A Reaper at the Gates (Ember Quartet, Book 3) Paperback – February 21, 2019

"One piece remains, and beware the Reaper at the Gates!The sparrows will drown, and none will know it. The past shall burn, and none will slow it.The Dead will rise, and none can survive.The Child will be bathed in blood but alive.The Pearl will crack, the cold will enter. The Butcher will break, and none will hold her.The Ghost will fall, her flesh will wither.By the Grain Moon, the King will have his answer.By the Grain Moon, the forgotten will find their master."I have never needed a support system to read a book till this one . There has not been a book that makes you love its characters more, and this trio face everything from being at the brink of death and holding on by a thread..they keep each other alive. Helen Aquilla truly became a true leader in this book , a true force to be reckoned with , and chapter 55 ..I know if I ever get to meet this author ..i will immediately burst into tears for what Helen the Blood Shrike went through. ..in saving her family saving their people.I love Asian mythology and the Waiting Place is possibly the best written portrayal of that space in time where a soul is moving on. KDrama Reapers move among the living just the same as Elias does., and his lonliness is palpable in this book. Laia became even stronger in her quest to hold off the Nighbringer , but she in the end couldnt stop him . That scene between the Blood Shrike and the Nightbringer will go down as one of the most cinematic scenes for me of all time ..bloody brilliant writing I will be sad to finish this series.

After what was almost a two year wait I finally, finally read Sabaa Tahir's A Reaper at the Gates that continues the story of Laia, Helene, and Elias that left us pretty much hanging at the end of A Torch Against the Night! The wait was well worth it indeed, though sadly, even with recaps and my own notes, I still couldn't quite remember everything. But that's a problem I've become use to, lol!Helene is intent on helping Markus kill Keris, for she wants to protect her sister, Livia more than anything. From both Keris and Livia's own husband, Markus. But it doesn't simply due to murder Keris, she has to get the people who support her to see her for what she truly is. Her first step in doing that is to find Elias, who everyone believes dead but Helene knows he's not. If she can prove he's alive that's one step in showing how incompetent Keri is.Elias is struggling to adapt to his new Soul Catcher status, Shaeva is trying to teach him what she can, but he's wanting to be back with Laia more than anything else. Meanwhile we have Laia trying to do what she can to help the Scholars and also stop the Nightbringer from freeing the jinn. Laia is still reeling from the betrayal that was Keenan, but she moves past her old feelings remarkably well. Though the anger of said betrayal is still there.I'll admit that things were pretty intense and slightly chaotic in this one. It took me a good couple of days to read it and throughout I was doing what I could to remember the past book which honestly, I need to work on not doing. There's no time for re-reading anymore, especially books of this length and quality. But as I was reading I was still able to follow the story along well enough, it's just trying to remember people other than our three narrators that made things slightly difficult.I think the one thing that upset me about this book was the fact that our main characters had very little interaction with each other this time around. There were moments here and there when two of them were together in some way. But I miss that togetherness that Elias and Laia had in the previous two. Yes, they weren't always together back then but there were still enough moments of them being there together that helped keep me engage. This time it almost felt like we were reading three different stories going on with each of the characters because of that lack of interaction. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy the book, because I did! I really, really liked this one, I just wish the characters could've been together more. I have a feeling though that might happen in the next and final book, so I am eager for that one to release! Hopefully the wait for that one won't be as long.Since the characters weren't together all that much, there wasn't much time for romance. Happily though, I will say there are a few stolen kisses in a place or two in the novel. I've become a sap now. I need to have just a little, tiny bit of romance in my novels now. I can't help it. It's become a sickness! Lol! It was sad that there weren't more, but there were some, so that's better than none I suppose. My heart aches for Laia and Elias' situation though.I feel like in this one, our three favorites all undergo a transformation of sorts. They all change, whether it will be for the better or not will remain to be seen in the next book. I feel like we're at a good place for 2/3 the characters, the third remains unclear and heart-wrenching because of it.The pacing was spot on in this one! There's a great deal of buildup and delivery to the events that are happening. It's hard to really get into detail about it because I don't want to lean towards spoiler territory, but I can say that the characters moved forward quite a bit. Of course there were the obstacles that were constantly tossing them back, but it made for great storytelling.There were some surprises along the way with this one as well. There was one that I can't say if I saw coming or not. It's possible. I think it was even thought upon at one point but it's been so long I can't remember if it's true! Lol! I'm eager to see what will happen in this final book to come! There was a great deal of action happening at the end of the novel that had me in a tailspin wondering what this will mean for the next step in the journey.I wouldn't really say it ended with a massive cliffhanger. I've been seeing people agonizing over it and wanting the final book asap. I'm thinking it was more just for the love of the story than anything detrimental. Yes, things were happening quickly and we get a startling revelation at the end, but it's not a cliffhanger that had me screaming in agony. So that tells you while the wait for the final book will be long and painful, I won't be slowly dying and feeling as if my soul were being crushed day by day, piece by piece. Just your average agonizing wait for the next installment in a series! Lol!A Reaper at the Gates was a read well worth the wait! It was as exciting and splendid as expected! The rich culture and exotic environment Sabaa has created is only the start of the appeal to this magnificent series! It's been quite the trip and I cannot wait to see how it will all come to an end! I can only hope that Sabaa won't crush my soul in the end!Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

