A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir – Book Review

I adore this series so much and Reaper was absolutely amazing and I absolutely need Sky asap!

You can read my review of Ember here and of Torch here.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.

The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.

Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she’d have to fight.

And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias’s devotion–even at the cost of his humanity.

I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend it! The narrators are so good and engaging and I was completely hooked!

This series gets better and better with each book! The whole time I was listening I was on the edge of my seat and I just needed to listen to just one more chapter. Sabaa takes us on a wild ride in this series and honestly I had no idea what to expect when I started this. But one thing I can say with certainty is that this series does not disappoint. It is amazing and I simultaneously need the next book right now but I am also terrified to read it.

This book starts where Torch ended with Laia and Darin finally reunited and Elias has become the soul catcher because Sabaa likes to torture us and killed him in Torch. *sobs* Helene also has a point of view in this book and we see what is happening in the empire through her.

In the first two books their stories overlapped because they were all in the same place for the most part but in Reaper all three are separate and have different journeys to take. So we see their own journey and how it affects them but also how they slowly come together at the end to give us that explosive ending that left me shook.

I absolutely love Laia’s arc throughout the trilogy from being the scared young woman we meet at the beginning of Ember to the powerful leader she becomes by the end of Reaper. One of the things I loved about her was that she was afraid and she was hesitant, it made her so much more relatable. Her strength and bravery meant even more because we know that she is also terrified and despite that she does what needs to be done to save her brother and her people.

I also loved learning more about Laia’s family especially her mother and brother and I really liked the new characters we met, especially Musa. I love Darin so much and how protective he is over Laia and also how he wants her to be true to herself rather than just become a copy of their mother. We also learn a lot more about their mother and what happened to her and it’s all so tragic and it made me hate the Commandant even more.

Elias, my deadly cinnamon roll, I love him so much. He is torn between helping those he loves and doing his duty as the soul catcher. He slowly realises that he has to fully commit to being the soul catcher and that means leaving those he cares about. I was screaming by the end, like how could Sabaa do this to him after what she did to him in Torch. Please Sabaa stop hurting him.

We also learn a lot more about the Nightbringer and why he is so intent on destroying Laia and her people and it made him even more interesting and complex. But I still hate the Commandant more than him and I really need her to die a slow painful death in Sky.

Helene is an interesting character, she is motivated by her desire to protect her sister yet she does awful things to others all to protect one person. She justifies it by saying how she is just following orders and that she has to do what it takes to protect her sister yet it doesn’t justify what she does. It is not okay to continue the oppression of a whole group of people because you are following orders. I liked how Sabaa wove this into the story and that despite Helene justifying it to herself, we as readers are told clearly that it is not okay.

I highly recommend reading these books they are amazing and have such wonderful complex characters. The world is brutal and ruthless and I absolutely cannot wait to read the last book.

Books I Would Love To See Adapted

There’s been some talk recently about books being adapted so it got me thinking again about what books I would love to see adapted into a tv show or film. I just want to see more diverse books being picked up for adaptation! Please adapt diverse books!

So here are my favourite books I want to see adapted:

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Look I need this to be adapted into a tv show but adapt it EXACTLY as the book! Imagine seeing Daevabad on screen, imagine seeing the palace and all the mythical creatures and my Alizayd!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This is another book that would make an amazing tv show so we could see all the details. The tasks that Laia and Helene have to do would look epic and brutal on screen!

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

I had heard this was optioned but then never heard anything again about it so please make this a tv show! Imagine seeing Khalid say those beautiful lines to Shahrzad and the beautiful world and imagery that Renee has created.

Love From A To Z by S.K. Ali

Give me my halal love story on the big screen! Let me see my hijabi falling in love while still embracing her faith. Please! I need it!

There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

I love this rom com so much and I need to see it on the big screen! The body positivity and the absolute adorableness I need to see it!

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

This Pride and Prejudice retelling with Muslim characters absolutely and entirely deserve to be on the big screen! Imagine the angst and tension between Ayesha and Khalid and being able to watch it on the big screen!

So here are the books I would love to see adapted! What books would you love to see adapted? Would you prefer a tv show or film?

What My Favourite Characters Would Do In Quarantine – Book Tag

I saw this tag on The Caffeinated Reader and I knew I had to do this tag as it looked so fun!

Rules
Take 5 or more of your favourite book characters and imagine what they would be doing if they were quarantined with us in the real world.
You can have them be in their own squad if you want or working on their own.
Tag 5 friends.
Link back to this post and credit Reader Voracious.

 

So here are my favourite characters and what I think they would do in quarantine!

1 Nahri and Ali from The City of Brass – They would grab as many books as they could from the library and spend the time discussing and debating with each other and maybe Nahri will finally teach Ali how to pick a lock!

2 Laia and Elias from An Ember in the Ashes – Laia would be trying to figure out how to help those who are affected and Elias would be trying to work out how to distribute whatever Laia comes up with to help the people. They would also probably end up stealing the antidote from the Empire to help Laia’s people who will definitely be denied access to it.

