A Reaper at the Gates
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- Create Date：2021-04-29 10:54:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sabaa Tahir
- ISBN：0008288798
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Carson
，
The series just gets better with time。 I unfortunately have to wait about 16 weeks at the library until I can read the last one。
Errin
，
3。75 stars！ I liked this one even more than A Torch Against The Night。 More blood， brutality， and excellent twists。 The highs were high but there's a lot of meandering through as well。 Helene and her sister's storyline is the most exciting。 Unfortunately， I am very sad to see Elias getting the most boring storyline。 An Ember In The Ashes was just outstanding and I've been chasing the high of the first book Elias and Laia since then but I'm finally accepting that I'm probably not going to reach i 3。75 stars！ I liked this one even more than A Torch Against The Night。 More blood， brutality， and excellent twists。 The highs were high but there's a lot of meandering through as well。 Helene and her sister's storyline is the most exciting。 Unfortunately， I am very sad to see Elias getting the most boring storyline。 An Ember In The Ashes was just outstanding and I've been chasing the high of the first book Elias and Laia since then but I'm finally accepting that I'm probably not going to reach it and am now just hoping the last book ties everything up in a somewhat satisfying way。 。。。more
Tarrah Sweatt
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ready for the last book。 I am still hoping Laia and Elias will be together in the end。
Megan
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So many loose ends either untied or poorly managed。The first book intrigued me。 The plot and characters were interesting。 I wanted to see how the characters would grow from the states of dilemma they were in。However， something I couldn't be brought to understand or empathize with was the whiplash of emotions each character had with other characters of the opposite sex。 The build-up was short and unrealistic， making it feel like those emotions were crafted to serve as plot movers （which。。。they we So many loose ends either untied or poorly managed。The first book intrigued me。 The plot and characters were interesting。 I wanted to see how the characters would grow from the states of dilemma they were in。However， something I couldn't be brought to understand or empathize with was the whiplash of emotions each character had with other characters of the opposite sex。 The build-up was short and unrealistic， making it feel like those emotions were crafted to serve as plot movers （which。。。they were）。 It gave characters 'reasons' （I would say poorly written excuses） to do make the absolutely stupidest decisions from then on， in all 3 books。If you skim through the chapters， you'd realise that in books 2 & 3， the characters made numerous questionable and illogical choices based on emotion。 It felt like Elias and Helene took many steps backwards in their development because they were supposedly trained to be logical and clearheaded in pressing scenarios; worse still for Laia， who overnight turned into a leader of sorts by taking initiatives here and there， but without the conviction a leader would have developed。Add in a bit of love， and suddenly they're so brain-addled that they cannot clearly comprehend （or they simply completely disregard） the consequences of their foolish actions。。。which could've actually saved them a lot of grief。 Many of those times， secondary characters are literally shouting， pleading and begging not for them to do certain things。。。yet they go ahead。Makes me wonder if the author doesn't care for the characters， only for the plot。 The characters are simply puppets to drive a plot which I'm no longer interested in， because I lost all connection with the characters。Sad to say， my favourite character in this whole series is Helene's sister， Livia。 She's matured from the fun loving sister to a matured， cool-headed character that is dependable to not make rash decisions。 Despite her circumstances， she shows grit and cunning， more than the 3 main characters do， which is very ironic。I'm not gonna speak about all the other glaring plot holes since I think another reviewer has written about those。All in all， books 2&3 were a disappointing waste of time。 。。。more
cam
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4。5
Vini Mawikere （Vee）
，
i can't say much。i just need to read the fourth book a。s。a。p！the last 150-ish pages of this book is so emotional for me。i now have a little sympathy for some characters。and the twists are so 🔥。 though i've guessed some of them。 i can't say much。i just need to read the fourth book a。s。a。p！the last 150-ish pages of this book is so emotional for me。i now have a little sympathy for some characters。and the twists are so 🔥。 though i've guessed some of them。 。。。more
Jean （Bookish Poetess）
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OH。 MY。 GOD。
Miruna
，
