Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: October 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Prepare for the action-packed, ruthless, and romantic new fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author Sabaa Tahir about love, legacy, and vengeance.

An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hot-headed mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her tribe for an unforgiveable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who speaks to the earth, air, and water to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But then, she falls for a charismatic and inconvenient fugitive who keeps getting in her way.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire, nephew of a famed and venerated empress, but he’s loathe to pick up the mantle when his aunt steps down. As the son of the most hated emperor in the history of his people, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir masterfully interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with the burdens of power, the treachery of love and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed. Get ready for a dark and breathless journey that will captivate readers and that may cost these young people their lives―and their hearts. Literally.

Thank you Penguin Teen #penguinteenpartner for the gifted ARC.

I WILL NOT BE THE SAME.

This is one of those books that has altered my brain chemistry. It is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I feel like I won’t even do this review justice because of how phenomenal the entire book is.

I loved being back in this world and I loved getting to see my favorites from An Ember in the Ashes (highly recommend reading that series first!!). I loved all of the new characters. It’s a complex and diverse cast where this is not one weak point. Every single POV was engaging. I slowly devoured this because I wanted to savor it but also needed to know what was going to happen next.

And oh boy were there TWISTS. I was left staring into space multiple times while also flipping pages back and forth to make sure I had grasped what the heck just happened. Sabaa Tahir is an incredible writer and the wait for this book was worth it and more.

Also, ROMANCE. Good heavens it SENT ME. Every little lingering moment and touch and soft glance and heated exchange. It was an effortlessly created slow burn. I am obsessed.

There’s so many moments I would love to highlight that have engraved themselves on my soul. The deep, heart wrenching themes and the small pockets of joy. Handling what life has handed you with the strength to take the next step forward. This is one story that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Overall audience notes:

• NA Fantasy + Romance
• Language: low
• Romance: very vague open/fade to black
• Violence: high
• Content Warnings: loss of life and war themes, torture and kidnapping, weapons of mass destruction

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