Books On Our Radar: A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir
A Reaper at the Gates is the 3rd book in the An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir, and I am so ready for this book! As a huge fan of this series, I absolutely love the dire epicness that is the title of this book! I mean good lord that tells me this is going to be vicious and I am here for it. Helene is front and center and I know she is going to be an important part of this book. She is an amazing character but I am 100000% in camp Laia! I want Laia and Elias to take over the world (had to cut out a part of that statement so I can keep this basically spoiler-free). Be sure to add this to your TBR for the April 10th, 2017 release!
Now, I can’t help but address the cover controversy, I am one of those obsessive book collectors, and even though a mid-series cover change isn’t going to stop me from buying a series I love and adore, I can understand the feelings people have. I had the dreaded feelings at first too, because I am extremely OCD when it comes to a lot of things in my life, my bookshelf especially. I happen to be one of those collectors that will go back and buy all the matching paperbacks as well just so I have a completely matching series. Plus, as a reader, it feels like the publishers do this to us a lot, and it can be disheartening. However, publishers need books to hit audiences and sell off the shelves. AEITA is about characters who are brown skinned, and you know what? They need representation directly on the covers.
A cover needs to convey the feelings of the story and these new covers tell me there is some badassery in these pages, and that there is a diverse cast. As much as I too want my series to match and I liked the old covers, I stand with the cover changes. I personally loved the UK cover of AEITA more, it was much more dark and mysterious and felt more cave like, so I bought that one too! I love that Sabaa was able to write a series with a POC representation and have it be a #1 NYT bestseller, as a POC writer. We know she has to take shit about this each and every single day of her life. So we don’t need to give her any more things to worry about in this whitewashed world. Read what Sabaa Tahir said about these changes. The covers demand to share the representation that is within this epic fantasy and I demand that we all STFU and deal with our bookshelves because representation matters more.
A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir
Category: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication: April 10th, 2018; Razorbill
Purchase: Amazon
Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger.
The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, is assailed on all sides. Emperor Marcus, haunted by his past, grows increasingly unstable, while the Commandant capitalizes on his madness to bolster her own power. As Helene searches for a way to hold back the approaching darkness, her sister’s life and the lives of all those in the Empire hang in the balance.
Far to the east, Laia of Serra knows the fate of the world lies not in the machinations of the Martial court, but in stopping the Nightbringer. But while hunting for a way to bring him down, Laia faces unexpected threats from those she hoped would aid her, and is drawn into a battle she never thought she’d have to fight.
And in the land between the living and the dead, Elias Veturius has given up his freedom to serve as Soul Catcher. But in doing so, he has vowed himself to an ancient power that will stop at nothing to ensure Elias’s devotion—even at the cost of his humanity.