I gave this four stars because despite my issues with it which I will explain below, I still think its pretty good writing especially given what's out there in the fantasy genre these days.My major issue with this book was that having gone through two whole books already in the series, I was sadly disappointed to see very little growth in the main characters. I will explain below. *Spoiler alert*Elias: How on earth did Elias justify choosing to give Laia a feel good hug at the cost of letting ghosts escape to wrack havoc and kill so many? I would have thought Shaeva's death would have taught him a thing or two about the cost of emotional distractions. Reading this book I found myself forgetting that he was a fully trained mask. He often was just getting played by the situation and reacting instead of outplotting his foes.Blood Shrike: I was disappointed by how she kept insisting on under estimating Keris and making asinine excuses all so that she could keep her hand firmly in the sand when there were so many warning signs that Keris was once again, on the verge of springing a trap. Instead of going into mask mode and thinking like her enemy so as to better anticipate her moves she just kept running around in circles and making the same errors over and over again.Laia: Ah as for Laia, she really disappointed me. This character had so much potential to grow into a really formidable opponent for the Nightbringer and Keris but she keeps being so foolish and childish. for example going into the Jinn grove despite fully knowing the consequences. Then choosing a very inopportune time to throw a hissy fit at Cook for doing what she had to to save her family from a worse evil.The only characters who show any growth, cunning or adaptability are the evil ones like Keris and the Nightbringer.

It starts with hope, and ends with almost all of it crushed, lots of long painful roads are walked by all of the main characters, lots of plot twists unfold, and like a terrible accident, you can't look away. But hope - there is still hope, no matter how dim it is. I can't wait to start the next book, with so many loose ends and so much exciting conflict to come.

Ok, same character is STILL alive and causing havoc. There better be a spectacular death on the horizon....like totally epic.

wonderful condition, was expecting crinkled pages but its a spotless smooth book. thank you :)

’Love is joy coupled with misery, elation bound to despair. It is a fire that beckons me gently and then burns when I get too close.’For years I’ve seen rave reviews of this series and honestly the more of it that I read, the more infuriated I am with myself for failing to have reached for it sooner. It’s truly is the sort of fantasy novel that I adore; one with a complex world, various groups of people, fascinating characters, well crafted villains, an original blend of magic and twists that will make your head spin. Simply put I will certainly be reading this series again in the future.This is definitely the sort of fantasy novel with a plot that never let’s up. There’s always something going on, always secrets to discover, devastation to drive you to despair, revelations to stagger you, magic to intrigue and clashes to steal your breath. All of the military clashes in this series are so well thought out, crafted and developed. There’s a real brutal savagery throughout and the characters are all gloriously well developed. Predicting what the Commandant will do is downright impossible. Elias’ journey is one that continually intrigues me. Laia’s constantly growing strength will leave you rooting for her. And Helene, somewhat to my surprise, is definitely a new favourite of mine. Her point of view never fails to floor me.Twist wise I truly would like to say more but can’t due to the obvious spoiler risk. What I can reveal though is that there are certainly a few revelations within this book that will leave you itching to discuss them with others. Where everything ends up will leave you infinitely impatient to dive into the finale too; hence my somewhat shorter review than normal...I made the mistake of holding off on writing this review until I read both books. Although that in itself is a sign of just how addictive this series is.Admittedly there is one character whose actions felt slightly off on occasion. The majority of the time their appearances chilled me to my core but I can’t help but wonder if they accepted certain things more easily than I’d have imagined. This wasn’t enough to affect my enjoyment however. Truthfully I think that it could even have been remedied if there had been an additional scene allowing you to view the world through their eyes.So altogether it pretty much goes without saying that I recommend this book. It’s an action packed, devastation filled fantasy novel with magic to intrigue and a mix of characters that you’ll find yourself infinitely fascinated by. Make sure you have access to the finale too though as you’re most likely going to want to dive straight into it upon finishing this book.