This book was so beautiful！！！The previous books from this series were， naturally， awesome， but "A Reaper at the Gates" was by far the best of them。 "A Torch Against the Night" ended in a pretty unpleasant way so I expected the 3rd volume to be kind of meh。 I was obviously wrong。 The story is so complex that I had trouble keeping up with it。 There wasn't one moment whitout conflict and action and I kept wondering， during my reading， how does Sabaa Tahir get so many unbelievably great ideas？ The c This book was so beautiful！！！The previous books from this series were， naturally， awesome， but "A Reaper at the Gates" was by far the best of them。 "A Torch Against the Night" ended in a pretty unpleasant way so I expected the 3rd volume to be kind of meh。 I was obviously wrong。 The story is so complex that I had trouble keeping up with it。 There wasn't one moment whitout conflict and action and I kept wondering， during my reading， how does Sabaa Tahir get so many unbelievably great ideas？ The characters were very well developed as we got more glimpses into their minds and thoughts。The Blood Shrike， as usual， was the best character one could dream of。 I loved her story and the way she narrated it， but Sabaa seems to take a dangerous amount of pleasure in torturing Helene and making her to constantly go through Hell， even though she has such a good soul！ I didn't think this was possible， but after reading "A Reaper at the Gates" I hate Keris Veturia even more and I love Avitas Harper even more。 。。。more
Jen
，
The middle felt a bit too long and I didn’t really care for Elias’s chapters。 But I loved everything else！
Lit Shit Podcast
，
So I held off on reading this knowing the ending of this series was probably going to make me emotional。 Unfortunately， the time between me reading book 2 and this one meant I did not remember a lot， which did impact the reading of this book。However， it’s a solid story that is certainly building to the finale， laying the groundwork for what is to come。 The story is told through several people’s POV。 Elias is struggling being the soul catcher （honestly I hate that this happened to him but I’m hol So I held off on reading this knowing the ending of this series was probably going to make me emotional。 Unfortunately， the time between me reading book 2 and this one meant I did not remember a lot， which did impact the reading of this book。However， it’s a solid story that is certainly building to the finale， laying the groundwork for what is to come。 The story is told through several people’s POV。 Elias is struggling being the soul catcher （honestly I hate that this happened to him but I’m holding out hope he gets a happy ending because he deserves it） and ghosts escape the waiting place。Laia finally finds her mother （the Cook） and basically becomes the Scholar leader even though she doesn’t want the responsibility， she wants to stop the Nightbringer。 The Blood Shrike will do anything to keep her sister safe and is trying to stop the Commandant who overthrew emperor Marcus （thank God he dies） and wants to take over the rest of the continent。 Hope she dies in the next book she’s sucked since day one。The Nightbringer basically gets what he wanted and releases the jinn。 –DiAngelea Millar 。。。more
Layanne ✌︎︎
，
GOODNESSDID THIS BOOK TURN ME INTO A HELENE STAN？？？？APPARENTLY。。。。。。。。。In all honesty， this book was a lot better than the second， had a lot more character development and the plot progression was really smoothIt was sad tho， im kinda sad。THEY WERE DOING SO WELL。。。。。。AND NOW THEY ARENT。yea im gonna read the next book before i start crying ;）
Amodini
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Word Count:Skies - 112 timesBleeding - 99 times I actually sat down and counted every single time it was used。 ARGH I'm so bleeding tired of these words and I hate the skies that it has infected me。Anyways， it had nothing。 I felt really nothing。 So underwhelming。 I did not give a damn to Laia or Elias or Nightbringer。 I just felt nothing for them。 I'm gonna continue just for Helene。 Just for her。 Word Count:Skies - 112 timesBleeding - 99 times I actually sat down and counted every single time it was used。 ARGH I'm so bleeding tired of these words and I hate the skies that it has infected me。Anyways， it had nothing。 I felt really nothing。 So underwhelming。 I did not give a damn to Laia or Elias or Nightbringer。 I just felt nothing for them。 I'm gonna continue just for Helene。 Just for her。 。。。more
ShanShan ✨
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I thought I was going to hate this book from the reviews I read。 I did not。 I think it had a lot to do with The Nightbringer for myself。 He is so interesting and no matter how many times he is described， I still see the boy he was， Keenan。 I don’t agree with what he’s planning but I do understand why。 What was done to him and his people was horrible。 Getting to know his side and what happened to the jinn made me realize that none of these people are innocent。 It’s like the all wronged each other I thought I was going to hate this book from the reviews I read。 I did not。 I think it had a lot to do with The Nightbringer for myself。 He is so interesting and no matter how many times he is described， I still see the boy he was， Keenan。 