#The Final Strife

[mysticallilac]

i feel like i should just go and make a discord server for all those fantasy wlw books whose fandoms aren't big enough for a server on there own

so... if there's anyone interested in helping me moderate it-

edit: here's the link!

https://discord.com/invite/pYV6MRCKh7

[literatureandtrees]

currently reading

[rebiesque]

Anoor & Sylah inspired by Frank Dicksee’s Romeo and Juliet

[laura491]

Reading the fifth book this year so far that works with disaster gays or lesbians and I'm just like...

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

goodreads

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control. Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance. Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible. Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes. Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts. Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm. As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.

Mod opinion: I've heard of this book already, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I am interested in it though, but it might take a while for me to get around to it.

[transbookoftheday]

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

The Empire rules by blood

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control.

Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.

Clear is the blood of the servants, of the crushed, of the invisible.

The Aktibar – a set of trials held every ten years to find the next Ember rulers of the Empire – is about to begin.

All can join but not just anyone can win; it requires great skill and ingenuity to become the future wardens of Strength, Knowledge, Truth and Duty.

Sylah was destined to win the trials and be crowned Warden of Strength. Stolen by blue-blooded rebels she was raised with a Duster’s heart; forged as a weapon to bring down from within the red-blooded Embers’ regime of cruelty. But when her adopted family were brutally murdered those dreams of a better future turned to dust.

However, the flame of hope may yet be rekindled because Sylah wasn’t made to sparkle, she was born to burn.

And it’s up to her whether she rules the empire or destroys it.

[eggcatsreads]

NO ONE TALK TO ME IM SHIFTING INTO HASSA MODE

[scarlethoodi]

Somebody! Anybody! If you’ve read The Final Strife and more recently (or at least plan to) the next book The Battle Drum please talk to me about it. I love this series so much and it deserves so much, my girls deserve so much

[arcadialedger]

I’m in the middle of ‘The Final Strife’ and oh my gosh it is so much fun and so good!

Sylah and Anoor’s dynamic is everything! And so much good rep.

[lisasnarts]

Favourite Characters: Anoor Elsari

[out-of-the-forest-i-come]

Faebound Review

Much to my surprise, Faebound was, for me, a disappointment all the way through.

I had high expectations; I’ve heard of Saara el-Arifi countless times thanks to her trilogy the Final Strife, and I assumed Faebound would be of the same alleged quality and a good place to start reading her books. What was perhaps most disappointing is that Faebound has a lot of potential to be good, and unfortunately, none of that potential was ever exploited.

The novel is about an elf, Yeeran, who is exiled from her tribe after having committed a fatal mistake, and Lettle, her sister, who follows her into exile. Yeeran’s initial plan is simple; find a gift worthy enough that her tribe’s chieftain will reverse her exile. Except nothing goes according to plan and the two sisters are taken captive by the fae, who were until then thought to be either mythical or extinct.

Overall, I just thought Faebound missed the mark. It had potential on all fronts: a story that is unique while tapping into classical tropes, a hint at a complex and rich world, opportunities to develop compelling dynamics, both platonic and romantic, and plenty of material to insert social commentaries.

Instead, I was bored the entire time and felt like nothing was happening. The pacing was bad, and the stakes didn’t feel high enough to actually draw me into the story. Whenever something did happen, I was just as uninterested as when nothing substantial happened because none of the events of the book felt substantial to me as a reader. I was told they were substantial, but I didn’t feel like they were, in part because the build up to these events was badly mastered and most of the time, I’d known ages in advance what would happen and wasn’t even remotely excited to get to the event. In that same line of thinking, prophecies play an important role in this novel, and though prophecies are a common trope in fantasy novels, I don’t usually get tired of them because it’s an enigma I can have fun trying to solve as the story unfurls. I didn’t have any fun with them here because the prophecies were too easy to understand, and I solved them almost immediately, only to have to wait for chapters on end for the characters to also understand what they meant.

When it comes to the world building, it’s obvious to me that Saara el-Arifi put in the work, but she tells us too little about the world for that to become a compelling point of the story. On top of that, the characters were flat and one-dimensional, and oftentimes annoyed me to no end because of how self-absorbed or idiotic they were. This is probably something I could have overlooked if I had otherwise liked the story, or something that could have contributed to the story if the characters’ annoying personalities had been used for the plot, but instead it just made my reading experience worse. Their relationships were equally underdeveloped and lacking any chemistry. I guessed the romantic relationships at the beginning of the book, as I tend to, and I was looking forward to seeing the way they would slowly develop. Instead, the development came way too fast, even though almost nothing had happened between the characters.

As for social commentaries, the lack thereof wouldn’t have bothered me if it hadn’t felt obvious to me that there were meant to be some. Saara el-Arifi starts conversations about various social issues and never follows through on them, leaving us hanging and wondering why she even touched on that topic if she isn’t going to say anything else about it. Stakes are created and then become seemingly forgotten by the characters, reproaches are made and then brushed to the side as if nothing had happened. It felt almost like cowardice on the author’s part. Most likely, it was just bad writing.

Because this is a trilogy, it is entirely possible that Saara el-Arifi will do better in the next two books, but I certainly won’t be there to read these books and find out. I still want to cling onto the hope that the Final Strife got so much appraisal because it is significantly better than Faebound, but it is certain that I won’t be recommending Faebound to anyone, regardless of genre preferences.

[mysticallilac]

remember when i said that i should make a discord server for wlw fantasy books? well, a lot of people were interested in the concept so i did it!

the server includes the priory of the orange tree, the masquerade, the burning kingdoms, among all others (which i've tagged this post with!) here's the link if you're interested in joining:

co owned by me and @ephemeralzenith 🫶

[sapphic-book-tournament]

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron-

When Briseis's aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined--it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri's unique family lineage.

When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family.

From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes another inspiring and deeply compelling story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi-

Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.

Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.

Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.

As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.

[rebiesque]

Anoor & Sylah

[laura491]

The journey of books with queer representation continues 🏳️‍🌈

I'm looking forward to this read, I've heard many good 🙂 And that extra line on the cover has me hooked already 🙈

(I actually tried reading a different book, but after 20 pages in decided to go with the gay road instead)

[scottishgremlin]

just finished ‘the final strife’ by saara el-arifi and i am obsessed… is there a fandom?