blurrypetals

[blurrypetals]

Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater - blurrypetals review

originally posted apr. 7, 2025 - ★★★★☆

 had really hoped I would like this last book at least as much as my least favorite book from The Raven Cycle, which is The Dream Thieves, but it is perhaps since this trilogy is basically spun off from my least favorite book in the original series that this trilogy was simply destined not to live up to the original series ultimately.

That said, there was plenty to love about this book, even if there were things I didn't love about it. I loved Declan's arc and texted my friend multiple times about how sorry I am about all the nasty things I've said and thought about him over the years. I loved getting to know him better these last 2 books and I can't believe how much I've learned to love him these last couple of days after years of thinking him nothing but Ronan's asshole older brother.

I also loved that we got more time with Matthew and Adam here, even if it still didn't feel like enough time, at least it felt like something now that Adam and Ronan at least weren't fighting all the goddamn time.

Some of the flaws were the pacing, while markedly faster than Mister Impossible or what I remember of Call Down the Hawk, was still a little slow, and it felt like Mór came out of fucking nowhere to be threatening and give Declan all her and Niall's worst memories and add basically nothing else to the story beyond this. I really wish those memories had come to Declan in a different way. I understand the function of her and the new Fenian in the story, but it's just a lot on top of a story that is already stuffed to the brim.

I considered rating this a 5/5 because of the butterflies its epilogue gave me, but in the end, I think that's why I can't rate it 5/5: it reminded me how good Stiefvater could be, how good these 3 books could have been.

At the end of the day, this really made me just want to reread The Raven Cycle, and that can't be a bad thing at all, but I just wish this had been included with my all time favorite series. Instead it's a not-as-good cousin to it all, but I'm glad I finally finished it up after all this time.

[blurrypetals]

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater - blurrypetals review

originally posted apr. 5, 2025 - ★★★★☆

Call Down the Hawk was one of the most disappointing 3-star reads of my life. You may know The Raven Cycle is a very important series to me, my favorite completed series, so expectations were high for this spinoff series. So high, in fact, that when Call Down the Hawk didn't meet them, I didn't deign to continue this spinoff trilogy...

...until now.

I bonded with one of my best friends over The Raven Cycle and they felt the same way about Call Down the Hawk as I did. However, last year, my friend finally read these final two books in the trilogy last year and urged me to give them a try, so here we finally are, nearly 4 years after the release of this book.

And I have to admit, this is loads more enjoyable than what I remember of Call Down the Hawk, but it's also not quite as good as The Raven Cycle itself. The characters I didn't care about in the first book, Hennessy, Jordan, Farooq-Lane, etc. were all a lot more interesting and/or likable than they were before (I say and/or because Hennessy really wasn't very likable, but she was interesting) and it felt like we got more time with old characters like the Lynch brothers. I still wish we'd gotten more Adam, but I do understand his general absence is in service of the story.

I also enjoyed the clearer stakes as opposed to the muddy confusion I remember experiencing with the previous book. The looming apocalypse, the issues Ronan has communicating, the issues Hennessy has communicating...all these people failing to communicate, it really makes the emotional stakes crystal clear.

The introduction of sweetmetals really changed things up in a fun and interesting way as well, throwing a nice monkey wrench in the lore Stiefvater crafted so many years ago and making it feel fresh and new all over again. The same goes for the things that did and didn't fall asleep at the end of the novel, the grand reveal of what all is a dream and what isn't.

While I still didn't enjoy this as much as the books in The Raven Cycle, this is at least a marked improvement over what little I remember of Call Down the Hawk. I'm eager to see how this all wraps up in Greywaren! Onward!

[blurrypetals]

Pageboy by Elliot Page

originally posted apr. 2, 2025 - ★★☆☆☆

 love Elliot Page. I've loved him ever since I first saw him in Juno back in 2007, and I still love him even though I very unfortunately just DNF'd his memoir.

This DNF very much comes down to writing style. The way Page moves between different ages was extremely discordant, didn't seem to have much rhyme or reason to the way we jumped between different times and he would also drop names in the narrative like I was at all supposed to know who they were.

Page has also been through a lot and details as much in the text very thoroughly, sometimes too thoroughly for my taste. The graphic depictions of the many sexual assaults Page has lived through was just too much for me, as was the detailed manner in which he'd describe other sexual moments. I've just personally not encountered that level of detail in a memoir before and it rubbed me the wrong way.

