A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes) Hardcover – June 12, 2018

How do I convey the beautifully succinct writing by the venerable Mrs. Sabaa Tahir without gushing incoherently?!? I'll try my best... here goes...If you haven't already started this series I HIGHLY recommend you do so immediately. It is an affirmation of Hope and ceaseless Possibility in the face of dire, desperate circumstances... a theme that is extremely poignant due to the chaotic/ uncertain times we currently live in. From the very start we are dropped off right into the chaos where A Torch Against the Night left off. The pacing was perfect. There were twists and betrayals and bloodshed... Oh My!!The characters were rich and nuanced. They felt like old friends/nemesis you have grown to love and love to hate. They were crafted magnificently. True to the dichotomy of real life personas, each one was depicted as varying shades of grey. I loathe characters that are drawn either purely White or starkly Black... BRING ON THE GRADIENTS BABY!!! Mrs. Tahir manages to make you feel empathy and compassion for the antagonists (after seeing what lead them down the path toward hatred and wickedness). I felt conflicted (as I'm sure you will see) as to who was the "victim" and who the evildoers...for all had claim to both... and really, isn't that the mark of a well written, truly visceral hero/villain?? The multiple POVs worked. They played off of the next person's arc so skillfully that I was saddened each time a chapter came to an end. Elias's role, on the other hand, felt like fodder... or the sticky icky pie filler that could have easily been left out (if not for his usefulness in the last quarter of the book). It felt like he was used as a means to move things along in places that needed a quick plot progression That was a little sad since he was, and should continue to be, an integral player...imho.This installment was multifaceted. It boasted nefarious jinn, mischiviously violent ghosts, seers/Augurs, a smattering of warlocks, a tiny dallop of romance, twisty reveals and LOADS of bloody vengeance. What else can you possibly want in a book?? It's a gritty book in a heart wrenching series and I love every single word of it!! I will continue to shout its praise from the mountaintops.... mountaintops I say and I truly, deeply, infatically believe you will too. Go ahead, prove me wrong, I'd love to read all about it.~Enjoy

All the YA writers seem to be amping up the 'gruesome'. Too much blood, too much terror, just too much war and horribleness. It is all-consuming. This book just didn't deliver the further character development and emotional buy-in of the prior two books.

The first book I loved and couldn't wait for the second book. Im not sure why the book deviated from Elias, Helena and Keris. They really made book one an excellent read. See where Im going with this, I couldn't stand Laia and her storyline. I just kind of skim through her chapters and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen with Elias and Helena. Personally, I would have love to read some chapters on Keris and Marcus. Anyway, if there's a book four I don't think I will be buying it especially at the $8-$10 price range. 4 stars are for the first two books carrying the last book.

Loved the first book of this series, Ember in the Ashes. Unfortunately, book two was not as good, neither is book three, and with the ending, sounds like she plans a book 4. She probably should have tightened up book 2 and 3 rather than stretching for a 4th book.

I really liked Ember in the Ashes. I enjoyed A Torch Against the Night. But this third installment is really dull and straying too far from what made the series good to begin with. Reading it was a slog and I never found myself wanting to read it. I kind of had to force myself to read. Nothing existing happens, and I am not at all liking the amount of pages dedicated to Elias and the Fakirs having to "move along the dead". It's just ridiculous that everybody who dies in this world ends up in this little forest and the Soul Catcher (now Elias) has to move them on? Oh, but the tribes have Fakirs who move on their own dead? Seriously, nobody just dies in this book and everybody seems to know that they'll become a ghost and have to be "moved on"?? Uhg. To make matters worse, it turns out that this isn't even the final book. It seems like there will be at least one more in this series, but WHY?? It could have all just wrapped up with this book. There was no need to drag this into four (or more?) books. Ember in the Ashes was good and left me wanting more, but the story is getting duller and more contrived.

Wow, this one was really good and I couldn't put it down. I wish I could do 4.5 stars, just because I feel like this book had less of the characters together and more there own separate thing. I am however not happy with 'how' the book ended, it was soul crushing and I am really hoping for a happier sequel to this one. It just seemed like every bad thing that could happen did and it was super unavoidable. Elia's thing was heartbreaking and hopefully (just like the last book) he can come back to himself a bit. Hoping Helena really shows more emotion in the next, it really feels like she wants to here but she doesn't. I liked it all in all.

Here's my review for A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir, the third but not final book in An Ember in the Ashes series. I love how the book opens with the Nightbringer’s point of view! The author gives us insight into the kingdom’s history and at the present time, the scholars are being extinguished but we see that in the past the scholars have done the same thing to the Jinn, the Nightbringer’s people. Very interesting and so much like the harsh reality we live in. Elias’ fate and Laia’s future hold mystery. Helene, as the Blood Shrike, stands steadfastly by her sister Livia’s side. Livia has a fortunate surprise that could change the Empire for the better. Learning more about Keris and her past was fascinating as was learning more about Laia’s mother’s story. Elias gives up everything to help others because of his kindness and tremendous strength. Reaper at the Gates hurts my heart but builds distant hope for the amazing characters, 5 stars!

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.

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.

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.

This, the third book in the Ember series by Sabaa Tahir. The first two must be read first.It continues in the same, brilliant format each chapter focused on one character that is brought to life with incredible writing. You not only get dialogue but the thought process they go through making it impossible not to feel empathy towards Laia and Elias. They are apart most of the story, with their own mission which is enthralling. They are always in each other’s thoughts underlying a strong bond, romance love. Gripping and brilliantly written, chapter 58 choked me. Highly recommended.I’m looking forward to reading the final book, at the same time extremely fearful for Laia.I finished the book late at night, and went straight to bed, to a restless night. Going through my mind so many scenarios but one dark ending for Laia stuck. Four things from the book buzzed in my head, a prophecy, an action, something said and someone’s thoughts. I desperately hope I have misinterpreted.