Eelyn, a young warrior of the Aska clan with fire in her blood, faces her worst enemies and her worst fears in Sky in the Deep. Action-packed from the first page, Sky in the Deep had me hooked. Spending the winter in an enemy camp Eelyn has to reevaluate what family, loyalty, and honor mean to her. Strong, brave, and fierce, Eelyn is a courageous warrior who learns not only how to fight and survive, but how to love and change. Eelyn is a refreshing character, with a strong sense of self, who had me rooting for her from the first page

If you’re not into Young Adult books (you’re missing out), but okay, I get it. However, this is a series you should seriously consider taking the time to read. Written by Sabaa Tahir, A Reaper at the Gates is the third book out of a quartet, preceded by An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night. A brief summary of the series: It follows three main characters: Laia, a Scholar; Elias, a mask (elite and ruthless warrior trained by the empire) turned Soul Catcher (mystical ghost stuff?); and Helene, a mask turned Blood Shrike (right hand of the emperor). In the Empire, the Martials are the ruling class, led by the emperor who has an army of “auxes” and the Masks who wear silver masks and train for twenty years to be elite and ruthless servants of the empire. The Martials rule over the Scholars, who are native to the land, and enslave many of them. Laia is a scholar who infiltrates Blackcliff, the military academy where the Masks are trained, as part of a resistance effort against the Martials. Elias deserts, while Helene continues to serve the empire out of her sense of duty and love for the people, though she also struggles with the actions of the Empire. There’s a lot that happens in these books, but that’s the gist of it. Here’s the B&N synopsis of ARATG:
“Beyond the Martial Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.
Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike, is desperate to protect her sister’s life and the lives of everyone in the Empire. But she knows that danger lurks on all sides: Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable and violent, while Keris Veturia, the ruthless Commandant, capitalizes on the Emperor’s volatility to grow her own power–regardless of the carnage she leaves in her path.
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 in the hunt to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would help her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she’d have to fight.
And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that demands his complete surrender–even if that means abandoning the woman he loves.”
*potential minor spoilers ahead* Laia’s story and the story of the Scholars is why I say this book is worth the read. The Scholars, since their fallout with the jinn a looong time ago (magic stuff) and eventual downfall to the Martials, have been downtrodden and enslaved. In the Empire, they are second-class. In Marinn, they are living in refugee camps outside of the city. Everywhere they go, they are looked down upon as lesser. Throughout all of the books, Laia struggles to watch her people treated this way. She hurts because they are treated as so much less than they are, and in ARATG they are being specifically targeted and killed – one difficult topic Tahir tackles is genocide – as Keris systematically attempts to wipe out the Scholars. One paragraph from Laia’s POV as she witnesses the refugee camps outside Marinn stood out to me:
“Why is it always us? All of these people – so many children – hunted and abused and tormented. Families stolen, lives shattered. They come all this way to be rejected yet again, sent outside the city walls to sleep in flimsy tents, to fight over paltry scraps of food, to starve and freeze and suffer more. And we are expected to be thankful. To be happy. So many are – I know it. Happy to be safe. To be alive. But it’s not enough – not to me.”
This is a much needed read – especially when the SCOTUS just upheld the travel ban, or should I say Muslim ban? There are many things in ARATG that makes it a great read, but if you’re not into YA, the story Sabaa Tahir shares of discrimination against the Scholars is why you should read it anyway. Tahir tackles genocide, discrimination against POC, and the refugee crisis. The series received new cover designs that now feature Elias, Helene, and Laia – which Tahir was super supportive of because she wanted Laia to be on the cover as a WOC. In addition, Tahir has a page on her blog called “what you can do to fight hate” dedicated to people wanting to take action. Tahir is writing relevant stories about the current U.S policies and attitudes towards refugees and POC.
Aside from that, I really loved ARATG because of Helene’s character arc. I hadn’t liked her as much in the previous two books, but she gets a lot more chapters dedicated to her this time around – and they were great. Even though Keris and Marcus continue to throw trial after trial at her, she just keeps getting back up and every single time she is fiercer because of it. Helene goes through so much in this book, and my favorite quote was from her:
“Curse this world for what it does to the mothers, for what it does to the daughters. Curse it for making us strong through loss and pain, our hearts torn from our chests again and again. Curse it for forcing us to endure.”
Helene faces so many terrible things, what happens to her family and sister, and the burden of leadership – but she really does endure and comes back stronger each time. Also she is so freaking badass and chooses a hammer as her war weapon. I mean, come on what’s more badass than a war hammer?
I also loved the relationship that formed between Laia and Helene – granted it was a bit shaky most of the book but by the end it showed a lot of promise. I feel like we don’t get enough strong friendships between girls in adventure and fantasy YA novels, so I really appreciated this.
I struggled to get into Elias’s POV and I didn’t like his arc as much in this one as I did in the previous two books, and his chapters were the low points of the book for me. I felt like his chapters were rather slow and I spent the whole time wanting to get back to the action.
To conclude, I liked this series a lot already, but this book was definitely the best one yet and once again, you should read this series!

