, as I consider myself an emotional person, and I could relate to her more. I do understand why a lot of people did not like her POV though.

That was about the characters. Let's talk about the plot.

I don't know why, but this book felt like a drag. It was 500+ pages, and I still felt like nothing happened. If I had to summarize the plot, I would say Laia is busy making rash decisions and not listening to anyone, Elais is moping about his life, and my poor Helene is the one suffering.

I think Helene has gone through too much, and in this book she should have gotten a break. I get it, this is war and there will be death and destruction and yada yada but why does Helene have to be the one who's tortured all the time?

I know, I am biased as she is my favourite but I think she is underrated. She's gone through the most, yet everyone talks about how great Laia is, when Laia is doing... nothing?

Honestly, there’s not much that happens in this book. There are about 4-5 major incidents I can think of, but otherwise the rest of it is just filler.

Don’t even get me started on the final battle scene, because that was an utter mess, which I will talk about later.

Now, the world building.

The entire concept of the jinn was cool! I liked it.
The execution- not so much.

There are so many unanswered questions about the jinn. How did they even come to existence? How many jinn are there? What are all their abilities?(view spoiler)[ How is it that Rehmat was able to live inside Laia? (hide spoiler)]

The world was unique for a YA book, but I think it had a lot more potential that was not delivered. It left me yearning for more, and that’s not good as this was the end of the series.

And we never get an explanation as to how do Helene and Laia have powers in the first place? Which is odd, as now this series is over and there are still a dozen unanswered questions.

Now let’s talk about the romance.

I was never a huge shipper of Laia and Elais, BUT I love Helene and Harper. I had hoped that we would get some of their relationship, and we do, but it still wasn’t enough.

Most of the romance is about Laia and Elais and how much they lOvE each other but I wanted more Harper- Helene content. And I didn’t get it, which left me shattered.

And now let’s go over that mess of an ending, because seriously I read it twice to try and understand what it was but it still left me confused. (In spoiler tags)

(view spoiler)[

~ Helene and Keris have that final battle scene, but instead of Helene killing the Commandment like I wanted, MIRA COMES BACK TO LIFE.

MIRA OF ALL PEOPLE.

Let me tell you why this was a bad idea.

Firstly, it is so plot convenient.

Laia already gets a ‘happily ever after’ with Elais anyways, but to make this happen Mira was brought back so that she becomes the Soul Catcher and Elais is free. And then Laia can be happy.

NO. I hated this. I hated it so much that I almost threw my device in frustration. (was reading the e-book) Shelva, the previous Soul Catcher had to wait thousands of years before she passed the role onto Ellais. And Mira can get it so easily? Just like that?

Secondly, of all characters why was it Mira who came back to life? And why did Mira get a chance to kill Keris? I think it was unfair.

I would have seriously preferred anyone to do it over Mira. So many people could have done it, Helene, Harper, Elais, or even Keris's father. I would have also been fine with Laia doing it. Because we see these characters actually have something against Keris. We see their pain and we feel it.

But with Mira, we only know her backstory. We don’t actually witness the events. And that’s why I hated it so much.

~Harper dying

“Emifal Firdaant,' I say to him.
'You've said that before. What does it mean?'
I cannot quite look at him when I say it. 'May death claim me first.'
'Ah, no, my love.' He gathers me close. 'You cannot go first. I could not make sense of the world if you did.'
With that, he closes his eyes, but I cannot sleep. I stare up at the peak of the tent and listen to the rain drum down on the canvas. Emifal Firdaant, I beg the skies. Emifal Firdaant.”

HOW DARE HARPER DIE.

I was so mad, I did not read the book for days. It was my petty way of revenge. I knew he would die, as it was foreshadowed enough, but why would you kill him off? How dare you do it? 😭💔

“You got there first my love, I envy you so, for how will I endure without you?”

I felt his death was only for emotional impact, and yes I cried because of his death. Because Helene has been through too much already. She’s lost every single person she’s ever loved. And I hate how this was done to her. Again.

But, what I hated even more was the fact that Helene doesn’t even try to bring Harper back. She doesn’t try to sing his song. She makes no effort.

And the Helene I know and love would not have done that. She would have tried. It felt completely out of character that Helene doesn’t do this, and I was beyond frustrated about this. I will forever be bitter.

~The maelstrom thing

I don’t even know how to explain this, as I didn’t understand it myself. So apparently, some kind of huge storm shows up and everyone drowns in it? And then they come out of it unharmed? And the Nightbringer dies easily, just like that? And Laia saves the day?

I DON’T KNOW OK. NOTHING WAS EXPLAINED.

It was bad.


