A review by thecanadianbookworm
Heir by Sabaa Tahir

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

" 'Sometimes the power of a story is greater than anything else on earth.' "

Our Kehanni, Sabaa has brought us this beautiful bounty in the form of Story! 🤤❤️ So worth the wait.

It's hard to imagine a book could be as wonderful as the Ember In The Ashes quartet was, but this was like coming home... Yet discovering so much as happened since you left!

Heir takes place 20 years after the events in A Sky Beyond The Storm. 

We mostly follow four POVs in this book, and all of them are strong, have a distinct voice, and add to the story well.

Quil, Helene's nephew and the reluctant Heir to the Empire.

Sufiyan, Laia and Elias' eldest son, who is deeply impacted by grief and struggling to find his way.

Sirsha, a tracker on the run from her past, who barrels headlong into her future.

Aiz, an orphan who is willing to die to avenge her people.

There's almost no one who writes multiple POV books as well as Sabaa does. The threads weave together so perfectly (and painfully) as we get deeper into the story.

This book broke me, in so many wonderful ways. Right near the beginning I had many sad tears brought on by memories of the last series, and my broken hopes for these characters. 

(I know it's marketed that you can read this as a standalone, but so much of the emotional impact wouldn't hit imo)

It isn't all sad tears, there were moments of reminiscent family love between Helene, Elias and Laia that also had me sobbing in a good way! I don't want to scare you lol.

This book, as always with Sabaa's work, blends tragedy on a nationwide scale, with the humanity of personal suffering, while being comforted by the blanket of familial love.

I cannot wait for everyone to get their hands on this book. Every star in the sky for this one, 5 stars doesn't cover it. My expectations were so high, and I was not disappointed.