twisted_tulip's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cheekikiki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rugrat306's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Taken me a month to read this, mainly because I lost interest in reading for a few weeks after all the reading I had been doing. I’m happy to report my reading mojo is back and really enjoyed this book, it was a slow start and took me a while to get into it, but once the plot was flowing and I knew the characters a bit better, I thought it was really good. A nice mix of romance, friendships, strife, mystery and fantasy. I look forward to reading the next book in the series at some point.
amanda_serenity's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
morzz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kdowns0107's review against another edition
4.0
I’d give this a 3.75 ⭐️. 3 would be offensive but a 4 is a lil too high.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Loved the main characters, LOVE the fantasy world submerged in African and Arabic mythology and that it wasn’t a “primitive” society. I liked the political aspect.
I had a hard time picking this book up. Once I started reading, I enjoyed it, but I had a hard time getting started because it was pretty much all build-up and no action for 500 pages. I also read reviews about the “twist” at the end but I personally was not surprised at all by the events that transpired.
Still enjoyable, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, but I don’t know if it’s something I’ll want to keep on my shelf. We’ll see. Maybe I just need to stew on it longer.
Did I enjoy this book? Yes. Loved the main characters, LOVE the fantasy world submerged in African and Arabic mythology and that it wasn’t a “primitive” society. I liked the political aspect.
I had a hard time picking this book up. Once I started reading, I enjoyed it, but I had a hard time getting started because it was pretty much all build-up and no action for 500 pages. I also read reviews about the “twist” at the end but I personally was not surprised at all by the events that transpired.
Still enjoyable, and I am looking forward to reading the sequel, but I don’t know if it’s something I’ll want to keep on my shelf. We’ll see. Maybe I just need to stew on it longer.
emmanlgc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nicolelin23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
heidi_grey's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The world building is very rich and in fact the first 30% or so of the book are primarily setting up the blood-divided society, hierarchical structures and bloodwerk system. A lot of thought went into this which I loved to some extent. However, this also meant that the story took quite a while to get going (but when it does, it is really good!). The Final Strife is not really a “mindless read” but takes some mental effort, dare I say. There’s a glossary at the end that really helps (if you know it exists).
The characters in this are really deep and well-developed with great arcs throughout the story and a lot of diversity (e.g. musawa neutral gender characters). It just took me quite a while to start caring about our FMCs, especially Sylah. I felt like this book was missing a “save the cat” moment to make her more likeable from the beginning.
Even though the book summary might suggest that the Aktibar is the main focus of the Final Strife, the actual trials are less important to the story than the relationships and plot developments that happen outside of the trials.
The characters in this are really deep and well-developed with great arcs throughout the story and a lot of diversity (e.g. musawa neutral gender characters). It just took me quite a while to start caring about our FMCs, especially Sylah. I felt like this book was missing a “save the cat” moment to make her more likeable from the beginning.
Even though the book summary might suggest that the Aktibar is the main focus of the Final Strife, the actual trials are less important to the story than the relationships and plot developments that happen outside of the trials.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Slavery, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent
mathy_coffees_n_midnightreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5