Some other things that made me hate this book-

~Helene’s sister dying
Why on earth did she die? And yes, I felt so sad that she died. This leaves Helene completely alone to rule an empire she never wanted to rule, and raise a nephew (when she didn’t want to do that either). Why is her life so miserable? She deserved better. 😭

~The whole Musa- Helene thing
I pretend it didn’t happen. I’m not gonna buy it.

~The whole Keris-Lovey thing
Again, I pretend this didn’t happen. I AM NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THAT KERIS DIES BECAUSE OF HER TRAGIC BACKSTORY (which was irrelevant for the first three books)

(hide spoiler)]


I’m sure I missed something, because I mean it when I say this ending was a chaotic mess.

I hate nothing more to say. I am so disappointed in this book, and I truly think if it wasn’t for this I would have loved this series a lot.

“You have suffered. You have created suffering. You have killed. But you have also paid. With your life, twice over now, and with your heart, with your mind. You have guided thousands of lost souls. You have saved thousands of lives. You have done good in this world. Which will define you? The good? Or the suffering?”

DISCLAIMER - All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

My ratings and reviews for other books in this series-

An ember in the ashes- 3 stars
A torch against the night- 3.25 stars
A Reaper at the gates- 3 stars

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

......................................


I drew some Helene Aquilla fanart.



It’s in my photos as well-https://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/...


Any feedback welcome, as I’m still new to drawing. :)

....................................................................................................

Previous review

This was disappointing. I don’t know what happened in this book. It was so long, and it felt like a drag. The plot was predictable for the most part and what just happened with the ending? I do not buy it. It makes no sense.

(view spoiler)[ that Meera thing made no sense. You're telling me that she never died, came back, killed Keris easily and then became the Soul Catcher. How is that not plot convenient? Shelva (the previous soul catcher before Ellasis) had to wait 1000 or more years before she handed the role to Ellais, and Meera can get it so easily? Also what was that final battle. Everyone in the 'villans' died so easily and the 'heros' came out unharmed. I'm disappointed. (hide spoiler)]

Helene was always my favourite character and I was disappointed with how it ended for her. (view spoiler)[ so Laia can have her mother and Ellis but everyone Helene loves dies? She literally saw her whole family be killed right in front of her eyes and I know the same thing happens to Laia but at least she gets a happy ending. Helene loses her sister and Harper (I was so angry and sad he died ) in this book and then she's left to rule an Empire she never wanted to rule and raise her nephew. and what on earth was that thing with Musa? I'm not going to believe that at all. (hide spoiler)]

I didn’t ever care about Laia and Elias. Laia becomes such a Mary Sue character. When needed her powers work and when not convenient they don't. She also makes so many stupid decisions. (view spoiler)[ how did she defeat the Nighbringer so easily? and even if she did, she literally went into a sea or something. How did she come out of that without a scratch? (hide spoiler)]

Elias is constantly complaining about his feelings and his role as the Soul Catcher. He was annoying to read about.

I only read this book for Helene and she is hands down one of the most interesting morally grey characters I’ve read!

I am very confused with the world building if this world and the whole Jin concept isn’t explained properly. There were characters who deserved better. (view spoiler)[ what was that Rehmat thing? it came out of nowhere. (hide spoiler)]

Despite this, I didn't hate the book. I need to say that the whole idea of the Jin was very new and I’ve never seen anything like that in YA before. The Nightbringer was a good villain with a good backstory. (view spoiler)[ how did he die so easily??? (hide spoiler)]

The writing in this book is very good and I can tell that Sabaa has improved a lot as a writer! Everything about the writing was 4+ stars, but the ending ruined the whole book for me. If it wasn’t for that I think this series would have been one of my favourites.

Overall, this was a well written book but I HATED the ending.
Sorry that this is more like a rant than a review but I don’t know what to say.

Yumiko

Rating: really liked it
This review contains no spoilers.

There is anguish. There is grief. There is sorrow.

And then there is joy, and happiness, and family, and love. Sometimes it is so hard to separate the two warring sides in your head, of good versus evil. Sometimes it is so hard to see the good when your heart only knows the loss and the pain. That's how it was for me with A Sky Beyond the Storm. I wanted so badly to let this book shatter my entire soul (which it did). But I also had to remember the beautiful parts, no matter how much it broke me and tore my soul apart.

Buckle your seatbelts, friends. This review will be very, very long.

