I do not even know where to start with a review for this book. I mean, sometimes you come across a book that grabs you by the face and just demands to be read. This is one of those books.

You are introduced to the world quickly, smoothly and efficiently, without any kind of condescending tone from the author. Their style is smooth, and easy to read, holds your attention, even when it is three in the morning and you know you should be sleeping.

I loved the story, simply loved it, and I could not wait to finish it, to see if things would work out the way I thought they would. Some did, some didnt, and that was fine by me, as I loved the ending, and I can not wait for the next book.

It was an emotional bumper car experience, that leaves you begging for more!

Vivid worldbuilding, beautiful writting, well rounded characters AND it's sapphic. 100/10 totally recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollinsUK for this eARC of 'The Final Strife' by debut author Saara El-Arifi. My review is purely my own opinion.

I loved this book. Did it take me ages to get to read this book? Of course. But it's such a good read, I'm glad I took my time with it. El-Arifi is such a good writer and the black main character is so strong, powerful and well developed. I just adored this book in total.

This book sits perfectly in the dystopian YA fantasy section. There's the misuse of seeds, loss and tragedy mixed in with the desire for a better life

The book starts slowly but soon gets going with secrets and lies being exposed

I'm usually more of a YA reader, but I'm so glad I broke out of my comfort zone for this book. The world of The Final Strife is brutal and unforgiving, but it is also rich, vivid, and beautifully imagined––not to mention expertly woven into the narrative.

Sylah and Anoor are two characters I would go to war for, and their dynamic is wonderfully crafted throughout the novel.

The book also does a great job of exploring difficult themes without ever becoming too dark or grim or a chore to read.

100/10 would recommend. I'm looking forward to the next instalment already.

The Final Strife is such an exciting start to a trilogy. The setup and setting have many classic elements of YA dystopia (not in a bad way) - categories of people, individuals selected to rise through the ranks - but explored and subverted through the lens of modern epic fantasy. The characters feel appropriately complex, and the relationships (including romantic) convinced me easily. This is a book where I enjoyed having seen twists coming, because it felt like pieces falling into place, with each revelation meaning something in the bigger picture. The world did require a lot of exposition at first, and it was not handled especially elegantly (a lot of blunt description or unnatural dialogue), but once that had passed the book went from strength to strength, and sets up a next book which I suspect will be even stronger.

Wow!! What a read! This book screamed at on its virtual shelf with such an amazing cover! I am glad to say, it did NOT disappoint. I was absolutely hooked & would most definitely recommend!

The Final Strife is a solid series opener, without ever being all that spectacular for me. It opens quite slowly, and doesn’t really pick up the pace until right at the end, but it has the potential for future books to be great, hence the slightly mixed feelings that I have about it.

The story is set in a world where people are classed based on their blood and its colour. Many years before, a group of individuals who wanted to change all of that kidnapped some of the highest caste children and replaced them with ones of a lower class of blood. They would raise these children to be able to take over the government when they grew up, but with the sympathies of the lower classes. That plan was wrecked, however, when their little enclave was found and destroyed, leaving only one of those children as a survivor.

So, my first point really, is that this book catches your interest right from the prologue. It’s a great opening, and guaranteed to get you hooked. So when it slows down, as it does since it’s over 600 pages, you can forgive that. That slowing down gives it time to build the world around the MCs, fleshing out everything that is happening, while also leaving you with a growing list of questions.

I think where this fell down for me, personally, was that I wasn’t so in love with the writing style that I could deal with this. I had to start skimming just a bit, so I could get to the action again. That, and the love triangle.

In theory here, I have nothing against the love triangle as a concept. It’s between two of our MCs, and a third character, and it’s this third character that I had the issue with, really. Because he (Jond) and Sylah (the bi mc) were brought up as siblings. As far as I read it, at least. They are not biological siblings (and were more… adopted, for want of a better word, by their parents), but they were effectively brought up with a single father and different mothers. Now. YMMV here, but that, to me, is treading a bit too close to incest and I had absolutely no interest in it. So this love triangle, which features heavily in the set up of the end, to say as vaguely as I can make it, did not land for me. Also the fact that this book has been marketed a lot as having an f/f relationship—which it does! I hasten to add—but for me, I would say this… not as prevalent as people may expect? For a good three quarters of this book, it’s the m/f relationship that takes centre stage, and then the f/f one. Which is obviously fine, but I feel this book would be better framed as having a bi mc, another sapphic mc and a love triangle.

Basically, what I’m trying to explain by all this is that the relationship between Jond and Sylah was supposed to be this big thing, and I just didn’t get it. So a lot of what relied on this relationship later on didn’t land. That said, neither did I really love Sylah and Anoor’s relationship (this is not enemies to lovers). I think this probably all ties back to how I found the writing style, so it’s definitely a personal thing.

Despite all this, and although I didn’t get the feeling from the ending, it was definitely one that had my pulse pounding as I read it. That ending is worth the entire set up and, really, would be enough to convince me to continue the series. While my whole review seems to have been complaining (oops), I would like to stress that actually I did enjoy this book. If this is one that intrigues you at all, you should definitely pick it up.

Twenty years ago, the Sandstorm stole twenty children from the Ember elite, distinguishable by their blood, and swapped them for blue-blooded Dusters. Now one of the Stolen is competing in the Trials to be the new Warden, and the Sandstorm are preparing for the Final Strife that will bring down the Empire.

The two main characters, Sylah and Anoor, are both well realised. Sylah is initially a bit unlikeable, struggling with addiction, but as more of her story is revealed to the reader she also grows as a person through the story. Anoor is battling her own demons from her harsh upbringing. Other characters, such as the Ghosting (someone with transparent blood) Hassa have their own secrets and parts to play in changing the Empire. Overall I really enjoyed this, it's a clever idea and there are plenty of seeds for the future books, as well as a reasonable resolution for this one. It does end with a couple of big questions unresolved, but ties up other aspects neatly which I thought was well done. There's plenty of action, intrigue, people learning to trust each other, and romance!

This was everything I want in a fantasy novel:

1) well-crafted world building that factors in real-world horrors of oppression and class division in a way that is brutal and honest, but still an immersive fantasy setting
2) multi dimensional characters that truly develop as people as the story goes on, Sylah's battle with addiction, and Anoor's struggle to prove herself are just the main points of the personal journeys both characters go on.
3) a unique magic system that feeds into and informs the world of the novel
4) a peek into all levels of the established society, from the wealthy elite, to the impoverished workers, to the criminal underbelly

Pepper in a sapphic enemies-to-lovers arc and a magical competition and you've got all the ingredients for me to give this book a 5 star rating. My only complaint is that I now have a very long wait for the next book in the trilogy.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperFiction for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Saara El-Arifi's epic SFF debut The Final Strife is an incredibly brutal tale of an empire built on blood through torn skin. It is also a tale of addiction, identity crisis, and grief; but most of all reforging oneself—dust through flame into glass. It unveils the beginning of an ambitious and complex story full of twisted truths, conflicting loyalties, and the all too human heart amidst flaming, blood-stained sands.

In short, I adored it, my hype was definitely not in vain.