3 Cinder and Kai from The Lunar Chronicles – Cinder would be working with the scientists on Lunar to come up with an antidote and Kai would be busy trying to keep New Beijing from collapsing into chaos and they would video call each other to talk and destress after their stressful days.

4 Samirah and Alex from the Magnus Chase trilogy – Samirah would use it to catch up on school and do extra work and Alex would spend her days alternating between Netflix and annoying Samirah.

5 Zainab and Adam from Love From A to Z – Adam would be one of the people at higher risk so he would need to stay home and stay safe so Zainab would do things involving needing to go outside and they would spend their time at home relaxing and obviously journaling. Adam would spend some time on his art and Zainab would video call her friends to catch up with them.

So here are my favourite characters in quarantine!

Everyone is welcome to do the tag! If you do the tag do share with me I would love to read it!

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir – Book Review

I actually loved this book even more as a reread than I did when I first read it! I also reread as an audiobook which was amazing!

You can also read my review for An Ember in the Ashes here

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

This story starts where the last book ended with Laia and Elias are trying to escape Blackcliff Academy and Helene has become Blood Shrike and must now hunt them down. In Torch we also get to see Helene’s point of view which was really interesting as through her we get to see what’s happening outside of Laia and Elias trying to save Darin.

I loved the audiobook so much, we have three different narrators for each point of view and they were all so engaging. I highly recommend listening to this series!

This book is quite different to Ember in that we actually explore different parts of the world as Laia and Elias travel to Kauf. In Ember we stay in Serra and a lot of our time is spent in Blackcliff Academy so it was really great to see other parts of the world that Sabaa has created. We saw how different each place is, from climate to who tends to live there and even how they live.

My love for Laia and Elias grew even more in this book, Laia has overcome so much to get to where she is, she is determined and fierce and perseveres through all the difficulties despite being afraid and that shows true courage. She cares deeply and is kind and gentle and knows how to help others when they are struggling. I loved seeing how much she grew in this book. She is torn between Keenan and Elias for different reasons. Her learning to trust her gut and instincts was an important part of her journey and it was great to see her growth. I also loved her friendship with Izzy and how they know each other so well despite not having known each other that long.

Elias my deadly cinnamon roll! He has had everything taken from him and his own mother wants him dead and yet he still fights. He fights for justice, he fights for a better world and for Laia. Despite being trained as a lethal weapon his whole life he still knows that what he has been trained to do is wrong and is haunted by the ghosts in his head of those he was forced to kill including his friends. He spends most of the book close to death and much weaker physically as a result of that and it was interesting seeing him deal with that and adapt because of that. He also spends much of the book half in the world of the dead where he meets the soul catcher and makes a deal that will change his life forever.

I enjoyed seeing Helene’s point of view even though she was annoying at time but I loved seeing how determined and fierce she was and how much harder she had to work being a woman in a world inhabited by men who had little respect for women. She is driven by her need to protect her family and I really felt for her when her family were held hostage to control her. It was interesting to see her thoughts as being with Elias growing up she saw that Laia’s people were treated unjustly and oppressed and that he said it was wrong yet she constantly justifies it. The subtle racism that Sabaa showed through Helene was so well done.

It was also interesting seeing Dax and Faris who were working with Helene and had also been really close to Elias and how they had to put their feelings aside. We were also introduced to Harper who was a spy for the Commandant yet there is more to him than we first see.

The story itself was so interesting and we learn so much about what is happening and why Laia’s people are oppressed and how it happened. We get the history of the world through stories that Laia and Elias tell each other and are told to them. I loved seeing the tribes and Elias’s family before he was taken to Blackcliff. I also loved seeing Darin and learning some more about him.

I am so excited to read Reaper especially as the last book will be out later this year!

Audiobook Recommendations

So last year I really got into audiobooks. I found that I was able to reread my favourite books without having to feel guilty about the unread books on my shelves and wow it was a life changer!

I have loved using audiobooks to read especially as I get motion sickness and cannot look at a book or my phone while travelling and it means I can still read while cooking or working!

So I thought that as it has helped me so much I would share some of my favourite audiobooks.

1 The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty – Obviously this book would be on here! But no seriously guys, the audiobook is absolutely amazing! The narrator does such a great job of sucking you right into the story!

2 Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo – This is a full cast! I loved this audiobook so much!

3 Fight Like a Girl by Clementine Ford – Clementine reads this herself and it is so good. She is witty and sarcastic and it makes it a really fun read listening to her

4 The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon – I really enjoyed rereading the books by listening to them!

5 An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir – There’s a narrator for each point of view character and it makes it such a thrilling read. I’m listening to book 2 at the moment and I am enjoying it even more as an audiobook!

6 PS. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern – Listening to it made me sob even more than when I read it.

7 Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Pérez – Such a powerful book and even more so when you listen to it

8 The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer – It’s even more of a fun read when you listen to the audiobooks!

9 Caraval by Stephanie Garber – I actually enjoyed it more as an audiobook!

10 Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge – This book is such a necessary read and is even more powerful when you listen to it.