On top of all of this, it was also pretty boring. I felt like the things that were happening merited more emotion in the prose, more introspection, but instead we'd breeze through quickly and without much weight. I really wanted to feel like I got to know Page better through this and in the end, I don't think I did.

That all being said, as much as I love hearing stories from diverse voices, in the end, the story of a trans man's life is not told for me. It's for those who might be struggling just like him, and I hope it resonates well with those it's meant for! What I think doesn't matter at the end of the day!

[blurrypetals]

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 31, 2025 - ★★☆☆☆

A friend of mine told our friend group about this story because our friend group has about a half-dozen ex-Mormons in it, one of whom is my husband, and this has a Mormon for a main character and that main character goes to hell.

It's that logline that made me interested in reading this, but I think it's one of the reasons why I didn't end up enjoying this story; it didn't have hardly anything to do with Mormonism, not specifically. It's just about that all the religions are wrong, including but not limited to Mormonism.

Despite how short this is, it really lacks a lot of focus. It also didn't help that the audio of this that I listened to was a gal on Spotify who was really not talented, did no editing, reacted to the book in real-time, stumbled over words and constantly mispronounced things. It was really rough and definitely hurt my experience with the story...but at least it was free?

This had a lot of ideas I really enjoyed the concept of and I think it started off fairly strong, but the longer he was in hell, the longer it felt like I had been in hell, too. It just didn't feel like it went anywhere by the end, nor had it effected me much. Horrifying, it was not.

[blurrypetals]

The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 31, 2025 - ★★★☆☆

So, ya girl thought this was a novel this whole month since I found out about it and, now that I've read it, I kinda wish it had been a whole book. I think I'd have liked it more if it had a chance to really stretch out its irradiated wings.

That said, while I would have liked it more if it had been longer, I did enjoy what we got here for what it was. I think Harrow's writing style is very ethereal, very dreamy, and it lent itself well to the post-apocalyptic landscape of the novel. I enjoyed the lore that had built up in the amount of time since the apocalypse as well with how these villages and their people work.

I really enjoyed the concepts of this, I just wish there had been more to sink my teeth into. Guess I'll have to make my way into Harrow's back catalogue instead!

[blurrypetals]

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 29, 2025 - ★★★☆☆

I read The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez back in 2019 and wasn't impressed with it at all. I remember having a hard time digging into a narrative where having children was a major crux of the story and, even though I hadn't decided yet to be child free, as that's a decision I wouldn't come to make until my husband and I had been dating about a year.

I remember really not liking that book because the main character miraculously got pregnant at the end and everything was happily ever after despite that being what the whole book was about. I like it even less now that I've decided to be child free.

But, The Friend Zone aside, I've heard so many good things about Jimenez's writing the last few years that I began to be interested in giving her work another shot and, after watching a recent video by Cari Can Read, this became the one I was going to try out.

And, honestly, I really enjoyed it! To a point. I loved Jacob and Briana's chemistry, the way they built up their relationship, and both of their families. I think Jacob's family particularly could easily have been really annoying, gimmicky, and/or unbearable, but they strike that perfect balance where they're quirky and sweet.

I'm really a fan of of the fake dating trope, and it felt like a treat because I didn't think it was going to include the trope when I first started. It didn't end up being anything terribly special in that department, especially because the miscommunication between the characters about their feelings. That said, it was fun and charming enough I didn't mind that stuff.

I was even pretty chuffed by the fact that that Briana mentioned she didn't want kids. As someone who's decided to be child free, it always feels like just about every hetero romance I read ends with marriage and 1-3 kids, so it felt refreshing that she didn't wa—what's that, now? She ends up pregnant at the end? And they get married like a year into their relationship even though Breana asked to take things slow? Jesus H. Christ what a terrible turn of events!

I certainly shouldn't have expected better from the lady who wrote The Friend Zone, but man I really am disappointed at this turn. It's nowhere near as bad as that book's surprise pregnancy, but it still happened to a woman who had decided to be child free, and that's a huge bummer, man.

While I enjoyed a good deal of the book, I couldn't deign to give it the 4 stars I was originally going to give it with how that ending went. Despite the enjoyable characters, the easy, charming dialogue, the way everything played out at the end of it all left a sour taste in my mouth. I really wish marriage and kids wasn't just the default ending for hetero romances and having that be here in this book shaved an entire star off the rating of an otherwise enjoyable book and made me never really want to read Abby Jimenez ever again if this is how she's going to wield pregnancy and parenthood as a plot device. No thanks.

