The highly anticipated third book in Sabaa Tahir's New York Times bestselling EMBER QUARTET.

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.

I’ve been a huge fan of Sabaa Tahir’s work ever since I’ve first discovered her Ember Quartet back in 2016, when the first two installments of the series were released, so I was beyond excited to finally get my hands on this book! I have to admit I’ve nearly forgotten how good of a storyteller Tahir actually was, but this book made me remember exactly how much I loved both these characters and this magical world she has created—and then made me fall in love some more.

A Reaper at the Gates picks up a few months after the events of A Torch Against the Night with the Martial Empire on the brink of war—and on more than one battlefront. As was the case in the latter, the story is told from various points of view, and once again features the voices of Helene, Laia, and Elias. The Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, needs to play a sort of a game of thrones, trying to balance between the ever more unstable Emperor Marcus and the cunning Commandant, Illustrians and Plebeians, in order to prevent the civil war that now more than ever seems inevitable, all the while trying to protect the Empire from the enemies outside its borders. In Marinn, Laia of Serra seeks a way to defeat the Nightbringer and protect her people from both the Martials and revenge of the jinn, while Elias is still stuck in the Waiting Place, forced to choose between his humanity and fulfilling his role as a Soul Catcher.

Helene’s part was by far my favourite. Apart from the fact that she is my favourite character in this series and one of the best female protagonists out there, I was genuinely interested in reading about all the politic intrigues and machinations of the Empire. I’m so glad she got an even bigger role in this book and I honestly can’t wait to find out what else Sabaa Tahir has in store for her. I really hope she gets to live through this all mess and finally finds love and happiness because she truly deserves it.

Laia’s part I’ve also enjoyed, although not as much as Helene’s considering it could get a bit dull from time to time. Still, I liked what Tahir has done with Laia’s character and I don’t mind that there were a few relapses to the “beginning of the book one Laia”, considering it gave her a chance to mature and develop a bit more as a person.
Elias’s POV was actually the one that kind of disappointed me. I used to love his character, the way he always walked the thin line between the person he was raised to be and thought himself to be and the person he wanted to be. But I have to admit I didn't really like the turn that his arc took at the end of the second book, and I'm afraid that continued in the third book as well. I could see that what he was going through was really hard for him and it's not that I didn't care about, but rather that most of the things I liked about him were "gone", he seemed a bit whiny and overall I just found his storyline much less compelling than the other two, especially Helene's.

Usually, one of my favourite parts of a book is when all the separate plotlines converge and every little seemingly inconsequential detail clicks into place—and that’s precisely what happened here. Sabaa Tahir really outdid herself this time because that ending was epic! The final battle was so tense and unpredictable that I honestly wasn’t sure who and if anyone was actually going to live nor how things were going to end; I literally couldn't stop turning the pages. After I was done, all I could do was just stare at the wall thinking about what I've just read—it was just that good. I'm quite satisfied with how most things were left off, especially  *spoiler>* the alliance between Helene and Laia—I can’t wait to see how that turns out—*end spoiler* and I’m beyond hyped about seeing how everything resolves in the final book.
Definitely a five star read, and one I'd wholeheartedly recommend to any fantasy lover out there.