A Sky Beyond the Storm

I’ve finally finished this series, and I have more emotions than I know what to do with. This is undoubtedly my favorite book in the series, even though (because?) it broke my heart the most. Sabaa Tahir is not afraid to rip my heart out, stomp on it, and then glue it back together. I respect that but also hate it. (Nothing against Sabaa. She’s great. But also, how dare she??)I read Reaper back in 2018, and looked up a recap of that book before starting this one. It’s a sign of Tahir’s skill that as soon as I started reading, I fell back into the world as if it hadn’t been three years since I did so last. I was sucked into the story immediately, and terrified for all of the characters.Unexpected things I loved: Helene, Helene and Harper’s relationship, Laia and Helene’s friendship. The theme here is that, despite sometimes wishing her chapters didn’t interrupt me reading about Laia and Elias, the girl really grew on me. I have so much respect for her, even if, at times, I was internally shrieking because she was being so dense regarding her love life. Also, her and Laia bonding over how much men suck was the quality content I didn’t know I needed in my life. Such a small thing, but a great one.I knew I loved Laia and Elias, but in between Reaper and Sky, I forgot just how much. They caused me SO MUCH PAIN as I was reading this freaking book, I don’t know how to express it all. The romantic tension between these two and Elias’ tendency to nope out of literally every conversation because he couldn’t handle his own feelings… oh my god. I mean, that specific part of Elias did make me giggle occasionally, but for the most part, I was just internally screeching. When she brought him a mango. When he helped her with her hair. SO MUCH SCREECHING. So help my hopeless romantic heart.Characters aside, the plot was also brilliant. No one ever caught a break. I never knew what was about to happen. Nothing ever felt repetitive, and there were certainly no easy victories. I think Tahir took the story with the jinn in a very clever direction, one I personally didn’t expect. The war certainly didn’t go the way I expected. I was getting closer and closer to the end, and more and more stressed because of how few pages were left and how much was still wrong. I love books that scare me that way. I’m only being a little bit sarcastic. :)As for the ending… So much heartbreak. So much pain. But a surprise came in and sort of saved the day, a little bit, so not everything was awful. The last couple of chapters actually had quite a few happy moments, including for Laia and Elias, and if not for the fact that it was after 2 in the morning and I share a small apartment with my family and didn’t want to wake anyone up, who knows how loudly I would’ve squealed. Internally, I was squealing very loudly. The last couple of pages fixed my broken heart with their Elaia content. I’m choosing to focus on that more than… other things.This review is a mess because I finished the book at nearly 3 in the morning and now it’s 4 a.m. and I’m also a mess. But it’s definitely honest, and even though I seriously did ramble, it got my point across. I loved this book so much, despite the emotional turmoil I experienced while reading. Like I said, it’s my favorite in the series, followed by Torch, then Reaper, then Ember. I think. It’s been a hot minute since I read the first three, but anyway. The whole series is spectacular, and I can’t wait to read more from Sabaa Tahir. 🖤Representation-protagonist, love interest, and side characters of colorContent Warning: blood/gore, body horror, violence, death/murder, war, genocide, grief, sexism, mentions of parent/family death and slavery

Me encantó este libro, creo que fue el final perfecto para una serie increíble. Ojalá se animara alguna editorial a terminar esta serie

Encadernação maravilhosa!

I loved this series, couldn’t put it down. This last book was a little convoluted but satisfying ending.

Excelente libro, idioma ingles, pasta dura con sobrecubierta.