[blurrypetals]

The Golden Raven by Nora Sakavic - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 28, 2025 - ★★★★★

[this review contains untagged spoilers]

I began this review at first by starting to say, "my god, Nora,", but then I decided to reread my review for The Sunshine Court and I started that review basically the exact same way. I also know my other 15 reviews for the first three books on the series have varying degrees of oh my gods scattered throughout.

I simply cannot overstate how happy I am that these new All for the Game books exist. I think the first trilogy is, honestly, basically perfect. That said, it is brutal to read. It is like shattered glass in the palms: agony, then the balm of removal with the promise of healing in the future.

This trilogy, so far, at least, by contrast, is a gentle, beautiful sunflower: turning toward the light, opening up to warmth, healing.

I don't know if I have the words for how much I adored this book, the way Jean begins opening up to Jeremy, Cat, and Laila, trusting and beginning to like his teammates. Realizing he doesn't want to hurt people in effort to make them better, that he enjoys fireworks, that brown is his favorite color, that he can trust Rhemann implicitly...god, does Sakavic know how to write rewarding growth and relationships.

And the reason these relationships pay off so well is because we finally learn in this book what Jeremy and Jean have been through, things we didn't know about them in books previous, and now that we know their pasts, it just makes their kind hearts all the more rewarding.

The family our four main characters form together is, hands down, a top 5 favorite chosen families of all time. The way they all take care of one another, the love these 3 golden retrievers surround their traumatized black cat with, the pain they all feel losing the home they all built together...I definitely cried more over this book than any other All for the Game book.

And a lot of those tears were shed not only because of the house fire, Jeremy's past addiction and his brother's death, the multiple attacks Jean survived, both past and present, or the attempt on Andrew and Neil's lives at their match with the Ravens, but also because of Rhemann defending Jean, Jean admitting he deserves to get better, Cat, Laila, and Jean sleeping over at Jeremy's house, Jean playing a good, clean game with his new teammates...I could go on.

I loved getting to see the Foxes more in this than we did in The Sunshine Court, of course. The news story Jeremy watches after Neil and Andrew's injuries was an absolute riot. I'm glad we got to see Thea there again, too. I really would love to get to see more of her and Kevin together. Their relationship is so interesting to me! Give me a little more, Nora!

On top of that, it was great getting to know more of the Trojans as well. I felt like we got a small taste of just the floozies in The Sunshine Court, but here we get to actually know so many of them, floozies or not, and watch Jean form bonds with them even without Jeremy, Cat, or Laila facilitating it.

I was also so glad to get some Exy in this one! Obviously we got a little bit of practice here and there in the last book, but getting a full match really hit the spot, even if it was followed by one of the most brutal scenes in the whole series.

This has major potential to be my favorite book of the series, competing closely with The King's Men, which has the edge by virtue of being a finale and because I've read it 4 more times than I've read this book. I have a feeling, though, that the next book might take the cake.

Sakavic's writing has only gotten better, not that it needed improving upon in the first place. I can't properly express how much I love and care for these characters. I want the absolute best for them all and I'm terrified for the pain that lies ahead, but I know there will be peace when all is said and done...at least there better be!

[blurrypetals]

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 24, 2025 - ★★★★★

[This review may contain spoilers for the entire Hunger Games series as well as this new book]

"We already saw Haymitch's games in Catching Fire. I just don't know how it could possibly be surprising or new to get a whole book about it." - some dummy called Sara, probably

But sincerely, I really didn't know how Suzanne Collins was going to make this as exciting and great as the original trilogy and, especially since I didn't like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I was worried Collins could have lost her touch and I wasn't going to find much to love about this.

And boy, I'm so glad when I'm wrong like this.

Immediately in the first chapter, I didn't anticipate getting to see more of District 12, getting to see glimpses of Katniss and Peeta's parents long before they were twinkles in their fathers' eyes, youthful and friendly, relatively trauma-free. The same can be said of an utterly lovesick young Haymitch, getting to see him living his life for a day, seeing him so relaxed about his birthday and Reaping Day the way a teen in Panem absolutely should not be really tells a lot about his personality as a young person right off the bat.

I also really enjoyed seeing characters like Mags, Wiress, Beetee, and Effie in this. Unlike Ballad's dumb weird references to the original trilogy, this feels like a natural way to involve characters from the original trilogy. Like, of course former winners would be there. That's how the games go!

