Heir by Sabaa Tahir. She is back with a bang!

Synopsis

Prepare for the action-packed, ruthless, and romantic new fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award winning author Sabaa Tahir about love, legacy, and vengeance.

An orphan.
An outcast.
A prince.
And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hot-headed mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her tribe for an unforgiveable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who speaks to the earth, air, and water to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But then, she falls for a charismatic and inconvenient fugitive who keeps getting in her way.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire, nephew of a famed and venerated empress, but he’s loathe to pick up the mantle when his aunt steps down. As the son of the most hated emperor in the history of his people, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir masterfully interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with the burdens of power, the treachery of love and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed. Get ready for a dark and breathless journey that will captivate readers and that may cost these young people their lives―and their hearts. Literally.

Review

That ending! That terrible ending ! I need the sequel now!!

Thank you for the free book @prhinternational, it’s been a fantastic read!

5 stars

Sabaa Tahir completely enthralled me with her brutal, frightful and adventurous novel! I think my heart stopped beating several times as I couldn’t believe what was happening.

Be aware that there is a lot of death and hopeless situations as Sabaa doesn’t sugarcoat anything!

Heir is told from three POV (point of view).

Aiz 

Orphaned she possesses wind magic. But she can’t master it and mucks stables instead of flying vessels for the leaders. She dreams of taking her revenge against the one who burned the orphanage years ago. After an assassination attempt gone wrong, she will be thrown into jail alongside the clerics presiding over the orphanage. Beaten and abused she will escape with the will to find mother Div, a being alike a goddess, and to save her people.

Quil (Zacharias)

He is empress Helene’s nephew.

Quit is a trained soldier like a Mask without being one. His best friend is Sufiyan , Laia and Elias’s son. Quil never wanted to rule but the enemy invading the empire will send him on the hunt to kill the mastermind behind the invasion.

Sirsha

Poor and pretty desperate, she has been cast out of her tribe at twelve years old and since has used her magic to track people all while avoiding her own people who banned her and forbade her to use her magic « as her kin did ». She will be contracted by a mysterious Martial to hunt a killer who is stealing Young people’s heart.

That will send her on a very dangerous expedition when the killer is not who he seems, crossing path with Quil.

What I didn’t realize immediately was that there was more than just three POV. There is also a double timeline! 

That confused me yet impressed me at the same time!

Be warned that Aiz is a complex character to love. On one hand she wants to protect the orphans, the clerics and her people. Her intentions are noble.

On the other hand, and I will stay vague here, she has done unforgiving and horrible actions .

That book is filled with:

-great characters that you will love as some are Laia and Elias’s kids and Helene’s nephew;

-very morally grey characters morphing into villains;

-lots of death and suspense;

-twists (plural) one of the biggest at the end.

-romantic feelings emerging amidst chaos;

-adventure and a quest;

-huge cliffhanger!

Thanks for reading.

Sophie