The blueblooded people, Dusters, seem to be beneath them, sometimes no more than slaves. Embers, the people with red blood, are the top of society, they rule and control everything else with brutality and arrogance and secrets. They live in an empire controlled by four wardens of red blood. The people on the island of Nar-Ruta are the last people left on earth after a fire consumed everything else. The world building is so well thought through. The Final Strife is an amazing book with so many details in both character design and world building. I don’t know really where to begin, there is so much I need to say. *note: I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion*

However, the flame of hope may yet be rekindled because Sylah wasn’t made to sparkle, she was born to burn.Īnd it’s up to her whether she rules the empire or destroys it.īook: The Final Strife | Series: The Final Strife Trilogy #1 | Author: Saara El-Arifi | Publisher: Harper Voyager | Release Date: | Pages: 640 | Genre: Fantasy | Rep: Black, queer MC, wlw LI, wlw relationship, mlm side characters | TW: blood, self harm (for magic purposes), drug use, drug addiction, mutilation, slavery, death, loss of loved ones (in the past) But when her adopted family were brutally murdered those dreams of a better future turned to dust. 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. Sylah was destined to win the trials and be crowned Warden of Strength. The Aktibar – a set of trials held every ten years to find the next Ember rulers of the Empire – is about to begin.Īll 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. Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control.īlue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.Ĭlear is the blood of the servants, of the crushed, of the invisible. Even though I needed a long time to read it, I fell absolutely in love with Saara El-Arifi’s debut fantasy novel! Continue reading to find out what made this book so amazing. I came for the sapphic content and stayed for everything. Without really knowing much about The Final Strife, I went into this book.

The final strife series