I don’t agree with what he’s planning but I do understand why。 What was done to him and his people was horrible。 Getting to know his side and what happened to the jinn made me realize that none of these people are innocent。 It’s like the all wronged each other and everyone wants vengeance。 Marcus。 He was a repulsive， disgusting human being but when he was dying， I felt pity for him。 Like Helene。 🤷🏻♀️ I question myself when I feel bad for the bad guys。 I loved the way the ending the author gave him with his twin， Zac when they passed on together as little boys。 That was unexpected but so sweet。 I skimmed a lot of Elias and Laia’s chapters cause they just bored or annoyed me but when but when Musa was introduced， I read every line。 I really adored him and hope to learn more about him in the next book。 Helene。 The Blood Shrike。 She is Queen！ She’s so badass but I know she does a lot of questionable things。 I love her and I love Harper 😍 They have to be together！ When she kissed him and then pushed him away， I wanted to throttle her。 I’d really prefer for him not to be hurt in any way and I am dying to get to the part when Elias finds out Harper is his brother！ So， four stars from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 。。。more
Duncan Cooper
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Did not disappoint。 Sabaa Tahir is brilliant， always finding ways to surprise—Cook is Mirra of Serra， the Lioness， Laia’s mother！ That was fabulous！ And the Wisp is Karinna， the Commandant’s loving mother！ I was blown away。 The development of the characters continues to impress， with Laia struggling with her mother’s legacy as it so deeply reflects her own， Elias living with the conflict between love and duty， and the Blood Shrike growing cleverer and more determined in her battle for her sister Did not disappoint。 Sabaa Tahir is brilliant， always finding ways to surprise—Cook is Mirra of Serra， the Lioness， Laia’s mother！ That was fabulous！ And the Wisp is Karinna， the Commandant’s loving mother！ I was blown away。 The development of the characters continues to impress， with Laia struggling with her mother’s legacy as it so deeply reflects her own， Elias living with the conflict between love and duty， and the Blood Shrike growing cleverer and more determined in her battle for her sister against the Commandant。 The Commandant’s past is one of my favorite parts of these novels and one of my favorite villains of all time—so deadly and wicked， but so soft-spoken and elegant。 I am so excited to learn more about her past。 Though magic is a bit abstract in these novels， it still exists in a pure， childlike fashion （relying on will and imagination）。 The Nightbringer is coming， and his brethren have returned， but will Laia’s heart surpass their ancient vendetta？ Regardless， Sabaa Tahir will give us a resonant story whose echo will inspire souls for generations to come。 。。。more
DiAngelea Millar
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So I held off on reading this knowing the ending of this series was probably going to make me emotional。 Unfortunately， the time between me reading book 2 and this one meant I did not remember a lot， which did impact the reading of this book。 However， it’s a solid story that is certainly building to the finale， laying the groundwork for what is to come。 The story is told through several people’s POV。 Elias is struggling being the soul catcher （honestly I hate that this happened to him but I’m ho So I held off on reading this knowing the ending of this series was probably going to make me emotional。 Unfortunately， the time between me reading book 2 and this one meant I did not remember a lot， which did impact the reading of this book。 However， it’s a solid story that is certainly building to the finale， laying the groundwork for what is to come。 The story is told through several people’s POV。 Elias is struggling being the soul catcher （honestly I hate that this happened to him but I’m holding out hope he gets a happy ending because he deserves it） and ghosts escape the waiting place。 Laia finally finds her mother （the Cook） and basically becomes the Scholar leader even though she doesn’t want the responsibility， she wants to stop the Nightbringer。 The Blood Shrike will do anything to keep her sister safe and is trying to stop the Commandant who overthrew emperor Marcus （thank God he dies） and wants to take over the rest of the continent。 Hope she dies in the next book she’s sucked since day one。 The Nightbringer basically gets what he wanted and releases the jinn。 。。。more
s。booklover ♡
，
I honestly don’t know what to say about this book。Every books in this series give me so much joy and this strong feeling of just。。。 escapism。 This book seemed different from the two previous in my opinion tho， like， the way we followed the characters weren’t the same， they all had goals and they fought to achieve them。。。 But I loved it， honestly Sabaa Tahir is such a genius， she’s so talented， this universe seems so real， perfect。
issy
，
wait i need time to process this
Grata
，
