A review by heidi_grey
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings