A Reaper at the Gates

Title: A Reaper at the Gates

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Year: 2018

Pages: 458

ISBN: 9780008288754
Series: Ember Quarter #3
Genre: Fantasy

Reading Time: 13-17 September

Binding: Hardback

Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb: 

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

The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is being assailed from 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.

In the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as the 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.

Review:

We got left on another cliffhanger only to pick right up again! This series does not let up. You're in for an action packed addition to the series and the ending is simply explosive. Whilst this review will remain spoiler free, I'd recommend only reading once you've finished An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night.

Laia's journey in this book is, if it's possible to believe, bigger and more challenging than any she's experienced before. There are some truly shocking revelations for Laia in this book and I am living for them. She's growing fiercer braver and her name is only growing more famous. She's regained her brother, though he's not the same as he was and that gives her some new hope and focus in the beginning of this book. It's a wild ride for Laia in this one.

Elias really does get the brunt of it. I really like Elias and his journey and the sacrifices he makes in his book are difficult to read. There is so much he has to learn and so much responsibility on his shoulders. His story is really changing from here and I'm pained by it much like he and those who love him are.

Helene is being torn in so many directions she must be dizzy. Marcus is threatening her position and her sister, the Commandant is threatening the Empire, she's supposed to be hunting her former friend and feels utterly alone. She's always a few steps behind, even when she thinks she's ahead and it's frustrating to watch Helene being constantly thwarted. The murder of her family in the last book really broke her.

Marcus and the Commandant are simply fantastic antagonists. A mix of madness, extreme intelligence and strategy yet we're simply unable to guess their next actions. Is it mindless violence or a play for power? The insight into the Nightbringer is simply fantastic and the jinn are an ever growing threat being brought to our attention. He's on the hunt for the last piece of the star, I called what it would be but it was still very well done.

Cook is back and oh. My. God. Yes!

We have a little more world building in this book, but it's largely learning of the magical elements and the waiting place. All in preparation for this next book. Which I am very, very excited for.

A Torch Against the Night

Title: A Torch Against the Night

Author: Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Harper Voyager
Year: 2016
Pages: 454

ISBN: 9780008160340
Series: Ember Quarter #2
Genre: Fantasy

Reading Time: 2 - 22 August

Binding: Hardback

Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb: 

 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 Scholar's 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 end the Scholar slave who helped him escape . . . and kill them both.

Review:

 We are picking up right off the cliffhanger of An Ember in the Ashes, a book I absolutely love! Straight out of the action and into the escape. Laia and Elias don't have a chance to catch their breath as they're hunted out of Blackliff and Serra. Not with Marcus setting bounties for their capture and his new Blood Shrike, Helene set to find them.

 We continue to have Laia and Elias guide us through their narratives in this book and we have Helene's point of view added. It's an eye in to the working of the Empire and what further work is at play whilst Laia and Elia try to hide themselves from the world.

 As we travel with Laia and Elias we experience a wonderful amount of world building, we experience new settings and learn a little more of what was hinted at in the first book. The magical elements of this world still have a lot to reveal and I'm excited to see it all unfold. Our three main characters are impacted by this in different ways and I can only imagine how glorious it's going to be!

 Elias is suffering with the choices he made in the Trials of An Ember in the Ashes and the consequences of the fighting he had to do to get himself and Laia out of Serra. There's a lot of development for Elias in that book. Not in the way of empathy, I feel he had a lot of that in the first book but the journey he goes on is intense and changing in a very different way. No idea what role he's going to play from this point on, it's going to be very interesting.

 Laia is much the same as the first book, perhaps a little more determined to find her brother now she's made her way out of Blackliff. She's gained strength and is exploring more about herself and the world she lives in. She has to take charge of the situation at some points but is generally still getting rescued, that subtly starts to change towards the end of the book and I see so much more to come from her.

 Helene is a point of view that is very interesting to see. Being given this insight in to the Empire and the horrors she suffers at the hand of Marcus and the Commandant whilst there is quite shocking. I have a lot more empathy for her than I did in the first book and I began really rooting for her. She has some fantastic interactions with Cook and a whole new character I'm quite interested in, Harper, is introduced through her narrative. I like him.

 We're in for a few shocks and a quickly developing plot in this one. There's a lot going on in the Empire and without Helene's narrative we wouldn't have a clue so it's a really necessary addition. This is becoming a complex story and there's so much unfolding yet to happen. It's going to be fantastic!

Where Dreams Descend

Title: Where Dreams Descend

Author: Janella Angeles

Publisher: Wednesday Books
Year: 2020
Pages: 447

ISBN: 9781250204356
Series: Kingdom of Cards #1
Genre: YA Fantasy

Reading Time: 27 July - 20 August

Binding: Owlcrate Exclusive Hardback

Goodreads

Stars:
★★☆☆☆

Blurb: 

 In a city covered in ice and ruin, a group of magicians face off in a daring game of magical feats to find the next headliner of the Conquering Circus, only to find themselves under the threat of a unseen danger striking behind the scenes.

 As each act becomes more and more risky and the number of missing magicians piles up, three are forced to reckon with their secrets before the darkness comes for them next.

Review:

 My Owlcrate edition of this book is simply gorgeous. The contents didn't match up to the cover for me.

 I'm still not entirely sure of the setting. We begin in a house hidden in a forest, great start to a fantasy, right? The majority of our story takes place in a cold city that seems to have a life of its own. There's definitely a lot to be explained about it in the future and I wish we'd had just a bit more in this book. Magic is present in this world and would appear to be something you can be born to or try to obtain. That's not explained and we only see a bit of hinting that magic is used for labour as well as entertainment. We're focusing on showmasters and to be perfectly honest I think a more interesting story would follow the labourers. I didn't find the show magic all that impressive, at least not to read about.

 We've got a small range of characters here and three points of view:

 Kallia is our main female lead, a powerful magician with no real understanding of her history or idea of how she's going to maintain any kind of future. She's clueless of the world and everything is stacked against her in this patriarchal and misogynistic setting. But she's feisty and proud and likes to wear all forms of shocking and inappropriate clothing that makes others uncomfortable. I feel like we've heard this story a lot. 

 Demarco is a far more interesting character, powerful and in a position of authority yet very private. There's a lot of mystery surrounding him and it takes so long for use to get information I eventually got a bit bored of him.

 Jack is so shrouded in mystery of a dark nature that he was easily the most entertaining. We didn't get nearly enough of him.

 Other characters include Aaros, the quirky sidekick that is introduced and completely rusted far too quickly. A reporter that reeks of Rita Skeeter, a show presenter that reminds me of Caesar Flickerman, a Mayor that cause me some confusion when he and she was switched between in their first few chapters and a ton of circus troops that are entirely forgettable.

 This book has a good setting and mystery elements plugged for later will be interesting to uncover. But the pacing of this book was so slow I wonder how many books it's going to take. I thought we were in for fast pacing given the opening chapters and then it all slowed right down. Unbearably so, I'd even have preferred the beginning to be drawn out longer.

 All in all, I'm not sure I'll be joining in on the future books.