A review by chippyreads
Heir by Sabaa Tahir

4.0

 

Please note I read the second half of this book while literally suffering from fever dreams….. So it took me a while to catch on to some pretty obvious plot points. I read the first half, caught a nasty bug that almost hospitalised me and then read the second half while on a very interesting combination of painkillers and antibiotics. 

Romance

Just like in the Ember series, I wasn't a fan of the romance in this one. I love the characters individually but I never feel anything for the romance between anyone. I’m not against any of them getting together, I just don’t care? 

Also spoiler for late in book happenings

not a fan of when we get a Sufiyan chapter he suddenly has eyes or Ariella….. Can main characters just NOT want to be in a relationship for once? I’m not mad that this might mean the bi character is in a ‘het’ relationship eventually, I’m just mildly mad all of these characters just need to shack up with someone. 

 

I was a fan of the ‘fake dating’ scenario though! That was a bit fun and unexpected in a fantasy novel. 

Is it queer?

We got more casual mentions of a more queer society, which was lovely. One of the side characters is bi and it's just casually mentioned in regards to who she's dated previously. The main relationships seem extremely straight. The Ember series alluded to a gay character not being able to be themselves so it was nice to learn that the Empire seems to be less homophobic. During Aiz’s POV she scoffs that the Empire doesn't recognise non binary people where in her society they do. 

Plot

Can’t say if it was predictable or not as I was incapacitated at the time of reading. All I can say is at the end I was predictably miffed with the author, which is what we all expect from Sabaa Tahir so, yay?

Compared to the og series

I read this book right after finishing the og series, so everything was fresh in my mind. I’m not sure how new readers will go in this world without any of the prior books as it does add a lot of context and now we have even more to learn. 

Very happy with the new generation of characters and how often we got to see og characters, they didn’t take over the plot at all and let the new characters shine.

Characters

3 main POVs 

Quil

Was fun, probably because if you’ve read the Ember series you know him as a baby and are fond of his aunt. Also his friends/family (Sufiyan and Arellia) are great. I love it when a main character has great friends along for the ride. 

Aiz

Eh. I wanted to root for her but she kept giving me reasons to just not like her. 

Sirsha

Fav main character. Clear motivations and great development. I desperately want her origin story as a standalone. Her relationship with her sister!? Hello! I need more of that thanks. 

Will I be continuing the duology?

100% yes. Can’t wait for book 2

Add to my physical collection?

Definitely. This book needs to sit next to my Ember collection. 

I was provided an eBook from the publisher: Hachette AU/NZ via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.