I think this book also recaptured the good pacing I loved the original trilogy so much for, but it's still a little slower, striking a balance I felt Ballad was sorely missing. It's what I was really hoping Ballad would be like, with Haymitch not only working to survive the games in general, but also having this secondary mission he must keep secret from his closest allies to try to keep them safe. I love the layers this adds to the story.

And speaking of which, I can't believe I thought we'd gotten the whole story just because we saw the recap tape of Haymitch's games in Catching Fire. Of course they would be a heavily-edited mess that is not at all indicative of what happened in the arena! It's such a great play on Collins' part, and I love how timely this feels as well with how easy it is to alter facts to suit a narrative these days.

The last part of this book was also suitably heartbreaking, almost moving me to tears, both sad ones for the final chapter as well as hopeful ones for the epilogue.

This was an excellent return to form for Collins and it was not what I was expecting it to be, in the best way. The writing is Collins' best on a technical level, the characters are all so loveable, which makes watching some of them die extra heartbreaking, whether you know they're going to die or not. Sometimes you think you know how a prequel is going to go, and other times you get ones like this that surprise you in the best ways.

I know I'd love to see Suzanne Collins work on something unrelated to The Hunger Games next, but if she keeps writing related stories like this, I know I'd be a happy camper about that, too.

[blurrypetals]

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 18, 2025 - ★★☆☆☆

[read for my book club, Prose and Cons]

I'm sure my book club is going to start to wonder if I'm capable of rating the things they suggest any higher than a 2 or a 3! I promise I think my friends have good taste in literature!

I know a big reason why this book suffered was because I was trying to squeeze it in both before starting Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins as well as before our book club meeting on Thursday.

I think the worldbuilding started off pretty strong and interesting, but as time went on and Maren explained less and less of the things she was experiencing, basically treating the reader like they already knew basically everything about the world, I got more and more lost.

I also felt like the start of the book set up Maren's relationship and past with Kaia fairly well, but I never felt very well how Maren missed Kaia, how her absence affected Maren, but instead it doesn't seem to affect Maren so deeply.

This had potential but I just couldn't dig into it. I wish I'd liked it more! I think it could have been something great with more development.

[blurrypetals]

Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 15, 2025 - ★★☆☆☆

I was gonna rate this 3 stars as just an overall "meh" experience, but the special thanks to H.D. Carlton in the acknowledgements and the fact that Fionn goes down on Rose with cotton candy in his mouth, giving me the biggest ick I ever icked brought his down at least a full star, so we'll see how much further this rating can drop before the review's end.

Butcher & Blackbird was a fun enough experience. Absolutely a guilty pleasure, but the banter and insanity added by the serial killer angle made it worthwhile, so even though I didn't enjoy and barely remember Leather & Lark, I was willing to give this book a shot because of how much fun I had with the first book.

I did end up liking this slightly more than Leather & Lark at the end of the day, but it couldn't possibly reach the level of charm Butcher & Blackbird, which in and of itself wasn't great, just fun enough for me to look past its many flaws.

This, by contrast is even more paint-by-numbers than its predecessors, predictable not only because of its formula, but also because we see events depicted in past books as much as over halfway into this book. Like, do you really think I'm not going to remember how the last two books went? Good hell.

I did think this at least dialed up the insanity from the previous book and, while I didn't measure up to the first book, everything involving the raccoon was awesome and the murders were very silly, but Fionn and Rose's relationship was far too typical to get me at all invested, and even the murders, while entertaining, didn't seem to tell their story, feeling very tacked-on and forced.

I'm definitely going to leave Brynne Weaver's work said and done here. Butcher & Blackbird was clearly just a fluke for me and that's okay. Whatever she was teasing in the (second??? why are there two???) epilogue is not something I'll be partaking in, thank you very much.

And, normally this is something that might go in an unrelated addendum, but it really was disappointing to hear that special thanks to H.D. Carlton in the acknowledgements. She also thanks Santana Knox in this same breath, but I'm not familiar with her or her books. I am, however, unfortunately acquainted with Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline thanks to Natalie Meagan of Weirdo Book Club's hilarious reviews of them. I have no respect for Carlton as a writer or really even as a person and to hear that Weaver associates with her really tarnishes my opinion of Weaver, whatever good faith she might have had left.

