A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language, An almost sex scene


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.

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.

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.

An Ember in the Ashes is one of my favorite YA fantasy series and I was counting down the days until I could read this book. Mostly I found this one very enjoyable, maybe not quite as much as the first two books in the series, but this was still good. It did feel like a middle of a series book, but that wasn't really a bad thing. And it did feel like the book got a bit slower in part two, but there were a lot of things that happened in this book, especially once I got into part three.

Although I enjoyed this I do have to say that this book left me a little melancholy because of the situations the characters I love are left in. Also, the romantic chemistry between two different couples in the book was off the charts but the romance itself was heartbreaking and frustrating. And I really want so badly for everything to be made right for Elias. I think his story line may have been part of why I did not quite enjoy this book as much as the previous ones. It was an important part of the book, but it didn't go the way I wanted it to go at all. Because of the way things are left at the end, I really wish I could go out and immediately buy the next book and read it, but unfortunately it won't be published until some time next year.