I wanted so badly to crumple in despair and throw this book against the wall and rage and rage and rage until I was numb and my throat was begging me to shut the hell up. But there was something beneath that emotion when I finished, some small, quiet thing inside me that insisted it breathe: happiness. I finished this book, and although those three characters died and completely shattered my entire being, there was hope afterward. Hope on that last page, hope even from the first page of An Ember in the Ashes. And it is hidden, and it is sacred, and sometimes it is so hard to spot because the circumstances seem so bleak and desolate that you can't even bring yourself to. But it is there. It is always there, maybe a kernel, maybe a flicker, maybe an ember. But I swear to you, it is always there, just waiting for you to set it aflame. That's what Sky taught me, and it is a lesson that will live inside me forever.

To all you Sky readers out there, I know. I know exactly how you feel. And I'm here. I'm here for you. If y'all ever want to talk, I'm here.

There is something here in the heart of this book that has molded, shaped, and altered my insides. That has unlocked my view of life, that has made me better understand humans, life, love, good, and evil. And as I am writing this review, I am going to try and discover what it was.

Everything about this book, from its name, to its words, to its characters will disturb you. It will shock you. It will drag you out of your comfort zone, will snag you by the reins of your heart and will tug at your strings insistently, demanding every single emotion from the space between the stars, all the way to the stones beneath your feet. It will force you to feel every drop of love, of remorse, of passion, of sorrow, of anger. "This book will disturb the comfortable, and it will comfort the disturbed." It will hold you so tight you won't remember what loneliness felt like. It will rattle you so hard you won't know what to do with your mortal life for the next few days, the next few weeks. This book will absolutely, positively destroy you. Inch by inch. Slowly, quietly, so gently that you won't even notice it. Not until your heart is a wrangled mess on the floor. Not until you're forced to pick up the pieces yourself. Not until you reach the last page and it is too late, far too late to put the book down and pretend you never encountered it.

This book ripped me to shreds. It tore me limb from limb, vessel from vessel, thoroughly. It demanded I shut up and take the pain like a woman, like Helene, or Laia, or Afya, or Livvy, or Mamie Rila, or Mirra, or as any woman in this series would. This book showed not an ounce of mercy, not an ounce of regret. But in a way, I am glad. Because Sabaa Tahir portrays life. She portrays life the way it truly is, not as she wishes it to be or as we, her readers, wish it to be. Sometimes life is not always kind, and sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we forget that not everyone is full and bursting to the brim with happiness. Sometimes people ache for it. Sometimes people search their whole lives for it, chasing it, and never obtain it. Sometimes their whole lives pass and they have never tasted it. And we have to be grateful for those fleeting times, those brief moments of joy.

If there is anything I have learned since the day that wretched Mask killed my grandparents and arrested Darin, it is that you must love while you can. For tomorrow, all that you love might be ash. -Laia of Serra

We have to remember the people that fought and died in these wars, the people who fought for a dream they would never get to see. I think that is what Sabaa Tahir's message is. That we must fight for those moments of happiness because we never know how long they will last. We never know when our time will be up.

I swear this book is powerful enough to spark a revolution. There are truths and there are lies. And then there is this book, which contains both, but that teaches us enough lessons that it barely feels like fiction anymore. It feels more like a memory.

This book took everything out of me. It took everything in me to get to the last page. It took a lot of convincing to make me understand that this series is truly over. That I will never read another new word, that I will never know how Helene moves on from her losses, that I will never know what color eyes Elias and Laia's children will have, that I will never know whatever came of the rest of these beautiful characters. And if I ever decide to put myself through this again (which I know I most certainly will, since this is my favorite series of all time), I will never read another new word, another new phrase. And my heart can't bear it. I can't move on. It's really, truly over. I couldn't stand the emotions that kept pouring out of me reading these raw, aching words. But I realized that no matter how many times I reread this series, even when I start memorizing every single line of each and every book, it will still yield the same pain, the same love, the same heartbreak. I will always feel something for these characters; I will never, ever let them go. They will always be with me.

Do I remember what life was like before this book? No, I don't. Do I want to go back to return to the life I had before this, to turn back 24 hours, to have picked up a different book that would not have hurt me in this way, that would not have wounded me so badly, that would not have changed something deep inside me? ... No. I don't.

Because I am a weapon that has been whetted, a weapon that has been sharpened and honed. My mind is sharper now, but it is also softer. More forgiving. More understanding. More thankful. And what I mean by that is I've learned so much from the villains in this story. Sometimes, as a reader, it gets difficult to understand the antagonist. Sometimes you just want to watch them to die a slow, painful death for ever hurting your characters. Sometimes you want to brandish the scim yourself. But there is a reason villains exist, and that reason is not to make life hell for the main characters. The truth is that villains are humans too. They are people. They have dreams, and desires, and hopes, and wishes, and fears, and loves, too. And this book really teaches you that. It really forces you to look inside yourself, to find the softest part, to find the part that truly understands the evil in this world, and that no one is ever truly evil. Because evil people never think they're evil. They think they are doing the right thing. They think they are bettering humanity, and that makes me wonder, how could we ever blame someone, a person who has felt love and fear and hate, for doing something if that's what they think is right? How could we ever deem them evil if that is what they have been taught all their lives, if that's how they lash out with their pain?

