This one took me a minute to dial into. I didn’t realize this is the same world as Ember in the Ashes quartet. I think if I had, I would have waited to read it since I’d just finished the series last month. I was reluctant to go back, even knowing that my favorite characters were in it still. I’d put them away for now, it felt odd to trot them back out again so soon. (Yes, I realize how unhinged this sounds. They are not real but my brain is just weird, ok?)

We get to see Quil (nee Zacharias) nearly grown here, along with a certain famous duo’s son as one of his best friends. There’s an attack and Quil is sent by Helene to retrieve the only thing capable of stopping it. We also follow two other storylines, Aiz who is looking to find her purpose and her lost god and Sirsha who is tracking a dangerous murderer of children. It’s a tried and true formula for Sabaa Tahir and it does not disappoint. As I said, this one did take a bit to get into, however after the 100 page mark we start to see the threads coming together. The only thing that threw me through a loop was figuring out it wasn’t just character storylines that jump, but it also seems to be timeframes. Reading back, things start to take on a new meaning and I’m completely wrapped back into Tahir’s incredible writing. (I’d be jealous if I didn’t love her books so much!)

That ending though! She got me. Again! And now I have to wait for the sequel to come out. Argh! When will I learn!?