3。5*Ok so this book was。。。good。 I went with low expectations bc I didn't really like the 2 book。**** SPOILERS****I will tell you something right away。 I think when the Karakauns attacked Pilgrim's gap The blood shrike should have died。 I feel like it would have shown how she's willing to sacrifice for her people and the Empire。 And I get it she had already shown that， bc if Laia wouldn't have saved her she would have died。 But she didn't and FOR ME personally it didn't impact me the same as it c 3。5*Ok so this book was。。。good。 I went with low expectations bc I didn't really like the 2 book。**** SPOILERS****I will tell you something right away。 I think when the Karakauns attacked Pilgrim's gap The blood shrike should have died。 I feel like it would have shown how she's willing to sacrifice for her people and the Empire。 And I get it she had already shown that， bc if Laia wouldn't have saved her she would have died。 But she didn't and FOR ME personally it didn't impact me the same as it could have。I hate The Elias twist so I'm not even going to talk about it。 He could have just died。 The only interesting thing is Mauth and we learn a little bit about him。 Laia。。 meh whatever just yeah。 She was there she ran she did some things， she failed that's about it。Cook being Laia's mom。 Yeah， okay。 It was out of nowhere or I just don't remember things from the first 2 books。 Helene is interesting， though， but how I said earlier she should have died。And one of the reasons why I read this book （ Laia and Elias romance） was just thrown out the window so heh。I will read the 4 book just to see what happens， but it this series really went down for me after the first book which btw I loved。 。。。more
Merel ★birdsong。books★
，
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★bookstagramAn Ember in the Ashes review （4/5）A Torch Against the Night review （5/5）4。5/5！OMG that ending！ Absolutely loved Helene's POV in this book。 Whereas the POVs of Laia and Elias were mostly together in book 2， in this book they are mostly apart。 I didn't like that as much because it doesn't give much space for relationships to grow。 The stories were still filled with action and there were some good twists！ But there are some developments that I'm just not liki ★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★bookstagramAn Ember in the Ashes review （4/5）A Torch Against the Night review （5/5）4。5/5！OMG that ending！ Absolutely loved Helene's POV in this book。 Whereas the POVs of Laia and Elias were mostly together in book 2， in this book they are mostly apart。 I didn't like that as much because it doesn't give much space for relationships to grow。 The stories were still filled with action and there were some good twists！ But there are some developments that I'm just not liking so much。 （view spoiler）[I'm mostly talking about Elias becoming the Soul Catcher。。。 I just really don't like that direction the story took because I feel like it might stagnate character development。 （hide spoiler）]I feel like worldbuilding is consistently the weak part of this series。 For example， Laia's brother making Serric steel was such a huge goal for book 1， but it kind of developed into nothing interesting？ We've also got warring factions in the world， but we know close to nothing about the characters' enemies。 And the way magic works is still quite mysterious。Either way， I still loved this book but not as much as book 2。 Excited to read the conclusion to the series！！！★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★ 。。。more
Sarah Tui
，
I have enjoyed this series so far， but for some reason I am not super attached to any of the characters。 I like all of the characters and am enjoying where the plot is going。。。 I am interested to see what happens in the final book。
Mary Neugebauer
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All the feels。
Jade
，
3。75
Tamera Pillay
，
The book was great and probably one of the most interesting and densely packed of the series。 Only giving it one less star because I didn’t feel compelled to fly through it like the first two。 Maybe cause I just want Elias and Laia together in every scene。 😂 I had another shaken to my core moment so I am continuously impressed by Sabaa Tahir and her impeccable story-building。
Sarah
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This took me a while to read mostly because the plot for me wasn't as entertaining as the other two books' plots were but the last 150 or so pages i devoured because oh man it was intense and i have soo many feelings and I need to know the conclusion to this series of pain but it's a well known fact that the last book is for masochists which suits me just fine 🙂。 （Also harper and helene own my heart and I'm scared because I heard spoilers for them 😣） This took me a while to read mostly because the plot for me wasn't as entertaining as the other two books' plots were but the last 150 or so pages i devoured because oh man it was intense and i have soo many feelings and I need to know the conclusion to this series of pain but it's a well known fact that the last book is for masochists which suits me just fine 🙂。 （Also harper and helene own my heart and I'm scared because I heard spoilers for them 😣） 。。。more
Lucy
，