I couldn't help it. When I finished Sky, I couldn't help loving Keris Veturia. So many people hate her and wish her dead, and maybe I did, too, for a little while. But after Sky, I realized that she is a result. She got hurt so much, and her mother was taken from her, and Keris was forced to listen to her own being tortured to death. And from that flame, from that burning, rigid fire, Keris retaliated. She locked up her heart, sealed it with the strongest, toughest glue, hid it behind layers and layers of armor and pretended it didn't exist. Used it so rarely that sometimes she forgot it was there. That is a result. That is what happens when you have been hurt so badly and you are not strong enough to fight. For how powerful and tough Keris is, she was not strong enough. She gave in to her pain; she allowed it to rule over her. Thus, she lost every battle worth fighting. And at the end of Sky, when we finally realize why Keris is the way she is, understanding is gifted to us, is instilled inside us. Sabaa Tahir grants us an invaluable gift, one of empathy.

I've learned so much from Sky. I've learned the true power of love, of friendship, of friendship that turns into family. I've learned of hope, I've learned not to turn away from it, not to scoff at it and dismiss it with a wave of the hand. I've learned of holding on and how you can never let go, you can never stop fighting, you can never give up on the people you love, because if it was them, they would never stop fighting for you.

What is inside this book? Life. Love. Friendship. Loyalty. Pain. Death. Grief. But also so much more. So much that I don't think I'll ever be ready to talk about, because it just hurts so much, and the wound is still fresh and still bleeding and I need a break. I need to step away from this for awhile and gather my head.

When you think of Helene Aquilla, and all she has been through, all she has lost, I think to myself that it is unfair. It is unfair that someone as beautiful, as noble, as worthy of love and happiness and a good life had to endure one of such pain and sadness and loss. She did not deserve it. But then when I have these thoughts, I think back to these words:

"Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes and it takes and we keep loving anyway." (I really need to stop quoting Hamilton in my reviews. I think it's becoming problematic.)

I know a lot of readers are suffering from the amount of death in this book, especially the ones of three very important characters. I understand. But I also understand why those deaths were necessary, and it isn't just because Sabaa Tahir is evil (although a lot of us beg to differ, and rightfully so). War is not a living thing. It has no conscience. It doesn't understand what it's doing is wrong. It doesn't understand the cost. Sabaa is showing us that in war, we cannot choose who dies and who lives on. We can only choose our decisions. We can either choose to stop fighting and unite, or we can keep killing, keep hurting. From Sky, you learn to understand that for every person you kill, you are ridding a child of their parent, a lover of their beloved, a friend of their family. We are all human and we are all loved. We can't take lives. We can't just rip people out of each other’s arms. We should understand each other more. We should reach out to each other more. We should be there for each other. Sky just makes me wonder, why are we so damn disunited? How can we bridge the gap? Must there always be a villain in each story? Or can we just learn to protect each other, no matter if we are Scholars or Martials or Tribespeople? No matter if we are Black or Asian or Caucasian or Latinx? Must there always be one group fighting against another?

There is strength that is sometimes found in even the weakest of humans. There is something slumbering inside all of us, I think, a beast that awakens, that opens one eye, when we read about characters as strong and as brave and resilient as Helene Aquilla, as Laia of Serra, as Elias Veturius, as Avitas Harper, as Mirra of Serra, as Darin of Serra, as Musa, as Livia Aquilla. There is strength, and there is pride, and there is joy, but most of all, there is something ethereal inside each of us that awakens when we read about characters like these. Why? Because there is something inside us that is reflected on these pages, something we recognize in the characters that reminds us of ourselves. We always think we are weak, or scared, or afraid. We always think we are incapable of enduring the things Helene Aquilla has dealt, or of doing the things Laia of Serra has done, or being as strong in both body and mind as Elias Veturius is.

But how do you think Sabaa Tahir was able to create such resilient characters? Fiction is truth, and is derived from truth. Nothing is ever created; it is remade. Sabaa Tahir has encountered a soul as fiery as Laia's, as tough as Helene's, as good and as beautiful as Elias', as soft as Harper's, as enduring as Musa's and Livia's, as determined as Quin's. These people exist, and they are stories that live inside us. They are stories that will always be there, just around the corner of our minds to pull strength from. They will never go away. As long as we remember this story.

