How do you end an excellent book series? By ripping the hearts out of your readers.

Sabaa Tahir, you are a cruel, cruel woman, but perhaps I’m more cruel for how much I enjoyed this book.

The final book in the Ember in the Ashes series perfectly wrapped up the themes of oppression, familial connection, self-discovery, and the ties of love, with a story that had me kicking my feet squealing, sobbing over my broken heart, and racing to get to the next page.

This is all to say, A Sky Beyond the Storm was one of the best books I’ve ever read, albeit it had the rest of the books in the series to set up to its cataclysmic conclusion, but it did so beautifully.

Below contains spoilers—read at your own risk.

The Three Main POVs in A Sky Beyond the Storm

Laia’s growth in A Sky Beyond the Storm made me finally feel connected with her character. I’ll dive more into this with a series review, but she was mild for me most of the series. Given that her arc is a Coming of Age theme, I’m not surprised that we see her become her own person in the final book of the series.

One part of Laia’s story I particularly enjoyed (besides the romance) was how she still had love for the Nightbringer. There’s something reminiscent of caring for people who make you love them, then use that love to hurt you. It shows a level of empathy that takes years of grief to hone (in my opinion) and highlighted one of Laia’s strengths—her love for others.

I loved seeing Elias gain back his personality after his fight with Mauth for control of himself. In a way, I found it echoing how addiction can feel like a cloud over your emotions and its call for you to return to it. Elias pushed away the people he loved, isolated himself, and became so hyper-fixated on giving himself over to Mauth. Some of his internal thoughts were also how addiction can take over, like him wishing he could let Mauth drown all his pain away and get lost in the feeling of no emotions. There was a point near the ending battle when he had his personality back that he thought about how he wished Mauth could take away his emotions (or that he missed it). I’m sure Tahir didn’t mean it in this way, but I saw enough of a pattern to make that connection. I also thought it was similar to depression in that way as well, which is more likely what it could symbolize. Regardless if Sabaa Tahir added that piece in purposefully, I found that message in Elias’s story and loved it.

And Helene, my sweet, broken, stubborn, selfless Helene. Words cannot express how much I love her. Her story is completely gut wrenching and I don’t think I’ve ever cried over a character more than her. For someone to have so much pain, to be broken so many times, only to continue pushing on is such a beautiful story. There were times in my life where I felt hopeless and wanted to give up but continued on regardless and I felt like Helene (thankfully my family and my partner are still alive, but their deaths are something I worry about often). Most of my quotes at the end of this blog post come from her POV, which was just as telling for how much I loved reading her story. I’m thinking about making a post just about her because I could go on and on. She is by far one of my most favorite characters of all time.

Also, I can’t in good faith talk about Helene and not mention Avitas Harper. Oh my skies… devastating. Her inner thoughts at the end of mourning the person who helped her grieve, who kept her steady when she began to flail, who was patient with his love, and died without a single regret of loving her. I’ll admit that I didn’t cry with his death scene, however, Helene’s reaction and her mourning of his loss devastated me.

Plot Thoughts and Side Characters

The twist ending did not surprise me. I had a strong inclination that Cook lived, being that we didn’t see her die on screen. Not that I didn’t love that she returned to kill Keris or take Elias’s place (and tease him about being her son-in-law), because I very much loved that it happened. But I was waiting for her to pop up in the final fight.

Using the ghost of Elias’s grandmother to get the background into Keris’s hate for scholars was fascinating and not something I expected us to get. The entire series, but most specifically this book, had a theme of motherly love. Not just mothers loving their child, but children loving their mothers just as fiercely (or hating them in Elias’s case). I’m still wrapping my head around this theme of motherhood that I want to incorporate into my series review, but it’s something that I enjoyed.

I also think that Tahir did an excellent job handling a large cast of side characters in A Sky Beyond the Storm. While there were many characters by the end, she wrote them with what I consider to be distinct personalities that didn’t muddle together. The found family between Laia, Helene, Elias, Darin, Musa, Tas, Avitas, then eventually the tribal families, was endearing. (Also, I love Musa. Top tier side character and his ending with Helene is beautifully heartbreaking).

And I can’t talk about this series without discussing how great the villains are. In my opinion, the best villains are ones who you can see why they act the way they do. In this last book, we finally get the background we need for both the Nightbringer and Keris to make them excellent villains. They are both ruthless and complete evil, however still have parts we can see in ourselves. The Nightbringer’s story—and how it was sprinkled throughout the book only to tie into the tale at the end—was what make this book just extra satisfying.

Without getting too long-winded in this review (because I could go on), here are some brief thoughts on A Sky Beyond the Storm.

Themes I loved in this book:

• Can our previous sins be forgiven? And how do we move forward despite them?

• Familial love and loss, how to grieve them, and how to appreciate them while they’re still around

• Heartbreak that leads to blind faith (with the jinn)

• The beauty in being part of something bigger than yourself

• The effects of motherly love

• Compassion for everyone, even if they might not deserve it

Things I wish we got more information on:

• The Jarduna — a cool concept and leaves a space for more exploration

• Those touched by Rehmat got special abilities, but Darin and Elias didn’t seem to get any? Was it Darin’s ability to smith and Elias’s ability to fight? What about Avitas?

• The Karkauns. Was their magic related to the jinn or was it separate? How do they intermix?

What’s sticking with me:

• HELENE. I love her and her story and her ending. Forever my Imperator Invictas

• The Roman Empire-inspired world (I’m a sucker for classics, so this was right up my alley)

• The Nightbringer’s story and resolution

• The feelings of hope with the ending of A Sky Beyond the Storm

• Laia and Elais’s relationship

• Honestly, so much more as I continue to process the series as a whole

And if Sabaa Tahir happens to read this, thank you for writing this story, for making these characters, and for making me be completely absorbed into their lives. You’re an incredible writer and I can’t wait to read more from you.

Favorite Quotes from A Sky Beyond the Storm:

My mind snags on one word: Fearless. For I am not fearless. To be fearless means to have a heart of steel. But my heart betrayed itself. It is soft and hopeful.

In his hands, I am beautiful, sacred, beloved. Beneath his lips, I am undone.

You are broken. But it is the broken things that are the sharpest. The deadliest. It is the broken things that are the most unexpected, and the most underestimated.

Are there people in the world who still experience happiness? Enjoy it, I want to tell those people. Enjoy it, because soon it might all be gone.

“Skies, the things I've done." He looks down at his hands. "I do not think I will ever make my peace with it. But I can be better."

I cannot quite look at him when I say it. "May death claim me first.”

“Ah, no, my love.” He gathers me close. “You cannot go first. I could not make sense of the world if you did.”

And as long as even one person remains, they are worth fighting for.

But as the days turned into weeks and months, I grew accustomed to the pain- the same way I learned to live with the scars on my face. And instead of hating my heart, I began to marvel at its strength, at the fact that it thuds on insistently. I am here, it seems to say. For we are not done, Helene. We must live.

What a small thing it seems, to walk with the one you love. To look forward to a day with them. I marvel at the simplicity of this moment. And I thank the skies for the miracle of it.