The Burning God

Title: The Burning God
Author: R.F. Kuang

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Year: 2020
Pages: 617
Series: The Poppy War #3
Genre: Fantasy

Reading Time: 9 - 30 Jan

Binding: Illumicrate Exclusive Hardback

ISBN: 9780008239855
Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb:

 After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead.

 Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much - the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges - and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realises that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.

 Backed by the masses and her Southern Army, Rin will use every weapon to defeat the Dragon Republic, the colonizing Hesperians, and all who threaten the shamanic arts and their practitioners.

 As her power and influence grows, will she be strong enough to resist the Phoenix's voice, urging her to burn the world and everything in it?

Review:

 Devastating. Beautiful. What an end to this brutal trilogy.

 There are a wide range of emotions to experience throughout this book. As much as this book has been a trilogy, I also feel this particular book came in three parts. I will try to review the different sections as I viewed them whilst giving minimal spoilers.

 In the opening of the book we learn about the setting Rin is now in after the betrayal she experienced at the end of The Dragon Republic. She's returning to her roots and fighting for the south. She has work to do to gain the trust of those she was previously fighting against and to gain the role of leadership she requires to lead the army. We meet quite a few new characters in this part and they all have important roles to play by the end of the book. I didn't expect anything of what happened to a single one of them. Some are younger and impressionable characters, others have their own agendas but all I feel are equally important.

 The second part of the book has been building since the first instalment of the series. Rin's idea to turn the tide of the war is insane but the exact act I'd been waiting for! It's also a part of the book that drags quite a bit and the conclusion is . . . disappointing. I really hoped we'd see more and it makes me feel the whole thing could have been left alone and shortened the book considerably. (I'm still rating this as a five star read, I just wish this element of the book had been different.)

The final part of the book, the conclusion. It's as action packed as the first part and more devastating than Golyn Niis, really fantastic and I couldn't really tell where we were going to end up until a few pages before the end.

 You know the characters well enough by now. Rin is our warrior and she is so . . . bloodthirsty as this book opens. I'm glad she's going back to fight for the south where she grew up but you can tell from the opening of this book that she's changed after what Nezha has done to her and what she saw of the death of the Cike (what a way to end that second book). Kitay knows it too and I feel this builds well through the book. We have, after all, always been told how unorderly the Speerlies could be. Venka continues to be a strong secondary character and I'm glad she's made it to this final book. I'm annoyed that we get fairly little of Nezha in this book. Everything he is in is fantastic, that only makes me want more of his presence!

 We have some other characters returning from previous book and I've mentioned above there are some new players. One thing I notices as I went is that the most impactful deaths were ones of newer characters and deaths of characters we know (you know they can't all survive) were really quite sudden and moved on from quickly. It bugged me a little. That last chapter. . . Just woah. Brilliant.

 This was a beautiful setting to read in and I truly hope we get some further material, I'd recommend looking up The Drowning Faith once you're finished, it's a collection of short stories from Nezha's point of view (again, I only wish there was more of it).

 I just. . . I can't prepare you for this. If you've made it this far through the series you know there will be pain in this book. It's worth it.

The Iron King

Title: The Iron King

Publisher: Harper Voyager
Author: Julie Kagawa
Year: 2010

Pages: 363
ISBN: 9780778304340
Series: The Iron Fey #1
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Reading Time: 3-8 Jan
Binding: Library Paperback
Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb: 

 Meghan Chase has a secret destiny - one she could never have imagined...
 Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fitted in at school...or at home.

 When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar and her little brother is taken, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

 She could never have guessed the truth. Meghan is the daughter of a faery king and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will have to choose between a normal life and her magical destiny - and between her best friend and a darkly dangerous prince.

 It's time for Meghan to enter the faery world...