As an actual addendum: I told my husband about the cotton candy scene because I was so horrified someone would mouth sugar into/onto someone else's vagina, I had to pass the curse of knowledge along to someone else. The poor guy just stared off into space, utterly horrified by the idea of Rose's impending urinary and/or yeast infection(s), so I proceeded to tell him about some of Weaver's other crimes. When I was through, he grabbed up his computer determinedly, exclaiming, "Who is this person!?" to Google her name to make sure this was all really in a real book, I was not just fucking with him. Poor guy, I don't deserve him.

[blurrypetals]

The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 14, 2025 - ★★☆☆☆

While I very much enjoyed this book's worldbuilding, as time went on it just kept losing me more and more. I think I made it around 42% into this before deciding it wasn't going anywhere quickly enough to keep me on the hook.

I do think this had a really strong beginning act. I loved the setup of the times Hellevir met Death early in her life leading up to the main story and the setup of the cost of bringing someone back from the dead. I also thought the riddles and quests for treasures for Death was a very interesting concept.

I was also pretty stoked to find this was sapphic, but, at the point where things started to build in that area, I had already lost almost any interest in the story going on around it.

Because, despite all the promise this initially showed, I simply was not interested in Sullivain, whom the entire plot of the novel—both romantic and otherwise—hinges on, and I was even less interested in the life at court and Hellevir reconnecting with her brother.

At the end of the day, this book struggled with pacing. I think if it had been much shorter, it would have been much better, and it might have made room for the characters to pull more weight rather than just the world they're in. I might have finished this book if I'd had more patience, but this time around, it couldn't keep me around for the long run.

[blurrypetals]

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'Neal - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 12, 2025 - ★☆☆☆☆

Man, I'm really disappointed I didn't at least like this book! I'm disabled myself and, when I asked for recommendations for books with characters who have similar ailments to mine, this one stood out to me as a fun-sounding book.

Firstly, I really didn't care for the endless amount of time we spent in the Discord chat. It was made far worse by the fact that I was listening on audiobook and, to indicate each different person every goddamn time they said something. Every time Brigid said something, it was, "Brigid/bigforkhands" all read aloud. Why did we not shorten it down to just their first names every time? It didn't stop there, either. Every keyboard smash was her literally just reading out the letters, and same with any images or links that were shared.

I also felt like the characters in the Discord chat were all a little...typical? I was really excited when a character with fibromyalgia was introduced, but I feel like we didn't get to know her at all beyond her disability, and that's basically true of all the chatroom folks that aren't Brigid or Priya. It just didn't feel like they added anything to the story at all. The way they all sound off how perfectly well all of their lives were going at the very end were all wildly unrealistic, too: one character getting a diagnosis, another getting the surgery they've been seeking the whole novel, others getting total emotional fulfillment...it's ridiculous.

Another major issue I had with this book was...Brigid sucked. She was a really bad friend to Priya and was really annoying with how she'd undercut any serious moment by being a complete brat. It is at least a somewhat more realistic portrayal of a chronic illness than the rest of the Discord group, but I find it a little insulting that she applied these more negative traits to a non-existent illness, as if O'Neal was afraid to give any people with real disabilities any flaws.

I also was really disappointed that, despite the saccharine happy ending we get with all the other minor characters, we don't hear anything about Spencer in the epilogue. He was probably my favorite character and it sort of made me sad he wasn't on the road trip with Priya and Brigid.

I see many people calling this book racist in other reviews and, while I can't speak to whether or not the text itself is racist, I do think it's funny how many people hated the cover so much without even realizing the white girl is the werewolf, not the Tamil girl. If you still find it racist after knowing that, more power to you, but I just wanted to point that out.

This all being said, I found this book to be really disappointing and didn't represent my experience as a disabled person hardly at all. Like, maybe it captured the medical side of it, but that isn't all that comes with being disabled or chronically ill. While it is certainly a big part of it, I wish we'd seen more than just that.

On top of that, most of the characters were insufferable, unrealistic, or both. I wish I'd been able to identify with this more, be it from a disabled perspective or not. This one kinda hurts, almost more than my body does.

[blurrypetals]

Fangs by Sarah Andersen - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 9, 2025 - ★★★★☆

I've had this on my shelf for ages, so today was finally the day I got it out and read it! I have two of my best friends over for a readathon and this was my first book of the day!

