Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse
Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Summary from NetGalley:
Even the sea cannot stay calm before the storm. —Teek saying
Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.
And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.
ARC provided by Saga Press via Netgalley for an honest review.
Writing reviews for the final book in a series is so hard, you really have to watch what you say so that you don’t spoil anything. I think I have accomplished that, but if you haven’t read the other books, you might want to stop here. Please check out my reviews of the first two books by clicking on the titles below, if you are interested.
Black Sun ( Between Earth and Sky #1)
Fevered Star (Between Earth and Sky #2)
Confession:
This third and final book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy was just as beautifully written as the first two. The setting was also marvelous, as were the many characters and their stories. I was a little frustrated by the pacing and the ending wasn’t exactly what I wanted either, but overall I really enjoyed this book.
For those of you who have read the other books in the series, you know that there are many, many characters and points of view as well as a very complex plot and very intricate world building. All of your favorite and not so favorite characters are here, and we finally learn all of their fates. Because there are so many characters, I am only going to talk about a couple of my favorites.
Okoa is still my favorite of all of the characters, although he gets so little page time in all of the books. His internal struggles, especially in this one, just made me ache for him and his struggles. He just wants to be loved and needed, but everyone just manipulates and uses him, which made me mad. Xiala was great in this book. She comes fully into her powers and she is a force to be reckoned with. I just loved her development as a character. Iktan and Narampa’s story was also well done, and I was glad to see them finally admit their feelings for each other.
The plot of this book was just as complex as the other two, and maybe a bit more. I found it to be a bit slow moving, especially at the start, but as we got closer to the end, it started to go really fast, almost too fast. While the ending was well done, I wasn’t as happy as I would have liked to have been about some of the characters fates. War takes a toll on everyone, I know, but why did so many of the characters have to die?
The world building and the writing continues to just amaze me. I loved all of the little poems and sayings, especially the Teek ones, at the start of the chapters. The mythology and backgrounds for all of the societies is very rich and well rounded. I occasionally got a little lost in all of the complexities of the plot, but was mostly able to keep track of everything that was going on. I do wish that I had taken the time to reread the other books before this one, I think it would have helped a bit with the character development.
Overall I did enjoy this final book in the series. I am kind of sad that it is over, but happy that some of the characters found their well deserved ending. One of the storylines was left a little bit open, so maybe we might see at least a novella about some of the characters. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes epic and complex fantasy.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 
Love this series, need to read book 3!
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