This rather pricey ebook is at least quite long. It is reasonably well written but although book one was mainly in English spelling, the second book went back to the ghastly American errors so made it far less readable. This book, as with the others, was tortuous, constantly putting people together who really cared about each other and then splitting them apart due to ridiculous duty or other reason. It was totally pointless and irritating. If people are in dangerous or stressful situations they tend to make the most of the moment surely not pull apart after the first hint of a kiss. The most interesting characters of Elias and Laia mattered to me so I went straight to their story to see what happened. I cared nothing for Helene as she is selfish and cold, she thinks only of the cruel empire and belittles scholars and slaves - a twist on the Roman Empire which must have been the inspiration for this series of novels. Having found out that the fate of Laia and Elias was even grimmer and more hopeless than before, I abandoned the book. I just do not want to read about yet more disappointment. All I wanted was the scholars to rise again, the Jinn to be utterly wiped off the face of the earth, the sadistic empire crushed and dismantled and Laia and Elias to be together forever with a family of their own. Is that too much to ask? But I didn't write this book, and sadly this is just the empty miserable way the author wants it, with no-one happy. Shame.

Third volume in the series of fantasy novels entitled 'The Ember Quartet.'This one is most definitely not a jumping on point, so new readers should go to book one, 'an ember in the ashes.'Regular readers, read on.This volume runs for four hundred and fifty eight pages. It has five parts, and is further divided into fifty eight chapters.As with previous volumes, it does have a fair bit of violence and some adult stuff, so it's not really for younger readers.Picking up from where book two left off, it once again gives us Helene Laia and Elias as viewpoint characters. Each of them narrating alternating chapters in first person present tense. Although two important chapters do give someone else that duty..Marcus is getting worse by the day. Thus Helene is struggling to hold things together. To keep her sister safe. And to deal with the actions of the commandant. And to stave off some very big threats.Laia is looking for a way to stop the nightbringer. And has some hard choices to make.And Elias has to struggle with the role he now has, as a result of the big choice he made. Can he and Laia ever be together again?There's no exposition in this to remind you of what came before. So frankly I really struggled a bit to get into this one at first, and it was a while before I got used to the writing style once again, and all the characters and the situation fully came back to me.But do stick with it. Because steadily, it does get there. it doesn't really get hold of you till gone sixty pages, and it's not a book to read fast. It really has to be savoured to get the best from it. As with book two though, it really benefits from Helene being a viewpoint character as well as the other two, because her strand of the story is a really gripping one.This not being the last book in the series means it does have a fair bit of setting things up to do. And plot details to reveal. But unlike some middle or late series books that have to do that, none of this feels forced, and nothing ni here is a slave to the demands of the plot.It steadily does get rather epic indeed in terms of action. It does have you wanting to know what is going to happen next. And there are a couple of moments that will really make you gasp.Big things have happened by the end. And lots is left in the balance as well. It should be a memorable final instalment.Stick with this because it does become a very good read, and another great entry in a great series.

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir is the third book in the An Ember in the Ashes series, which is a YA fantasy. Following on from the events of the previous book, war is rising within and beyond the Empire. As Emperor Marcus becomes increasingly unstable, seeing the ghost of his brother, his Blood Shrike, Helene, is trying to keep order, stop the war and protect what remains of her family. Scholar Laia is trying to stop the threat of the Nightbringer, and Elias’ devotion to becoming the Soul Catcher begins to wear at his humanity… I really enjoyed this! Whilst I did think it was slow to get back into the flow of things, and for me to also remember what happens beforehand, the action is soon amped up. Laia is still continuing to grow as a character, which is wonderful to see. Helene is fast becoming a favourite challenge – the things she has endured over the series in ensuring that duty comes first makes my heart ache, and I’d like her to have a happy ending. The Nightbringer perspectives were a nice change, and I just can’t hate him, no matter what he has done or will do. I find the real villain to be Keris, the Commandant, the Bitch of Blackcliff – she is on a quest for power and will not stop. The themes of motherhood and love are present throughout and I loved this so much – everyone has different experiences, but they are always there, somewhere, even if they are hidden. There are plenty of plot twists, and I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book.

Imagine a Spartan warrior class serving a corrupt Roman empire. Visualise the persecution of the Cathars, the dominant, and the overbearing bulk of the oppressor's fortresses spying on the land. Swirl in the spice of the Arabian Nights, (there are Jinn but no flying carpets, or not yet) . And there you have the feel of this story. Brutality and love, loss and poignant findings involving sisters, brothers, mothers, daughters and star crossed lovers. A scholar girl wishes to free her brother. Involvement with the Resistance leads to a choice between a man she should hate and one she trusts. A cruel woman becomes an enemy, a tortured woman comes to her aid. The men haunt her mind. All the time war comes closer. This is the third book of four and each has grown in scope, enticing enough for me to plough straight on. I seem to have caught S T up, can't wait for the fourth book and the story's conclusion.