I've always been a fan of Andersen's humor and art style and, while this book's art style is totally different from the usual slice of life fare that are her Sarah's Scribbles comics, the humor is still very much here with this, and the art style is so cute and simple, it works so well.

I just adored the way Elsie and Jimmy would look at one another. Something about the way they were illustrated so perfectly conveyed how much they cared for each other. On top if it, there were many charming, cute jokes that genuinely made me grin or chuckle.

This was a fun, quick read that beautifully kicked off our readers' retreat for me!

[blurrypetals]

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli - blurrypetals review

originally posted mar. 4, 2025 - ★★★★☆

I said this in my review for the first book, Heartless Hunter, but it is so refreshing to get to read a book that's billed as enemies to lovers that's actually about a pair of lovers who are well and truly enemies who are constantly plotting how best to double cross one another.

And despite the things these enemies to go through—and they do go through a lot—they do truly fall in love, and it's rewarding because they actually build something together. They learn and grow, work past the betrayals they went through in the first novel, to overcome the vicious internal biases they both have against one another.

The only issue I really have is that the fantasy elements just didn't get fleshed out the way I wanted them to from that first book. I love the way the blood magic works, but beyond that, I just wish there had been more. Like, I enjoy that they played with the concepts of higher deities, but I wish more had been done with it. I do kind of hope Ciccarelli writes more in this universe just to expand on this interesting but ultimately two-dimensional concepts.

That all said, I really enjoyed this book, and there were parts of it that nearly made it a 5-star read. I think I did enjoy it more than the first book, too. Even if it did still feel a little cliché, it did push its boundaries just a little more than its predecessor, and it really nailed the romance. Definitely a fun duology and I'm excited to see what Ciccarelli writes next!

[blurrypetals]

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan - blurrypetals review

originally posted feb. 28, 2025 - ★★☆☆☆

Man, I thought the premise of this sounded so fun, it seemed like it would be so easily up my alley, but instead it was extremely cliché and a really shabby attempt at enemies to lovers.

There's a misunderstanding that occurs early in the book that was really frustrating, just super forced and silly, an unbelievably dumb way to get our characters to dislike each other quickly after getting them to kiss in an equally forced manner.

I got about 30% of the way in before deciding wherever this was headed just was not worth my time. Thank you, next please.

[blurrypetals]

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir - blurrypetals review

originally posted feb. 28, 2025 - ★★★★★

This review contains untagged spoilers.

There is little more for me to say about this series than what I have already said in my previous reviews, but I'll try!

While I still wish the pacing was even just a little bit faster in these books, everything else is still absolutely top notch. Tahir's writing style is absolutely gorgeous and her main characters are lovable, interesting, three dimensional in every possible way but literally, and the world she's built around it all is so rich and enveloping.

I think one thing I've failed to touch on much in my previous reviews is how well Tahir captures loss in this series, particularly in characters like Laia, who lost everyone but her mother, and Helene, who lost everyone but her nephew. I literally said, "Oh no," aloud when Livia was killed, then said it again when Harper was killed when

And man, speaking of her death, the villain that was Keris Veturia was truly one of the most absolutely loathsome, vile, despicable book villains I've read in a long while. The things she says and does make her so absolutely disgusting a person that you root for the protagonists to stop her by any means necessary.

This series was wonderful and, even though I had my own slight issues with the pacing, I still had an incredible time with these books. I'll definitely need a little break to decompress and process before reading Heir, but it's definitely on my library holds and I'll be enjoying it as soon as I feel up for it! Until then, I'm so glad to leave the series to sit and ruminate for a little while!

[blurrypetals]

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir - blurrypetals review

originally posted feb. 25, 2025 - ★★★★★

I'm still in awe of Tahir's mastery of The Big Reveal. While I still feel her pacing is too slow for my personal liking. It is not poor pacing by any means, but I know if things moved even just 10% faster in these books, they'd be all-time favorites.

That being said, they're still pretty fantastic books. The world Tahir has built around these A+ characters is so rich and full. I'm genuinely envious from a writing standpoint that she's this good at these elements. So much goes into it all, I can't imagine the brainstorming and intricacies that it took to get here.

And like I said, the reveals are just so damn good. The amount of gasp-worthy reveals and turns in this series so far has to be in the double digits at the very least by now. Again, I can't imagine how much brain power went into building this story and all the moving parts that make it up.

I'm really excited to see how the whole series wraps up! I'm sure there's plenty more gasp-worthy moments to come!