There will never come another series that changes me as this one did. I haven't lived the rest of my days out but I know. There will never be another like this. Not for me.

I have 253 characters left for this review, but I am not ready to shut up about this book. I still have so much to say. If there is one thing I know I will always remember about this book, it is that I will take Laia's courage, I will take Helene's intelligence and endurance, I will take Elias' strength and forgiveness. I will take Avitas' soft, good, kind soul, I will take Livvy's beautiful heart, I will take Tas' innocence, I will take Darin's stubbornness, I will take Afya's loyalty, I will take Mamie Rila's loyalty, I will take Mirra's toughness, I will take Quin's determination, I will take the Nightbringer's love.

And from all of these things that I take, I will be remade. I will become a better person. I will have learned not to take advantage of my people and my moments and the time I have left. I will have learned to stay silent and listen to people before I speak my mind and I will always keep believing in other people. And I do my best to spread love and kindness everywhere I go.

I feel like this review is sort of sad, so I want to end it on a positive note. If you still don't believe how good this book is, just know that I neglected food, water, sleep, and family while I rushed to finish this book. I snapped at my brother to shut up like ten times when he was blabbering nonsense. I ate nothing. (You know it's a big deal when I neglect food. Because I am greedy and I can never get enough.) I drank no water. I left my AP essay an hour before it was due (because we all know that’s not the priority here). From 10:23 am to 4:33 pm, the only thing I worried about was finishing this book. And if that’s still not enough to convince you to read this series, I am so so sorry for you.

Because you'd be missing out on an entire universe.

Reading_ Tamishly

Rating: really liked it
***and the award for the most disappointing read of 2021 goes to....

Okay, time to go and break something because this one is bringing out the monster in me as I so wanted to destroy this one and wanted another version of this book 🤦 Sorry, dear pillows, bear my silent mind screaming 😌

And after all that drama and bloodshed, this entire series ends as a quest to answer who's Lovey. (We will all know who Lovey is ultimately but it seems so disconnected!)
I don't know if I should cry or laugh.

As much as too many emotions are being tried to force feed while narrating the story, the more shallow the reading became. The writing tried too hard I guess. And the characters were too desperate to become into ones who tried to feel emotions. Like just too damn obvious. I wish the impression of all these characters remained the same as in the first two books.

Sadly, this one is disappointing as hell! All that momentum that was built up in the first three books disappeared and never revived again.

I feel the writing got too lost in nothing and the story lost direction. Whatever the heck happened to the characters?! Whatever the bleeding skies happened to the plot intensity in the first 3 books?

My heart and soul. They are bleeding. For real. I cannot believe the last book became this average compared to the first 3 books. I want to cry so bad!

It was like reading an endless commentary on mind blabbering without nothing much happening.

I wanted more of the main characters. I wanted more of the Nightbringer. More of Helene and Harper. More of the jinns. More of the Commandent. More of everything.

Things were happening but nothing happened much if you know what I mean.

I feel betrayed.


(My entire life seems bleak now... The disappointment hurts.)


***I need to sleep on it. The anticipation of something better happening 'maybe in the next chapter/page' until the last few chapters is now hurting my head. And, to be honest, everything was quite boring compared to the first two books (which made my whole being enlightened with the fierce love of the books!).

I like the lead female characters but I do not appreciate the tone they were using describing men. If it happened with the guys talking about women the same way (talk stereotypes!), there would have been more problems I guess.

I find the characters pathetic at times in this book. Not at all expected.

Laia is as impulsive as ever. The Soul Catcher seems more weaker. The Blood Shrike became more plain.

And all kinds of chemistry weakened. Even the feeling of dread for the unstable moments and evil characters were totally missing. Whatever character development needed for the story to end well is missing.


Whatever the subtle romance or spark that was there before, it all turned into something cheesy so much so that I just couldn't bear it. God, why?!


The 'loss' in the end didn't make me feel anything. That's how disinterested I became. Seriously. So damn disappointing.

Keris Veturia. Why the hell is her story not given to me properly? The most intimidating character in the entire plot yet so conveniently forgotten, eh? Those rare few lines in between the chapters and a chapter didn't do much I repeat 😭 Are you bleeding kidding me????!!!!

Almost non-existent for the entire first 90 percent of the book, you can imagine how frustrated I would have been the entire first 500 pages!

The Burning Rose (Jess)

Rating: really liked it
A Sky Beyond the Storm.. A SKY BEYOND THE STORM A SKY B- oh my god!! I love this title so fucking much. And the cover??? God, I’m so happy HOLY SHITE. The release date is so close. I need to pick up and read the 3rd book as soon as possible! 😧