I think I would like this book a lot better if I had more than a pea brain to understand it
alex
，
the mental illness literally never ends
anahita
，
you cannot walk in the shadows as long as I have and not become onethis book was so wonderful。 the story was beautifully well crafted and always had me wanting to know what happened next （some of those plot twists really got me）。 i do feel like it might have been missing something， i'm just not quite sure what， which is why it got a 4 instead of 5 star。this was a really enjoyable read and i can't wait to find out what happens in the next book （but the libby wait time is currently over six months you cannot walk in the shadows as long as I have and not become onethis book was so wonderful。 the story was beautifully well crafted and always had me wanting to know what happened next （some of those plot twists really got me）。 i do feel like it might have been missing something， i'm just not quite sure what， which is why it got a 4 instead of 5 star。this was a really enjoyable read and i can't wait to find out what happens in the next book （but the libby wait time is currently over six months so i might end up breaking my book buying ban to get this） 。。。more
Nilofar
，
I’m conflicted。 Tahir is a great author， and I love her action/fantasy style。 At the same time， I didn’t love this book。I think this series could probably have been 3 books， and my issue with this book was that nothing happened for so long。 I loved the first Ember in the Ashes book because not a single page was wasted。 Through Reaper at the Gates it felt like Tahir was struggling to keep the story going and running out of things to fill the pages with。I was sad to see so little of the Laia/Elias I’m conflicted。 Tahir is a great author， and I love her action/fantasy style。 At the same time， I didn’t love this book。I think this series could probably have been 3 books， and my issue with this book was that nothing happened for so long。 I loved the first Ember in the Ashes book because not a single page was wasted。 Through Reaper at the Gates it felt like Tahir was struggling to keep the story going and running out of things to fill the pages with。I was sad to see so little of the Laia/Elias love interest， and also didn’t love how disconnect the three perspectives。 In the first two books， their stories were intertwined so the change in perspective came naturally。 But with RATG it felt like diving into a whole new story every time the chapter changed。I haven’t heard great things about the fourth and final book， but I also really need to know how this story ends。 。。。more
Erin The YA fanatic
，
Okay so for this one I am not going to be writing an actual review because I would have to give away almost everything from the last last 2 books but I am going to talk about my feelings because boy oh boy are there a lot of them。 Okay so I am currently sitting at my desk in math class， holding back tears and the screams that I want to let loose after these last few chapters。 But you better believe that the second I get home I am going to be throwing my face into a pillow and sobbing my eyes out Okay so for this one I am not going to be writing an actual review because I would have to give away almost everything from the last last 2 books but I am going to talk about my feelings because boy oh boy are there a lot of them。 Okay so I am currently sitting at my desk in math class， holding back tears and the screams that I want to let loose after these last few chapters。 But you better believe that the second I get home I am going to be throwing my face into a pillow and sobbing my eyes out。 So this book was overall a 4 stars book。 I was going to rate this a 3 star because it has been my least favorite out of the series but after those last few chapters there is no way in my right mind that I could vote this a 3 stars book。 For as much as they broke me they were amazing and really set up a new world and new troubles for the characters in book 4 which I will be starting after writing this。 The character development again was 10/10。 Even if I did not like the way that they developed it still did not feel forced。 The author really took her time setting up this new world and new characters。 the plot was amazing and has been throughout the entire series。 I love how every chapter progresses the plot in ways that you had no idea could happen。 The plot twists and the cliffhangers that occur in this book are incredible。 Overall this book was incredible， even if this review was a bit short。 I may be writing a full， spoiler filled review of the entire series after I finish A Sky Beyond The Storm （hopefully tomorrow and if not definitely Saturday） Thanks guys and Peace。 Erin the Ya Fanatic 。。。more
Rosa Iglesias
，
Damn。 Damn。 DAMN。 This series just gets BETTER。I’m so incredibly sad I’m just one book away from its conclusion。。。 but we must prevail。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Reaper at the Gates
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Reaper at the Gates&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Reaper at the Gates&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0