Aug 16

Aug 16 Heir (Heir Duology, #1)

About the book

Author: Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

Buy and support indie bookstores (+ I earn a small commission):
Bookshop.org (print) | Libro.fm (audio)

My Review

As the Ember in the Ashes quartet is my favorite fantasy series of all, it’s no surprise that Heir was my most anticipated new release of the year. Ember fans, rejoice — this book is so, so, so good.

For the uninitiated, Heir takes place about 15 years or so after the events of the quartet. It’s the start of a duology that follows a new set of characters; our faves from Ember (the ones who survived anyway 🥲) make appearances, but they’re all secondary or tertiary characters. But fear not, because the new MCs — Aiz, Sirsha, and Quil — are excellent and delicious, and it’s impossible not to love them all.

This is classic Sabaa. She knows how to twist the knife like no other. She knows how to hit you with a twist like no other. She knows how to write a story like no other. All of that’s on full display once again. Is it equal to SKY? No, but Ember was also JUST Ember until we got the rest of the series. I have trust!

You COULD probably read this before the Ember quartet, as a standalone, but…don’t. That said, I don’t think you need to REREAD Ember, especially if you ‘veread them in the last few years or so; the stories are separate enough. Maybe look up some summaries online if you’re feeling rusty. (Or reread them. They are phenomenal rereads, I can tell you from experience.)