I first read Flame in the Mist (book 1 of this duology) during the spring semester; it was one of those books I kept seeing advertised on Barnes and Noble and on peoples’ bookstagrams but just hadn’t got around to buying yet, so when I did I couldn’t believe it took me so long to read it because I loved it so much. Although I didn’t even realize this until much later this series is actually a loosely based Mulan retelling. Which I probably should have realized sooner, but…. Anyway, Flame in the Mist starts out with Mariko in a carriage being shipped off to marry the son of the emperor, until her carriage is attacked by (whom she believes to be) a robin hood-esque group called “the Black Clan.” After Mariko is the only to escape the attack she eventually infiltrates them, gains their trust, and (of course), falls for one of them – Okami. She eventually begins to trust them and becomes a member herself. At the end of the book the Black Clan camp is raided and Okami is captured, leading to Mariko giving herself up and pretending she was an unwilling prisoner this whole time. In Smoke in the Sun Mariko helps to break Okami out of prison, basically singlehandedly saves the empire and just overall kicks serious ass. (I’m trying to be somewhat spoiler free?)
Plot-wise – Smoke in the Sun was pretty decent. Mariko splits her time between attempting to break Okami out of prison, running around rooftops dumping waste buckets on people with Tsuneoki’s sister and also slowly winning Raiden over to her side and therefore influencing the future of the empire (no big). But it really wasn’t the plot or action that really drew me into Smoke in the Sun and Flame in the Mist. It’s really just Mariko herself. In Flame in the Mist she really struggles to break free of the social constraints and expectations she’s been forced to live by her whole life; even during her time with the Black Clan she really struggles to not doubt herself, or feel ashamed for being her (uncannily ingenious) self. I felt like Mariko really developed in Smoke in the Sun. Mariko starts to make all of these decisions for herself – going undercover under the emperor’s roof, continuing her engagement to Raiden, and risking herself to help the Black Clan. Although she has to hide her actions so she isn’t associated with the Black Clan, Mariko comes up with impossible plans and uses science experiments to try and break Okami out of prison. Something I really loved – Mariko’s science experiments, it was such a unique character trait – she’s an inventor!
Beyond Mariko putting her genius mind to work to save Okami (and you know, the whole empire), the other part that really stood out to me about this series was how sex positive and feminist these books were. Mariko really takes charge of her own sexuality and makes her own decisions about having sex and really doesn’t give a damn about what anyone thinks. Also, Renee Ahdieh really gives an interesting perspective about the geikos (Tsuneoki’s sister). Also super cool feminist moment – Mariko acknowledging her emotions, and not only knowing that having emotions is not a weakness, but also claiming it’s a strength: “Tears she had once considered a sign of weakness, but Mariko knew–in this moment–that Yoshi would have wanted her to shed them. Encouraged her to be true to herself, no matter the cost. It had taken her losing everything she knew to finally understand. Feeling pain and sorrow was not at all of sign of weakness. It was a sign of love”
Lastly, I really loved the motivation behind all the characters actions. In this book Mariko states several times that although she loves Okami, love isn’t enough for her. She puts duty and fulfilling a meaningful and impactful life above just loving Okami, if it comes to that. (*cough*, feminist af) Both Mariko and Okami put their fight for the people of the empire above their love for each other, and let’s be real most of us are not that unselfish. The other half of this is how much I love Okami as love interest. He is A. Hellllaaaa sexy, B. Does in no way shape or form try to tell Mariko what to do and C. Encourages her to be her true self and loves her for who she is.
So this was very jumbled, but I wrote it! I got it out! I’ve never really done an “actual” book review before so I’m sure these will get better and more concise, so bear with me. (plus I didn’t edit this, sorry).
To end this – I’ll leave with my favorite quote (the ending line) from Smoke in the Sun which wraps up what I was (trying to) say about how cool this book is (aka why you should read it!!!) because it tells you to go out into the world unapologetic for being yourself:
“This was what it meant to be truly free. To be herself and no one else. To be loved as she was.”

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed The Lantern's Ember. I would describe this book as the perfect Halloween or fall read - or anytime read if you love witches and vampires and magic! Ember is an incredibly strong witch - and also incredibly fierce, independent and curious. Ember decides to allow a vampire to escort her to the Underworld - where all the magic and mystery is - and embarks upon a wild adventure. Pirate ships, secret islands, boogeyman - The Lantern's Ember will keep you on your feet, don't worry! Ember attracts the attention of not one, not two, but three men - although she never lets them put her aside and always fights her own battles. This is one love (square?) that will keep you on your toes! Houck plays around with all of our favorite Halloween tropes - A lantern, named Jack, who keeps his soul in a pumpkin. A vampire who decides to move to a town called Transylvania. A witch in desperate need of escape who enchants the only rideable object available to fly - a broomstick. The Lantern's Ember is charming and adventurous and a wonderful retelling of our favorite monsters, demons, and scary Halloween creatures.