Review:

 This is real raw YA writing for me after reading slightly more adult fantasy for a little while but I know that if I'd read this as a younger teen I would have LOVED this book. It gets five stars as a result, I'm trying to ensure I give it the rating it would have got if I read it at the intended age. I see a lot of people comparing this to The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and saying this is just a more juvenile version. I can completely agree but I already thought The Cruel Prince was on the young side, I don't quite know why so many adults love it. If you enjoyed The Cruel Prince you're likely to enjoy this.
 The writing flags itself as more juvenile, generally in how Meg goes about actions and generally thinks of the world around her. She's a pretty simple teen, obsessed by boys and inexperienced in the subject so any scene where you get this content just reads really young. Other than that it's all fine, nothing I find much more 'juvenile' than the hordes of other YA fantasy coming out at this time.

 The world building is fairly typical of any faery series, the faery world is hidden alongside the humans and spattered within the human world as well, hidden to those without the eyes for it. Something I don't think I've experienced before is the whole element that imagination is what keeps the faery side of the world alive. The ideas and stories in history, taking inspiration from Shakespeare to create characters, was all a really nice idea. It's also a great way to bring alive the whole Iron Fey concept, I was impressed!

 Meg is a fairly normal character, I haven't really thought about whether I like her or not because that's not something I typically think about with a main character who we have no choice but to follow in the series. Any character that's oblivious to their own world is a little irritating but it can usually be forgiven in the first book. Puck is a great best friend, fantastic history and humour and I hope he sticks around for the long run. Ash, our dark romantic interest. Never too young for that kind of character! The kings and queens of faery I'm sure I will see much more manipulation from as we got a small example of in this book...

 As I understand this is quite a long series, I've got my Fairyloot set on the way later this year but there are some other side books that I'm going to have to dig out by themselves. Totally in for it!

A Sky Beyond the Storm

Title: A Sky Beyond the Storm
Author: Sabaa Tahir

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Year: 2019

Pages: 516

ISBN: 2928377048181
Series: Ember Quarter #4
Genre: Fantasy

Reading Time: Dec 19 -3 January 20

Binding: Signed Waterstones Hardback

Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb: 

 The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.
 At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any an all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.
 Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determines to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory - or to an unimaginable doom.
 And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul catcher seeks only to forget the life - and love - he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save - or destroy - all that he knows.

Reviews:

 Sabaa Tahir has done it again but this time it's the last in the series so there's an extra pang of pain knowing it's the last time we'll be seeing these magnificent characters. Many tied up ends so don't worry about too many remaining questions following the ending of this fantastic series!
 Picking up from A Reaper at the Gates there's a small time jump, our characters have been hard at work planning and executing those plans for their respective goals. We see a few points of view in this book just as we did in the preceding books, I don't mind the chopping and changing as it means there don't seem to be any slow points in the book, something interesting is always going on.
 Laia has come so far in this series, she's got the hope of so many people on her soldiers. She's still holding out on her love for Elias whilst she focuses on her mission, bringing down the Nightbringer. We're given some answers to her elusive powers in this book and it answers and brings up so many questions. It's an interesting additional element to her part in this book and ties in why she's so important in the Nightbringer's long story.
 Elias has certainly taken a turn from where it looked as if his character would be going in the first book. Certainly, at the beginning of this novel he is The Soul Catcher and does not even remember his name when we pick up his story in this book. But it turns out there are more characters than just Laia that see the value of reminding Elias of who he is and watching how this unfolds for Elias is truly fantastic. It's frustrating, for sure but there is a satisfying ending here. Surprising but definitely satisfying, it's one of those loose ends I mentioned earlier.

 Helene, well. Helene is a character I didn't quite allow myself to like until this book. By the end I can't deny she's fantastic.

 As for other characters, be prepared. The rest of this series should give you an inkling that some of your favourite side characters may not survive until the end and make no mistake that some of them are heart-wrenching.

 I've got to be frank, there's not much I can write without total spoilers. If you've made your way through the series, finish it. It's worth it to get the answers.