Book Review: A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.
The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.
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 while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid 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 will stop at nothing to ensure Elias’s devotion–even at the cost of his humanity.

What can I say about the book that made me stay awake all night because I couldn’t imagine sleeping without knowing what was gonna happen next in the story.

While I assumed that this third book would be much more bleak and hopeless, and there were many dark things that happened, it was also a very interesting book to read and I enjoyed the history of the world so much. We also get to see so much more of the empire as well as the surrounding kingdoms, and it was great to visit all these new places. There is also a lot more political intrigue in this one than I expected along with action, and this was a perfect balance by the author.

I think I can finally say that I’m a total Helene Acquilla fangirl. She may not always be a great strategist, especially when it comes to handling the cunning Commandant; but she is the most loyal person I’ve met in this whole series and her love for her people and her sister was even more pronounced in this book. She definitely is prejudiced towards the Scholars but I can see that changing slowly and I hope she becomes even more formidable  in the final book. I also like her bond with Harper and the way he is always protecting her is very admirable. I’ve also really come to like Dex, Faris and Livia a lot and I can’t wait to see much more of them.

Laia and Elias are both trying their best to do their duties and their paths went in directions I did not see coming. They are both their formidable selves but I can see them both individually becoming forces to reckon with in the finale and I hope they can find their way towards each other again.

To conclude, this was an excellent third book and now I realize how much of a wait everyone else must have felt when the books were releasing. I’m lucky I got to binge read the three but now I’m gonna join all the fans in the wait for the finale which I know will be explosive. I’m just scared because Sabaa has promised there will be lots of tears and heartbreak and I don’t know how I’ll ever be ready for that. Let’s wait and watch.